Helpful Information

Bolton Council is film friendly, and understands the value of student filming.  As such, Bolton Film office facilitates small crews of student filmmakers at no charge for filming on Bolton Council public land.

Any restrictions are to keep you safe, the public reassured, and maintain our film friendliness for new and exciting projects.  Failure to adhere to our Filming Guidelines could result in no future permits being issued.

If you wish to film on private property, you will need to find out who owns the property and ask permission.  

You will need to inform the Film Office of your intentions and apply for a permit if:

• You plan to film in a public space which will cause obstruction (by equipment or people)
• Have content which includes weapons, drones, children, animals
• The work is for broadcast or commercial gain.

All students are required to read this guidance to understand what you need to do and when. Please note that:

• Applications can only be made for land managed by Bolton Council
• You should familiarise yourself with the exact location before you make a Filming Application and confirm you are applying to the correct Authority for permission
• You must abide by your University/College Code of Conduct while filming in a public space
• You are responsible for the safety of your crew and proper use of filming equipment while on location
• Not all applications are successful, you may apply again for a different location or date if your location is unavailable or unsuited to the proposed filming you have described in your original application
• Your Risk Assessment must be signed by your Course Tutor, without this a Permit cannot be issued
• You must provide a copy of your University/College’s public liability insurance (PLI), a minimum of £10 million is required.

Risk Assessments

Bolton Film Office has a template available for student projects should you require one (Student Filming Risk Assessment – word doc).

When completing a Risk Assessment think carefully about:

• Identifying the hazards – what is it about the activities, process, equipment or substances used that could injure you, your colleagues, participants or the public
• Who might be harmed – is the hazard more dangerous for your colleagues setting up filming, for the public in the vicinity of the filming, for people with restricted mobility, or for any others?
• The measures to take to decrease the risks — e.g. if you have cables running along the floor, covering the cables with mats will decrease the risk of trips and falls.
• Re-Evaluate the Risks – in light of the mitigation measures you’ve implemented. The score should come down.
• Your course tutor should be able to support you where required.

Private Property

For private property and residences, you must gain the permission of the property owner. If the property is rented, you need to gain permission from both
the people who live there and also the landlord.

Filmmakers should ensure that location owners and adjacent property owners are kept fully informed of your intentions, given details of any art department
requirements including dressing and construction and issued with a location contract which clearly states the terms agreed between themselves and the filmmakers.

Insurance

For all filming you will need to provide evidence of adequate public liability insurance (ask your tutor for a copy of your University/College policy). For filming
on land managed by Bolton Council you are required to have at least £10,000,000 public liability indemnity.

Notifying Local Residents and Businesses

If we feel that your production is likely to impact on residents and businesses around the filming location, we would request that they are notified of your activity by letter at least seven days in advance of filming. You should include your contact details in this letter and encourage people to get in touch if they have any concerns about your proposals. Filmmakers on location are visitors and should be
sensitive to the community in which they are working. Noise should be kept to a minimum, especially during unsociable hours (10pm to 8am). Students should carry their college/university  identification with them whenever they are filming,
regardless of the location or the scale of the shoot.

Disclaimer

Any filming undertaken within Bolton Council jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the Production and its employees. Bolton Council will accept no liability for loss, financial or otherwise, alleged to have incurred as a result of this code.
Bolton Council has no rights of the films, photographs and recordings made and/
or taken by the Production. In all cases, you will indemnify Bolton Council against any damage which may be caused on council managed land by the negligent act or omission of the Production, your agents, employees or invitees.