Blackshell Films Presents: Film in China Handbook - Permits

Dear friends and colleagues,

Happy Wednesday! I hope you are all well and safe.

Today we are going to talk about a very important topic - get film permits in China. Blackshell Films has successfully helped our clients from all over the world to get legit filming permits in some of the most restricted places in China, while under some time-sensitive cases, we have also filmed great shots without permits. Below are some key points to takeaway from our experience.

1. ALWAYS PLAN FOR AT LEAST 2 MONTHS TO GET THE LEGIT PERMITS

This is so important that I put it in the first place. Getting official filming permits in China takes time! If your crew want to film inside a place, a park, a building, a famous sightseeing location, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, basically places that belong to the government, and where there is a guard or there is an entrance door, please, leave plenty of time for us to get the permits for you. Because it would require deal with the specific department of the authority, and that is a very time-consuming process. Also, bear in mind that filing for official filming permits often requires the crew to apply for the J-2 Journalist Visas (check out how to apply for J-2 visas at our Visa blog), since if you want to film inside the legit places, then you better get the legit visas too.

*Crews filming oracle bones in National Library of China, Temple of Confucius, and Guozijian.

2. GET FILM PERMITS FOR PERSONAL SPACE

This is basically the same as the rest of the world where you just need to ask for the person who is in charge of the place if they are okay with you to film there. Once they agreed, then you can go ahead and film. Don’t forget to get the owner sign a location release for you in the end of the shoot.

*Crews filming in Tsinghua University, famous Chinese artist Mr. Xu Bing's studio, Mofan Bookstore, and Traditional Chinese School.

3. FIND A CREATIVE WAY TO FILM IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE PERMIT BUT ARE IN A RUSH

Say If you want to film b-roll in Beijing, and you want get the shot of Forbidden City, but there is only a week till the actual shoot. There is no way to get the official permit. What would you do? Let’s think creative. Do you have to go inside the Forbidden City to film Forbidden City? Or you can find a high-point near Forbidden City to get the b-roll shot done? In a recent project we’ve done for a BBC shoot, the client asked us to film the b-roll, preferably Forbidden City, in Beijing only 2 days before the shoot. So under this circumstances, this is exactly what we did. But, bear in mind that if you film without a permit, it’s highly recommended that you don’t use the tripod and any big camera on the spot, or else you could be taken away by the security. Seriously.

If you need help of getting filming permits in China, feel free to shoot us an email at contact@blackshellfilms.com for more information. We would be happy to assist with your needs.

Also don’t forget to subscribe to our email list (www.blackshellfilms.com) so that you won’t miss any useful information. Kindly share this blog to social media if you find it useful. Many thanks!

Stay safe and happy! See you all on next Wednesday.

Regards,

Pan

Nov 18th, 2020

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Co-founder of Blackshell Films

Website: www.blackshellfilms.com

Email: contact@blackshellfilms.com

WhatsApp: +86 18607190503