Film Commission Survey - Jack Gerbes

  1. Front Page
  2. Film Commission Survey - Jack Gerbes

1) Are you accepting film permit applications at this juncture? If not, is there a timetable as to when you will--or at least when you will consider accepting them again?

2) What precautions, restrictions and/or advisories have you put in place to help protect the health and welfare of crews and those residents in the locales where filming takes place?

3) How have your film commission’s procedures, modus operandi, process and responsibilities changed in light of the pandemic?

4) Are you finding--or do you expect--certain kinds of productions generally being more feasible at this time than others? Commercials and shorter duration projects, for example, as opposed to longer form feature and TV series commitments? Are you opening up sooner to the prospect of short-form projects?

5) Have local and state film commission policies coincided or are there differences between them relative to the jurisdiction you work in? If there are differences, please share with us what the key ones are.

6) What advice or guidance have you to offer to the production community at large during these challenging times?

Jack Gerbes
Director
Maryland Film Office | http://marylandfilm.org/

1) Maryland is open for filming! The State of Maryland does not issue permits unless you are filming on State property (parks, roads, buildings, etc.). Local jurisdictions are the film permitting entity. The most popular filming location in the State is the City of Baltimore, and they are open for filming and are issuing permits: Go to http://baltimorefilm.com/ for information about shooting in the city. The Maryland Film Office can connect you with the appropriate film liaison in other jurisdictions..

2) Productions need to review Maryland’s filming guidelines: http://marylandfilm.org/Pages/Filming-In-Maryland.aspx We also urge productions to follow the AMPTP and AICP guidelines. We make productions aware of the latest COVID positivity rate. Maryland has its own COVID testing laboratories that are within our university system. In addition, Maryland is the home of Johns Hopkins Hospital, a leading COVID-19 research hospital.

3) We make sure that people are aware of our guidelines: http://marylandfilm.org/Pages/Filming-In-Maryland.aspx If the production will be utilizing union crew and cast, we also make sure that people contact the local representation of the appropriate union or guild as their regulations will differ from State guidelines.

4) Maryland has been open for filming for about two months. During that time filming has consisted of commercials, reality television segments, and other short form projects. It is anticipated that feature film and series will be returning to Maryland in the fall.

5) Most, if not all jurisdictions are following the State of Maryland guidelines when it comes to filming: http://marylandfilm.org/Pages/Filming-In-Maryland.aspx Some jurisdictions may require additional paperwork and safety assurances, but that would on a jurisdiction by jurisdiction and case by case basis.

6) The Maryland film industry, crew and vendors, have been extremely proactive in educating themselves in the practice of “safe sets.” There are weekly webinars covering a wide range of topics, training and special guests. There is also a special Facebook page that disseminates the latest information regarding safely resuming production. Local vendors have invested in sanitizing equipment and PPE. Maryland has a large and experienced crew and vendor base, and they are diligently working to make sure that filming in Maryland will be safe and productive.


<-- Back to Various film commissioners discuss permitting, precautions, restrictions, concerns

MySHOOT Company Profiles

About SHOOT

The Trusted Source For News, Information, Industry Trends, New ScreenWork, and The People Behind the Work in Film, TV, Commercial, Entertainment Production & Post Since 1960.