Shooting in Japan can be difficult, but also extremely easy. Learned a few things in my latest project about making a video production in Japan.

In my work as a cameraman here I usually have producers and location managers that take care of the details. Sometimes my job involves some directing, but that’s usually it. This time everything was on me. Directing, shooting, planning locations and editing.

One thing about filming in Japan is that you need permits for everything. To get a simple shot in the street you need a police permit. You get this permit from the main police station in the neighbourhood where you are filming. It is not hard to get, but you need to apply in advance and supply the details of your crew. How many people in your crew? What location and what time are you filming? (This is written on your permit) Who is the person in charge of the shooting?

If you are a small crew with a small camera, you can probably get away with filming without a permit. Our permit was not actually checked in the street, but I wouldn’t take the chance of getting my film crew of five persons getting arrested. Mostly because it would disturb the very tight schedule we were on.

Shooting on private property is trickier. For that you need two things. Permit to shoot from the landowner, and also permit to use the material in your production. (A standard release form if it is a commercial production). In Japan, almost everyplace is private property.

In Japan the police permit is mostly a formality. Some other countries send an official with the crew all the time to check on them. Others send a team of armed bodyguards. Or both. So I guess Japan is an easy country to film in after all.

When dealing with the permits you need help from someone who speaks Japanese. Hiring one will be worth it. I had help from my client with negotiating the permits and they did a nice job. Remember that the Japanese read the fine print. After having provided a Japanese translation of the release forms many locations inquired further about the details and also suggested changes and limits to the terms presented.

Once you have all the paperwork nothing is a problem. I was filming a store in a narrow street and in one shoot I was bothered by the music from next door. No problem, we asked them to turn it off and they did. If someone is assigned to perform in front of the camera they will do it. I had amateurs talking straight into the camera or just performing as extras in the background doing a very good job.

I filmed a lot of stores and restaurants for this production, and most of them were happy for the exposure their business would get. Still they were very concerned about us disturbing their customers. At a couple of locations we were allowed to film for about ten minutes. This is a very short time for setting up a camera, directing an amateur talent to perform and to get some general shots of the place.
Still with that short time, formalities must be observed. The manager of the place and us must exchange business cards. Takes a few minutes, holding the card with both hands (hajimemashite, dozo yoroshiko…)

One of the strange things happened when we were filming in one of the mayor electronics stores. We were allowed a few minutes before they opened. The shoot was booked in advance, we signed in, got badges to wear, exchanged business cards with the manager as usual. Still there was an airport style strip search when we left. Not very thorough, but still checking the camera case, ladies handbags and padding the pockets. Not that I really mind, I thought it was cool to be backstage at XXX-camera.

Technorati Tags: Shooting, video, production, cameraman, directing, permits, crew, private, property, commercial, production, filming, camera, directing, amateur