e-mail : web: www.westminster.gov.uk/filming
Guidance Note for Our
Exceptional
Service
Film
Charge
xS Film Charge
in force from 1st June 2006
Film Westminster : "Real to Reel"
issued by
Special Events Group
tel : 020 7641 2390 fax : 020 7641 2640
e-mail : web: www.westminster.gov.uk/filming
Film Westminster if in doubt, call us first! tel : 020 7641 2390
'xS Film Charge issued 1st June 2006
e-mail : web: www.westminster.gov.uk/filming
Contents
click on title for section
Introduction
· can we still call you free of charge to discuss our proposals? (yes)
· does everyone pay? (no)
How to make payment
Refunds
Our Criteria for Charges
Basis and Intent of xS Film Charge
xS Film Charge Rate
· why are we introducing the xS Film Charge?
· when does it take effect?
· how much is the xS Film Charge Rate?
· what does the charge cover?
· what additional service do we get?
· …and what else does the City Council charge us for?
· does everyone pay?
· how are the charges calculated?
· who is our nominated film officer?
· when are the charges reviewed?
· what authority do you have to charge?
Examples of Shoots
· 'V for Vendetta'
· 'Mrs Henderson Presents'
· 'Children of Men'
· 'Hustle'
· 'Spooks'
Introduction
We are committed to offer our renowned advice and experience to film and TV crews help maintain the successful completion of over 2,500 shooting days each year in Westminster. For the majority, this service will continue to be free of charge.
More time consuming requests are possible to achieve (see Examples of Shoots). In 2005 we have undertaken some extremely ambitious shoots with extraordinary impact both on the screen and on our resources. Support for this scale of production is beyond a normal duty.
We are extremely fortunate to have a team that is dedicated to getting detail right and who understand your 'bigger picture'.
We have set up an Exceptional Service Film Charge ('xS Film Charge') to reflect our costs and enable us to continue to offer the team's support to you.
If in doubt, talk first, shoot later!
Tim Owen
Assistant Director
Events, Filming + Contingency Planning
Can we still call you free of charge to discuss our proposals?
yes of course!! Telephone: 020 7641 2390
…….the reason for introducing an Exceptional Service Film Charge (''xS Film Charge ') is to help us continue to re-assure you with the advice that has led to thousands of safe and very successfully concluded shooting days.
We encourage you to call us to discuss your shoot as early as possible, which will ultimately help all of us better plan our resources and deal with any issues or challenges.
Does everyone pay?
no
..…..requests that are agreed as straightforward and are not likely to cause disruption to the street or residents, will usually not match 'Our Criteria for Charges', and will not pay.
…………the more complex and time consuming that your request is - as described in your pre -application discussion, on your 'Application to Film' form and information from other sources - the more likely you are to match 'Our Criteria for Charges'.
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'Our Criteria for Charges' are to help assess how much help and assistance you need over and above our normal duties. It is designed to give you more assurance that your more complex requests are considered a joint challenge.
Call us if you are in any doubt.
why are we introducing the xS Film Charge?
click on link
How to make payment
An initial, non-refundable fee, based on one officer's working day, must be paid when submitting your 'Application to Film' form, before your proposal will be processed. This can be done by either BACS or Cheque.
First Payment : non - refundable fee paid when submitting your 'Application to Film' form
via BACS
If you wish to pay using 'BACS ' (automatic electronic transfer), please make the payment of £350.00 plus VAT of £61.25 (17.5%) to:
Sort Code: 30 00 02
Account Code: 0350082
Reference Number: E385000.9325
After submitting payment please print a confirmation of your payment and post (address below), e-mail (), or fax (020 7641 2640) a copy of this together with your application to our Special Events Group.
by Cheque
Make the cheque payable to Westminster City Council. On the back of the cheque please write the reference number E385000.9325 and post the cheque together with the application or a covering letter, stating your production company name and title of the production to our Special Events Group at:
11th Floor,
Westminster City Hall,
64 Victoria Street,
London
SW1E 6QP
Second Payment: invoice for outstanding sum
Electronic payment can be made for all invoices via the internet, go to:
http://www.westminster.gov.uk/payments
..…and follow the links.
If you are paying the invoice by cheque please refer to the back of the invoice which will direct you how to pay: make the cheque payable to Westminster City Council, on the back of the cheque write the invoice number and then post the cheque to our Special Events Group.
Refunds
If your filming activity is cancelled for any reason outside your own control, provided that our Special Events Group are notified at a reasonable notice in advance, a refund measured against our agreed estimated costs will be made for the work we have not carried through to completion. The refund will exclude the non - refundable fee paid initially and any additional costs already incurred will be deducted from the invoiced amount to calculate the refund amount.
Productions are strongly recommended to inform our Special Events Group as soon as they are aware of any schedule changes.
Our Criteria for Charges
If your 'Application to Film' includes any request to use one of the following services and likely to take a day or more to achieve, it will attract our xS Film Charge:
· to use more than 25 parking bays per production, where in the opinion (which will be final) of our nominated film officer it is reasonable to assume that you will significantly disrupt the life and use of our streets or open spaces.
· traffic management - this applies to all requests that require any form of temporary traffic control or management for any length of time;
· street dressing - for example, adjustments to street furniture and altering street lighting times;
· scenes involving crime, violence, actors in emergency services uniforms and/or vehicles, special effects or stunts;
· use of specialist equipment - for example, scaffolding towers, lighting rigs, aerial platforms, dolly and track, rain machines;
· use of residential or business locations where filming activities are known to require increased liaison (this is not necessarily equated to production value or size of shoot);
· requires a site meeting as determined by our nominated film officer; or,
· filming outside our normal permitted working hours set out in our general filming activities guidance notes.
Please note, 'reasonable' will be judged by the information that you provide in our 'Application to Film' form and other sources.
If you are uncertain whether these criteria apply or not, please contact our Special Events Group (tel: 020 7641 2390).
Basis and Intent of xS Film Charge
Our charge seeks to recover some of the costs of providing the service to the industry as a whole and is based on a daily officer rate divided into two components:
· an initial, non-refundable fee when your 'Application to Film' is submitted; and,
· a further invoice for the remaining amount once the total time required has been calculated.
The total cost of our xS Film Charge to you will depend on a combination of factors that contribute to the complexity of your overall shoot, for example :
· action sequences, technical equipment and their impact on the location;
· size of your crew and length of time on location;
· consecutive days in a single location and use of multiple locations;
· level of parking required including technical and unit base parking; and,
· social factors including known local communities' liaison requirements.
Our charge will be based on the initial information provided in your application including a suggested contingency to provide you with an initial budget.
Prior to your proposed location shoot or filming activity the final charge will be calculated and an invoice issued that requires your payment by noon of the working day before your proposed filming activities begin.
The charge is in addition to separate charges that are currently made for parking suspensions, highways or streetscape alterations, temporary structure fees, or any other statutory council charges for specific services.
…and what else does the City Council charge us for?
click link
what does the charge cover?
click link
Complaints about our Service
These should be addressed to our nominated film officer in the first instance as we will try to rectify matters immediately. We anticipate that we would be able to meet your concerns during the shoot. If we do not meet your expectations, then you may address your concerns to the Head of Special Events, and subsequently through the City Council's three stage process.
why are we introducing the xS Film Charge?
As in many thousands of past cases, before costs are incurred, we will be pleased to discuss your proposals at an early stage.
Some productions use more of our time than others and require more extended effort by all sides to achieve the ambition set by your request or proposals. Increasingly these require more complex agreements to achieve and involve more agencies and local partners than in the recent past. Anticipated future legislation changes will further increase this demand.
The xS Film Charge covers the additional time, effort and patience that we need to expend on your behalf for intricate and complex shoots. Many productions will not match 'Our Criteria for Charges' and will, therefore, not pay the xS Film Charge.
Through the London Filming Partnership - of which we are a member - the desire from all interested parties for London to host more shooting days and to match rivals' bids for productions has generated an increased demand on us that cannot be sustained without additional resource from the industry and other supporters.
Our Special Events Group is committed to assisting all sectors of the film and media industries, and the full range of productions from students and commercials, to TV features and major film titles.
The group regularly helps the industry achieve over 2,500 shooting days each year and Westminster provides 'the set' for domestic TV series and major films sold around the world in both established and emerging markets. To date we have been able to create and maintain a skilled and experienced team to service your demands, and have been encouraged by the London Filming Partnership to consider focussing our services to match your expectations.
Our initial response to signing up to the London Filming Partnership was to allocate some of our existing resources to assist some unique requests from film companies in order to allow us to assess how much extra work we needed to undertake. Having assisted 'V for Vendetta', 'Da Vinci Code', 'Children of Men' and 'Mrs. Henderson' in 2005 with some ambitious shoots, we acknowledge that we are unable to sustain this effort without making a charge.
The charge does not recover our full costs, as we still have a statutory duty to discharge when giving approval, permission or "no objection" to a production.
In the forthcoming pages we set out some answers to what are already frequently asked questions, and how we intend to formulate and apply the xS Film Charge.
If you are in any doubt, contact our Special Events Group for guidance.
issued by
Special Events Group City of Westminster
tel : 020 7641 2390 fax : 020 7641 2640 Page 7 of 1
e-mail : web: www.westminster.gov.uk/filming
Film Westminster if in doubt, call us first! tel : 020 7641 2390
'xS Film Charge issued 1st June 2006
e-mail : web: www.westminster.gov.uk/filming
xS Film Charge Rate
An initial xS Film Charge will be calculated by our Special Events Group after reviewing each part of your proposal with you before we make an assessment of how much officer time will be required. The estimate may, with your agreement, include pre-application liaison time already spent, and will be based on 'Our Criteria for Charges'
We require an initial non - refundable fee of £350.00 (plus VAT), the equivalent of one officer day, to be paid when submitting your 'Application to Film' form.
We require full settlement by the noon of the working day before your shoot.
The charge rate is £350.00 per officer day plus VAT at 17.5%.
Please note : the service may only include additional hours outside our normal working hours if these are agreed at a reasonable time in advance between our nominated film officer and your production representative. These will be charged at agreed enhanced rates, dependent upon time, dates and officer availability.
…and what else does the City Council charge us for?
click link
when does it take effect?
…..from 1st June 2006 for all filming activities and productions that are covered by 'Our Criteria for Charges' below.
click link
how much is the xS Film Charge Rate?
The charge rate is £350.00 per officer day plus VAT at 17.5%.
what does the charge cover?
The charge covers our attendance at location visits, general facilitation and administrative work undertaken by our Special Events Group officers in co-ordinating arrangements for traffic control, parking suspensions, streetscape alterations, consideration of resident and local commercial interests, cross - checking with other activities and liaison with other agencies.
The xS Film Charge does not cover other departments' individually invoiced fees, charges or licences that you must also obtain from the council.
Please note: the service may only include additional hours outside our normal working hours if these are agreed at a reasonable time in advance between our nominated film officer and your production representative. These will be charged at agreed enhanced rates, dependent upon time, dates and officer availability.