City rethinks legal clampdown

Mayor Michael Bloomberg had planned to bring in rules that would have demanded permits and $1million insurance for anyone filming in the cities.

They would have applied to groups of two people filming for longer than half an hour; or for larger groups, or those using tripods, for ten minutes or more

Film-makers and comedy performers claimed this would damage their work, especially when it came to making intenet video clips.

The Olde English sketch group even made a rap video to persuade people to protest at the rules:

The consultation period ended yesterday, but activists at the New York Civil Liberties Union, which backed the protest have already claimed a victory.

The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting has agreed to redraft the rules in light of their concerns – and the new proposals will be open to comments for another 30 days.

In a statement, the office said: ‘We have endeavoured to meet the challenge of identifying a threshold level of activity which necessitates a film permit. The goal is to maintain a safe environment for the public, while balancing the needs of filmmakers whose work may have a significant impact on pedestrian or vehicular use of public space.’

Film commissioner Katherine Oliver added: ‘We appreciate the feedback and collaboration of the production community in the City, and look forward to revising our proposal.’

Published: 4 Aug 2007