Film-friendly Auckland
Michael Brook, Executive Manager of Film Auckland, talks us through the successful development of the Auckland City Council Film Protocol, a joint initiative that saw widespread participation from across the screen production industry.
In the last ten years, New Zealand has developed a reputation for being a world class production destination. It has a buoyant local production industry but, like many countries around the world, international clients generate a good proportion of production activity.
The city of Auckland is a significant contributor to the national industry, accounting for over 50% of annual national production and post-production revenues, and over 70% of overall screen industry revenues. It is clearly an attractive location.
However, a growing consensus from industry that it was becoming more difficult to film in the city, particularly in the central business district, prompted Film Auckland to meet with Auckland City Council in spring 2009 to consider how to develop a regulatory environment that enabled good access to locations, and eased promotion of the city as a great production destination.
With this in mind, Film Auckland met with Councillor Aaron Bhatnagar, chairman of the City Development Committee for Auckland City Council, and senior council staff in spring 2009 to consider how to develop a regulatory environment that enabled good access to locations, and eased promotion of the city as a great production destination.
The outcome of this meeting was a decision to jointly progress three key initiatives:
- A memo to all council staff from then Mayor John Banks and Cr Bhatnagar stressing the importance of the screen industry to Auckland and an expectation of co-operation with planned film friendly initiatives
- A new film friendly protocol
- A key locations register.
The memo
This was a relatively simple initiative but certainly an important one. These types of communications are an important and powerful tool when connecting with local government officers. The memo clearly stated that Auckland City Council supported the screen industry strongly and would be developing a new protocol and a key locations register.
The protocol
The first step of the protocol was to send a report to Auckland City Council’s City Development Committee outlining the work ahead. The committee endorsed the concept and we began in earnest. All parties agreed we wanted to produce a protocol that would make filming in Auckland seamless and simple.
An extensive series of interviews, workshops and meetings were conducted over several months. Both council and Film Auckland recognised that real industry consultation was a must and many experts were invited to participate, resulting in a truly professional protocol. It soon became apparent that council officers and the industry had the same goal and the development of the protocol became a real partnership. The final protocol, including a Code of Conduct for the screen production industry, was released in early September this year.
Key components of the protocol’s development were the Objectives and Core Commitments sections detailed below, which formed the foundation for all the work that followed. These sections reflected the council’s long term commitment to nurture a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with the screen production industry.
Objectives
A film protocol that:
• clearly states council’s commitment to support the work of the screen production industry
• provides clear guidance on timeframes, decision making criteria, accountabilities and process
• facilitates council delivery of an efficient and customer driven service that provides certainty to the screen production industry
• contributes towards making Auckland an internationally competitive city for screen production.
Core Commitments
• Council will say yes to filming in Auckland city, unless there are compelling and unambiguous reasons not to (i.e. conflict with legal or regulatory obligations, unacceptable levels of environmental impact or risks to the health and safety of cast, crew or public).
• In instances where there are difficulties with a proposed shoot, council will listen to and consider all possibilities for mitigation put forward by the screen production industry.
• In instances where it is not possible to say yes, this decision will be made promptly and transparently, and council will work with the screen production industry to identify alternative options.
• Council will make it as easy as possible for the screen production industry to submit a thorough and complete application, reducing the likelihood of delays due to the need to obtain more information.
• Council will ensure there are sufficient resources to provide a customer driven and efficient service to the screen production industry, including the provision of accurate and up to date information.
• Council recognises the unique way that the screen production industry operates in terms of their tight timeframes and frequent use of public space as part of their international and domestic business environment.
• Council balances its support of the screen production industry with its support of all its communities, businesses and commuters. It will work with the screen production industry on an ongoing basis to mitigate any negative effects from filming.
• Through communication and promotion across council and to Aucklanders, council will raise awareness of the benefits of the screen industry and increase knowledge of the needs of the industry when filming in the city.
• Council will facilitate and participate in regular forums with the screen production industry and other key stakeholders, in order to ensure effective communication and understanding between parties.
These Objectives and Core Commitments have, quite rightly, been extremely well received by our industry. They were critical to industry participation in the process and certainly clearly state to prospective and existing clients around the world that Auckland is serious about filming and filming will be easy.
Details concerning process, timelines and costs associated with obtaining consent to film are included in the protocol. All parties agreed that this part of the protocol is subject to change in the future, for a variety of reasons: e.g. the transition to one greater Auckland Council, variable economic circumstances, and the need for flexibility in a competitive international market. The council therefore undertook to update this section of the protocol as and when required.
Code of Conduct Auckland City Council also recognised its obligations to communities, ratepayers and commuters who may be impacted by the activities of the screen production industry. The industry recognised this too. As an industry we pride ourselves on our professionalism and must always aspire to this. To this end, we developed a screen production industry Code of Conduct as part of the protocol. Permit conditions and notification letters produced by the council also reflect this Code of Conduct.
The Code of Conduct is as follows:
It is essential for the screen production industry to be a “good neighbour” when working within communities in Auckland. Effective consultation and thoughtful planning are essential when filming in close proximity to where people live and work. Developing good relationships with neighbouring residents and businesses benefits filmmakers by fostering a co-operative working environment. It will also assist Council to meet its obligations to residents and businesses without having to respond to complaints.
The permit conditions and generic consultation letters developed by council are designed to assist the screen production industry to be “good neighbours”, and full compliance with the conditions of the film permit is expected. The following guidelines may further assist filmmakers with identifying ways in which they can enjoy a positive relationship with residents and businesses:
• Ensure communication with neighbours is thorough and complete
Ensure you are giving neighbours the full story concerning how your filming project may impact on them. Consider the following: conditions of the film permit issued by council; pre and post filming activity on site; equipment you will be using; noise impact; traffic or parking impacts; and any other out of the ordinary activities that may impact on neighbours.
• Limit inconvenience to neighbours
Consider ways in which you might limit the inconvenience caused by your filming activity to neighbours. These may include: filming at times of the day that are more convenient to neighbours; identifying alternative access routes where appropriate; providing pool transport for cast and crew to minimise the impact on local parking; providing alternative transport or accommodation arrangements; and giving affected parties as much notice as possible.
• Meet with residents and businesses if you are planning on being in their neighbourhood for some time
If you will be at the same location regularly over a period of time, or are planning a particularly high impact shoot, consider meeting with neighbouring residents and businesses to involve them in decisions.
Important note: Remember you are working where other people live and work, so treat them and their surroundings with respect.
Other Elements
Finally, the protocol contained some other key elements: simple guides for obtaining consent to film and managing that process; agreed approval timelines; a clear fees structure, and a fast and transparent resolution process for disputed decisions.
Important note: Remember you are working where other people live and work, so treat them and their surroundings with respect.
The key locations register
Work began on the third initiative, the development of a locations register of key locations around the region, as the protocol was completed. Some of these were Auckland City Council owned and some were not, e.g. universities, airports, train stations and the port.
Together Film Auckland and the council are attempting to formalise arrangements to enable the screen industry to use these key locations. Discussions with the organisations that own or oversee these key locations will result in the development of filming guidelines for both the industry and the location itself to follow. This will bring surety and consistency for both parties in the future.
Conclusion
The development of this protocol has been a simply enriching process for all concerned. All sides of the equation from Film Auckland to industry to Auckland City Council showed a willingness to participate and we are all proud of the result. All participants have valued the open and cooperative nature of this policy development process, with contributions from all key stakeholders. We believe that this protocol will work because all sides have invested in it and want to make it work.
The final step will be to see if the protocol does make filming in Auckland easier and if it does attract more business. At this very early stage both seem to be the case. Watch this space.
Film Auckland would like to acknowledge the many hours volunteered by its board members Roi Macgregor, Clayton Tikao and Harry Harrison in helping develop the protocol.
