City Guide Filming in La Cañada Flintridge, CA
Production Permit Fees
- Permit Application Fee - $200
- Filming Permit - $100
- Student Permit Application Fee - $0
- Student Permit Fee - $0
Minimum Insurance
- General Liability - $1,000,000 minimum
- Vehicle Liability - $1,000,000 minimum
- Bodily Injury Cover - $1,000,000 minimum
- Property Damage Cover - $1,000,000 minimum
- Combined Aggregate - $2,000,000
Additional Permits
- LA County Fire Department Costs
- Special Effects Filming Permit - $288
- LA County Fire Department Filming Permit - $282
- Notification Fee - $1 per household
- Temporary Parking Permit - $175
- Parking Signs - $1 each
- Traffic Engineer Review - $250 per hour. Minimum one hour.
- Using A Public Right Of Way - $1500 per day
Discounts
About La Cañada Flintridge
La Cañada Flintridge in California has been a go-to place for filmmakers for several decades. Quiet and visibly affluent, La Cañada occupies a prestigious location around fifteen miles north of Los Angeles in the Crescenta Valley at the base of the Verdugo and San Gabriel mountains.
What attracts many filmmakers to La Cañada is the exceptional landscapes that surround it, scenic highways like the Foothill Freeway and the Angeles Crest Highway, and its proximity to the Angeles National Forest.
La Cañada's streets are a network of laid-back urbanity without hustle and next to no high rises to obstruct the mountain views. It's a city that fits the middle-class bill perfectly and has been used in films that require that environment for on-screen authenticity.
Descanso Gardens, like the rest of La Cañada, when used as a film set, is often portrayed as somewhere different. The gardens have hosted top TV shows like Gray's Anatomy, and parts of the award-winning Steven Spielberg production Memoirs of a Geisha were filmed in the Japanese tea house.
The Wedding Singer ((1998) and The Minority Report (2002) also came to life in La Cañada.
Choose La Cañada as your filming location, and you'll follow in the footsteps of some of the industry's most respected A-listers, which can only be a good thing. When you're ready to start scouting out locations, look at Giggster. You never know; you may come across that one perfect location you'd seen somewhere before but didn't know where it was.
Do I Need a Filming Permit in La Cañada Flintridge?
The straightforward answer to whether you'll need a filming permit to film in La Cañada Flintridge is yes.
All filming done in La Cañada Flintridge requires a filming permit, whether for a movie, a TV show, a documentary, or a commercial. Getting a filming permit for La Cañada Flintridge involves both an application fee and a permit fee.
Student Filming Permit
Student filming permit fees are usually waived if you can provide evidence of your student status and your place of study.
Special Effects Filming Permit
Because La Cañada Flintridge is in a geographical location that is prone to forest fires, you may be required to apply to the Los Angeles County Fire Department for special effects filming permit. Depending on the exact location of your filming, you may be required to obtain a filming permit from the Fire Department even if you are not using special effects.
Permit Management in La Cañada Flintridge
La Cañada Flintridge
La Cañada Flintridge may be on the outskirts of Los Angeles, but it's not FilmLA that deals with filming permits for this LA County city. Permit management in La Cañada Flintridge is dealt with by the city itself.
All applications for film permits, standard or student, are required to be completed online on the City of La Cañada Flintridge's official website. There's a special page for film and photography permit applications that will take you one by one through the eleven steps required to complete the process.
Permit applications must be submitted at least five working days in advance of your estimated filming start date. At the time of submitting the online application, you must attach all relevant documents requested by the city authorities or your application won't be dealt with and you could also forfeit the application fee you've had to pay.
Once your permit application has begun to be processed, you'll be contacted by a member of city staff if there are further fees to be paid or if more documentation is required before your permit is granted.
What Insurance Do I Need in La Cañada Flintridge?
You will need insurance if you're filming in La Cañada Flintridge. The city authorities require you to have proof of the minimum liability coverage listed below in place before making your filming permit application. You should submit the relevant insurance certificate at the end of the application process.
If you can’t meet any of these requirements, you’ll need to explain in writing why you can’t meet the requirement to the Office. They will determine if the shoot can go ahead without the necessary insurance.
Note that these requirements are minimum requirements. Larger and more complex shoots may require additional insurance which will be determined by the Office.
What Kind of Filming Locations Are Available in La Cañada Flintridge?
The answer to the question about what kind of filming locations are available in La Cañada Flintridge should be - ones that are good enough for Steven Spielberg. As that's not overly specific, here are a few more details.
In La Cañada Flintridge, you'll come across superb indoor shoot locations that fit the bill for every type of movie imaginable. If you're hoping to produce something akin to Gray's Anatomy, but on a smaller scale, or a series about a small-town doctor's practice, you'll come across a great clinic with a reception area and treatment rooms, which is just perfect. Need a posh office? There's more than one available in La Cañada. They're furnished but not staffed; that's what your cast is for.
Houses available for filming are more on the deluxe side than tatty tenements. Think big and luxurious with swimming pools and gardens you can get lost in. Some are furnished in contemporary styles, while others border on the historic and are fitted with 1920s and 1950s themes. There are even houses built on the side of the hills around the city with incredible and uninterrupted mountain views from their terraces.
For variation — and everybody needs some of that - there's a vintage bowling alley, a great bar with excellent lighting features, and even a patio perfect for an outdoor party scene.
When it comes to outdoor shoot locations, one that tops the bill with many producers and directors is Descanso Gardens. Descanso Gardens is a botanical garden covering over one hundred fifty acres of terrain south of La Cañada. In those acres, various landscapes can be used — and often have been — to represent other parts of the world. Think oak forest, a Japanese garden with Minka, a mansion dating from the 1940s, ponds, waterfalls, and much more.
For dramatic scenery, it's hard to beat the viewpoints on the Angeles Crest Highway, and the further along it you go, the better it gets. Forget about the scenic highways running through the San Gabriel mountains and consider the streets of La Cañada Flintridge itself. They're beautiful broad avenues, some of which are lined with palm trees, that are perfect for automobile scenes. As long as you have the correct permit, they're great for car chase scenes, especially night ones, as long as you shoot them as soon as darkness falls.
There are some great hiking trails for outdoor active shots in the Angeles National Forest and waterfalls that will add a magic perspective to any outdoor scene. There are two wilderness parks only a few minutes outside the city if you're looking for isolated countryside. They are the Deukmejian Wilderness Park and the Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park, which have unique features.
Special Requirements in La Cañada Flintridge
Angeles National Forest
If any part of your chosen shoot location falls within the boundaries of the Angeles National Forest, apply to the USDA Forest Service for a special use filming permit. To apply for a permit to film in the forest, contact the Forest Service Office. You can do this by completing and submitting the application form on the webpage for the Angeles National Forest passes and permits page. Once submitted, you will be contacted by the appropriate ranger, who will take you through the required procedures.
Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park
If you want to film in the Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park, apply for a filming permit from the City of Sierra Madre. The Community Services Film Coordinator reviews and issues permit requests.
Deukmejian Wilderness Park
To film in the Deukmejian Wilderness Park, apply for a permit from the City of Glendale Film and Special Event Office.
Filming On Private Property
If your film shoot is taking place on private property in La Cañada Flintridge, submit a letter from the property owner stating you have their permission to film there when making your filming permit application.
Descanso Gardens
Before you can film in Descanso Gardens, you will need to contact the garden's Special Events Office. You can do this by email. The correct email address is available on the Descanso Gardens official website on the rentals and filming page.
Lanterman Auditorium
If you want to film in the Lanterman Auditorium, reserve the auditorium space at least twenty days before the date you want to use it. Before you can do that, check if it is available. Before your booking is guaranteed, pay any relevant fees and return a signed usage contract.
Temporary Parking Permits
If you have vehicles, where and for how long you want to park them, you may be required to apply for a special temporary parking permit. If any of the film shoots require the cessation of normal traffic movement anywhere in the city, you may need to have a review conducted by a Traffic Engineer.
After Hours Filming
The regular hours for filming in La Cañada Flintridge are from seven in the morning until nine at night from Monday through to Saturday. You can request special permission to begin filming or setting up earlier, but the earliest that will be permitted is one hour more, so six in the morning.
Night filming curfews can be extended on special request until midnight if the authorities agree, but there's no guarantee they will be.
Forget trying to shoot scenes after midnight on Saturday, as filming in La Cañada Flintridge on Sundays is generally prohibited.
Filming On Public Property
One film permit does not cover you for filming on all public property in La Cañada Flintridge. If you've chosen several locations belonging to the city, apply for a filming permit for each public property.
What Does it Cost to Film in La Cañada Flintridge?
The application and film permit fees listed here are the minimum costs you might incur when applying for a film permit in La Cañada Flintridge. They don't include fees you may incur for traffic control or filming on public property.
Additional Fees
Fees should be paid when you make the online submission. Any additional fees will be calculated by the city authority and presented to the production company before filming starts.
Geographical Jurisdiction of La Cañada Flintridge?
La Cañada Flintridge isn't one of California's biggest cities by a long chalk. It does, however, in its entirety, cover a total area of more than eight and a half square miles, which is quite a hefty chunk of terrain even when it's split between the Crescenta Valley and the San Gabriel Valley. The majority of the territory bordering La Cañada Flintridge is taken up with forest and parklands. To the north and northeast of the city is the Angeles National Forest and the peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains. To the east, the city boundary is bordered by the Hahamongna Watershed Park, which separates La Cañada Flintridge from Altadena. To the west lies the Cherry Canyon Park which joins onto the Descanso Gardens. To the very northwest is the urbanization of La Crescenta-Montrose, and to the very south, those of Emerald Isle and North Arroyo. When your chosen filming location falls under the jurisdiction of Altadena, then the first authority you will need to make contact with is FilmLA which coordinates applications with other departments for filming permits for the city. If your chosen location falls under the jurisdiction of the City of Glendale, then you will need to apply for a film permit from the City of Glendale Film and Special Events Office.
Outreach in La Cañada Flintridge
La Cañada Flintridge is an affluent and well-organized city where the authorities put their residents and businesses first.
Doing outreach to the community before you start filming anywhere in La Cañada Flintridge is compulsory, but that said, it's not something you can undertake yourself.
When you apply for your filming permit and the city authorities are aware of the location you've chosen for your film shoot, they take it upon themselves to do the outreach legwork for you.
The La Cañada Flintridge authorities will create and produce the standard required letter to inform the community of your filming activities. They will then distribute the letter to every household and business within a three-hundred-foot radius of the shoot location for you. This is not a free service; the production company should pay a minimal fee for each letter created and sent out.
Community Management in La Cañada Flintridge
The City of La Cañada Flintridge doesn't have procedures to follow if someone complains about your filming activities. Hopefully, after the residents and businesses have received the notification sent out by the authorities to inform them of what's happening, you won't have a problem-free shoot, but that's not something that can ever be guaranteed.
Even if you're a small or student production that's highly unlikely to cause any disturbances, it's always good to have someone on hand to deal with any problems should they arise. Having a specific person assigned to deal with community relations always pays dividends.
Is it worth the extra expense of employing someone to do the job? In the long run, the answer to that is definitely. If you or the La Cañada Flintridge authorities receive a complaint about your filming activities, you may have to stop shooting. That means the crew and cast will cost money while nothing is happening. It also means you may have to overrun the dates of your filming permit and go through the whole application process all over again. Time is money; the quicker you wrap the shoot, the better.
Conclusion
La Cañada Flintridge is a city that's undoubtedly filmmaker-friendly. If you follow their guidelines, the authorities make filming as simple and uncomplicated as possible. It's also very low-cost compared to other filming locations in Los Angeles and California.
La Cañada Flintridge has an inexplicable something about it that attracts A-list directors like Steven Spielberg to return there time after time to shoot films. Whether or not you can catch the invisible magic as you film that will turn your script into a box office success, you won't know until you go into post-production.
Even if you don't score a box office success that earns millions or have A-list actors portraying your characters, filming in La Cañada Flintridge will be nothing more than a pleasure you'll almost certainly want to repeat time and time.