City Guide Filming in Paradise Valley, Phoenix, AZ
Production Permit Fees
- Film Permit Fee - $100
- Film Office Representative - $125 per hour. Minimum 4 hours
- Park Ranger - $50 per hour. Minimum 3 hours
- Police Officer - $75 per hour. Minimum 4 hours
- Police Sergeant - $65 per hour. Minimum 4 hours. Obligatory when 3 or more police officers are on-site.
- Permit Rider - $0.65 per mile
Minimum Insurance
- General Aggregate - $2,000,000
- Products-Completed Operations Aggregate - $1,000,000
- Personal and Advertising Injury - $1,000,000
- Each Occurrence - $1,000,000
- Property Damage - $50,000
- Automobile Liability - $1,000,000
- Filming on any airport property - $5,000,000
Additional Permits
Discounts
About Paradise Valley, Phoenix
Paradise Valley Village is one of the largest urban villages that make up the city of Phoenix. When you're scouting for filming locations in or around Phoenix where you can swap from built-up areas to desert terrains or mountainscapes without having to travel miles, Paradise Valley should come close to the top of your list.
Whether it's the hot arid climate of this part of Arizona that has deterred filmmakers from shooting numerous big movies here in the past is unknown. It could also be down to the fact that desert dust on the camera lens isn't always the impromptu special effects directors are looking for.
On occasion, it's the dry and dusty landscapes of places like the Phoenix Mountain Preserve that prove to be the perfect backdrop for both science fiction and Western films. In the 1988 movie, Nightfall, it was just such a landscape that was used to create a fictional planet, and a more convincing one would have been hard to find.
Paradise Valley and its surroundings do not only lend themselves well to sci-fi but to comedic road trips too. The 2005 film, Transamerica, is proof of that. Ask Will Ferrell what he thought of filming the 2011 movie, Everything Must Go, at Aunt Chilada's on Piestewa Peak, and he’d probably say the location was as hot as the Mexican food served there.
While the daily weather in Paradise Valley might not be overly filmmaker-friendly, the village itself certainly is and welcomes production companies who want to shoot there with open arms. All friendships have a limit, though, and to make sure you don't push the boundaries of politeness, you need to be up to date on the filming guidelines in Paradise Valley.
The filming regulations in Paradise Valley are not too stringent or restrictive, so don't let the thought of sticking to the rules put you off starting to scout for locations. You can search for filming locations in Paradise Valley without getting dehydrated by taking a look at what's available on Giggster. It's a great place to start, and you won't risk getting sunburnt if you sit at home to scroll through the pages.
Do I Need a Filming Permit in Paradise Valley, Phoenix?
All commercial film productions taking place in Paradise Valley must obtain a film permit before shooting can commence. Skip doing the correct paperwork, and you could find yourself filming scenes from inside a jail cell after being arrested. Yes, they're that serious about film permits in Paradise Valley, so whatever type of production you're planning, make sure you have the right paperwork, or you'll be getting to know the local police officers a little bit better than you'd probably like to.
To ensure you get your film permit for Paradise Valley on time, you'll need to make your online application at least two weeks before your expected shoot date. You should complete all the production details on an Intent To Film/Shoot Application form.
Before you are issued with a film permit, you should present a valid liability insurance certificate and pay the nominal permit fee. This can be done any time up until two days before the shoot date.
Late applications won't be dealt with as most film shoots are required to have city staff present during the shoot. Leave applying too late, and there may not be staff available that can be allocated to your project.
Permit Management in Paradise Valley, Phoenix
City of Phoenix Film Office
Like in the other fifteen urban villages of Phoenix, the City of Phoenix Film Office manages film permits for Paradise Valley. The Film Office is responsible for ensuring all production companies adhere to the rules and regulations set out for filming in the village.
The City of Phoenix Film Office will act as a go-between for the production company and any other city authority that might need to be involved in issuing a permit. They also assist in organizing any city personnel you may need on-site during filming, hiring city equipment, and renting public properties.
The Film Office, unless it's a weekend, will usually make contact with a production company within one working day of receiving the online permit application. The Film Office representative assigned to your project will help you through the following stages.
The final decision on whether or not you will be issued a filming permit for Paradise Valley is made by the Film Office Commissioner.
NB: The application form you should complete and submit online to obtain a permit is on the City of Phoenix's official website on the Community and Economic Development - Film Office Policies page.
What Insurance Do I Need in Paradise Valley, Phoenix?
All commercial film shoots taking place in Paradise Valley are required to have adequate liability insurance coverage. You will be asked to submit your production company's insurance certificate during the application process. If it's found to be inadequate, you won't be issued a permit.
Depending on the size of your cast and crew and any other factors the Film Office may take into account, the use of special effects for example, the above minimum coverage amounts may not be sufficient for your production. The Film Office will advise you on this subject during the application process, so you'll have plenty of time to get the correct coverage from your insurance broker.
The latest you will be able to submit a valid insurance certificate to the Film Office is twenty-four hours before the start of shooting.
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 Paradise Valley, Phoenix?
The filming locations in Paradise Valley that capture the imagination of most producers and directors are the landscapes that lay along the northeast border of the village and those within the boundaries of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve.
The preserve has otherworldly landscapes dominated by Camelback Mountain and Piestewa Peak. While they are almost instantly recognizable, they still add an air of mystery to any outdoor scene. If you need to get a character lost in a rocky desert wilderness, this is the best place.
The Piestewa Freeway, the AZ-51 is the only main thoroughfare that intersects Paradise Valley, so if you're hoping to set up a car chase through this Phoenix village, you might be out of luck. There's no shortage of trails around Piestewa Peak, though, so get your actors on their feet instead.
If your script calls for an urban park rather than a wilderness, look at Roadrunner Park. This park has nothing to do with the speedy bird and even less to do with coyotes. Roadrunner Park has plenty of facilities like a fishing lake full of photogenic ducks, an Olympic-sized swimming pool with water basketball hoops, acres of grass, and trees, and a farmer's market is held there once a week.
The more you scout around, the more you'll discover that Paradise Valley is full of surprises. If you don't want dry rocks as a backdrop in your scenes, how about a lush tropical garden? Yes, there is a tropical oasis full of leafy ferns, ponds, palm trees, and Buddha statues in this otherwise arid environment. And if your script calls for it, you'll even find a faux castle tucked away in the hills.
Interior film locations in Paradise Valley can turn out to be just as surprising as the external ones, so you won't be limited to choice. In Paradise Valley, you'll come across an amazing country and western venue that's prepared for the next hoe-down, a stylish bistro restaurant, and even a doctor's office.
Prime residential properties are not so prolific, but you can still find well-kept family-style homes with beautiful gardens, the odd one with its swimming pool, and others that have been built hacienda-style with fountains in the courtyard. The more you seek, the more you will find, and the one thing that's guaranteed with the filming locations in Paradise Valley is that they won't have to be seen too much on screen.
Special Requirements in Paradise Valley, Phoenix
City Personnel Presence
In certain circumstances, the City of Phoenix Film Office obliges production companies to have city personnel present at all times during a film shoot. The main reason they do this is to ensure the safety of the community and of the film crew and talent.
The Film Office may insist on city personnel being present at your film shoot if any of the following apply to your production:-
You need to park more than two vehicles on a public right of way
Your production involves ten or more personal vehicles that need to be parked on a public right of way
Your production involves the use of special effects, fake weapons, or real weapons with fake ammunition
You will need intermittent traffic control
The fact that you will be filming on private property rather than public property won't affect the Film Office's decision about whether or not you need the presence of city personnel on the shoot. In all cases, unless prior payroll arrangements have been made, you will be expected to pay any city personnel needed at the film shoot on a daily basis.
If the Film Office decides you don't need city personnel in attendance during your film shoot, you should be aware of one thing. If the Film Office receives complaints about your filming activities for any reason, you won't be able to continue filming until you have authorized staff on site.
This may not seem like too much of a problem, and it won't be until you get the bill, as you'll be charged double the normal going rate.
Filming In Desert Parks
In Paradise Valley, there are two types of parks. Some are regular urban parks, and others are classified as desert parks. When your chosen film location falls inside the boundaries of a desert park - Phoenix Mountain Preserve is just one example - you will be required to have a park ranger in attendance at all times.
There's no escape from the hourly fee for having a park ranger on site during the shoot, no matter how influential a producer or director you are. When you're planning on a wilderness setting, make sure to add the extra expense to your budget calculations.
Using Special Effects and Pyrotechnics
It's not the Film Office that is strict about the use of special effects and pyrotechnics in the Paradise Valley community, but the City of Phoenix authorities. Fire a blank or use a fake gun without having obtained the correct permissions, and you could find yourself in serious trouble for committing an offense.
When your script calls for someone to get shot, by whatever means, you will need to have a City of Phoenix policeman on-site during the filming of the scene. There are no ifs, buts, or maybes about it, the attendance of a law officer is obligatory and something the production company will subsequently be charged for. If this is required for your film shoot, then the Film Office will assist in organizing the presence of an officer.
No use of pyrotechnics is permitted in Paradise Valley unless you have a Special Effects Operator with a valid federal ATF license as part of your crew. They won't be allowed to operate until you've obtained a Special Effects License from the Phoenix Fire Department. How much the production company is charged for this type of permit is up to the PFD
Paradise Valley Street & Sidewalk Closures
If you think you can set up a tripod on a Paradise Valley sidewalk and interrupt pedestrian traffic without it having consequences, then you need to think again. The same goes for interrupting vehicle traffic on main highways and residential roads.
To be able to close any street or sidewalk, or even interrupt the normal daily traffic on them, you will need the Film Office to liaise with the Street Transportation department for you. If traffic barricades are needed to stem the flow of either cars or pedestrians, it won't be a do-it-yourself job. You will need to pay a team from the City of Phoenix Barricade Traffic Control Team to do it for you. Yes, that will incur more costs for the production company.
What Does it Cost to Film in Paradise Valley, Phoenix?
The costs you may incur to film in Paradise Valley are on par with any costs you may incur to film in other parts of Phoenix, such as Encanto Village. It's not the actual film permit fee that will leave your purse strings feeling the strain, but all the additional costs you may be required to dole out dollars for. If you want to start calculating the total that those fees might eventually add up to, here are some amounts you should keep in mind:-
Additional Fees
The above fees are just an example and may vary depending on the size of your production or the decision of the Film Office.
Geographical Jurisdiction of Paradise Valley, Phoenix?
Paradise Valley Village, not to be confused with Paradise Valley Town, is almost a city in its own right as it occupies a staggering forty-three square miles of territory in the state of Arizona and has a population numbering almost fifty-thousand. On the jigsaw-shaped map of the City of Phoenix, the urban village of Paradise Valley occupies a large chunk of the northeastern section of the city. At its most northern reach, Paradise Valley is bordered by Desert View Village. To the northwest is Deer Valley Village and North Mountainside Village, while in its southern reaches, Paradise Valley joins onto Camelback East Village. Paradise Valley's eastern border makes up the outer boundary of the City of Phoenix. Past that boundary is the start of the McCormack Ranch lands and those of the Salt River Pima – Maricopa Indian Community. Due south of Paradise Valley Village is the Town of Paradise Valley, and if your film shoot should encroach into that terrain, you will need to apply to the town authorities for a film permit. Film permits and filming guidelines for the town of Paradise Valley are something that are still in the formation process. If you want to film there then you will need to contact the town authorities in person before doing so, as it doesn't come under the jurisdiction of the City of Phoenix Film Office.
Outreach in Paradise Valley, Phoenix
While the City of Phoenix Film Office doesn't demand you do outreach, you'll want to take the time to do it. It will, hopefully, save you money in the long run. Let as many residents and businesses know about your filming activities, and they'll have less reason to complain to the Film Office.
One complaint from an annoyed person could see you paying Phoenix City personnel double time for sitting there, twiddling their thumbs, watching you shoot your production. That's something to avoid at all costs. Doing a block-wide outreach notification will be cheaper.
Community Management in Paradise Valley, Phoenix
If your film shot is high in the hills of the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, you might think you don't need a community manager, but you'd be under a misconception. Even the wildest places around Paradise Valley get pedestrian traffic in the form of hikers. Some of those might not be too happy to suddenly encounter a film crew in the middle of nowhere when they're on a get-back-to-nature expedition. A community manager will be capable of moving them on, stopping them from interrupting the shoot, and, at the same time, convincing them that you, too, are environmentally friendly and will pack out what you packed in.
Conclusion
Paradise Valley might not be your first choice of filming location in Arizona, but it's one you should take a look at in-depth. This Phoenix City urban village has more going for it where filming locations are concerned than you might initially expect. What good film producer at the top of their game doesn't want to be credited with finding superior filming locations that no other producer has? You're not wrong. The answer to that is none.