A film and photography permit is required for any student film or photography shoot on the UCLA campus. Registered UCLA students may apply for a UCLA student film and photography permit provided the filming or photography is required for UCLA course credit or related to an approved Registered Campus Organization (RCO) activity.
There is no permit charge for UCLA film students or approved RCO student filming. UCLA Extension students requesting to film on campus for Extension course credit must pay a permit processing fee of $105. There may be additional charges required for staffing or other needed campus services (e.g. facilities sprinkler shut off) depending on the campus location.
Initial film or photography shoot requests must be emailed to Ella Crowell at ecrowell@events.ucla.edu at least 3 weeks prior to your shoot date. Requests must include all locations, dates, and times of the filming activity. Initial requests will be reviewed and film students will be informed if there are any questions or concerns. The Events Office can also provide students with information about their desired locations if needed.
Following the initial request email, students will then be responsible for submitting all required supporting permit documents. In order to obtain a UCLA student film and photography permit, all of the supporting documents must be submitted no later than 7 business days prior to the first shoot date.
1. A copy of the requestor’s BruinCard. If part of an RCO, the BruinCard provided should be that of the signatory. UCLA Extension students who do not have a BruinCard can submit a driver's license with the number blacked out. (Other forms of identification may be acceptable for Extension students without a driver's license. Please consult with the Events Office.)
2. Student Film Warrant Form completed (with all locations being requested) and signed by either the course professor/instructor or SOLE advisor and a film department administrative staff member where applicable.
3. A letter from the TFT program representative (Karl Holmes) or UCLA Extension program representative (Erykah Brown) confirming enrollment in a film class, that the project you are shooting is for course credit, and that you have insurance coverage. For an RCO a Certificate of Insurance must be submitted instead. It should show coverage of $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate naming The Regents of the University of California Los Angeles as the additionally insured.
4. A copy of the script pages you are filming at each UCLA location with the scenes highlighted and the name of the UCLA location written at the top of the scene or in the margin. No need to submit the entire script if it is not all being filmed at UCLA. If there is no script a description of the scene or a storyboard will be accepted.
5. A Location Confirmation Form signed by the facility manager for each campus location requested. (The Events Office can provide information on the appropriate location facility manager if unknown.)
6. A complete listing of expected production equipment (including lights, cameras, generators, fog machines, etc.) that will be used during the shoot.
Filming requests from students of other accredited universities or film schools are subject to the same rules and regulations that apply to commercial film shoots. UCLA does not waive any campus location or service fees for these types of shoots, however the film permit fee is reduced to $385.
Initial film or photography shoot requests must be emailed to Ella Crowell at ecrowell@events.ucla.edu at least 3 weeks prior to your shoot date. Requests must include all locations, dates, and times of the filming activity. Initial requests will be reviewed and film students will be informed if there are any questions or concerns.
UCLA staff is required to be on site for all non-UCLA student film shoots. Staffing charges range from $75-$90 per hr.
An estimate of charges will be provided to the non-UCLA film student by the UCLA Events Office and full payment will be due prior to the shoot date.
Non-UCLA students requesting to film on the UCLA campus will need to provide the following documentation to obtain the reduced non-UCLA student permit fee:
- Letter from student’s film school, college, or university verifying the student is currently enrolled in a film class and that this specific shoot is for course credit (subject to verification by the UCLA Events Office).
- Certificate of insurance showing general liability coverage of $1,000,000 each occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate naming The Regents of the University of California Los Angeles as the additionally insured.
- Also required is the additionally insured endorsement document with the policy number listed on it stating the policy has been changed to include The Regents of the University of California Los Angeles as the additionally insured.
- Copy of the student’s driver’s license with the number blacked out. (Other forms of identification may be acceptable for students without a driver’s license. Please consult with the Events Office.)
- Script pages that would be filmed at the UCLA location. Entire script is not needed if not all being filmed at UCLA.
Discounts and student permits are not given to UCLA or non-UCLA students unless the project is required for an enrolled course or degree completion. A personal project would be treated the same as a commercial shoot. Please refer to our Commercial/External Filming page for procedures and costs.
If you are a UCLA film student creating a film project for course credit, you are required to read the Student Filming Guidelines and we also suggest watching our video tutorial below.
