By Danielle Gasbarro

November 2, 2009 - The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting recognizes that balancing the needs of productions with the needs of the community can sometimes pose a challenge as more and more films, television shows, documentaries and commercials shoot on the streets of New York City. To encourage best practices among the hundreds of productions that shoot here each year, MOFTB recently held a special panel entitled Big City, Best Practices: Production Management in New York City at the DGA Theatre featuring members of the local film industry.

A recurring message that came up throughout the discussion was increasing the existing communication between the community and the production companies. Numerous suggestions from both sides of the issue were brought up, including giving early notification of production in a community to lessening truck engine disruption when filming occurs in later hours.

Sam Hutchins, a locations manager, and Carol Cuddy, a DGA Unit Production Manager and Line Producer, agreed that when the community is alerted to filming and adequately informed about issues surrounding the production process, the potential inconvenience a community may feel is substantially reduced.

John Fundus, vice president of Local 52 and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, emphasized the mandatory orientation, training and certification programs that new union members must attend twice a year in order to revamp their knowledge regarding location shoots. He also spoke about how the local could include a notice in its monthly newsletter, reminding members to keep noise and light disruptions to a minimum and be polite to residents while working.

Teamster Captain Jim Whalen mentioned the City’s continuing experimentation with recycling initiatives, such as an increase in biofuel usage during the summer months. (For more information regarding MOFTB’s green initiative, click here.)

MOFTB director of production Dean McCann spoke about how MOFTB closely monitors where productions are filming and limits over-usage in a given area. He also emphasized the importance of productions posting their signs early and how they should monitor their signs once they’re up.

Ron Bozman, a member of the Producers Guide of America, said that the crew should respect the community and act as though they live there.