Page 36 - AVN May 2016

EXPERT WITNESS | STOP, THIEF | |By Nate Glass
| By Glenn King
Paper Trials Navigating L.A.’s arcane adult film permit process
is a great way
”Getting a permit
Adult scenes are shot in Los Angeles all year round, but only a
company must comply with the provisions of LA County
very small number of them are shot legally. “What you are
Measure B.” In other words, if you are filming anything with
talking about?” you say. “Everyone knows that it’s legal to
intercourse in it, you will need a health permit. If there is no
shoot porn in California and New Hampshire!” That’s correct,
intercourse, you just need a regular film permit. The good news
to reduce your
but to film any kind of entertainment in Los Angeles legally,
here is that at the moment, health permits are free! (This will
you need a film permit. If you are caught by law enforcement
change at some point in the future.) You can get one by calling
stress level;
shooting without a permit, you can be arrested and fined, and
the County Health Department at (323) 890-7801.
your equipment can be confiscated.
As part of the health permit process, you will need to pass
it means you
There’s no doubt that most adult producers would prefer to
a “Bloodborne Pathogen Training” class. This class outlines
do things legally and operate without the risk of having a shoot
procedures for how to reduce risk of workplace injuries
won’t have to
raided and shut down by the police. If that’s true, why do so
from exposure to blood or OPIM (Other Potentially Infective
few companies get permits? According to FilmLA, only 29 adult
Materials—OPIM includes sweat, saliva and vaginal fluids). If
worry about the
permits (to be more accurate, permits that were purchased for
you Google “OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Training,” you can
filming non-simulated intercourse) were purchased in 2015.
find a variety of online classes that can be completed in just a
police ruining
One reason is that most companies have no idea how to get
few hours and for under $50. The county will also send you
one. The adult film permit process is somewhat of a mystery.
a fill-in-the-blanks “Bloodborne Pathogen Exposure Control
your scene and
A Google search for “How to get an adult film permit in Los
Plan.” This is a document that you must fill out and submit to
Angeles” provides almost no useful information. Much of what
the county for approval. It lists all of your assigned personnel
possibly being
comes up are articles talking about how few adult film permits
and procedures for your workplace related to employees who
have been purchased over the last few years. So how do you get
are exposed to blood and OPIM. Once you have submitted
arrested.
a permit? Some of the answers can be found at FilmLA.com.
your Exposure Control Plan, it can take a few weeks to get
FilmLA is a privately held company that is responsible
it approved. So if you plan on shooting legally any time soon
for issuing filming permits in the city of Los Angeles. This
you are going to want to start this process as soon as possible.
applies to all productions, not just adult. They have an online
When your permit gets approved, a county health inspector
permit system that’s quite easy, once you have met all of their
will arrange a time to visit your set. They don’t want to be
requirements. Meeting the requirements for the first time can
there while you are filming. They want to come out and make
be tricky and time consuming. You will need to be patient.
sure you have required items on set like cleaning supplies (for
The first thing you will need is proof of insurance. According
sanitizing sets), condoms, and proper signage on the walls. At
the FilmLA website, “To begin processing your film permit
that time, they will bring you a health permit.
application, you must provide us (FilmL.A.) with one
Once you have that permit and your insurance, it’s pretty
Commercial General Liability or Comprehensive Form naming
easy. You set up an account on FilmLA.com and then fill out
“FilmL.A., Inc.” as an “Additional Insured.” The certificate
an online form whenever you need a filming permit. A film
must include a thirty-day notice of cancellation provision (ten
permit costs around $700 and is good for two weeks. You can
days for non-payment of the certificate premium). It must be
get a two-week extension for an extra $100, so the cost of a
obtained from an insurer admitted to do business in California
four-week permit comes to $800. They do not offer an annual
or written through a California-licensed broker. Minimum
permit, so you will need to purchase a new permit every four
coverage limits are as follows: $500,000 for still photography
weeks. Adult film permits must be approved individually by
only, $1,000,000 for motion capture (filming).” So in other
Los Angeles County. Once the county health investigator
words, you are going to need to find an insurance broker and
knows you have a permit, it will only take a day or two for this
get a policy that covers you for things that can go drastically
approval. This makes it hard if you need an emergency permit,
wrong on set. This will cost you somewhere between $2,000 to
though, so you do want to plan ahead a little.
$3,000 a year. There are some insurance companies listed on
As soon as you have registered online, paid for your permit,
the FilmLA site that are approved and familiar with the process.
and been approved, you are officially legal! If someone calls the
If you are shooting in an industrial building, you can skip
police to tell them there’s a porn shoot going on, the police will
to the next step. But if you are shooting in a residential
call FilmLA and ask them if that location is permitted. FilmLA
neighborhood, you might need to do a neighborhood survey.
will look it up, and tell them that the location is good. The
That’s where you notify all the nearby residents that you are
police will most likely not even need to come out.
going to be shooting. Obviously as an adult producer, you don’t
So to summarize, getting a permit is a great way to reduce
want this. Some of the ways to avoid doing the survey: Shoot
your stress level; it means you won’t have to worry about the
between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., don’t shoot on weekends, and keep
police ruining your scene and possibly being arrested. A great
your shoots to one or two days. A full explanation can be found
number of companies may choose not to get a permit. Some
on the FIlmLA site.
will avoid it by shooting outside the state; others will shoot
The next thing you will need is a Los Angeles County Heath
outside Los Angeles County; and others will just shoot without
Permit. According to FilmLA, “When the permitted film
it and keep moving to different locations every day. For those
activities include “non-simulated sexual intercourse,” permit
who do want to operate legally, all you need is a FilmLA permit
language is added to ensure that the activity must take place
and a Health Permit (if you are filming intercourse), and you
out of sight and earshot of the public, and that the production
will be happily legal in the eyes of the law!
LEGAL NEWS
Producer/director Glenn King is one of the pioneers of
the femdom genre. His studio MeanBitch Productions
puts out DVDs distributed by Exquisite Multimedia.
King specializes in niche content in the areas of ass
worship, facesitting and foot worship. He also produc-
es the website MeanBitches.com and hosts a weekly
TV show, Glenn King’s ManEaters Show which can be
seen on TheKingNetwork.com and on the MaddyGTV
Latenight Roku Channel.
36 | AVN.com | 5.16