A Producer’s
Guide to Shooting in Charleston, SC
Prior to arriving in a new city, every producer
needs the lay of the land. This guide explores everything
about Charleston, SC
that producers need to know.
Charleston
is one of the oldest and most historic cities in the nation. Tourism is the city’s largest industry, and
it’s not hard to understand why with it’s abundance of national
historic landmarks, art, architecture, restaurants, and
beautiful weather. Travel
& Leisure Magazine voted Charleston
#4 Best
American City
for 2006. Travel
& Leisure Magazine also ranked 3 of Charleston’s Hotels
in their “Top 100 Hotels in the Continental U.S” including
the Sanctuary at Kiawah
Island Golf Resort, Wentworth
Mansion, and Charleston Place
in historic downtown Charleston.
Each
Spring Charleston plays host to Spoleto Festival USA,
with over 120 performances from disciplines such as opera,
dance, theater, jazz, symphonic, and the visual arts.
Charleston continues its
arts heritage throughout the year, however, with several
performances by the Charleston Symphony Orchestra
at Gaillard Auditorium and a concentration of art galleries,
over 30 of which are located in the French Quarter alone.
Visitors
can get a dose of southern culture with a tour at one of
many of the Plantations and Gardens located in the Charleston
area. Magnolia
Plantation & Gardens, Drayton
Hall, Middleton
Place, Cypress Gardens,
and Boone Hall Plantation
are just a few of the choices if you are interested in taking
a tour of Charleston’s unique historic landmarks.
For large conventions and meetings there is the Charleston
Area Convention Center Complex. The
facility offers over 150,000 square feet of meeting space
and is the largest of its kind in the southeast.
The North
Charleston Coliseum adjoins the complex and is host to a number
of large concerts and shows, as well as home to the South
Carolina Stingrays ice hockey team.
There
are numerous resorts in the Charleston
area such as Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms, and Kiawah
Island Golf Resort. Both
facilities provide private communities with access to beaches,
golf, tennis and spas. The Ocean Course
at Kiawah Island Golf Resort has played host to several
PGA level events, including the 68th Senior PGA
Championship.
Charleston provides many
opportunities for higher education at College of Charleston,
The
Citadel, Trident
Technical College, Charleston Southern,
and The Art Institute of Charleston.
Once
you’ve decided to shoot in Charleston,
SC there’s plenty you should know:
Where to stay?
Are you familiar with your locations and drive
times?
Do you need transportation?
How will the weather affect your shoot?
Do you know the production guidelines for the
Charleston area?
Who are the Chamber of Commerce / Visitor’s
Bureau?
Have you booked the right crew?
Lodging
There
are two major areas to consider when selecting a hotel in
Charleston - downtown or the airport. The Charleston
International Airport
is located in North
Charleston and staying in one of
the many airport hotels such as Embassy Suites, Holiday Inn,
or the Radisson will provide you a central location to all
points in the Charleston Metro area. Travel times from these hotels to most places
in the surrounding area will be only 15-20 minutes at most,
but be prepared to drive if you plan on dining out, visiting
downtown, or seeing any attractions the area has to offer.
Downtown area hotels such as the Marriott Renaissance and Market Pavilion
will put you in the middle of the action and within walking
distance of numerous restaurants, theaters, museums, historic
landmarks and other tourist attractions.
Staying downtown comes with a price, however, as
hotels are generally more expensive than you might find
by the airport, parking is very limited, and your travel
times to some areas will be increased, especially during
rush hour traffic. There are of course hotels located in various
locations around the city as well as Mt.
Pleasant, Isle
of Palms, James Island,
Folly Beach,
Summerville, and Goose
Creek.
Locations and Drive Times
There
are several distinct townships in Charleston, including
downtown, North Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, West Ashley, James
Island, Goose Creek, Summerville, Ladson, Isle of Palms,
Sullivan”s Island, Kiawah Island, and Folly Beach.
As mentioned in the Lodging section of this guide,
the airport is centrally located in North Charleston, central
to the Greater Charleston Metro Area and is near the intersection
of I-26 (East/West route) and I-526 (Charleston’s Beltline). Drive times from the airport to anywhere in
town are generally no more than 20 minutes, unless you are
visiting the Isle of Palms, Sullivans Island, or Folly Beach,
in which case you can add another 10-15 minutes driving
time to your trip. Kiawah
Island is remote
and isolated, so expect a drive time of almost an hour if
you are traveling there from any point in Charleston. Printing directions from Mapquest or using a
GPS is highly recommended due to the numerous waterways,
bridges, and subsequent twisting roads that can make a seemingly
short and simple trip a bit more complicated than necessary.
Click HERE for a map of the Charleston Metro Area.
Transportation
If you are from New York or Los
Angeles and have not traveled to
the South, you may not know that we don’t have reliable
mass transportation. You will have to rely on a taxi, rent
a car, or perhaps ask the crew for transportation. Few camera
crews would have difficulty providing transportation, just
be sure to communicate your needs with your crew as you
set up the shoot. Once you arrive at your location, allow
time to park. It seems simple, but parking in downtown can
be very difficult. Crews
will always appreciate pre-arranged parking, as it simplifies
the load-in and avoids the risk of parking violations, although
areas outside of downtown are rarely a problem.
Weather
Charleston’s weather can vary greatly depending
on the time of year, but generally the temperatures in Spring
and Fall are very comfortable. Although the winter is often very short, the
high’s can occasionally dip into the 30’s in December, January,
and February. Summer is usually VERY HOT and HUMID. Temperatures can soar well over 100 degrees
during the day and heat advisories are often issued during
the peak of the summer season.
If possible it is often best to schedule interviews
and other indoor shooting during the middle of the day and
leave the outdoor shoots for earlier in the morning and
mid to late afternoon during this time of the year.
Be prepared to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration
and be sure to dress in light, cool clothing.
With an annual rainfall average of 52”, afternoon
thunderstorms during the summer are very common in Charleston,
and If you were to look at the weather forecast for any
given week in June, July, or August, you would be likely
to see rain forecast for almost every day.
These showers, however, are usually short and scattered
and rarely interrupt a shooting schedule to any great degree.
In the end it’s best to check the weather reports
just before your visit in order to be prepared for any anomalies
in the seasonal weather. Click HERE to see the current 10-day forecast for Charleston,
SC.
Production Guidelines
Crews across the country have a set of guidelines
by which they conduct business. And as different as each
city is from another, so are those guidelines. Every producer
should have a basic understanding of each city’s standards.
Shoots in Charleston are based on a ten hour day and the
crew is on the clock at the specified crew call. Overtime
at a rate of time and a half begins after ten hours. If
your shoot takes the crew to a distant location, travel
time can be expected. A distant location is any location
outside a circle with a 30 mile radius drawn around the
city where I-26 and I-526 are the center. But all of these
are just guidelines; certainly verify with your crew their
specific policies.
Chamber of Commerce / Visitor’s Bureau
If you have additional questions about Charleston, like lodging,
transportation, or locations, you can always contact the
city’s Chamber or the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
Charleston
Chamber of Commerce
2750 Speisseggar Drive, Suite 100
North Charleston, SC 29405
843.577.2510
On the web at: www.charlestonchamber.net
Charleston Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
423 King St.
Charleston, SC 29403
843.853.8000
On the web at: www.charlestoncvb.com
Booking the Right Crew
But even with the perfect location, the best laid plans,
and great weather, so much depends on the right crew. Booking
the right crew means finding a crew that not only gets the
job done, but does whatever it takes to insure you have
the best shoot. Are you conducting a series of interviews
that require dramatic lighting? Are you going to be “Run
and Gun” around the city? Is your shoot going to require
any specific equipment? Finding a crew that can handle every
one of your needs is just as important as lining up all
of the interviews and creating your shot list.
For
more information on booking your camera crew, see: “Everything you
ever wanted to know about booking a video crew.”
This
article was written by Tom Wells, Director of Photography in
Charleston, SC,
for Go
To Team. Go To Team
is a leading provider of video production resources throughout
the southeast including video camera crews. See their home page
for more information.
Copying this information to other sites is allowed only
in its entirety, with credit and web link to Go
To Team.
