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A Producer’s Guide to
Shooting in Raleigh, NC
Prior to arriving in a new city, every producer needs the lay of
the land. This guide explores everything about Raleigh, NC that video producers need
to know.
Raleigh,
the capitol city of North Carolina is known as the "City
of Oaks" and
often is described as "a park with a city in it." Trees
planted at the city's inception still provide cooling shade
for visitors to Moore Square Park, where you'll
find the city's signature copper acorn. Raleigh is not only known for it’s
natural beauty but is also the largest city in the metropolitan
area known as the Research Triangle, which includes Durham
and Chapel Hill. Research Triangle Park is one of the prominent
high tech research and development centers in the US. It
harbors some of the industry’s leading
developers in the world including: IBM, BASF, and DuPont. The area
is often compared to Silicon Valley.
Raleigh
thrives with the largest variety of live theatre, visual
arts displayed in galleries, and collections throughout the
area.
The star attraction of the visual arts scene is the North Carolina Museum of Art,
which boasts artwork spanning 50 centuries, including a renowned collection of
Baroque and Renaissance paintings. The region's top professional theatre, the North Carolina Theatre cultivates
musical theatre appreciation by producing outstanding professional
Broadway musicals.
The visual arts expressed through dance are appreciated by
enjoying the nationally-acclaimed Carolina Ballet. Raleigh’s also home to “America’s next Generation
Orchestra,” The North
Carolina Symphony at
Booth Amphitheatre. Visitors eager for a behind-the-scenes
look at the creative process of visual arts may appreciate
touring some of downtown Raleigh's art studios.
Raleigh
ranks among the top of America's Best Place for Singles, Cities That
Rock and Best
Small Concert Venues and is a place with the big-city
energy and small-town accessibility of the nightlife
area. If it’s a quieter view for you, go where the locals
go on a trip to the State
Farmers Market.
For large conventions and meetings there is the Raleigh Convention Center. The
facility offers over 500,000 square feet of meeting space
and is the largest of its kind in the southeast.
The
Research triangle features three of the top university’s
in the country: University of North Carolina, Duke University, and North Carolina State University all within a 30
minute commute of each other.
Welcome sports fans! Raleigh offers
a variety of sports venues. Check out the NHL Stanley
Cup Champs Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center? Or maybe catch some of the top
college basketball in the country at Duke or
UNC. If you love Baseball, head out to the diamond
and catch the AA Baseball team the Carolina
Mudcats.
Raleigh and
surrounding cities and towns have many things to offer its growing population
from the State
Farmers Market to three art, history and natural science museums.
Once you’ve decided to shoot in Raleigh 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 Raleigh area?
Who
are the Chamber of Commerce / Visitor’s Bureau?
Have
you booked the right camera crew?
Lodging
There are two major areas to consider
when selecting a hotel in Raleigh - downtown or the airport/research
triangle. The Raleigh -
Durham International Airport is located in the heart
of the Research Triangle region where you can stay in one
of the many area hotels such as the Hilton
or Courtyard
Marriott. Times from these hotels to most places in the surrounding area
will be around 20-30 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 Sheraton
Raleigh and Clarion
Hotel State Capital will put you in the heart of
the action and within walking distance of numerous restaurants,
theaters, museums, historic landmarks and other tourist
attractions. Visit the Google
Maps' Raleigh section for further ideas on lodging, food, and directions.
Locations and Drive Times
As mentioned in the Lodging section
of this guide, the airport is located in North West Raleigh,
in between I-40 and I-540 (Raleigh’s Outer
Loop not to be confused with I-440 the inner Beltline). Drive times from the
airport to anywhere in town is generally no more than 20 minutes, unless you
are visiting Durham, Chapel Hill or Cary which can take up to 25 to 30 minutes
driving time to your trip. Printing directions from Google
Maps or using a GPS is highly recommended.
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 Raleigh can be very difficult. Camera
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
Raleigh has an average annual temperature
of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit with four distinct seasons.
There is an occasional snow in the winter. 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 video 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. 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. See the weather.com
search to see the current 10-day forecast for Raleigh NC.
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 Raleigh 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, which is normally billed into the shoot
day unless overnight travel is planned for.
Film Office / Chamber of Commerce
/ Visitor’s Bureau
If you have additional questions about Raleigh, like
lodging, transportation, or locations, you can always contact the city’s
Chamber or the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
North Carolina Film Office
http://www.ncfilm.com
Tele: 919.733.9900
Fax: 919.715.0151
Raleigh Chamber of Commerce
800 S Salisbury
St, Raleigh NC 27601
(919)
664-7000
On the web at: www.raleighchamber.org
Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau
421 Fayetteville St,
Suite 1505,
Raleigh, NC 27601
1.800.849.8499
On the web at: www.visitraleigh.com
City of Raleigh
222 West Hargett St
Raleigh,
NC 27601
(919) 890-3000
On the web at: www.raleigh-nc.org
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 Jimmy Hall, Cameraman
in Raleigh NC, for Go
To Team. Go To Team is a
leading provider of video production resources throughout
the southeast including video camera crews.
Copying this information to other
sites is allowed only in its entirety, with credit and web
link to Go To Team.
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