Streamlining film making in Ipswich

CELLULOID heroes could become second nature in and around Ipswich as the city plans to open its border to national and international film makers.

Mayor Paul Pisasale said Council would establish an internal working team to develop and implement an Ipswich Film Policy and Procedure to streamline the processes when film makers want to use the city's landmarks in their feature films.

"The city has been featured in a number of works over the past few years and we thought it would be appropriate to streamline the processes  to enable film makers to come to our city and do their work.

"Procedures in the past meant that film producers had to undergo a series of applications  to gain approvals to use our city as a backdrop for their movies.

"We  now want to streamline these processes so they can simply make an application and gain approvals in rapid time on the web."

Cr Pisasale said a Film Protocol Policy for South East Queensland was formulated in 2002 through Pacific Film and Television Commission (PFTC) and South East Queensland Regional Organisation of Councils (SEQROC).

"This  policy enabled consistency with processes and fees across individual council jurisdictions within the region for film related activity but it has already become outdated.

"We value the film industry and appreciate seeing our scenery on film  and as a result  we want to make our city 'film friendly' by developing a package of information surrounding application fee structure, handling procedures of applications for road closures, regulated parking, parks use and the construction of temporary structures.

"The package will include online forms for receipts and processing of applications and an online payment system 

"Local Governments are providing interactive online forms to receive and process Film Applications (including parks use, regulated parking and road closures) and provide photo galleries of possible site locations."

Cr Pisasale said Ipswich City Council had been communicating with Pacific Film and Television Commission (PFTC), Gold Coast City Council, Brisbane City Council and a variety of film producers and  location scouts as part of researching current practices and trade preferences. 

"The film makers appear to want just one single point of contact with Councils for all application and approvals.

"We have witnessed increasing interest in our city from the film industry and we believe our contact point should  be located within the Office of Economic Development which has fielded a number on enquiries from film makers over the past couple of years.

"A growing number of location scouts and producers have sought approvals with the city resulting in our hosting the filming of a feature film 'Savages Crossing', several short films and a series of commercials. 

"Council is currently hosting a film crew in the old Commonwealth Bank site who are producing a short film in partnership with QPIX. 

"Additionally, interest has been received from a Los Angeles based television company in producing a reality television series based around motor sport to be filmed in Willowbank.

"A film protocol will have implications over a number of council departments so it is proposed to form a working team to consist of relevant council officers to discuss and implement a film package and policy and procedure."