Narrative films shot in uncontrolled cities

[PPNS]

I've shot a no budget feature film (partially) as a DP under similar circumstances last year. we had some permissions here and there to shoot in metros and train stations for a few hours, but mostly it was outside in the busy capital city. 

i'll share a still of it here, if somebody wants to see more stills I can DM a link, but at the moment I think it's best it mainly stays private considering the film is not finished yet. 

i do kind of think best to push back against the idea of total minimalism, or austerity especially in regards to crew. Other than the director and I, we had a 1AD, a PA, a makeup artist, sound guy, a focus puller, and on some days a grip or a gaffer (on the few moments we weren't just relying on available light). our director was someone who was frankly underexperienced and would generally completely abandon our preproduction plans, change the script all the time and was unwilling to listen to anyone else's suggestions other than the actors, which caused some tension from time to time. having these other people on your side to keep you in line can make this experience a lot more pleasant since it's hard to make films, no matter how small the scope is.

this was shot on a largely rigged up BMCC6K with some SLR Magic primes, and mostly on a cine saddle. I guess we we're pretty lucky with not being bothered by strangers while shooting, other than having some random people staring at the camera in a wide shot. 

also the thing with walking around in a medium 2-shot is that it is insanely boring, especially for a visual language. there's a reason that doesn't really happen in WKW's stuff. 

[PannySVHS]

John Cassavetes, enough said:) There used to be some BTS footage and docs on youtube. I think they should be still up there. @QuickHitRecord

[mtol]

It Was Just An Accident (2025) by Jafar Panahi is an amazing film with sequences shot in secret in Tehran... 
 

 

[Belle]

Have you thought about background continuity too?

With people and traffic constantly changing, wouldn't traditional coverage sometimes make things harder rather than easier when you get to the edit?

I wonder if longer takes, a few selective close-ups and plenty of B-roll might actually suit this kind of shooting better. ☺️

[Davide DB]

Maybe late to the party..

Left-Handed Girl is maybe the latest film completely shot in the wild (and with a phone)

 

 

[Alt Shoo]

On 6/24/2026 at 9:12 PM, kye said:

Lost in Translation was famously shot in Tokyo without official permission.  They shot in public with a very minimal crew and moved fast to try and keep ahead of the authorities.  They chose this approach primarily because it was almost impossible to get permission to film there at the time. 

 

This is exactly why smartphones and smaller cameras like the GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS are so appealing to me. You can move quickly, stay discreet, and still capture great images. I put together a great nimble kit for this project and I’m actually planning something similar with the ILS in NYC, grabbing shots in some premium locations to give the production a much bigger feel without a big crew or footprint. And I’m definitely grabbing some long and discreet shots.