Skye Rentals | Film Production Supplies and Rentals

“How To Ensure You’re Not Going To Be Shut Out Of Your Own Tent”

When you need a festival tent to house your talent and/or crew, there are crucial considerations that you must take into account before committing to the build. One of the most important considerations is permitting the build. With a little planning, this process can eat up important prep time, and add a few bucks to the budget. Without planning, you risk getting shut out of your own tent. Below you will find a handy guide to permits for festival tents for both the city and county of Los Angeles.

As always, be sure to contact each appropriate office to verify the information.

County Fire Permit
The permit must be applied for in the corresponding regional office. Must apply for the permit at least 48 hours in advance of the build, and the office hours are 7:30am-10am M-F. No charge for the permit, but they do require an application, copy of Skye’s flame resistance certificate, and a plot plan (a plot plan must include distances to each surrounding structure, vehicle, and generator).

County Department of Building and Safety
This permit requires an inspection. The permit must be applied for in the corresponding regional office. Each office has different hours and days of operation, and requires different lead times in order to inspect the structure. Inspections are typically done only Monday-Thursday, and cost $400-$600 for the inspection.

City Fire Permit
This permit must be applied for at City Hall East. Must apply for the permit at least 24 hours in advance of the build, and the office hours are 7am-9am and 2:30pm-3:15pm. The cost for the permit is $312 for structures up to 2500 square feet, and $624 for structures up to 25000 square feet. This permit requires an application, copy of Skye’s flame resistance certificate, and a plot plan.

City Department of Building and Safety
This permit requires an inspection. Permits are applied for, and inspections are scheduled online. Inspections must be scheduled at least 48 hours prior to the build. This permit requires an approved permit from the LA City Fire Department. Inspections are made 7am-3:30pm. Inspections requested for “off hours” incur an additional $300 fee. The inspection fee for tents up to 5000 square feet is $130. A 6% “systems fee” is applied to all fees.

As always, Skye Rentals is happy to answer any questions you might have. For a nominal fee, we can also permit the build for you.

We often get questions about the difference between a “Repeater” and a “Base Station”?

When used properly, these tools can be extremely useful and effective on set, preventing dangerous breakdowns in communication. The first question is whether you’ll need a Repeater or Base Station. If your crew will be more than 2-3 miles away from each other, or if there are obstacles that would prevent a “line of sight” transmission (like buildings or mountains), then the answer is yes.

Essentially, a Base Station is used as a central location, from which an amplified signal is broadcast to a network of walkies. A Repeater is used as a connection between two or more distant or obstructed points in a network. Let me explain…

In a typical network of CP200 walkies, the radios have to all be within 2-3 miles of each other for everyone to listen and speak to everyone else. The trick here is that the 2-3 mile radius has to be “line-of-sight”, meaning, in order to use the maximum radius, there cannot be any obstructions, like buildings or mountains.

A Base Station is typically set up at Base Camp. The Base Station is, for lack of a better term, one walkie on steroids. It can send and receive signals much farther away than a typical walkie. The Base Station will ensure clear communication between one point and any walkie within its’ circular range.

A Repeater is used to ensure clear communication between two or more walkies that would not otherwise be able to communicate. This situation usually occurs because there is something in the way, for example, buildings, or a mountain. If you have one walkie on one side of a mountain, and another on the other side, the people holding these radios would not be able to communicate with each other. The solution is to place a Repeater in a location that will have the best possible line-of-sight on both radios, in other words, the top of the mountain, and raised as high as possible. When one person speaks into their radio, the repeater will receive the signal, and then repeat it down the other side of the mountain to the other radio.

As always, we’re always available for questions.

There is a lot to consider, when ordering a festival tent for set, and the costs can get out of control quickly, if you’re not careful. It’s always best to defer to an expert (like Skye Rentals!), and we’re always happy to walk you through requirements, permitting, and building. On the other hand, if you ever need a quick reference, we’ve put together a list of initial points that are crucial to getting your festival tent set up right (and to make sure a fire safety officer doesn’t have everyone eating lunch outside the tent!).

First thing to consider is whether you’ll actually need a festival tent. Smaller set ups that can be done with Ez-Ups tend to cost a fraction of the price of a festival tent. If your crew is around 40 people, give us call, and, depending on your requirements, you might just be better off with pop-ups.

Next, work out an estimate of how much space you’ll need. For example, if you’re serving lunch for 50 people, you’ll need approximately 6.5 feet in width for each row of tables. Each table will seat 6 people, plus 1-2 on each end. 50 people can eat comfortably on 8 tables, in 4 rows of 2. At 6.5 feet for each row of tables, we’d need 26 feet on one side, and at least 18 feet on the other. Obviously a 20’x30’ festival tent would work just fine here.

Sidewalls – do you need ‘em? If it’s a mild day, and you’re not in a windy area, then walls are not necessary. Although, in most cases, it’s a very nice luxury to have some protection from the elements.

Get detailed information on the surface on which we will be placing your tent. The last thing you want if for us to show up to set with hammers and bull pricks in hand, only to find out that the field is Astroturf, not grass.

Flooring – be prepared to make a decision on flooring. Even if it seems like you don’t need flooring consider the decision carefully. Once 50 people plus tables and chairs have abused the ground, would the location owner still not be tempted to charge extra for the damage?

That’s about it for prepping for a tent build. Of course, you can always call us, and we’d be happy to help out. Skye Rentals has a myriad of tent sizes, and, as always, we provide “soup to nuts” service (rent, permit, deliver, build, strike, and pick up.).