Lights, Lenses and October Frights in Tampa
Tampa video production teams have a tightly packed late-October slate of free outdoor movies, horror marathons and evolving paperwork; the guide below keeps every Tampa camera crew ready, legal and well-booked.
Permit & Paperwork Pulse
Hillsborough County now routes all commercial filming, park use and drone requests through a unified online form—no base fee, but a park-use charge and $1 million COI hit every application. Any aerial shot must attach a LAANC screenshot plus the FAA Part 107 certificate, matching statewide TRUST safety rules. Applications filed with missing insurance are kicked back to “draft,” delaying approval by up to 48 hours during festival weeks.
Commercial Shoots & Casting Windows
Liquid Talent is filling athletic roles—paying up to $2,000—for a national men’s-deodorant commercial that films in Tampa on Oct 21-22. Backstage lists 30+ open calls in the region, including a horror feature holding Oct 20 and Oct 29 virtual auditions that could extend pickups into Tampa’s Ybor streets. Film Tampa Bay and Stage 32 just launched a fully funded Production Assistant Master Certification, giving twelve locals a no-cost point of entry onto professional sets this fall.
Crowd-Magnet Calendar
- Oct 18-23 – “A Nightmare on Franklin Street,” Tampa Theatre: nightly cult classics, backstage ghost tours and a Rocky Horror double on Oct 25 7 p.m. & 11 p.m.
- Oct 24-26 – “Creatures of the Night,” ZooTampa: post-4 p.m. haunts bring strobe lights & overflow parking that can bleed onto Bougainvillea Ave.
- Oct 25 – Riverwalk Trick-or-Treat & Halloween Movie in the Park (Cotanchobee): free screening follows a 4-7 p.m. candy crawl; expect cosplay and drone-friendly skyline sunsets.
Studio & Skill-Building Opportunities
Local house Vū Tampa continues to discount half-day rates on its LED virtual-production wall through October, luring music-video teams away from Orlando stages. Pause Wellness Studio’s Midtown build-out, opening early 2025, promises quiet podcast rooms and soft-light content bays that producers can pre-reserve during construction for cut-rate fees.
Quick Permit Checklist
Closing Thoughts
With free horror marathons, zoo fright nights and a big-pay commercial converging, the next fortnight rewards crews that file early, pack vampire-proof ND gels and leverage training perks; master Tampa’s one-stop permit portal now and your wrap party will rival the Rocky Horror balcony call-backs.
