Norfolk’s Two-Week Production Rundown
Norfolk video production teams have an unusually rich two-week window: marquee horror screenings, free outdoor events and a user-friendly permit office combine to make Oct 18–31 the most shootable stretch of the autumn.
The Marquee Moment: 48 Hour Horror Showcase
The region’s scrappiest contest culminates Monday, Oct 27 (8 p.m.) at the Naro, screening every 48HFP horror entry and handing out trophies on stage. Lobby interviews land all in one night: directors, actors and festival jurors mingle against the cinema’s 1936 art-deco glazing—an instant press kit backdrop.
Where to Point the Lens
- Oct 22 – Glow-in-the-Dark “Scary Stories” (Jordan-Newby Library) free teen crowd + black-light props
- Oct 24 & 31 – Rocky Horror Shadow Casts (Naro) costumed extras, fog and midnight energy
- Oct 26 – Ghent Halloween Parklet Fest live jazz, food trucks, carved-pumpkin row
- Oct 27 – 48HFP Horror Awards (Naro) red-carpet arrivals + press scrum
- Any night – Waterside District LED riverfront walk-and-talk visuals with skyline bokeh
Permit, Incentive & Infrastructure Essentials
Norfolk’s Film/Photoshoot Request requires: project synopsis, dates, $1 M COI and a $100 processing fee (waived for local firms). Typical sidewalk shoots clear in five business days; add ten more for lane closures or ADOT property.
Virginia sweetens the math with a 25 % base rebate plus uplifts for resident hires; the Hampton Roads Film Office helps prep the application . Soundstages? Commodore Theatre’s 40-foot screen rents weekday mornings for green-screen spillover, and ODU’s new XR lab (opened Oct 8) offers LED-volume demos to indie crews by appointment.
Permits, Prices & Contacts
- Application portal: Norfolk.gov/Film (PDF upload)
- Fee structure: $100/non-local, $0/local; city services billed at cost
- Turn-times: 5 days standard; 10 days with street work
- State rebate: up to 30 % when bonuses apply
- ADOT right-of-way: no-fee permit, 10-day lead
Crowd & Crew Pipelines
Naro’s Rocky Horror nights rely on local shadow-cast “Creatures of the Naro,” always looking for lighting volunteers—an easy entry for PAs. Norfolk Public Library’s teen film club mans the Oct 22 glow event and shares PA rosters afterward. Ghent Business Association posts vendor-contact sheets after its Halloween fest, streamlining craft-services hires
Closing Frame
With two sold-out cult midnights, a horror-short finale, black-light library frights and a permit portal that costs locals nothing, late October offers Norfolk’s richest production palette of 2025. Secure that location agreement, charge the Sony FX6 batteries, and let your Norfolk camera crew roll before the lanterns dim.
