A Video Production Company in Miami Drawing a Line at Sunset

Updated November 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

A sunset beach shoot looks simple until the producer reads the Miami-Dade film office’s note on sea turtles and finds the truck cannot go on the sand. A video production company in Miami works around a real dividing line for much of the year: between April 1 and October 31 on Miami Beach, daytime and nighttime on the beach are two different productions. This page is a call sheet with that line drawn on it, then what the shoot costs. Progression is based in New York, works with South Florida businesses remotely, and offers on-site sessions on request.

A truck on the sand

A hypothetical producer builds a call sheet for a sunrise and sunset beach day. The grip truck is on it at nine in the morning, parked near the dunes with a generator behind it. Nobody on the sheet has asked whether a truck may drive on the beach.

The Miami-Dade film office’s note says activities involving vehicles are not permitted on the beach during sea turtle nesting and hatching season. The truck is out at every hour, and sunset only changes what happens to the rest of the day.

What a video production company in Miami reads before a beach shoot

The Miami-Dade County Film and Entertainment Office note on marine turtle nesting season is the first page to open. It says that during sea turtle nesting and hatching season, activities involving vehicles, construction of temporary sets, explosions and other potentially harmful actions are not permitted on the beach.

The note explains that nests can be buried anywhere on the beach in season, and that after an incubation period of 45 to 70 days the hatchlings stay near the surface during the day, waiting for night. That timing is the reason daylight and darkness are treated differently.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Beaches and Coastal Systems issues permits for activities on the beach. Where turtles are a concern, the applicant and the Department coordinate with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Who issues what?

The permit for beach activity comes from the Department of Environmental Protection. The Commission is brought in when turtles are an issue, and a letter of permission from it is required if the filming is of turtles. The film office is where a producer starts, and it can point to the current rules.

When is the season?

The film office note says the season runs from May 1 to October 31. The City of Miami Beach gives April 1 to October 31 for its own beachfront. Confirm the dates with the film office for your location before the call sheet is final.

• Open the film office note before the first location scout.
• Ask the film office which agency issues the permit for your stretch of beach.
• Name one person on the crew as the permit holder.
• Write the season dates on the first page of the schedule.

The call sheet, with the line drawn

Draw the line at sunset on the schedule itself. Everything above it is daylight work, where the film office note says lights are acceptable. Everything below it needs a plan, because night filming on a nesting beach is something the Department strongly discourages.

Above the line: daylight on the sand

A daylight shoot on foot is the simplest version. The note says lights are fine between sunrise and sunset, and a crew that carries its gear in and out can work all day. Cameras on tripods, handheld work, reflectors and small lights all fit.

Even so, a special event permit or other approval may be necessary for filming on the beach, according to the film office. Do not assume daylight means no permit.

Below the line: dark on the sand

The Department strongly discourages night filming on nesting beaches in season. Lights can disorient nesting females and hatchlings so that they crawl toward the lights rather than the ocean, noise and activity can make a female abandon her nesting attempt, and crews working in the dark can obscure nest tracks or crush hatchlings.

The film office adds that the Department will consider quiet filming with night vision equipment and no lights, as in some nature films. If the subject of the filming is turtles themselves, a letter of permission from the Commission is required.

Lights at night, and where else to point them

If the scene needs darkness and light, the film office’s own suggestion is to film at beaches that face bays rather than the ocean. A bay side location may have different rules, so ask the film office and the permitting agency before locking it.

Can a scene look like night without being night?

Often. A crew can shoot at dusk with the sun just below the horizon, use a darker grade in post, or build the night look indoors against a screen. These are craft choices, not permissions, and they should be on the schedule before the beach is booked.

What about lights visible from the beach?

The City of Miami Beach’s 2024 update to its turtle ordinance extended its protections to lights visible from the beach. A location with bright interior or sign lighting facing the sand should be raised with the city when the permit is requested.

• Ask the film office about bay side beaches for any night scene.
• Plan a dusk version of the shot as a backup.
• Ask the building manager what lights face the sand.
• Keep any night work off the sheet until it is approved.
• Check the weather and tide for the dusk backup as well.

Vehicles, sets and structures

Vehicles, temporary sets and explosions are listed as not permitted on the beach during the season. The film office also describes concerns about driving on the beach, particularly heavy equipment or stunt driving, which can excavate sand, affect nests or leave ruts in which hatchlings become trapped.

Structures are handled differently. The note says they are not totally out of the question on a nesting beach, if basic precautions are met. Ask the film office before designing any set piece that touches the sand.

How does gear get to the waterline?

On foot, with carts that do not dig in, and in more trips than a truck would take. Put the extra time into the schedule. Ask the film office whether a light vehicle may be approved for access and under what conditions.

Fire, flashes and effects

The note says brief pyrotechnic flashes of a few seconds are of minimal concern, repeated flashes and noise could still disturb nesting females, and blazing fires can disorient nesting females and hatchlings. Fires at night are generally not permitted in season.

• Do not list a vehicle on the sand for any hour.
• Build set pieces so they can be carried and removed in a day.
• Ask before planning any effect involving flames.
• Treat any fire on the sheet as a scene to move.
• Keep the nightly strike time on the crew call.

Miami Beach’s own dates

The City of Miami Beach says sea turtle nesting on its beachfront runs from April 1 to October 31. Its City Commission approved an update to the turtle nesting ordinance at its October 30, 2024 meeting, and the city released the details the next day.

According to the City of Miami Beach release, the update extends protection to lights visible from the beach, brings interior lighting standards for hotels and commercial properties into the ordinance, limits fireworks to barges, writes special event requirements into the ordinance and encourages red and amber filters for authorized vehicles that may need to reach the beach at night.

What does that mean for a shoot?

If the shoot is on Miami Beach, count April 1 as the first day of the season. Ask the city’s film office for the rules in force when you apply, because an ordinance can change after it is written about. The film office page covers the county more broadly.

Who handles the handling of turtles?

Handling of turtles and nests is regulated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, per the city release. A production should never touch a turtle, a nest or hatchlings. Leave it to the permitted people.

• Use April 1 as the season start for a Miami Beach shoot.
• Confirm the date for any other beach with the film office.
• Ask the city about its special event conditions.
• Keep the permit with the person who runs the set.
• Brief the crew on the dates before the first call.

A shoot that is not on the beach

Many scenes read as a beach day without the sand. A rooftop with a view of the water, a pool deck, a marina or an interior with a window onto the sea can carry a brand story at any hour.

Rooftops and interiors

Both give the crew control of light and time. Ask the film office what a rooftop location needs. An interior needs no beach approval at all, and it lets a night scene run as late as the building allows.

The point is not to avoid the beach. It is to choose it when the beach is the story, and to choose something easier when it is only the backdrop.

• List every scene that truly needs sand.
• List the scenes that only need the look of water.
• Scout one alternative for each night scene.
• Ask the film office for current permit lead times for each location.
• Price the alternative next to the beach version.

What a beach day costs

A beach day costs what any location day costs, with extra time for walking gear in and a schedule that ends with the light. The bands below show published US figures.

Permit costs, equipment, travel and a survey person come on top and depend on the location. Progression quotes after a written scope. We publish no Miami premium and no beach surcharge.

Who to call

No single office answers every beach question. The table shows who is named in the film office note and the city release.

A sunset brief for your shoot

Copy this card into a document and fill it in before the first call. A producer who completes it can price a beach day, and a video production company in Miami can draw the line on the schedule from it.

What the finished schedule shows

Six things a beach schedule should carry on its face.

Send the filled card with the date and a pin for the beach. Our video production services and corporate video production pages describe the work that follows.

Related services and guides

Pages that sit beside this call sheet:

• Video production services
• Corporate video production
• Advertising agency in Miami
• Video production cost
• Miami website design

Frequently asked questions