Everything a filmmaker in Central Ohio needs, sorted by what you are actually trying to do. Columbus and Franklin County resources come first on every page, then Central Ohio, then statewide, then national.
Each category page opens with a Best value table: free first, then cheapest per day or per use, with every row read from the holder's own page and the date read. Rows in those tables were read on 2026-11-02. Anything that could not be read is in a Needs verification section at the bottom of the page.
Links on each page were last checked on the linksVerified date in its front-matter; where a page could not be fully re-checked it keeps its older date and lists the failures under Needs verification. Dated events are on the calendar.
Start here
| If you are… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Shooting somewhere you do not own | Permits & Filming Locations |
| Looking for money | Funding, Grants & Tax Credits (/grants) |
| Short on gear | Gear Rental & Purchase |
| Wanting free edit bays, recording booths and a 3D printer | Libraries & Makerspaces |
| Dressing a set | Props, Wardrobe & Art Department |
| Wanting your film on local TV | Public-Access TV (/public-access-tv) |
| Short on people | Crew, Cast & Unions |
| Hiring anyone who might hold a union card | Ohio Unions & Guilds |
| Shooting on a stage | Studios & Stages |
| Setting up the production properly | Business, Legal & Insurance |
| Responsible for people's safety | Safety on Set |
| Writing | Screenwriting |
| Planning and scheduling | Production Workflow & Templates |
| Cutting, grading, or mixing | Post-Production |
| Sourcing music or sound | Sound & Music |
| Needing footage you cannot shoot | Stock, Archival & Public Domain |
| Submitting to festivals | Film Festivals & Submissions |
| Wanting a deadline to force you to finish | Contests & Competitions |
| Learning the craft | Education & Training |
| Screening the finished thing | Screening Venues & Exhibition |
| Trying to meet people | Community & Networking |
The short version
If you read nothing else on this site, these five facts matter most to a Central Ohio filmmaker:
- Filming in a Columbus park or closing a street requires a permit from Columbus Recreation and Parks. Five days' notice minimum, thirty days if a street closes. See Permits & Filming Locations.
- Ohio's film tax credit needs a $300,000 minimum in-state spend. Below that, it is not your funding path — grants and crowdfunding are. See Funding, Grants & Tax Credits.
- Film Columbus is the regional film commission and its permits, incentives, studio, and grant pages are the fastest orientation to shooting here: filmcolumbus.com.
- You can build a complete post pipeline for $0 — DaVinci Resolve, Blender, Audacity, and Reaper's evaluation version cover edit, VFX, and sound. See Post-Production.
- MOFA's networking events are the cheapest crew you will ever find. See Community & Networking.
About these pages
MOFA does not endorse or rank any vendor listed here. Inclusion means the resource exists and serves filmmakers, nothing more. Where MOFA has a relationship — Midwest Photo sponsors the 3 Weeks of Wonder competition — it is stated on the page.
Prices, deadlines, and fees change. Anything time-sensitive links to the source rather than restating a number we cannot re-verify. If you find a dead link or a closed business, tell us at a meeting so the next filmmaker does not waste the drive.