Rap is music with a message, and a new rap video has a message for Mayor Michael Bloomberg: don’t mess with our creativity. As NY1’s Solana Pyne filed in the following report, new rules covering filming in the street has got one group of filmmakers stirred up.

Olde English is a group of independent filmmakers who make their living with comic videos. Their latest project questions the new rules proposed by the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting. The rules would require permits and a million dollars or more in insurance for groups of two or more taking pictures or shooting video in one area for more than 30 minutes, or groups of five or more with a tripod in one place for more than ten minutes.

“We have a lot of filmmaker friends so everyone is passing [the regulations] around, like ‘Oh God, what do we do? What do we do?’” said David Segal of Olde English.

The city proposed the rules to clarify their regulations in May after the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of a filmmaker who was stopped for taking video on a street corner and told he needed a permit.

The city says it is simply codifying existing procedure, making sure they allow people to film without dangerously blocking city streets and sidewalks. Officials also say they’ll offer waivers to those who can’t afford it.

But Olde English and other independent filmmakers say the rules, as they stand, could make it impossible for them to keep working.

“One of the most interesting things about making this film and what it was for was the fact that we couldn’t have made it under the regulations that are proposed,” said Caleb Bark of Olde English.

“This is one of the best comedy scenes in the country and everyone is doing video now and to do this would be to really just shut that down and shut down a really vibrant part of the city,” seconded Adam Conover of Olde English.

The city has emphasized that the rules are just proposals. It extended the comment period last month to give people more time to make their feelings known. Olde English submitted their video to the city as comments and they are urging all those who watch their video to do the same.

“We’ve already gotten, I think, somewhere in the range of 50 or so responses like, ‘wow, that’s so interesting, I didn’t know about this. I’m definitely emailing,’” said Ben Popik of Olde English.

The comment period ends Friday. After that, the city will consider whether to publish the rules as is, or to change them.

-Solana Pyne