police uniform

D

drab

Member
I need to shoot a scene involving a police officer and I've been told that they aren't allowed to wear the uniform on film (?) I wanted a real policeman but they can't wear the uniform off-duty and of course can't be filming while on duty. I'm sure plenty of people have dealt with this issue so if anyone has any suggestions I'd greatly appreciate it.
 
My advice is don't believe everything you hear.Ask an officer if he/she can do it.You will be surprised with the results.In New York I have used real cops with their uniforms and they were very nice and willing because they got paid for that.People might have the best intentions but sometimes they give you the wrong information so the best thing to do is ask.
Good luck.
 
commit a crime and have someone else filming it. if it's big enough, you'll be able to shoot more than one officer.
 
ugafan said:
commit a crime and have someone else filming it. if it's big enough, you'll be able to shoot more than one officer.
Click to expand...

Plus think about your words here... :kali: you'll get a lot of national press as well... only problem is... it might take you a while to finish the film...

And for information we shot a music video in Newport Beach, CA... we used a city police car and officer... all we had to do was not so the city logo on the car, badge and uniform of the officer... but of course this was done through friends...
 
We shot outside a police station for WOS. I went in and asked and they literally said "We don't care what you do outside as long as you don't bring the camera in here." Thing was their sign spanned the width of the building so thank God was had that freedom otherwise we wouldn't gotten the chance to shoot it.

-Nate
 
This type of thing depends a whole lot on where u are and how nice you ask. Smaller depts typically have lots of latitude on this, big city depts usually have a PR officer which may be good for an initial contact depending on how you intend to show the dept (positive or negative).

Larger depts means larger cities which usually have costume shops if you don't get an enthusiastic response. . .

Another key is flexibility, most smaller depts have slow times and busy times, just don't try to schedule when the bars close . . .:beer:
 
Yeah, my friend's student film was based in a police barracks. He had no problem getting Uniformed officers who were there to be in his film. So, I don't think its that big of an issue. Or, its at least an issue you can work around.
 
I knew cops in Santa Cruz. You do need permission from the department to shoot any logos of that city (police car, badge) and if the cops are in uniform, they have to have permission to do so, really, just ask.

Now, my fire fighter friend said he was absolutely not allowed to wear his city t-shirt, Santa Cruz Fire Department, on film whatsoever. They would not give permission for that at all.

go figure.
 
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