We are a film production company (thirdoak.com) in the Orlando, FL area and we're shooting a short film involving a police car. Anyone know where we might be able to rent (or borrow) a police or security vehicle for the shoot? We've scowered the internet but have turned up empty handed so far. Any references or ideas would help as well. Thanks!
Police Car Rental
- Thread starter ckThirdOak
- Start date
Alternately, you could use models from ebay or a hobby store. This car is a model:
Yes, that guy is standing next to a model! Just look at the fake license plate and difference in the shadows.
A single model made both of these cop cars!
You can Greenscreen a background, like this shot. Or you can just composite and mask the model into the frame. In fact, you can have your actor leaning on the hood of a real car, aiming his gun. Then you composite/mask the model cop car in the exact same spot. Now your character is interacting with the model!
Also, DetonationFilms.com has "light bars". They are flashing lights that you composite to the top of any car or model.
Yes, that guy is standing next to a model! Just look at the fake license plate and difference in the shadows.
A single model made both of these cop cars!
You can Greenscreen a background, like this shot. Or you can just composite and mask the model into the frame. In fact, you can have your actor leaning on the hood of a real car, aiming his gun. Then you composite/mask the model cop car in the exact same spot. Now your character is interacting with the model!
Also, DetonationFilms.com has "light bars". They are flashing lights that you composite to the top of any car or model.
Hmm... a model won't do if the script actually calls for a cop driving the car, or cops getting in and out of it, or throwing handcuffed perps into the back seat.
My advice is to inquire at the localities near you to see if there is a film unit of a police department which rents out cars. An alternative is to get creative -- use a regular dark car and have a decal made to approximate a town police department emblem (there are some you can find on the internet - just have an artist design one for your fictional town and get it made. This company makes magnets for car doors). Apply the decals to the doors, and then get a couple of those police lights ("cherries") for the top. Whatever you do, just make sure you notify authorities where you are filming that you have these cars for a shoot.
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If you have no other choice, why not? Look at the picture of the guy standing next to the model "Focus". If that is masked around a real car, he can get into it. Just replace that model with a cop car.
My buddy Kelly, who uses the model cars above does show a cop car driving by in his latest movie, but it's a model. Like I said, you can use a real car and you could have the cops shoving the guy into it, and then mask that real car with a cop car model. You could also put the model's mask in the foreground and have the cops walk behind it and put the guy in. If you really think through your After Effects, Composite Lab Pro/Vision Lab Studio, etc. programs, this is a viable alternate for someone with no budget.
Certainly, a real cop car is preferable. I know I needed one in THE AWAKENING, but we couldn't get a cop car to save our lives, so we composited cop lights onto a real SUV. I know what it was like to not be able to get the vehicle. Our no-budget movie didn't have the rental option or even permits. I have no idea what the original poster, ckThirdOak, has for a budget. If he has money, my suggestions are moot.
With the model that we greenscreened, we shot the girl walking up to the SUV and throwing it, without the SUV there. When we added it in, you could see her through the driver window. It was pretty cool.
I like compositing better than keying.
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Sometimes just asking the local cops is enough.
The producer just called the local station and an
officer came by. I didn't even have a shot planned
where the actors get out of the car - I had rotating
lights and was planning on just showing them walk
up the stairs. But the officer who showed up agreed
to let them get out of the car and even coached the
actors on the proper procedure based on the call
they would have received.
[QT]http://www.darkcrimes.com/movies/copcar.mov[/QT]
The producer just called the local station and an
officer came by. I didn't even have a shot planned
where the actors get out of the car - I had rotating
lights and was planning on just showing them walk
up the stairs. But the officer who showed up agreed
to let them get out of the car and even coached the
actors on the proper procedure based on the call
they would have received.
[QT]http://www.darkcrimes.com/movies/copcar.mov[/QT]
Awesome shot, directorik! If you have a similar looking car, but it's not a cop car, you can easily add Lightbars to the top of it, using After Effects. Lightbars can be had for $30 from here.
Detonation Films - LIGHTBARS
For moving vehicles you can motion track them and scale.
Detonation Films - LIGHTBARS
For moving vehicles you can motion track them and scale.
Thank You!
First of all, I cannot thank you all enough for the amount of ideas and responses. This was my first post on this forum and I am immensely impressed that the founder of the forum responded first! I feel ashamed not thanking you all sooner and appreciate the time you all spent devising solutions to our problem.
We are looking into Scoopicman's model idea however the scene involves a police officer driving up and the officer running out of the car. We were playing with the idea of renting a Chevy Impala and using after effects but were not sure about that. Alternatively, we have a chance of getting a real police car by, believe it or not, just asking! (Thank you directorik) I'll definitely let everyone know of our final decisions and hopefully can post on some tips for other filmmakers out there once we complete the shoot (which will be in three weeks). And if anyone was wondering, we do have a very small budget for this film that we raised ourselves.
First of all, I cannot thank you all enough for the amount of ideas and responses. This was my first post on this forum and I am immensely impressed that the founder of the forum responded first! I feel ashamed not thanking you all sooner and appreciate the time you all spent devising solutions to our problem.
We are looking into Scoopicman's model idea however the scene involves a police officer driving up and the officer running out of the car. We were playing with the idea of renting a Chevy Impala and using after effects but were not sure about that. Alternatively, we have a chance of getting a real police car by, believe it or not, just asking! (Thank you directorik) I'll definitely let everyone know of our final decisions and hopefully can post on some tips for other filmmakers out there once we complete the shoot (which will be in three weeks). And if anyone was wondering, we do have a very small budget for this film that we raised ourselves.
Very cool! A real car will make it the easiest, most realistic solution. It looks like you have a good shot at that.
Obviously FX work takes time and some finesse, but it's good to know that you have options.
The power of asking! The filmmaker's best friend.
Especially if it's a small-town police department.
The department around here has loaned out cars/officers a couple of times in the years I've lived here. They love being part of that stuff.
The good news is even in a big city the "just ask"
method can work out.
Well, yeah, but I just meant that the big city ones tend to get asked a lot more and therefore might be more apt to pick and choose.
I live in a big city - a bit city where film making is a
major industry and were there are thousands of
films students and indie filmmaker making movies
every day. I understand that many people think the
big city ones get so many requests that they might
be more apt to pick and choose. That's why I mentioned
that in my experience that isn't the case. Even in a
big city asking for what you need very often works.
There is a misunderstanding that people from or in
smaller towns have that people in a big city aren't
as helpful.
major industry and were there are thousands of
films students and indie filmmaker making movies
every day. I understand that many people think the
big city ones get so many requests that they might
be more apt to pick and choose. That's why I mentioned
that in my experience that isn't the case. Even in a
big city asking for what you need very often works.
There is a misunderstanding that people from or in
smaller towns have that people in a big city aren't
as helpful.
We have a white 2003 crown Vic P71 with push bar and search light. We will be adding graphics and lights shortly. What and when do you need? You can visit www.fstvsupplies.com or call 866-357-5983 between 9am-5pm Monday-Friday
Thanks!
Thanks!
We finished filming and are in post-production. We were able to use an actual police car, we just couldn't put any of the department's insignias in the shots which was kinda challenging but our crew made it happen (the "just ask" method worked using a local friend). Thanks again and we have some pics on our website from behind the scenes at ThirdOak.com (though no shots of the police car).
Blue Curtain Premiere
We are premiering the above short film titled Blue Curtain in Orlando, Florida on Saturday July 17th in the evening. If anyone wants to show a trailer to their independent film or just wants to come and join us or critique us, email me at ThirdOak@gmail.com. There is no cost and we would love to have as much people as possible attend. Again please email me your requests. Thank you all for your help with the problems we overcame!
We are premiering the above short film titled Blue Curtain in Orlando, Florida on Saturday July 17th in the evening. If anyone wants to show a trailer to their independent film or just wants to come and join us or critique us, email me at ThirdOak@gmail.com. There is no cost and we would love to have as much people as possible attend. Again please email me your requests. Thank you all for your help with the problems we overcame!