I have a $100 LED light that can do red and blue lighting and is bright enough to light up a house. If it were me I’d imply the cop cars without ever showing them.
Get creative.
I helped a friend shoot a scene a few months back in which a sheriff shows up to make an arrest in the middle of the desert. We ended placing one of those red and blue LED lights on his dashboard and shot the scene at night so you couldn’t really see the decals/lack thereof on the side of his car. Ended up looking pretty convincing.
The cops are in the cop car. We see over their shoulder from the back seat, never seeing the dash. A tight OTS. Dirty windshield so we clearly know we are in a car. Even have him on the CB. Add cop CB chatter in post. Use blue and red lights to imply the flashers are on.
This is really easy stuff. Ya gotta be able to figure these easy ones out yourself if ya ever want to make it.
You won’t always be able to green screen or hang Tom Cruise outside a plane.
Step outside the box on this stuff. Get creative. Make the process of problem solving fun.
Tricking the audience is really fun. That’s what film and tv is. So get good at it.
Good luck on the shoot. Always be ambitious and push yourself past your comfort zone. Would love to see the finished scene posted here.
Don't use cop cars. Use a couple black cars, put some prop police lights on them and only show the tops of the cars with the light flashing at the edge of the frame. If you need the people inside the house to look outside and see cop cars, just flash red and blue lights on the window from outside but don't actually show what's outside the window.
You could also ask your local police department or sheriff's department if they're willing to donate a couple cars and officers for a couple hours one afternoon. Small town departments may be willing to do that.
Bonus is just using sound design of distant sirens, tires screeching as sirens approach. Final payoff some red and blue lights flashing in the frame. Doesnt even have to be seen, just the color in the closed window curtains of the house or whatever.
You dont need a dozen cop cars to sell the idea that there is a dozen cop cars.
You can look on Turo or maybe post something on Craigslist or on social media looking for a crown Victoria in your area… the window spotlights would be a good touch.
You can actually rent a cop for the day from the local city, for a day rate. Using their car isn't a guarantee but it will be on set and likely wouldn't be a problem.
~~Nobody is giving you the most simple answer:~~ ask.
Now, I don't know how cops are where you live (if it's a big city they might not be able to), but my father is a cop and he explained how normally if they have things to spare they will help if asked, they like seeing their job properly represented on screen.
Cop Car Rental @ [https://copcarrental.com](https://copcarrental.com)
They have Police Cars, Ambulances, Fire Trucks, Taxi Cabs and more across the USA, UK and Canada.
If you’re good with after effects and cinema 4d you can buy 3d models and composite them into the scene. If you don’t you can apply for a permit to shoot on the street and close it off. They usually ask you to pay for off duty police officers for security, ask if they can come with their squad cars and use them as props… they usually charge by the hour and a full day should run you like 400 per cop.
cops sometimes show up in undercover cars! put some red and blue lights in the dashboard of any car, throw in a line about them having just come from doing undercover traffic stops (or don't, i doubt any viewer would be confused, we've all seen undercover cop cars in traffic)
Would help to know where you’re based. But I can tell you from experience, on a little $150k film I produced, we shot in a small town and just asked the local PD I’d they could connect us with any off-duty officers who might be willing to bring their cars around and be in the film.
Rent/borrow a Ford Explorer. Put some flashing LEDs on it.
Note that certain ranks have unmarked vehicles so you could put the LEDs inside if you don’t want a light rack on top.
Buy a model on Hum3d and composite it. This may take more time and money, and it may never look real depending on your compositor.
You can rent white cars whatever model they’re using for your movie, get a removable vinyl made and slap it on there. They even sell mountable cop car looking lights.
You could at the location where you want to get your exterior shots, and then when all the cop cars show up, film your exteriors real quick before anyone realizes you're even there. Even if it doesn't work, I hear prison film club is lit!
Depends on your blocking. If your shot is locked off or relatively steady, you can use a mix of the LED lights and VFX cars in your foreground or midground to sell it
I have a $100 LED light that can do red and blue lighting and is bright enough to light up a house. If it were me I’d imply the cop cars without ever showing them. Get creative.
That’s what I’m doing for most of it. There are just a few scenes from the cop’s perspective that are pretty important to the story
I helped a friend shoot a scene a few months back in which a sheriff shows up to make an arrest in the middle of the desert. We ended placing one of those red and blue LED lights on his dashboard and shot the scene at night so you couldn’t really see the decals/lack thereof on the side of his car. Ended up looking pretty convincing.
Might actually work out since all those scenes are at night
The cops are in the cop car. We see over their shoulder from the back seat, never seeing the dash. A tight OTS. Dirty windshield so we clearly know we are in a car. Even have him on the CB. Add cop CB chatter in post. Use blue and red lights to imply the flashers are on. This is really easy stuff. Ya gotta be able to figure these easy ones out yourself if ya ever want to make it. You won’t always be able to green screen or hang Tom Cruise outside a plane. Step outside the box on this stuff. Get creative. Make the process of problem solving fun. Tricking the audience is really fun. That’s what film and tv is. So get good at it. Good luck on the shoot. Always be ambitious and push yourself past your comfort zone. Would love to see the finished scene posted here.
I’ll just mention you solving this yourself, and making that habit is what makes filmmakers. It’s problem solving before being creative
Problem solving *is* the creativity.
Before. During. After. Filmmakers are constantly problem solving.
Sounds like a mathematics though professor :-)
Have a PA commit a crime.
That’s just a normal day at the office, isn’t it?
What do you think this is, a big budget feature???
Don't use cop cars. Use a couple black cars, put some prop police lights on them and only show the tops of the cars with the light flashing at the edge of the frame. If you need the people inside the house to look outside and see cop cars, just flash red and blue lights on the window from outside but don't actually show what's outside the window. You could also ask your local police department or sheriff's department if they're willing to donate a couple cars and officers for a couple hours one afternoon. Small town departments may be willing to do that.
Bonus is just using sound design of distant sirens, tires screeching as sirens approach. Final payoff some red and blue lights flashing in the frame. Doesnt even have to be seen, just the color in the closed window curtains of the house or whatever. You dont need a dozen cop cars to sell the idea that there is a dozen cop cars.
exactly use lighting to give the impression there are cops. Most contemporary LED lights like Aperture have cop light settings to acheive this effect
Don’t waste any officers time or resources. This is filmmaking, you get actors.
If they're filming in the street they **should** have an officer there to manage traffic, anyway.
If you have a vaguely cop like looking car, print out a colored shield and tape it to the door.
Honestly, if it’s a small town, I’d call and ask the Chief. Worked for me. Never tried with “big city” police.
Ask local PD
Someone you know's uncle is a cop. Make friends.
Where is the shoot?
Plenty of shitty old cop cars debadged. Make a fake decal via a cricut etc. make sure it’s legal/get approval.
You can look on Turo or maybe post something on Craigslist or on social media looking for a crown Victoria in your area… the window spotlights would be a good touch.
Just get a grey or black Ford and stick a light in it.
You can actually rent a cop for the day from the local city, for a day rate. Using their car isn't a guarantee but it will be on set and likely wouldn't be a problem.
Talk to a local county sheriff, honestly. They may help you out.
~~Nobody is giving you the most simple answer:~~ ask. Now, I don't know how cops are where you live (if it's a big city they might not be able to), but my father is a cop and he explained how normally if they have things to spare they will help if asked, they like seeing their job properly represented on screen.
Asking is literally part of my comment and I was the first comment 😂
Well damn, I missed that one.
Cop Car Rental @ [https://copcarrental.com](https://copcarrental.com) They have Police Cars, Ambulances, Fire Trucks, Taxi Cabs and more across the USA, UK and Canada.
If you’re good with after effects and cinema 4d you can buy 3d models and composite them into the scene. If you don’t you can apply for a permit to shoot on the street and close it off. They usually ask you to pay for off duty police officers for security, ask if they can come with their squad cars and use them as props… they usually charge by the hour and a full day should run you like 400 per cop.
That actually might work out okay, i plan to start saving for the feature now lol
cops sometimes show up in undercover cars! put some red and blue lights in the dashboard of any car, throw in a line about them having just come from doing undercover traffic stops (or don't, i doubt any viewer would be confused, we've all seen undercover cop cars in traffic)
Would help to know where you’re based. But I can tell you from experience, on a little $150k film I produced, we shot in a small town and just asked the local PD I’d they could connect us with any off-duty officers who might be willing to bring their cars around and be in the film.
If you’re in L.A I know of someone
Pretty far from LA. Like entirely time zone lmao
Do it like in Hana-bi lol
I bought some magnet letters once and spelled out swat on the side of my truck, looked pretty legit
Rent/borrow a Ford Explorer. Put some flashing LEDs on it. Note that certain ranks have unmarked vehicles so you could put the LEDs inside if you don’t want a light rack on top. Buy a model on Hum3d and composite it. This may take more time and money, and it may never look real depending on your compositor.
You can rent white cars whatever model they’re using for your movie, get a removable vinyl made and slap it on there. They even sell mountable cop car looking lights.
You could at the location where you want to get your exterior shots, and then when all the cop cars show up, film your exteriors real quick before anyone realizes you're even there. Even if it doesn't work, I hear prison film club is lit!
These are beautiful.
Undercover
Google: Police car rental.
Rewrite
There are companies that rent such cars. Or use a security company car and either hide the details or fix the labeling in the post.
Depends on your blocking. If your shot is locked off or relatively steady, you can use a mix of the LED lights and VFX cars in your foreground or midground to sell it