So, I actually have a story with a prop gun as well. No worries, it's not bad in any sense.
Posted by
Marlowe
Oct 22 '21, 15:04
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tldr: Just read the damn thing, jeez.
So, in film school, we had these projects we had to get done over the space of a week with crews of 4. We would spend 8 days, each person had to direct one and rotate in other functions in the other 3 (those being sound, DP, gaffer/grip).
For her short, a friend decided she wanted to have a cop shooting a girl. Don't ask. Anyway. We cleared it with our teacher, where he reminded us by the millionth time to be safe and follow whatever the cops said. She asked me, who was more advanced with my stuff, to help her with it.
So I went to the NY Mayor's Office of Film. I had to describe the scene, the location, time of day, project size, crew size, blah blah blah. At the time, it was even free. I thought we would get denied. She wanted to do it in front of my apartment building in Midtown Manhattan, where we were shooting some other scenes. It is a very busy street, traffic going both days, it's a crosstown bus line street. But they gave the OK.
Next step, I had to rent the damn thing. I hate guns, but oh well. We went there, she chose it, the guy gave us another safety lesson. A few days later, the day before the shoot (thankfully, hers was the first project to shoot, so it would not interfere with my stuff). Even going home with a fake gun in my backpack was scary. I made sure to keep it hidden in my place.
So next day, a few hours before the shoot was scheduled, a cop called me. He was the one responsible to be with us. He asked if he could come earlier to go again over the safety procedures (starting with, you guessed it, don't shoot even a prop gun towards someone). He came, was super nice, explained everything, checked the gun and the ammo, told us a million times to not have the gun out without him on set, and went for, I imagine, some coffee and donuts nearby.
Before the proper time, he came back, calmed down the actress that was being shot, gave instructions to the guy doing the shooting (who was actually also a crewmember, just had that scene where she yelled for the girl to stop and shoot her as she ran). He was actually having a grand time, laughing at the "uniform" the guy was wearing, particularly the white sneakers. Gave hints at how the guy had to set himself to shoot. And, again, told him to aim a mile away from the girl's back.
The idea was to have 4 or 5 blanks shot, to get good coverage. It was Thursday night in a busy street, in front of an apartment building and a furniture store.
So, we roll camera and the guy shoots the gun. I was a bit away, but fuck, that shit was loud. So loud we all stopped what we were doing. It scared all of us. The actress took the tumble all wrong, she was so scared.
As we are resetting everything, the cop was having a laugh at how amateurish we were, all the while stopping all the 911 calls that were flying. You could see people looking out of the windows nearby.
The second take was great, we were prepared this time for the noise. As we were setting up for the third, one guy gets out of my building and starts yelling at us. I thought, oh, well, this is it, we are done. He lived on the second floor, his baby was crying, this was absurd. I actually agreed with him.
The cop was having none of that. He puts his hand in the guy's chest, tells us to stay put, pushes the guy the 30 feet back to the building. "Sir, this is an authorized movie set, please go back inside", he said. As he comes back out, I go talk to him. Should we interrupt? "Nope. Your permit is until the hour. You have all the right to do this. I would not have approved this scene in this block if it was up to me, but it's not my call. Now, if you can, just one more take with the gun?"
Sure. We had a last take with the gun, I store it away. (I just ran with the gun back to my apartment. I got a very dirty eye from my super, but he always kinda hated me. Or not, I never could read the guy.) We just go for the close-ups and other shots. The cop stayed with us for a bit longer, until the end of the allotted time, just to make sure we would not go behind his back and/or to make sure things on his end were OK. He truly was the nicest guy.
Incidentally, this was probably when the seed of me becoming a producer was planted. I mean, it was always a sort of fallback option because it was, from my point of view, safer and easier than being a director. But seeing I could get things done, this friend of mine asked me specifically to be the producer in her final short, and that became the stepping stone for a chat I had with her boyfriend when he, at last, convinced me to be a producer a year later.
Not sure how much it worked, looking now, as it really meant me taking the easier route. On the other hand, that feature I mentioned a few months back is being somewhat successful in the micro-festival circuit, got a few awards, so it's hard to say it was obviously bad, either.
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