Went to my police officer uniform fitting this morning. Turns out there will be 200 of us extras dressed as officers of varying ranks for that shoot on Monday. I have no idea what the scene is but I'm guessing its some kind of graduation ceremony or funeral service. I don't watch the show so not sure how this figures into the plot. I will be a higher ranking officer which is kind of cool. I don't have any pictures to share today because they didn't have a hat on hand that fit me, ordering one from their bigger wardrobe warehouse. It'll be there on Monday. They also had to alter the neck of my shirt and the hem of my pants. I know I say this repeatedly, but AGAIN, I just cannot get over the level of detail they put into making us extras look authentic even when there are so many of us, and in general, we are seen so little in the show. So many alternations to get through 200 extras.
Now this is where my hypothesis of why some cops might be irritable comes in ....The uniform I am wearing is so taut and form fitting. I am wearing the absolute smallest size they could fit me into for the shirt, jacket and pants. I dare not eat much over the next few days for fear there will be no way I'm going to be able to button the waist on the pants. The neck of my shirt is being taken in so that there is absolutely no crevice between my neck and the collar. The tailor and I could barely button the collar once he pinched the back to pull it as taut as he could. I felt like I was being vacuum packed and sealed. I don't know how I will tolerate being in that uniform for a full day of shooting. The other thing is that the dress jacket that goes with this higher ranking officer uniform is HEAVY. The jacket and pants are a dense wool. I'm really hoping we are doing an exterior shoot with a predicted temp of 42 degrees and sunny and not indoors where it might be quite warm under the studio lights. The only saving grace (besides the TOTAL COOL FACTOR of wearing this uniform) is that I was issued a pair of comfy cop shoes. The have lots of padding and are a nice wide width. Anyway, anyone who has to be trapped in a uniform like that all day, everyday, is just not going to be a happy person.
I had every intention of asking the head wardrobe person about the whole owning a cop uniform thing and about the patches etc., but got no chance. Even though I was in the first batch of extras to be fitted, she already had her hands full with really no time to talk at all. So foiled again. But I did go Junior's Police Equipment afterwards to check with them and see what they could offer. Turns out they are authorized to sell the full uniform INCLUDING the NYPD arm patches to actors....the only catch being, the actor has to have a current active SAG card--meaning they are dues paying members of the Screen Actors Guild Union--which, of course, I AM NOT. I asked him if I brought in someone with a SAG card, could they buy all my stuff for me and he said that was fine. So now I really have to buddy up with a SAG actor to ask this favor. He was also saying that if I wanted to buy the ENTIRE line of police uniform wardrobe, it would set me back $900. The basics are about $400. I felt like talking to him gave me the clarity I've been wanting. I'm still going to ask around to other extras just because every person I ask gives me different info. Now, I'm kind of just interested in hearing the variability of people's responses. The last person I talked to said that the production companies just velcro on the patches and I didn't have to buy any!! It's kind of taking on an urban myth quality for me. I've not heard the same story twice yet...and I've talked to at least 6 or 7 people about it now.
Turns out that a friend of mine who just started doing background acting as a result of hearing about my experiences is booked for the same shoot on Monday! It didn't take long at all for us to collide on a booking That means it'll be really easy to get pictures to post next week. Stay tuned!
Now this is where my hypothesis of why some cops might be irritable comes in ....The uniform I am wearing is so taut and form fitting. I am wearing the absolute smallest size they could fit me into for the shirt, jacket and pants. I dare not eat much over the next few days for fear there will be no way I'm going to be able to button the waist on the pants. The neck of my shirt is being taken in so that there is absolutely no crevice between my neck and the collar. The tailor and I could barely button the collar once he pinched the back to pull it as taut as he could. I felt like I was being vacuum packed and sealed. I don't know how I will tolerate being in that uniform for a full day of shooting. The other thing is that the dress jacket that goes with this higher ranking officer uniform is HEAVY. The jacket and pants are a dense wool. I'm really hoping we are doing an exterior shoot with a predicted temp of 42 degrees and sunny and not indoors where it might be quite warm under the studio lights. The only saving grace (besides the TOTAL COOL FACTOR of wearing this uniform) is that I was issued a pair of comfy cop shoes. The have lots of padding and are a nice wide width. Anyway, anyone who has to be trapped in a uniform like that all day, everyday, is just not going to be a happy person.
I had every intention of asking the head wardrobe person about the whole owning a cop uniform thing and about the patches etc., but got no chance. Even though I was in the first batch of extras to be fitted, she already had her hands full with really no time to talk at all. So foiled again. But I did go Junior's Police Equipment afterwards to check with them and see what they could offer. Turns out they are authorized to sell the full uniform INCLUDING the NYPD arm patches to actors....the only catch being, the actor has to have a current active SAG card--meaning they are dues paying members of the Screen Actors Guild Union--which, of course, I AM NOT. I asked him if I brought in someone with a SAG card, could they buy all my stuff for me and he said that was fine. So now I really have to buddy up with a SAG actor to ask this favor. He was also saying that if I wanted to buy the ENTIRE line of police uniform wardrobe, it would set me back $900. The basics are about $400. I felt like talking to him gave me the clarity I've been wanting. I'm still going to ask around to other extras just because every person I ask gives me different info. Now, I'm kind of just interested in hearing the variability of people's responses. The last person I talked to said that the production companies just velcro on the patches and I didn't have to buy any!! It's kind of taking on an urban myth quality for me. I've not heard the same story twice yet...and I've talked to at least 6 or 7 people about it now.
Turns out that a friend of mine who just started doing background acting as a result of hearing about my experiences is booked for the same shoot on Monday! It didn't take long at all for us to collide on a booking That means it'll be really easy to get pictures to post next week. Stay tuned!
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