Police Errors… Top 10 Mistakes Made by Directors will expose some of the most common mistakes identifiable in TV and Films today. These relate to police procedures, uniforms, and dialogue. We fully acknowledge that TV and Film Directors themselves are not solely responsible for these errors; many are down to the costume and prop departments. But, as with all management positions, if you are at the top, the buck stops with you. Directors ultimately delegate, but PFA are here to help prevent some of these mistakes from happening in the first place.
Police Errors… Top 10 Mistakes Made by Directors will start with one of our all-time favourites, London Has Fallen. In addition to the continuity and prop department errors, London Has Fallen was flawed from start to finish.
If the costume department is going to kit out an actor with a tunic and Commissioner epaulettes, then ensure the dialogue reflects the Commissioner’s rank appropriately. Such an obvious mistake that even non-police personnel would notice. When you start making small mistakes, it can significantly undermine the credibility of the production. Moving on!
Coming in at Number 2, 3, 4 and 5 for Police Errors… Top 10 Mistakes Made by Directors is Line of Duty. Line of Duty ran for six seasons and is a very compelling watch for viewers. Scoring 96% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, you would think that it was all roses for the production team. But, it wasn’t. Whilst Line of Duty won many accolades, including a Bafta Award for Best Drama Series, to the eagle-eyed viewer, the series was littered with mistakes. Many of the mistakes lie in the procedural side of policing, who does what and when, etc. Continuity mistakes were also obvious. One example that made the headlines was when vehicles in a chase were swapped. You can read more about that in this article.
The props department also made some schoolboy errors with spelling mistakes on posters.
But, and this is a big but. Whilst we attribute four of our Police Errors… Top 10 Mistakes Made by Directors in Line of Duty, we fully recognise its drama. Yes, drama!
PFA working with TV, Film Productions, Actors and Authors will not stifle the drama which is being produced. We thirst for exciting, jaw-dropping, tense and sometimes fantastical material as much as anyone else. Police Film Advisors will work with you and your team, and we will assist in eliminating these mistakes without compromising your dramatic license.
The costume department is accountable for the errors, although the police uniforms were provided by an outside agency. In the first picture to the left, the female Supt has an ill-fitting police badge on her shirt. When the camera is behind the actor, the edges of the badge can clearly be seen detached from the shirt. Simple but silly error.
The second image depicts two of the main actors entering a crime scene, pulling on blue plastic gloves. They should have shoe covers on as a minimum, as the whole area leading up to the body is a crime scene, and they are walking all sorts of contaminants and DNA into it. Crime scene management across this series was depicted poorly.
Finally, coming in with Numbers 8, 9 and 10 for Police Errors… Top 10 Mistakes Made by Directors is Broachurch. Broadchurch’s first season received 94% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, and there were three seasons in total.
But…. It was flawed from a policing, forensic and court perspective in so many ways. In too many ways to mention here, and to go into detail.
The two main characters, portrayed by David Tennant and Olivia Colman, were written as pretty useless detectives who somehow got the bad guy in the end. Writing in flaws is one thing, but throwing authenticity totally out of the window is another.
This article in the Daily Mail sums up the issues nicely.
Number 8 – forensic issues, Number 9 – police procedural issues and Number 10 – Court representation and costume issues.
“In journalism just one fact that is false prejudices the entire work. In contrast, in fiction one single fact that is true gives legitimacy to the entire work. That’s the only difference, and it lies in the commitment of the writer. A novelist can do anything he wants so long as he makes people believe in it.” – Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“Too scrupulous an accuracy can but impede the freedom of imagination.” – Harry Graf Kessler
To achieve a true dramatic effect, a degree of dramatic and artistic license is needed. If the writing and the production are intentional, then even a lie or a flaw can appear perfect. Don’t let dramatic effect be lost because of unintentional flaws due to poor planning and execution. Police Film Advisors want to support all productions in creating authentic and spellbinding work. PFA, with their vast knowledge of policing in the UK across five decades, will ensure your production makes the headlines for the right reason. Contact Us now for more information.