I'm directing a movie and want some people's opinions.

It's a very low budget indie movie. Basically it's a crime thriller, where the main character plays a cop/detective. He is left handed though, and the gun props unfortunately are not ambidextrous. The actor cannot get use to holding the gun right in his right hand cause he is use to doing it in his left for shoot outs.

When he reloads though, he has to put the hand gun in his other hand, to hit the mag release, and the bolt release.

I am wondering if this will look strange to audiences, and I have to spend more budget on new ambidextrous props, or would the audience just accept it and not notice likely, when concentrating on the suspense, and on the story.

What do you think? You can be honest too, I want what is best for the movie shoot. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

Or .... God forbid ... maybe you could make the character left-handed

Yes, I could but then the audience will be wondering, why is a left handed cop, using a right handed pistol, wouldn't they? Wouldn't they think, why didn't he just pick a left-handed one?

Chypmunk - the character is already left-handed, the problem is that the gun is right-handed.

Ironpony - yes, it is an unusual action that will almost certainly be noticeable. The alternative to finding a new prop would be to come up with some in-story explanation as to why this character does such an unusual action. Maybe this right-handed gun itself has some significance to him that leads to him choosing it over more practical left-handed/ambidextrous guns. Maybe it's a personality quirk that other characters will remark upon because it's so strange, so they say something like "I never get used to seeing you do that". On the other hand (no pun intended), inserting that explanation might consume more time and resources anyway so it's a question of cost-effectiveness.

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Well I feel that such a character quirk might feel forced and unnatural though, like it doesn't have anything to do with anything in the story, really.

I tried looking at other props, but most gun props, from different companies are right handed only, and don't know if I will be able to get an ambidextrous one to be honest.

So either I put in some commentary, which might be forced, or, I just have him switch hands and hope that audiences will not notice while being caught up in the suspense.

I'll check to see if they can special order an ambidextrous version, but I assume the answer will be no.

Main character is a cop?


Easy explanation...


You could put in a tiny slot of dialogue... just two lines... in which one character asks him why he's using a right-handed gun when he's left handed.
Simple straight forward and underplayed answer from your hero is "Budget cuts"...


That's all you need.
No playing with it... no lingering... just one line asking why, the second line "Budget cuts"... then on with the scene.


Maybe stick it in an action scene about 2/3 of the way through the movie... the dialogue will give a small, realistically toned and also kinda funny nod to the audience, 4 second break in the middle of the action...

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Make it so that the cop had to use another person's gun because of a certain circumstance? I'd not recommend putting in extra explanations because imo it's way more distracting.

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Okay thanks. Actually the opening scene, is an arrest and raid scene, where he has to use his gun and enter the villain's property. And this is the opening scene, that gets the rest of it going, so he won't really have anyone to talk to about it, in the opening.

However, he doesn't have to reload the gun in the opening since not many shots are fired.

It's not until later on, that he will have to do a reload.

There is another possible solution, and I stress the word possible. After shooting the movie, I could reverse all the footage, so that it's mirrored, so that everything is on opposite sides, like looking into a mirror. I have no idea if this will work though, and it's just theoretical.

Even if it works in a test, something could go wrong later, when shooting an entire movie like this. Then the right handed characters will be left, and they will be switching hands, since their props are only for righties as well. So not sure if this will work even.

I do like Rodent's suggestion of turning it into a joke of sorts, but I guess it'll depend on whether or not such a line fits with the tone you're going for with the rest of the film.

Well it's actually about cops going after a serial rapist/killer type story. Kind of like Seven, or Silence of the Lambs. So not sure if a joke like that will fit that tone. What do you think?

But then he'd be using a left handed gun in his right hand.

Yeah I would have to mirror the shots where he reloads only, so, I would have to make them match the non-mirrored shots in the environment somehow...

Yeah I guess it won't work.

When I said a funny nod to the audience... I meant it in a breaking-the-fourth wall kinda weird way.


Like, someone watching the film, who notices the right-handed gun in his left hand... will wonder why. Then 2/3 of the way into the movie, that scene happens, and the person goes "Ha!" internally
The flip side of that coin, is anyone who doesn't notice the right-handed gun in the left hand, will then go "Oh yeah! Ha!" internally.

Hmm, I suppose not.

Maybe the character, being a cop/detective, should be holding the gun in both hands when firing it. That way, even if the character is visibly left-handed, the reloading motion will look a bit more natural than if he was firing the gun with one hand and putting it in his other hand in order to reload.

Okay thanks, I see what you mean. But since the script has such a dark, and serious crime and tragedy tone, I am not sure if breaking the fourth wall is a good idea perhaps.

Okay thanks. I thought of that, but he still is holding the grip in his left hand, and when he switches to the right, it looks kind of weird, at least to me. But maybe I am paying too much attention to detail, since I will be directing it. Or maybe not.

Basically he has to eject the magazine, and chamber the first shot, of the next magazine.

But the magazine release, and the bolt release can both only be pressed by the right handed thumb only. So he still has put the grip in his other hand, just to press both releases with his right handed thumb.

Or...


Make this a serious scene... near the start of the film, have that small gunfight, and have his gun get hit with a bullet... make sure the audience doesn't see that the gun that's destroyed is a right-hander... or, reverse the shot when the gun is destroyed so it looks like a right-hander.


You'll need to then insert a scene just after it of him picking up a new firearm from the armoury... and it's a right handed piece. The armoury budget is stretched thin, and all they have to offer him until they can get the yearly audit sorted is right handed pieces.
His reaction can be something like "Great, so budget cuts mean I have to learn how to shoot again huh? Damned job gets better and better"
Or something like that.


You could then maybe employ a small jinx with the character in the film once or twice where he misses his target, or struggles to reload the weapon in the heat of battle... adding a little more tension to the scene.

Just say he's using his other hand so it feels like someone else.

Yeah maybe. I mean it's a psychological serial killer thriller, so as long as things like budget cuts can come into play, since budget cuts aren't really a thematic subject in the story.

I am going to get some test footage tomorrow to upload, and to show how it will look if he is firing with both hands, and then reloading.

I guess the best you can do is stage it so that as little attention as possible is on the reloading. Keep it quick and out of focus.