This Is What Is Important In On-Set Safety – Filmmakers Who Work With Firearms
Christopher Gist, University of South Australia and Sarah Mayberry, The University of Melbourne
In a horrendous accident, a cinematographer has died and a director has been injured after Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun while filming in New Mexico.
When shooting a film with guns, there are many choices to make: each prop needs to be appropriate for the character, and appropriate for the scene. There is also the choice of whether you will use replica weapons, real weapons, or a mix.
But most importantly, everyone on set needs to know how to work alongside guns.
A gun with no ammunition – that is, a gun with neither a bullet nor blanks – is not dangerous. But even so, on set there is always an armourer, a safety officer, and a stunt coordinator: at least three people who always have an eye ...