A deadly shooting on a New Mexico film set involving actor Alec Baldwin has raised questions about safety procedures during film production.
A deadly shooting on a New Mexico film set involving actor Alec Baldwin has raised a number of questions about safety procedures during film production. For one film expert, the tragedy underscores the importance of training and oversight during sequences involving firearms. “With the sets I work on, I work with very large crowds, up to 500 people,” Paul Biddiss, a former British Army paratrooper turned-military advisor, told Task & Purpose. “Weapons safety is always going to be paramount when you’re working with any sort of weapon.” Baldwin, a producer and the star of the western film “Rust,” fired a prop gun while filming at Bonanza Creek Ranch, in Santa Fe County, around 1:50 p.m. on Thursday, killing Halyna Hutchins,42, the film’s director of photography, and injuring director Joel Souza,48. “This investigation remains open and active,” the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. “No charges have been filed in regard to this incident. Witnesses continue to be interviewed by detectives.” The New York Times reported on Friday that the shooting took place during a scene that was either being actively filmed or was rehearsed. “My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna,” Baldwin said after the incident, adding that he was “fully cooperating with the police investigation. Such incidents are rare in the film industry due to extensive safety protocols typically followed during film sequences involving firearms, and has resulted in a flurry of discussion about safety measures on set when firearms are used. To get a better sense of those safety protocols, Task & Purpose spoke with Biddiss, who served 24 years in the British Army before segueing to a career as a military advisor in film and television. Biddiss has worked on numerous action, and firearms-heavy projects, from the World War I epic “1917” to the crime caper “Wrath of Man” and “Fury,” which followed a tank crew in World War II. While some sets use prop weapons that don’t fire anything at all, many of the weapons used are actual firearms that have been modified to fire only blanks, Biddiss said. Blank ammunition has all the components of a normal round, except for the projectile, and the shell casing is crimped at the round’s tip. But even though a weapon can only fire blanks, they can still be dangerous, and so film crews take extensive steps to ensure the safety of the crew. “Although they’re blanks, there are still bits and pieces that will come out — sparks and bits of dust that will fly out, and some pressure,” Bidess said. “A blank can actually do you a huge amount of damage.
