The goal of movies and TV series is to make scenes look realistic. When it comes to prop guns, they don’t just look dangerous.<\/b>
\nSuch was the case in the death Thursday of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie \u00ab\u00a0Rust\u00a0\u00bb in New Mexico. The 42-year-old director of photography died after actor Alec Baldwin discharged a prop gun, according to investigators. The film’s director Joel Souza,48, was also injured during the incident. Prop master Joseph Fisher told CNN on Friday that extreme safety measures are taken when it comes to weapons on set. \u00ab\u00a0Typically we will do a safety brief with the cast and crew,\u00a0\u00bb he said. \u00ab\u00a0We’ll let them examine it, we’ll explain safety precautions that go with each type of prop weapon. In this case [the \u00ab\u00a0Rust\u00a0\u00bb incident], it was a blank firing weapon and with that there are inherent risks.\u00a0\u00bb Fisher mentioned the case of actor Brandon Lee who died in 1993 after a prop gun accident in which the tip of a dummy bullet accidentally ended up lodged in the gun, which resulted Lee being wounded in the abdomen. The prop master said even when there is no \u00ab\u00a0bullet\u00a0\u00bb in a prop gun, there are still projectiles, including gun powder and gas which can be dangerous within a certain range. Ben Simmons of Bare Arms, a company in the UK that works with firearms on sets, told CNN a variety of \u00ab\u00a0prop guns\u00a0\u00bb can be used in TV and film productions. They range, he said, from \u00ab\u00a0a completely fake firearm that’s been constructed\u00a0\u00bb from materials such as rubber or wood to an actual working gun or a formerly working gun that has been rendered inoperable. Simmons explained that the type of gun used depends on the production, but often guns that fire blanks are used on sets. In a regular gun, a charge fires the projectile which is a bullet. \u00ab\u00a0Blanks\u00a0\u00bb refer to a blank cartridge which usually consists of a shell or casing, gunpowder, but no bullet. Instead there is a tip that has been \u00ab\u00a0crimped\u00a0\u00bb by wadding or wax, according to the \u00ab\u00a0Handbook of Firearms and Ballistics.\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0It doesn’t mean the blank rounds are safe because if you were to get in the way of that or get too close to it, lots of dirt and debris can get thrown out the end of the gun, and that can cause harm,\u00a0\u00bb Simmons said. \u00ab\u00a0It’s extremely rare for it to happen and it’s even rarer for it to cause death.\u00a0\u00bb Dave Brown, a professional firearms instructor and a firearms safety coordinator, wrote a piece for American Cinematographer magazine in 2019 in which he explained that \u00ab\u00a0CGI [computer generated imagery] may be used for close-range gunshots that could not be safely achieved otherwise, but yes, even with all the advancements in visual effects and computer-generated imagery, we still fire guns with blanks.\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0The reason is simple: We want the scene to look as real as possible. We want the story and characters to be believable,\u00a0\u00bb Brown wrote. \u00ab\u00a0Blanks help contribute to the authenticity of a scene in ways that cannot be achieved in any other manner. If the cinematographer is there to paint a story with light and framing, firearms experts are there to enhance a story with drama and excitement.\u00a0\u00bb The more gunpowder that is used, the bigger the flash and blast from a prop gun. Brown’s piece reiterated that using blanks still requires someone on set who is experienced with firearms. \u00ab\u00a0Blanks expel gunpowder and hot gases out of the front of the barrel in a cone shape,\u00a0\u00bb he wrote. \u00ab\u00a0This is harmless at longer ranges, but the explosion can seriously injure someone if it’s too close.\u00a0\u00bb Daniel Oates, former police chief for Miami Beach, Florida, and Aurora, Colorado, told CNN that in policing \u00ab\u00a0you treat every gun as if it’s dangerous and it’s loaded all the time.\u00a0\u00bb And while prop guns on sets generally use blanks instead of live ammunition, Oates explained that they all use powder as a charge agent and wading to create the noise and visual of an actual gun shot. \u00ab\u00a0Even at close range these weapons can be very, very dangerous,\u00a0\u00bb he said. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation into what happened on the set of \u00ab\u00a0Rust\u00a0\u00bb is \u00ab\u00a0open and active\u00a0\u00bb and no charges have been filed.<\/p>\n