Friday, April 26, 2013
Are Blank-Firing Guns Dangerous?
Prop Agenda: Are blank-firing guns dangerous? YES. Anyone who provides blank-firing weapons for stage and screen should know where their dangers lie, and make sure they are never used in a hazardous manner. But as a demonstration of what they can actually do, the video below should make it clear. Keep it in mind when it comes time to use your weapons, or show it to a director who tries to convince you that you are being overly cautious.
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14 comments:
I think this article is a little negative. Any thing can be dangerous. I think if steps are taken to make things safe this minimizes possible problems. I think some of the thing mentioned were quite obvious i.e. don't hold it directly up to something or someone and fire. No real surprise that is not an acceptable behavior. I think they are dangerous but with positive steps the issue is lessened.
I mean it would be better to be overly cautious than to be loose about possible hazard. Especially for guns, whether it is blank-firing or not, it can be very dangerous since it has a strong pressure when fired. I think this video also makes me worried that we should be definitely educated about gun control before the show. This article is very interesting to see because I am on Romeo and Juliet Run crew and I also was called to get instruction about using gun in the show even though I will never touch the gun prop in the show. Looking at these, I feel like CMU is effectively taking seriously about gun control. I never imagined that the blank-firing gun will be dangerous to this extent. I think when the production is involved with firing weapon or any kinds of weapon, the director should call every casts and crews for early instruction, so that no such disaster happens.
I agree with Alex. I think this article is a bit negative. Anything and everything can be dangerous. Peanuts are dangerous. Water is dangerous. Sun is dangerous. I think that this article doesn't look enough at the safety and precautionary measures that can be taken to make these unloaded guns safer. But, I do believe that any weapon is dangerous in any persons hands; even the trained prop master. Seeing a weapon is scary. When they are used, we must be careful and make sure that they are not represented in a way that people may feela as though THEY THEMSELVES will be harmed. CMU is definitely pretty good with gun safety. Other places I have worked are not.
Wow. I personally didn't know blanks could do that much damage. While the video was a bit negative, and while I agree that many things in this world are dangerous, I definitely see the benefit in taking precautions when using weapons onstage. In the heat of the moment, an actor could use a weapon onstage in an unsafe way. This is why it is especially important in theatre for actors, managers, directors, and designers to be knowledgeable about stage weapons and what damage they could do if they are used incorrectly. I agree with Nate when he says that CMU handles using weapons in shows in a very organized and safe manner. However, if weapons are treating nonchalantly in the theatre, there can be some serious, dangerous consequences. And for the record, the other dangerous things some other people commented about on this article are/should also be taken with caution in the theatre.
While I do see where people who say this video shed a very negative light on black firing guns, it is a sad but true fact that there are some people who don't have the common sense to realize that they are very dangerous. We are at school in an environment where prop weapon safety is taken seriously, without question. As Nate said, there definitely are places where this is not the case. So yes, this video is a scare tactic. Unfortunately, it is a necessary one, even if you follow safety protocols. The moment you stop respecting something that can cause you harm, your chances of being hurt by it get infinitely higher.
I didnt realize this was even a question. I figured this was pretty common knowledge. I am pretty surprised that people would think it would be alright to shoot at someone with a blank. People can get hurt with a lot less than that, and even if the theatrical effect is really neat its just not worth the risk. you also have to think about the audiences safety when using blanks which is not something as often thought about. Mostly with blanks you need to worry about the decibel level and causing the audience pain with how loud the shot or shots are. not only that but with something so loud the audience might get out of audience mode and start worrying about the actors safety rather than the character which is something you never want. I am glad such emphasis on gun safety, no matter what the type) is put into action these days.
How safe blank firing weapons have always been a confusing idea to many of people because what they know is that the weapon has been modified to not fire any projectile thus it must obviously be safe! NO blank firing weapons are still highly dangerous because of the gas pressure caused by the round exploding. Theatrical regulations for fire arms on stages requires that they must have a shortened chamber (where the bullet is loaded) and a filled barrel. These can then be used with blanks. how ever for films they utilize weapons that do not have a filled barrel but will still typically have a shortened chamber so that no real bullets may be loaded in the weapon. This regulation became strictly enforced after the incident with Brandon Lee in the filming of the crow. People become lenient with blank firing weapons because they assume since there is no projectile then it is safe to use. I once worked on a film a couple years ago that had some extensive firearms usage. The first day of training with the automatic weapons the weapons master held a safety briefing where he put a mannequin head on a post and fired a blank at it from 2 feet away. The gas pressure blew the head into pieces. Firearms blank or not are no joke and should be treated as loaded at all times.
I had no idea that blanks were dangerous until it came up in our props mini for stagecraft. I kind of always thought that a gun with blanks was kind of like a cap gun it just made loud noises. But its actually a loaded gun w/o the bullet. So the explosion that happens is real and is quite powerful. (As demonstrated in the video). I never doubted it upon learning it, but this video really cemented it for me. What surprises me is that we have not come up with a solution yet. You would think that in the modern era you would be able to make a gun that made the sound w/o actually presenting any danger to anyone.
For anyone not familiar with the story of Brandon Lee's accident back in 1993. In filming one scene for the film the Crow they used a dummy bullet for a close up and then when they went to film a scene where a blank is fired at brandon lee they used the same prop gun but loaded with a blank. Apparently while filming the close up a piece of the dummy bullet had become lodged in the barrel and when the blank was fired the gas pressure fired the fragment hitting and fatally wounding Brandon.
The answer is obvious. Anything that still has the capacity to expel something from it at a very high speed, no matter what is, is dangerous. I understand that they were made to simulate a gun fire and not cause the damage of a real gun shot, but I like to think of blanks as a preliminary prototype that everyone got too excited and impatient about and decided to mass produce and use to make their movies more realistic. It's good that there are maticulous rules about handling, using, transporting, and securing firearms because no matter what its firing, it's still dangerous. Besides, even if it's not loaded, you could still beat someone over the head with it. It's still dangerous.
Whether or not to use a real gun with blanks on stage is a tough decision. If your venue is small using a gun with blanks should immediately be off the table because it will be deafeningly loud. But if it is a large enough venue to use a gun it can really have a huge impact and be very powerful for your production. On the other hand it can be dangerous and expensive so its a decision you have to make
I have never worked on a show with guns, but I know that gun safety is something to do right. In school I've been taught to always treat guns and things that look like guns with a lot of care and not taking any chances. I think that people have an idea that Blank-Firing guns are safe because the of their use on stages and as starter pistols. This video really opened my eyes to how dangerous blank firing guns can be. I think that we as a theatre community need to increase our understanding of the safety concerns that come with blank guns.
What does it say that I feel bad for the fruit? Not a very scientific study, but an effective demonstration, which is the point. All firearms are inherently dangerous and should be treated as loaded and ready to fire at all times. The first rule of gun safety in my book is: "Never point the weapon at anything you are not 100% willing to destroy." I think maybe the best policy is to simply make no distinction between a prop gun with blanks and a loaded gun.
To DPSWAG, the misconception that some people have with theatrically "Safe" blank firing guns is that they are technically incapable of expelling anything as a projectile because of the filled barrel and shortened chamber. The danger that alot of people dont realize is that the explosive release of gas from the blank is still highly dangerous.
To Akiva, using a blank firing gun is still feasable in a small venue that is why they have various size loads. Full load, half load, quarter load, and I believe they do have 1/8 load. The load refers to the amount of gun powder loaded into the round. Full load is a round fully loaded with gun powder, half load half the amount of powder. Using a quarter load in a small venue is feasable in a setting like the Rauh. The issue does become audience safety however if the guns are fired too close to the audience it could potentially cause a panic.
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