Guns! Guns! How to pull off a realistic killing ?

[Jack Walker]

Here is the California Law on all forms of guns, replicas, etc.:
http://www.atf.gov./firearms/statela...n/califpt1.pdf

Knives and the like are also covered.

It should be noted that laws vary from city to city, county to count, state to state. Laws are quite different in Burbank than in Los Angeles, for example.

It also should be noted that while a sporting goods store may be able to sell BB or airsoft guns, it is very possible these same guns are illegal to use in any manner within the city, county or state they are sold. In some cases, the only place such guns can be used is licensed parks or on shooting ranges.

Carry laws and transportation laws can apply to toy guns as well as real guns. Real guns can have less restrictions than toy guns often. For example, in many places airsoft guns must have orange tips on the barrels.

There are special laws regarding entertainment use of firearms as well. In California it is illegal to borrow a firearm to use in an entertainment production without a permit:
California Penal Code Section 12081 - California Attorney Resources - California Laws
This permit may also offer a bit of legitimization to an awkward situation with authorities no matter what kind of weapons are being used in a production.
(It is also illegal to lend a firearm.)

Another consideration is that if the police as questions about use of a plastic gun (for example) and you say you are making a video/movie, they will immediately start asking for shooting permits, etc. Some places (like Burbank for example) are particularly unfriendly to small productions, and these are very expensive.

And don't forget, you may run into someone who wants to take a minor technical infraction and make an example out of you to show the evil of guns.

Depending on the location, there can be very stringent laws regarding squibs and the like. Squibs could be considered explosive devices and if stuck in a pouch or pocket "concealed on a person" might lead a prosecutor to try to put you in prison for several years... especially if all the permists (and associated fees) are not taken care.

Non-firing - replica guns are totally illegal in some places, even when airsoft replicas (with orange-which can be removed-tips are not.

There are also some very strict laws on knives and other bladed devices.

While safety needs to be the primary concern, legal issues are more likely to destroy your life.

Finally, actors should get themselves firearm training. Actors should also learn to not trust anyone with guns on a movie set. As mentioned above, a reliable professional firearms person will explain and demonstrate everything. My experience is that the reliable firearms person does not let the gun and anyone holding it out of his or her sight. But at the same time, the actors must understand what the possibilities are, what is happening around them and watch out for themselves.

[Dean Sensui]

The one thing that I would miss seeing in a fully automatic weapon is cartridge ejection. While it's relatively easy to do it digitally with a single shot, a rain of brass is a lot tougher, especially if a lot of them has to end up on the floor.

Maybe the military will move ahead with its caseless ammo developments and make it easier on the visual effects guys! :-)

[Dave Brown]

I totally agree that every actor should receive some basic training in firearms safety.

(I should state up front that that this is not entirely an altruistic belief on my part. Once a year, I host a three-day course specifically for actors that covers all the basics of safety, terminology, authenticity and the nature of blanks ... plus we spend one whole day at the shooting range practicing with various loads of blanks AND concluding with some live-fire practice with real handguns. Great fun and a unique learning experience for actors!)

I don't need them to know my job better than me; I need them knowledgeable enough to know when to ask questions and to know when things are NOT being done right.

For some strange reason, I seem to have become somewhat of an authority on this topic and am often asked to teach workshops on safety and what I do on film sets. I was once invited down to LA to teach at Dee Wallace's acting studio, simply because she had had a very bad experience with guns once and she really liked how careful and professional I was with her when we got a chance to work together. (She is a lovely lady and an amazingly talented actress - and one of the best parts of my job is that I get to stand around and watch some really really talented people like her at work.)

At the end of my presentation on staying safe, one of the actors approached me to ask when live ammunition would be allowed on film sets. I didn't really need to explain about the rare possibility of locked-off second-unit shots, simply because actors would NEVER be involved in such rare events, so I simply said, "Never." He then told me he was involved in an indie project in LA where the so-called gun 'expert' showed everyone on set the difference between the dummy cartridge that he held in one hand and the live round he held in the other.

Perhaps he thought he was helping educate people but the end result is that everyone just got freaked out that this gentleman had LIVE ammunition on the film set. (I think that actor was even more freaked out when he saw my face turn white!)

This is not a minor issue either. On big-budget productions, there are often paid-duty police officers doing traffic lockups. My policy is that producers have to notify me in advance when this is going to happen and what they are carrying for firearms, plus I never allow paid-duty officers to come closer than 100 meters to the prop guns. There have even been situations where real police officers play roles as a SWAT team and they show up on set with pouches full of loaded magazines. (This is where a policy of giving EVERYONE who handles firearms - even plastic ones - a complete safety briefing pays off!)

CGI is still a time-consuming and expensive process, especially when one needs to CGI muzzle flashes, slide movements and empty shell casings. Blanks are still the most viable option for most filmmakers provided they can access the appropriate expertise.

I am a big fan of doing as much as one can in the camera.

If a filmmaker really needs to CGI some muzzle flashes though, one tip is to light the actor's face on the set with a snooted strobe or a quick burst of light. This will provide a good spot to add in the muzzle flash in post.

(For a good example of how to do this, watch the opening sequence of "True Lies." All the gunshots were blanks except the last two shots. If you remember the sequence, Arnold fires his gun directly in front of Tom's face and the ONLY way this could be done safely was CGI. Watch the last two shots frame-by-frame and you will see they flash a quick burst of light onto Arnold's face from below, and then the visual effects folks add in a muzzle flash and then one frame of solid white.)

I would love to hear more stories - good and bad - from all you folks. Stay safe and have fun!

[Heath Vinyard]

Originally Posted by Dean Sensui

The one thing that I would miss seeing in a fully automatic weapon is cartridge ejection. While it's relatively easy to do it digitally with a single shot, a rain of brass is a lot tougher, especially if a lot of them has to end up on the floor.

Maybe the military will move ahead with its caseless ammo developments and make it easier on the visual effects guys! :-)

I had a full auto rifle in my last shoot that I had to CGI the ejection for. It was tedious but once I got into the groove it wasn't so bad. Since I never shot the ground, I didn't have to worry about shell casings resting. The overall effect was pretty good.