ThursdayB次元官网网址檚 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by a prop revolver during filming for the Alec Baldwin Western B次元官网网址淩ustB次元官网网址� has the screen industry pondering the future of guns on sets.

Toronto producer Martin Katz of Prospero Pictures says the tragedy near Santa Fe, N.M., raises the question of whether the industry should start using more non-functioning firearms.

Summerland, B.C.-based motion picture and TV property master Dean Goodine predicts the industry will step up gun safety measures, like it did when Brandon Lee was killed by a bullet left in a prop gun on the set of B次元官网网址淭he CrowB次元官网网址� in 1993.

Court records say Baldwin pulled the trigger on the revolver that also wounded director Joel Souza during a rehearsal in Santa Fe after an assistant director told him it was B次元官网网址渃oldB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� an industry term for a gun that canB次元官网网址檛 fire.

Experts say theyB次元官网网址檙e baffled by what Baldwin has called a B次元官网网址渢ragic accident,B次元官网网址� since sets typically have strict and sufficient protocols in place for handling prop firearms, which should never go off near people or be pointed directly at anyone on set.

Katz wonders if the industry should use more realistic replicas, like 3D-printed models, and avoid showing them in extreme close-ups so audiences canB次元官网网址檛 tell the difference.

B次元官网网址淪o much of what we use in practical effects is not what it appears to be. When we make it snow, itB次元官网网址檚 not actually snow, itB次元官网网址檚 soap flakes or some product that was created to look like snow. Why, when we use guns on set, do we actually use real guns?B次元官网网址� says Katz, whose credits include the films B次元官网网址淐osmopolisB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淎killaB次元官网网址檚 Escape.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淢aybe this is the time towards saying: B次元官网网址榃e donB次元官网网址檛 need to shoot movies with actual real guns. We can shoot them with models.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

As Goodine describes it, prop guns are often real weapons that could fire a live round but instead are often loaded with B次元官网网址渂lanksB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� cartridges with gun powder and other material to ignite a flame and sound but no projectile bullet.

On-set guns can also include electric revolvers and CO2-powered versions, similar to pellet guns.

Usually a professional weapons expert called an B次元官网网址渁rmourerB次元官网网址� will be on set to test and take care of the gun and closely monitor the actor handling it, say experts.

Only the armourer or trained prop master or qualified crew member, along with the actor, are allowed to touch the firearm, says Goodine. The actor isnB次元官网网址檛 given the firearm until the very last minute before filming, when everyone gets out of the line of fire, and never handles it during rehearsal.

Toronto producer Don Carmody says in most major jurisdictions in Canada, police officers supervise use of blanks or pyrotechnics on set. Camera crews are also often protected by a sheet of Plexiglas if a blank is fired.

B次元官网网址淕enerally the safety protocols on a set, certainly anywhere in Canada, are really strenuously observed, right down to the (emergency task force) officers on the stage,B次元官网网址� says Carmody, whose credits include B次元官网网址淭he Boondock SaintsB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淩esident EvilB次元官网网址� film franchises.

But problems have happened on home soil.

Carmody says on the set of the 1991 Chuck Norris film B次元官网网址淭he HitmanB次元官网网址� he produced in Vancouver, a barrel constrictor came loose on an automatic weapon using blanks and hit a stuntman. The wetsuit he was wearing as a safety measure wasnB次元官网网址檛 big enough and the barrel constrictor flew into a gap in the clothing, hitting his liver, but he survived.

Goodine says the Lee tragedy saw the industry increase the amount of armourers on sets B次元官网网址渢enfold.B次元官网网址�

He predicts the B次元官网网址淩ustB次元官网网址� killing will see more companies B次元官网网址渕ove away from firing blanks entirely.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淩ight now, probably every script in Hollywood is getting a hard look to see what they can write instead of guns,B次元官网网址� says Goodine, whose credits include B次元官网网址淟egends of the Fall,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淧asschendaeleB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淚nception.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚f you have a police show and somebody pulls out their Glock and theyB次元官网网址檙e going to fire it, theyB次元官网网址檙e going to CGI the muzzle flash. YouB次元官网网址檙e going to see a lot more CO2.B次元官网网址�

The B次元官网网址渕uzzle flashB次元官网网址� is the light and impact of the gun.

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Experts say in most cases, the muzzle flash and gun smoke could be easily replaced by sound and CGI, which is often preferable to an actual gun going off.

Goodine says in the past five years, gun scenes have been written out of a lot of the family projects heB次元官网网址檚 worked on.

But heB次元官网网址檚 also noticed prep periods being condensed and decisions being made at the last-minute, which pose a safety hazard for any gun scenes.

He advises film students not to race to be department heads, so they have the experience and confidence to tell a director not to do something thatB次元官网网址檚 unsafe.

B次元官网网址淭he speed the industry has grown in the last eight years because of new media has put so many people in positions they shouldnB次元官网网址檛 be in, and IB次元官网网址檓 not hard on the people that have taken those positions,B次元官网网址� says Goodine.

B次元官网网址淚 have had so many conversations in the last seven or eight years with people who are in management of these shows that have no clue what we do. It is astonishing to me. I had an accountant tell me on a big show that props is an afterthought in the budget. Well, after (Thursday), itB次元官网网址檚 not an afterthought anymore.B次元官网网址�

Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press

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