Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 465
Stunt Performers
Hello Everyone
Bob told me this week that when he grows up he wants to be a stuntman.
He said that he has so many trips and tumbles and knocks and bruises that he must have had enough practice to set him up quite well for that kind of career.
l don’t know whether this is before or after he becomes an astronaut.
Emily said that you should say a stunt performer nowadays because women do that kind of work as well as men.
l told Bob that the aim of doing stunt work was that exciting stunts were performed without getting injured.
Of course, anyone doing stunt work goes through thorough training before they start working on movies or television dramas. They also have to be fit and physically strong. They have to have a head for heights!
They are trained in martial arts and they are taught how to fight in staged fights – that means pretend fighting. They have to learn how to fall without hurting themselves – even down stairs and how to use weapons like swords without hurting anyone else.
Stunt work could be a fist fight in a bar, or jumping from a high window or aeroplane, or running along the top of a moving train.
lt could be riding on a motor bike at speed, or jumping off a boat just at the right moment before it explodes, or leaping between tall buildings.
lt could be being dragged behind a horse, flying through the air in a speedboat, or swinging from a crane.
Some stunt doubles might be especially skilled at driving cars at speed.
But what you see on screen, may not be exactly all that it appears!
Sections of film can shot at different times over many days. Then they are put together in such a way to show continuous action like a fast chase or escape.
Explosions and fire can actually be computer images laid onto sections of a film. These are called special effects. They can be very expensive.
Computer-generated images, or CGl, can produce effects that would be impossible to achieve with real actors.
Sometimes a model is built and explosions set inside it to make them look realistic. The models will be much smaller than full-sized buildings or ships or oil rigs for example.
A blade of a knife could disappear into the handle when it is stabbed into someone. This is called a trick knife.
When someone is shot they are not shot with a real bullet. They can be hit with a fake bullet called a squib load shot from a gun.
A safer way of creating the effect of being shot is to use a mechanism called an air squib which is hidden under clothing. lt can spurt out fake blood from a fake wound.
Fake blood is called Kensington Gore named after, they say, a film director who made horror films. Kensington Gore is also the name of a street in London.
A dummy could be substituted for a person as they fall off a cliff or balcony. lf a real person falls a long way down without a parachute, there will be an enormous mattress-shaped bag filled with air on the ground to break their fall.
You don’t see the stunt performer hit the ground. There will be another camera shot to deal with that part of the fall.
Of course if they fall off a cliff into the sea, the shot might be of the fall from the top of the cliff right to the bottom.
Some action is filmed in front of a green screen. A green screen is a green backdrop onto which a film can be projected. Actors may look as though they are driving along a road or dangling above a cliff when really they are inside a studio.
You could see a fight on top of a cable car stuck between mountains and be on the edge of your seat in suspense when actually the actors might be just a few feet off the ground.
Some actors do their own stunts. lf you watch old footage of Buster Keaton it is incredible what he dared to do without green screen. Harry Houdini was already a trained escapologist and dare devil performing to live audiences before he appeared in films. Jackie Chan was a master of martial arts and took his talent to the screen. There have been many others too like Burt Reynolds and Sylvester Stallone.
But most actors use a stunt double for dangerous action. The double to stand in will be of the same height and build as the actor. They might have to wear a wig to look more similar. They will most likely be filmed from a distance and their face will not be very visible.
These sections of film may be so short you will not notice the character looks a little different.
lf a female actor has to fall down a staircase, for example, and she is wearing a lot of clothing like a long dress and a shawl, she might be substituted with a stunt man, especially if she is not very thin.
But there are women who do this work too.
lf a stunt is very dangerous and complicated, a stunt coordinator will plan the stunt sequences and manage the stunt actor while they are working on set.
To keep the stunt work safe as well as spectacular on screen, many test runs and rehearsals are required.
Many cameras might be set up when shooting of the film takes place so that the stunt can be filmed from different angles. lf a large part of an expensive set is destroyed in explosions or fire, the film crew will not want to need a retake of the action. They will get only one chance to get everything right.
Of course, extra insurance is taken out to cover very dangerous stunts.
Although everything is carefully planned and safety mechanisms are often employed; stunts are still very dangerous – some more than others. Stunt actors can still get injured. Often they sign a contract to say that if they die filming a sequence, that film footage can still be included in the film.
Some stunt actors have died whilst being filmed and some have died later from injuries sustained on set. These deaths have mostly occurred from falls or helicopter accidents and some have been accidentally shot.
Stunt actors have been around since the early 1900s when cinema was first becoming a popular entertainment. Before that, you could see stunt performers in circuses. They could be acrobats, high wire walkers, tumbling clowns, trapeze artists or someone who would be shot out of a cannon into a net. There were also Wild West shows displaying stunts with horses, guns and bows and arrows.
Often these performers were so eager to appear in films, they weren’t even paid. Some of the horse riders in cowboy films were actually otherwise unemployed, experienced cowboys who were looking for work.
A few of those early film directors would get really carried away.
ln one film in the early days of cinema, (Jesse James 1939) some horses were driven off a high cliff and many other horses were badly injured and killed in film scenes of skirmishes and battle fields. They would be tripped up by wires whilst running at full speed. They were treated as though they were just expendable film props.
The American Humane Association was founded in 1877 to investigate bad conditions for animals on farms, but was brought in to work with the producers of motion pictures to establish protection for animals being used in the making of films after a public outcry in 1940 against the treatment of these horses on set. AHA officials were put on movie sets to observe practices when animals were involved.
Following this, horse riding became safer for people too, because only stunt horses especially trained to do tricks were used.
Other animals have, sadly, died since then, and film-makers are often proud to put a note up on the end credits that no animal was harmed during the making of the movie.
Nowadays, digital and mechanical horses can be used on film instead of real horses in what could be very uncomfortable and even dangerous situations.
An equivalent in Britain of the AHA would be the Royal Society of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – the RSPCA.
Nowadays, stunt actors have to be certified professionals; otherwise the film producers will not get proper insurance.
There will be medics on set too while they are performing; and there may even be an ambulance standing by!
Some, like Bruce Lee, became stars of film as their career developed but most stunt actors are not famous.
For many years there was no Oscar category for stunt actors and in 2020 there were calls for this to change.
Taurus World Stunt Awards have their own awards for stunt actors and also a foundation which helps those who have been injured at work.
Cinema and television audiences love ever-more spectacular stunts in action movies; but sometimes there is a high price to pay.
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Thank you!
And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bill: Why did the horses get a divorce?
Bob: l don’t know. Why did the horses get a divorce?
Bill: Because they just couldn’t establish a stable relationship!
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com
Picture Gallery
A stunt double
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
Miss Pringle gave her class an idiom quiz this week.
Do you know what these phrases mean?
- Standing on her own feet
- To face the facts
- To shoulder responsibility
- To put on a brave face
- To put one’s foot in it
- Behind one’s back
- To put your heart into something
- In safe hands
- You have to hand it to him
- You can’t put an old head on young shoulders
*********************
TO ADVERTISE ON THIS BLOG
PLEASE CONTACT:
christina.sinclair.ads@aol.co.uk
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Quick Quiz
Can you work out what these jobs are? They are all jobs in the film industry.
- C_s_u_e s_p_r_i_o_
- A_i_a_ t_a_n_r
- S_u_d e_i_o_
- C_m_r_ o_e_a_o_
- M_s_c c_m_o_e_
- A_t_r
- S_r_p_w_i_e_
- P_o_ m_k_r
- M_k_-u_ a_t_s_
- A_i_a_o_
DO NOT TRY THlS AT HOME!
STUNT PEOPLE NEED SPEClAL TRAlNlNG
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE lNUlT TWlNS
These little children are very cute!
The boy has a yellow top on and the girl has a pale green top on.
HEAD AND BODY FRONT (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and pale brown dk yarn cast on 8 stitches
Knit 4 rows of stocking stitch
Change to top colour dk yarn
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Change to white dk yarn
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Change to black dk yarn
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off
Leave a length of yarn to leave your stitches on
HEAD AND BODY BACK (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and pale brown dk yarn cast on 8 stitches
Knit 4 rows of stocking stitch
Change to top colour dk yarn
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Change to white dk yarn
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Change to black dk yarn
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off
Leave a length of yarn to leave your stitches on
LEGS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and pale brown dk yarn cast on 8 stitches
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Change to black dk yarn
Knit 4 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off
Leave a length of yarn to leave your stitches on
ARMS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and top colour dk yarn cast on 6 stitches
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Change to white dk yarn
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off
Leave a length of yarn to leave your stitches on
JACKET BACK (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and brown dk yarn cast on 10 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 12 rows of stocking stitch
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
JACKET LEFT FRONT (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and brown dk yarn cast on 6 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 1 row
Knit 2 and purl 4
Repeat the last 2 rows 5 times
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
JACKET RIGHT FRONT (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and brown dk yarn cast on 6 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 1 row
Purl 4 and knit 2
Repeat the last 2 rows 5 times
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Cast off
SLEEVES (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and brown dk yarn cast on 9 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Cast off
JACKET HOOD (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and brown dk yarn cast on 8 stitches
Knit 1 row
Knit 2 and purl 6
Repeat the last 2 rows 11 times (24 rows)
Cast off
TO MAKE UP
- Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew side seams of head, body and also the arms and legs using appropriate colours
- Turn right sides out and pull tops of head, feet and hands in tight
- Stuff the body and legs with some stuffing
- Stuff the arms with the ends of yarn
- Bind a length of white yarn around the neck and pull in tight
- Bind a length of white yarn around the wrists and pull in tight
- Bind a length of black yarn around the ankles and pull in tight
- Add eyes before or after sewing up
- Sew a few stitches of black yarn across the top corners of the face to lower the hairline and make plaits for the girl by crocheting 10 chains into a length of black yarn twice – sew them into place
- Sew jacket shoulder seams
- Sew the tops of the sleeves to the shoulders
- Sew under sleeve and side seams
- Sew the hood into place
- Sew a line of fluffy white yarn to the jacket edges and then add another line on the top to give a good effect
- Tie 30cm/12” of brown yarn around neck to hold jacket in place
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Answers to the News Desk Quiz
- Standing on her own feet – not relying on the help of anyone else
- To face the facts – to be realistic
- To shoulder responsibility – to take charge of a project
- To put on a brave face – to try and look courageous even though you may actually be very unhappy about a situation
- To put one’s foot in it – to say something wrong or embarrassing probably by accident
- Behind one’s back – other people doing or saying things that you don’t know about
- To put your heart into something – to try really hard
- In safe hands – someone capable dealing with a project
- You have to hand it to him – you have to give him credit for doing something well
- You can’t put an old head on young shoulders – younger people can’t have the same life experience as older people
Quick Quiz Answers
- Costume supervisor
- Animal trainer
- Sound editor
- Camera operator
- Music composer
- Actor
- Scriptwriter
- Prop maker
- Make-up artist
- Animator
