Who are stuntmen?
When it comes to cinema, as a rule, first of all, they discuss the plot, the cast, as well as the game of one or another actor. Sometimes a more advanced viewer can even start a discussion about the direction of the picture, if, again, he knows the director and his other works.
And if we take television projects that were released on screens by no less talented people. Except for some cases, no one will remember either the screenwriter, or the director, or the cameraman, or anyone else from the large film crew.
For the viewer, everyone who remains behind the scenes will remain faceless workers of the dream factory. Stuntmen are just one of them. The services of these people are more often used by production companies specializing in action films, action films, detective stories, military dramas, etc. But even when shooting melodramas and comedies, you have to deal with stunt scenes.
A stuntman is one of the most interesting and dangerous professions, which attracts a large number of people. Today, special effects can be created using computer technology, but the services of stuntmen continue to be highly valued and well paid. Not a single action movie or thriller can do without their participation. Recently, stuntmen often participate in commercials, performing complex risky stunts.
Extreme profession
In general, there is much less romance in this profession than it seems at first glance. Basically, it’s hard, exhausting work. The trick itself usually lasts a matter of moments, but it requires many days of preparation: it is necessary to select and check the equipment, often more than once – after all, human life and health are at stake, prepare the site, determine the teams of insurers and support.
Plus, any trick is a kind of performance, staging. Therefore, here you can not do without a stunt coordinator, whose task is to make this deadly show spectacular and beautiful. In addition, the director must take into account the capabilities of a person and the reality of the picture he invented, which means that he must be familiar with the stunt craft firsthand.
Usually a stunt coordinator is the head of a stunt team, an experienced performer with a long film experience, a good athlete, coach and organizer, a generator of ideas that can bring them to life, a person who has unquestioned authority among his team members.
He develops a method of filming, a method of insurance, in other words, he constructs a stunt episode. In addition, he personally bears full responsibility for the life and health of stuntmen. During the filming or show, his word is considered decisive.
Risk taker.
As in every profession, it has its own characteristics. And, as you may have guessed, they are far from ordinary. In almost every spectacular event, film, show, promo video or clip – according to the script, the main characters need to perform a dangerous jump or rush through the fire; fall out of the window or perform the most difficult trick on a horse; fight with a super hero, or fly against all the laws of physics.
As a rule, the artist in such scenes is duplicated by a professional stuntman. In other words, a stuntman. It is also true that there are actors who professionally perform their own stunts. But these are few, but basically, the profession of a stuntman has always been and is, very in demand and relevant.
If you look into the past, this profession began with the luminaries of the theatrical stage “conducteurs des secrets”. It was they who developed all sorts of stage tricks – from soaring in the air to pyrotechnic effects.
And although the whole world today is completely fascinated by computer technology, stuntmen are the most relevant and sought-after profession! And as long as there is peace on earth, real stuntmen will be needed.