I think they’re people who understand basic firearm safety but don’t understand extenuating circumstances or the fact that movies tend to use real firearms shooting specialized ammunition.
And the fact is that if you hang out in weird places you’ll meet people who think they know what they’re doing with a gun and really need to be following the first rule of firearm safety (don’t point it at shit you don’t want to destroy). People like the sort who bring unloaded guns into the bedroom or who point them at friends as a joke. You know, morons (and I say this as someone who does do dangerous shit for fun). But there’s a difference between touching an electric wire because you shut off the circuit yourself and touching one because a master electrician assured you it’s safe.
George Clooney has said that on the sets he’s been on, both the prop master and the actor check the gun. If a scene requires someone to shoot towards the camera, a transparent barrier is placed in front of the camera, even when it’s blanks being used. You don’t rehearse a scene with a gun that’s capable of firing, you use a dummy gun for that. A real firearm isn’t handed to an actor until just before the camera starts rolling, not while they’re just setting things up.
These are sensible precautions to take, they just weren’t happening on Alec Baldwin’s set. The reasons for these precautions is that the “master armorer” can screw up. People complained about lax gun safety before the incident, the complaints were ignored.
I think they’re people who understand basic firearm safety but don’t understand extenuating circumstances or the fact that movies tend to use real firearms shooting specialized ammunition.
And the fact is that if you hang out in weird places you’ll meet people who think they know what they’re doing with a gun and really need to be following the first rule of firearm safety (don’t point it at shit you don’t want to destroy). People like the sort who bring unloaded guns into the bedroom or who point them at friends as a joke. You know, morons (and I say this as someone who does do dangerous shit for fun). But there’s a difference between touching an electric wire because you shut off the circuit yourself and touching one because a master electrician assured you it’s safe.
George Clooney has said that on the sets he’s been on, both the prop master and the actor check the gun. If a scene requires someone to shoot towards the camera, a transparent barrier is placed in front of the camera, even when it’s blanks being used. You don’t rehearse a scene with a gun that’s capable of firing, you use a dummy gun for that. A real firearm isn’t handed to an actor until just before the camera starts rolling, not while they’re just setting things up.
These are sensible precautions to take, they just weren’t happening on Alec Baldwin’s set. The reasons for these precautions is that the “master armorer” can screw up. People complained about lax gun safety before the incident, the complaints were ignored.