opinions on stuntwork

[Steel 0]

I have always wanted to be a stuntman ever since... Well I can't remember since when but definately long before I started skydiving. Many people have often told me without me or anybody else bringing the topic up that they think this would be the ideal job for me. Typically I smile and think if only you knew that I had an entire resume created specifically for that purpose. In anycase I finally gave up in the idea because I heard stuntmen have to live in a poor house. I also realized that my lack of political correctness would never get to in with the Hollywood crowd. I guess my point here is to see what the correlation is between the attitude required to skydive and desire to seek out adventure in the form of danger.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[TheAnvil 0]

I think neither you nor I would ever fit in with the liberal wacko's in Hollywood.

Aren't there some stunt-man camps that take place every now and then?

Vinny the Anvil

Vinny the Anvil
Post Traumatic Didn't Make The Lakers Syndrome is REAL
JACKASS POWER!!!!!!

[jfields 0]

Being a stuntman requires intelligence, attention to detail, study of industry equipment, logical analysis of the tasks and a team-player attitude. It isn't a "my balls are really big, so roll film while I give this shit a try" kind of thing. Those people do not have long or successful stunt careers.

[Steel 0]

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Aren't there some stunt-man camps that take place every now and then?

Vinny the Anvil

I never hear about stuntmen camps but I do remember hearing about stuntmens' unions. I used to have the names and number of some stunt coodinators. I remember once contacting some guy that did work for Screen Actors Guild in Central Florida. But its been a long time since then. He said back then that I needed at least 5 skills. Like Scuba, flying (pilot), skiing, skydiving, and maritial arts. Oh well it still seems like a lost dream but with IT/Telecom being where it is, I find myself thinking more and more about it.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[Steel 0]

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Being a stuntman requires intelligence, attention to detail, study of industry equipment, logical analysis of the tasks and a team-player attitude. It isn't a "my balls are really big, so roll film while I give this shit a try" kind of thing. Those people do not have long or successful stunt careers.

Not that I think there is anything wrong with using one's intelligence figure out what is more or less likely to be able to be done. Quite the contrary, I love using my mathematical and physics knowledge to predict the outcome before doing things. However, in all honesty I believe that intelligence and understanding is more the job for a stunt coordinator, then for the stuntman himself. The stuntman himself needs talent and that I think comes from balls more than anything. The ability to stay calm and not freak out, so that he can deal with a potentially stressful situation.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[quade 4]

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However, in all honesty I believe that intelligence and understanding is more the job for a stunt coordinator, then for the stuntman himself. The stuntman himself needs talent and that I think comes from balls more than anything.

No.

Professional stunt people are careful and precise.

They put themselves in what appears to be risky situations but use their skills and knowledge to avoid getting hurt if at all possible.

People that do well in stunt work know when to say "yes, I can do that" and when to say "sorry, but we have to shut down production today because the set up isn't right. No. I don't care if it's costing the production $10,000 dollars today to fix the problem, we're not doing the gag until we have a reasonable expectation of surviving it."

There are a LOT of specialties in stunt work and no single performer is expected to to be able to do it all. As a matter of fact, if you say you can do it all, people are going to look at you funny because what they really expect you to be is an expert that can deliver an expert performance, on cue, on mark, on time & under budget.

They also must be team players. Nobody does anything in the business without a lot of contacts.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[billvon 3,120]

>However, in all honesty I believe that intelligence and understanding
>is more the job for a stunt coordinator, then for the stuntman
> himself.

Definitely not. The best stuntmen go on to _be_ coordinators, both because they are smart enough to survive the stunts they pull off and because they can set up visually dramatic stunts with little risk to themselves. Still a risky profession. Harry O'Connor was a stunt man for years - coordinated about half the skydiving stunts in major movies over the last ten years. He was killed during the filming of XXX.

>The stuntman himself needs talent and that I think comes from
>balls more than anything. The ability to stay calm and not freak
>out, so that he can deal with a potentially stressful situation.

Those aren't really the same thing. Harry knew a lot of stunt people who were big chickens; they didn't do anything until they had looked at it twelve ways and upside down. It was these people that he wanted working with him, not the guys who take a look over the edge and say "Sure, I can do that, no problem."

[Steel 0]

People that do well in stunt work know when to say "yes, I can do that" and when to say "sorry, but we have to shut down production today because the set up isn't right. No. I don't care if it's costing the production $10,000 dollars today to fix the problem, we're not doing the gag until we have a reasonable expectation of surviving it."

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I can certainly see the right and need for the stuntman to be able to veto for any which reason and say no I don't feel comfortable doing this today. But if this is equally the job of the stunt cooridinator then the stuntman has two jobs in effect. Meanwhile the stunt coordinator is the one getting twice as much. Still, I understand if I were the stuntman, I would be doing what I love and that would be enough. But it just seems to me as if there has to be some kind of differenence in job description between the two positions.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.

[quade 4]

There's far more to the stunt coordinator's job than simply being a safety monitor -- it is the most important however and is the job, hopefully, of everyone in the second unit.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Steel 0]

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> Harry knew a lot of stunt people who were big chickens; they didn't do anything until they had looked at it twelve ways and upside down. It was these people that he wanted working with him, not the guys who take a look over the edge and say "Sure, I can do that, no problem."

I don't know if I would go so far as to call myself a chicken because of it. But it does sound like something I would do. When jumping off cliffs skiing with freinds, I was never the first one to jump. I always waited for somebody else to jump and make sure there wasn't a boulder sticking out without enough snow cover on it. Once jumping off a rock cory, the story was the same. There was no way in hell I was going to be first because I didn't know if the water was deep enough. But after another guy confirmed it, I had no problem with the 70 foot drop. Anybody who has ever been on a load with me knows that I check my leg straps probably six times on the average and about the same with the handles. If the pudd feels just a little strange like its not easy to grip it or I feel a little velcro showing, I will search for a rigger or somebody I know has jumped pullouts (a lot) or if I have time I will just take the rig off and confirm eveything is right myself. Oh this examples can't go without mentioning my bull riding annecdote. I remember The first time I saw a live rodeo in 93 in Florida. I thought I want to try that so I went and asked about trying. I will never forget the responses with their hick accents. "So you want to bull ride, well I am sure some of the boys here can lend you some equipment so you can ride" (my response) Good now if you can just tell me what I have to do so that I don't get hurt. (they response) "You want what??? you don't want to get hurt. Hell I have broken just about every other bone in my body in rodeo. I think you you don't want to get hurt then you just better not ride"
I then thought about it as carefully as I could. But regardless I found it in me to ride and I got hurt on my fourth ride. Then I rode another ten times.Then I never got the opportunity to ride again. I would do it again but I don't have the burning desire for it.

If I could make a wish, I think I'd pass.
Can't think of anything I need
No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound.
Nothing to eat, no books to read.