Stunt Performer

Introduction

A film stunt performer also called a film stuntman or film stuntwoman is a person who performs dangerous acts usually within the television or film production industry. The stunt professional is paid to do those actions that are deemed too dangerous for the regular film actor to perform, these include jumping from a height, falling down, being in a car crash or pretending to fight with weapons such as swords or knives. These stunts are usually presented as a small feature of a film within a larger film production. The stunts are done with safety equipment, but also without them.

Action films, adventure films, war films, martial arts films, thriller films and crime films and television series use many film stunt performers to do the dangerous actions depicted in the movies or series. Some film actors such as Jackie Chan are also stunt performers who perform this kind of work. A stuntman is a person who performs dangerous stunts and performs them in front of cameras without getting hurt. Film stuntmen have been around since the early days of film. The first real stunt people were called “bouncers”. They were paid by film studios to perform dangerous stunts such as jumping off tall buildings.

Grades of Stunt Personnel

There are four grades of stunt personnel:

Stunt coordinator: Qualified and skilled to arrange and oversee the film production of a stunt.

Assistant stunt coordinator: Assists the film stunt coordinator with administration such as stunt budgets and the set-up and execution of stunts and hazardous action.

Stunt actor: A suitably graded, qualified and skilled stunt performer for films.

Stunt action person: Graded, qualified and skilled to perform in background action for movies and group stunt work under the supervision of a stunt coordinator.

There are a lot of rules that need to be followed to ensure safety on a film set. Safety consultants and supervisor provide specialist knowledge, film expertise and advice to minimise risk to crew, cast and the general public. Every film must commission a safety report prior to shoot, and must follow these recommendations. A safety supervisor must be present for any stunt or other hazardous action such as filming on public roads, construction at heights or contact sport rehearsals.

Conclusion

Generally, filmmakers try to shoot the stunts required during the main shoot, when there is a full complement of support staff available and especially when the lead film actors are available to work with the film stunt team to create a realistic blend in the action. However, it’s sometimes necessary to do pickups and re-shoots and the entire stunt planning and apparatus has to be set up again. Many big films run a second unit concurrently with the main unit, to film major stunt action. This will involve a second unit film director, film stunt doubles and stunt performers and a whole separate film crew. The second unit on a big action movie can often be bigger than the crew required to shoot a medium-budget feature film.