How stunts are staged in movies and why not everything is filmed on a green screen

Few blockbuster movies are complete without action scenes. Car chases are interspersed with hand-to-hand fights and dizzying flights. And everyone knows that this is not really happening. Each trick is prepared for a long time and staged so that it looks spectacular, but does not injure the participants in the process. And instead of famous actors, stuntmen jump, fall and fight.

But there are many subtleties in shooting action, some of which we will analyze in this article.

What do stuntmen do and where did they come from

The profession of a stuntman actually consists of a dozen different skills. And often even three different professionals can replace one actor. For example, in some action movie one will ride a motorcycle, the other will fight with his hands and feet, and the third will jump from a height.

Although, of course, the more a stuntman can do, the wider his possibilities. Some of them gradually outgrow their profession and become stunt performers themselves. This is closer to directing: sometimes, when creating a film, they are completely given the work on the action. In some cases, this helps to build a further career. So, Chad Stahelski, who once dubbed

Keanu Reevesfilmed John Wick. And former stunt coordinator Sam Hargrave released Tyler Rake: The Rescue.

The profession of a stuntman appeared very prosaically. Even in the early years of cinema, the authors wanted to show falls, fights and other dangerous scenes. And then they recruited volunteers completely free of charge, who rejoiced at the very opportunity to participate in the magical process of creating a movie.

The Great Train Robbery was one of the first films to feature stunt doubles.

Most often, these were circus performers or professional riders who, by the nature of their activities, were accustomed to danger and injury. Then professionals began to appear among them, and they began to pay money. The first fee for a stuntman who made history was only $5. His got The history of the Stuntman / Ilian Simeonow in 1908, an unknown person who jumped off a cliff into the water while filming.

Why don't actors do all their own stunts?

Once upon a time it was like this: stuntmen were taken to the crowd, and the main roles were played by the artists only themselves. Suffice it to recall the famous directors and actors Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, who worked in the 1910s and 1920s. Many of them Comedy movies based on dangerous stunts that were performed as if by chance. To amuse the audience, the artists jumped from a height or scenery fell on them. All this was done without understudies and even without insurance. Because of this, the same Lloyd lost two fingers: during the filming of Frightened Ghosts, a shell exploded in his hands.

But he put himself in danger for a long time. For the first time, Lloyd decided to tie himself with a rope to keep from falling while working on the painting “Safe at Last!” 1929. And he did it, only to get permission to shoot from the authorities. In the film, his hero climbs a wall, and then hangs on the hand of a huge clock. The insurance was carefully hidden, and a platform with a mattress was placed below the frame.

But already in the 1930s, producers and directors realized that popular artists attracted attention and provided films with a good box office. And therefore, they should not be allowed to get injured on the set. Then the big stars began to have permanent understudies who took risks instead of them. Then it became the norm.

Although today there are actors who do everything themselves. For example, Jackie Chan even hit Jackie Chan has world record for most stunts by living actor / Inshorts in the Guinness Book of Records for the most stunts performed by an actor. By the way, he founded the Jackie Chan Stuntmen Association, which trains new masters, and takes care of their health - conventional insurance companies often refuse to work with representatives of this professions.

And, of course, you can't forget Tom Cruise, who during his career jumped from a skyscraper, held his breath for an impossible 6 minutes and fought in a flying helicopter.

The wisdom of this approach is often debated. And it's not about honesty. On the one hand, if an actor personally performs stunts, then it is more convenient to shoot him: you can show the hero’s face and not have to deal with editing and computer processing. On the other hand, if the artist gets injured, all work will be interrupted. So, Tom Cruise's broken leg on the set of Mission: Impossible: Fallout stopped the process for several months.

On this occasion, even spoke out Danny Trejo Blasts Stars (Tom Cruise) Who Do Their Own Risky Stunts / The Wrap Danny Trejo.

Sounds a little cynical, but fair.

Therefore, a compromise is often chosen. In preparation for the next action film, the actors train and perform some of the stunts themselves. For example, Matt Damon in "The Bourne Identity" or Keanu Reeves in "John Wick" are personally involved in most of the fight scenes. But when it comes to real danger, they are replaced by stuntmen.

How fights are filmed

For those who have ever seen a real fight on the street, it is obvious that on the screen any hand-to-hand collision looks very different. The whole point is that fights in movies are kind of closer to choreography than actually trying to beat a person.

Each movement is carefully worked out and rehearsed. In this case, a significant part of the work falls on the operator. After all, actors or stuntmen should not hit each other for real. Therefore, when shooting, you need to choose such an angle at which the impact is not visible. For example, it is covered by the face or body of the "victim".

Because of this, by the way, real actors often play poorly in such scenes. boxers and other fighters. They only know how to fight for real. And when you want to stop the fist in a certain place, it turns out not too believable.

In addition, editing is in progress: often the very moment of contact is hidden behind gluing, switching camera angles. Although in these cases there is a danger of turning the action into an endless flicker. And many consider shooting such scenes with minimal editing to be the highest skill. As, for example, in the TV series "Daredevil":

In some cases, it is still necessary to show the blow itself, or one of the participants must then fly off and fall hard. Then they put on special protection, about the same as that of motorcyclists.

Cinematography is especially important when staging scenes with martial arts. Indeed, in reality, not all artists can raise their legs high and even more so jump. Then the camera takes a lower angle, and it seems to the viewer that the stretching of the fighter is much better than it really is.

Harrison Ford reveals how he punched Ryan Gosling on the set of Blade Runner 2049

Of course, mistakes are sometimes inevitable. For example, during the filming of Blade Runner 2049, Harrison Ford actually punched Ryan Gosling in the face. Later this frame spread all over the Internet.

How flights and acrobatics are filmed

It is clear that some of the high and beautiful jumps with flips are simply performed by stuntmen specially trained for this. A trained person can both push off better and not get confused in flight. But in many films they show completely unimaginable pirouettes.

First of all, cables are used. This approach originated in Chinese cinema, especially in the fantasy wuxia genre, where flying warriors were often shown. But if once the actors were simply tied with ropes, now they use complex technological devices that allow you to control the movements of an artist or stuntman. In addition, modern ropes are much thinner and easier to hide in post-processing.

Cables were also used in The Matrix so that the characters could fly and run along the walls.

If you want to show some impressive jump, they can use trampolines or even catapults, with the help of which the actors are launched into the air. Of course, with insurance. For example, this is how the Jedi battles were filmed in the prequels "Star Wars». It doesn't look too realistic, but it's exciting:

If we are not talking about jumping, but about flying at high altitude, then here the creators combine stunt work and movie magic. Parts with the main actors are filmed in the studio. To create a feeling of strong wind, they turn on huge powerful fans. And general plans are created in a real situation. So, in "Iron Man - 3" there is a scene where the main character saves people falling from an airplane. To create it, the studio hired professional skydivers who flew from great heights.

How chases and accidents are filmed

Car racing is one of the most important components of action films. A large part of the popularity of the Fast & Furious franchise, and many other action films and adventure films, is built on them.

Of course, if a collision occurs in the frame or the car performs some kind of complex element, it is remade in a special way. The engine and even the suspension are being finalized: not every car can withstand landing on wheels after a jump. A strong metal frame is placed in the body to protect the driver. In the cabin, the seats are changed. And if they shoot directly from the inside, they can remove all the passenger seats. By the way, all this is well told in the film. Quentin Tarantino "Death Proof" There, the main villain is just a stuntman:

To show some kind of spectacular flight, and sometimes a coup, they put a cannon with liquid nitrogen in the car. It allows you to accelerate sharply and literally throw the car. Plus, engineers need to develop a special springboard and calculate it to land as intended.

One of the most difficult car flying stunts was filmed back in 1974 in The Man with the Golden Gun about James Bond. Racer Jay Milligan jumped from one part of the bridge to another, in the process also flipping the car in the air:

Sometimes a stuntman can be transplanted onto the roof of a car. This is done when some action takes place inside the salon in the film. In such cases, the control is taken out to a special metal box, where they put the steering wheel and pedals.

To shoot the race from the outside, a special moving crane is placed on the car, which is called the “Russian Arm” (Russian Arm). This term appeared because the device is created in Russia, namely in Tula.

Shooting with the help of the "Russian hand"

And for spectacular shots in which the car flies off a cliff, they use an air gun. She kind of "shoots" the car into the air. Additionally, pneumatic devices or squibs can be placed inside an empty cabin so that the parts effectively scatter.

Is filming really that dangerous?

The answer is perhaps obvious. Stuntmen can really get injured and even die.

If we return to the origins of cinema, then there was no regulation at all for staging dangerous scenes. But in 1928, director Michael Curtis decided to shoot the epic film Noah's Ark. For the scene of the global flood, about 300 extras were invited to the pavilion and 2.5 thousand tons of water were poured on them. As a result, three people died, and dozens of others were seriously injured, one even had his leg blown off. From that moment on, Hollywood introduced more stringent requirements for such work.

Now the studios are trying to ensure security at the highest level. All tricks are calculated in advance on a computer, they make reliable insurance. And in case of emergency, an ambulance is always on duty at the site. It's not only about taking care of people, but also about large payments and stopping filming in case of any tragedy. However, isolated incidents still happen.

So, in 2002, Harry L. O'Connor, stunt double for Vin Diesel. He parachuted onto the bridge, hit his head and died on the spot. In 2014, Olivia Jackson, Milla Jovovich's stunt double, while working on the painting "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” crashed a motorcycle into a camera and lost her arm. In 2017, stuntman John Bernecker, who starred in The Walking Dead series, died. And just a couple of weeks later, motorcyclist Joy Harris crashed on the set of Deadpool 2.

The same scene with Harry L. O'Connor in "Three X's"

It is almost impossible to give statistics of minor injuries. The thing is that many stuntmen themselves hide injuries and fractures to make it easier to look for work.

Why can't you draw everything on a computer

Unfortunately or fortunately, ideas about the possibilities of graphics are greatly exaggerated. First, it is a very expensive job. In the bonus footage for Titanic, James Cameron revealed that the bow of the ship was created using CGI. But when the director found out about the cost of the special effect, he realized that it would be cheaper to build a real set.

To create the so-called digital twin of an actor, you need to take and process a lot of his photos, and then also prescribe literally all the details for the animated character. For example, how his hair will move. This work takes several months.

Creating a digital twin of Hugh Jackman in the movie "Logan"

The second reason is that any computer graphics become obsolete over time. What at the time of release seems realistic and breakthrough, after 10 years it creates the impression of a cartoon. And a model, character or stunt filmed in reality will remain the same years later.

It is enough to compare the xenomorphs in the classic Alien trilogy. In the first two parts, only costumes and mechanical puppets were used, and in the third, David Fincher drew a monster on a computer in separate scenes. And it is the animated character that looks the worst now. And even, for example, in the secondMatrix"Neo's fights with dozens of copies of Agent Smith are now not too impressive - the graphics are too noticeable:

Therefore, many directors do their best to show the maximum number of realistic explosions, falls and races.

And besides, the real shooting of tricks has long been part of the film's advertising campaign. So, many are watching the new footage of the Mission Impossible franchise, where Tom Cruise either jumps on a motorcycle or rides on the roof of a train. Studio work and computer graphics will definitely not attract so much attention.

It is customary to say that everything in the movie is not real. However, if you understand the process of filming a little better, it becomes clear that even at the current level of development, there are a lot of difficulties and dangerous moments in the work. Therefore, the profession of a stuntman is still in demand, and studios and directors come up with new ways to stage another trick. And all just to please the viewer.