Page 3 - Studio Services News Today

Anousha Sakoui, Los Angeles Times, (TNS) In the late 1980s, Chris Call was in Pittsburgh cutting his teeth on props for a movie starring Cesar Romero (the Joker in the 1960s “Batman” series) when he got his first lesson in the hazards of culinary preparation. The upstate New York native

Prop masters say the tragedy on the set of 'Rust' reinforced the need for education and safety training.

The cinematographers said that they would no longer "knowingly work on projects using FUNCTIONAL FIREARMS for filming purposes."

A film set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch appears in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday, Oct. 25, 2021. Associated Press/Jae C. Hong The tattooed armorer with neon

"While movies can be convincing and very realistic — they are supposed to be make-believe," the councilman said.

Armorer Larry Zanoff of Independent Studio Services, one of the world’s largest prop houses, walks us through how a weapon should be safely handled on set from preproduction to the end of a scene.

>> thank you. i want to go next to our gary tuchman in los angeles with motion picture armorer larry zanoff. larry, i appreciate you guys being with us and, larry, good to see you. >> yeah, larry is a modest guy but he is a renowned motion picture armorer. hes been the chiefs weapons safety officer at scores of movies and television shows over the years. we are outside the independent studio services prop house right now north of los angeles. huge place with every prop imaginable for the enter...

The years. we are outside the independent studio services prop house right now north of los angeles. huge place with every prop imaginable for the entertainment industry. first question i want to ask you, the other day we got a chance to shoot with you, to learn more about the guns and the ammunition. but the thing that you told me that really stuck in my mind -- there should never be live rounds on a set in a weapon in an actors hands, correct? >> thats correct. the industry-wide safety bulleti...

>> the idea is we have the cups here in this white background because we are going to show this can make a lot of noise but theres going to be no residue, and no cups knocked over because this is not a live bullet. >> reporter: exactly. it is a blank cartridge. >> so i will give you a countdown here. three, two, one. >> no residue, no cups. created the illusion that you want in hollywood without a bullet coming out. >> correct. >> reporter: we are at the independent studio services prop house no...

>> no residue, no cups. created the illusion that you want in hollywood without a bullet coming out. >> correct. >> reporter: we are at the independent studio services prop house north of los angeles. props which they say include north americas largest private armory of the safety in the industry starts with a lock box for weapons. >> the gun that we are going to use is inside here. this is a single-action revolver. you can see that at the moment, its empty. >> and you keep turning it so were su...