Ok, first of all, I’m going to reiterate what I said before, many many times in many many threads (but that doesn’t mean you should skip reading it): You can get seriously injured or seriously and permanently dead attempting any type of stunt work. The most talented and competent professionals get injured, and you’re not them. If there is any doubt by you, or more importantly, doubt from anyone on you team, do not perform the stunt. Find a professional.
Now the disclaimer: If you choose to use any of the information below, you accept full responsibility. I am not responsible for how you choose to use the information I provide. In fact, I urge you not to. Again I say, find a professional.
Lastly, I want you to understand that I am not an expert on this subject. I have experience and some education in this area, but I am far from knowing everything.
Right then. Here we go.
What is below:
1. Safety guidelines for basic wire stunt work.
2. The things you’ll need.
3. A framework for basic wire stunts. I’m only going to give info for basic wire work for two reasons: I only have actual experience with basic rigs and am not going to supply speculation on how more complicated stunts are done if I have no experience with them, and; Like anything, you should learn the basics fully and completely before moving on to something complicated. I will also not provide any information on bungee assisted wire rigging, because I’m still designing and testing my own rig.
xx. My credentials
1. Safety guidelines for basic wire stunt work
1. Again, rule number one: Don’t try anything you have doubts about.
2. There are basic rig designs, but often the rig is designed around the stunt. Plan very carefully, and make sure you know where each and every component of the stunt is going, up the the top of the rig all the way down to the performers feet placements.
3. Practice each action and stunt fully before actually performing it. Make sure each person in your group knows their responsibilities and can perform them 100 percent of the time.
4. Double and triple check every connection, carabiner and attachment to anything in your wire rig. Then check them again.
5. Plan contingencies and rehearse each one. Murphy’s law is in full effect as far as you’re concerned. If something can go wrong, it will. Make sure you can react, and keep things safe if something should go wrong. Along these lines:
6. Wherever possibly, use multiple attachment points. If you are attaching to a steal truss ceiling (common in warehouses and many studios), for example, use two ceiling clamps (discussed below) and cable to each, then wrap a safety cable around the whole assembly in case both clamps fail. The likelihood of a single clamp failing is remote, so having two and a heavy cable will make you much more confident in the safety of your rigging. Same goes for other points on your rig. Wherever one thing attaches to another, double it up if you can. There are certain places you won’t be able to (such as where the line attaches to your performer), but if you can, do. Along these same lines, use the beefiest hardware possible. There is almost never a reason to use smaller hardware when it’s not in a shot, so use the heavy duty big stuff. For example, in our gym we have ropes for climbing and swinging. We have the option of using a simple, cheap circular eye ring with a working load of 2000lbs to attach the rope to the ceiling. Instead we use a 1 inch circular eye ring with a working load of 14,000 lbs. the kids using rarely exceed 150lbs, but why take the risk?
7. A wire rig is like a chain, with each separate part of the rig like a link in the chain. If one link fails, the whole rig goes, so use as few links as possible. For example, if you have a cable running 20 feet to the ceiling, don’t use two 10 foot lengths, use a single 20 foot cable. In addition, don’t leave parts in that you aren’t going to need. For example, of you are doing a stunt where the performer simply jumps up 10 feet, kicks, and comes back down, you don’t need a swivel, because your performer isn’t going to turn around. Take the swivel out. The fewer links in the rig, the better. Less means less chance of a part failing. Simplicity is key.
8. Lastly, as I’m sure you were expecting: If you can’t do a stunt with 100% confidence in success, don’t do it!!
The things you’ll need.
You’ll need different items for different stunts. I’ll go through various equipment and hardware available. It will be up to you to choose appropriate equipment for your needs, so plan carefully. Also, don’t skimp. Saving money can cost in injuries form cheap equipment. Better poor than sorry.
As mentioned in another thread, one of the most important aspects of your rig will be the harness. Specific harnesses are designed for specific purposes. Be sure you know your requirements exactly before purchasing a harness, so you get what you need. Harnesses divide into 5 basic categories:
1. Seat Harnesses: Most commonly know as a climbing harness. These generally have a waist belt and leg straps, and a single attachment point (called a pick point) on the front. These have limited uses in stunt work, but aren’t completely worthless. They are very effective for simply hanging work. They can be worn backwards and used to hang face down. DaftMaul used a seat harness backwards to shoot some flying scenes for Storm Ahead. As I’m told, it worked quite well. Unfortunately, they can be uncomfortable, especially backwards. They are designed for fall arrests, not hanging.
2. Full body harnesses: Full body harnesses, at a basic level, are seat harnesses with shoulder straps. Well designed full body harnesses will distribute weight throughout the harness. This will make it more comfortable to where, more versatile, and less likely to stand off the performers body and ruin a shot. I own the Full Body Harness from AmSpec, and it works great. It has pick points all around, fits comfortably, and stays pretty tight to the body. Construction workers often use full body safety harnesses for fall arrest on high work, but I don’t recommend using harnesses designed for construction. They’re very uncomfortable and don’t get very secure to the body, making hiding them very difficult. That, and they’re usually bright orange or yellow. Yuck.
3. Flying Belts: Flying belts, such as this one from AmSpec, are designed to be used under cloths for wire flying where rotation upside down, banking and turning are required. These belts fit very snug and have adjustable pick plates with very small and strong aluminum swivels. These are very versatile and are used in many films. Although they only have two pick points, they are very snug and allow for a ton of control over the position and attitude of the performers body. They’re also quite expensive, but worth every penny. We had one for a Circus show I worked on and the girl in the rig flew so clean you would swear she had wings, not wires.
4. Jerk Vests: These are mostly used for ratchet jerks, such as a guy getting yanked back in an explosion. They can also be used for suspensions. Jerk Vest are usually very expensive and a really only designed for one thing. I wouldn’t recommend them for what you will be doing.
5. Waist and Spotting belts: These are used mostly for spotting and fall arrest, where long term support is not required. I wouldn’t use one of these for any reason, unless you don’t need your internal organs. They’re horribly uncomfortable, even for a few seconds.
So, which kind of harness should you buy? (Emphasis on buy, don’t try to make your own) It depends on your requirements. All the way around I recommend the a full body harness. You can do everything you’ll need to with it, and they’re not very expensive.
The only good full body harness I know of is the one available from AmSpec. They come in something like 40 sizes, so make sure you take measurements of the performer who will be wearing it.
By the way, I recommend purchasing your harness from AmSpec, but that doesn’t mean they’ll sell it to you. As I mentioned above, for liability reasons some companies won’t sell to people without the qualifications. If they ask (and they probably will) be honest with them, tell them exactly what you are using the equipment for. Oh, and don’t tell them I sent you. I don’t want any “why are you sending these crazy kids to us?!â€
