Stunts
Co-ordinator's Responsibilities

Stunt Co-ordinator's Responsibilities

The Stunt Coordinator (or the stunt artist for simple stunts) is responsible for advising the Producer to ensure that any stunts are safely planned, resourced and executed. To this end they must ensure that:

The stunt co-ordinator or artist only does work that their levels of experience, skills, training and fitness allow
All stunts are fully assessed and suitable controls implemented. This assessment must be passed to the Producer
Any stunt artists employed are competent and are included on the BBC Vetted Contractor Lists.

Risk Assessment

The stunt artists/coordinator responsible for the stunt must conduct a full risk assessment detailing the risks and precautions to all parties who maybe affected including:

The stunt team itself
People and equipment under the control of the production, e.g. crew, artists
Third parties not involved in the production, e.g. the public.

The hazards which may be present and require assessment will depend on the nature of the proposed stunt and the intended location. Typical hazards may include, but are not limited to:

Fire, heat, explosions or pyrotechnics;
Noise;
Moving vehicles or equipment;
Animals;
Weapons;
Water;
Confined spaces or oxygen deficient atmospheres;
Projectiles and other debris;
Spurious radio signals interfering with firing and control systems;
Public or crew;
Falls from heights;
Violence.

The stunt arranger/fight arranger must ensure that adequate precautions are implemented to ensure the safety of the sequence.

Determination of safe working distances
Control of flash or radiated heat
Noise control
Blast control
Control of fragmentation particles and other debris control
Cueing arrangements
Personal protective equipment, (e.g. safety lines and harnesses)
Emergency arrangements for dealing with sequences which do not go according to plan
Exclusion zones
Other specialist advice or support. For example, engineering advice about structural integrity, specialist dive contractor for work involving underwater stunts, specialist aircraft operator for stunts involving aircraft, armourer for stunts involving weapons in fight sequences
Specific responsibilities of stunt co-ordinator or fight arranger, stunt artistes, actors and others directly involved in and managing or co-ordinating the sequence
Controls to reduce risks to others (e.g. public, crew, artistes).

Competency of Stunt Artists

Stunt and fight sequences should only be designed and performed by competent persons. Consideration should be given to the following:

The knowledge and experience needed to be "competent" will vary for different activities. A person may be competent for simple action sequences but not for more complicated tasks without supervision from a more experienced and competent person
Competence should be assessed in relation to the experience, training and the work to be undertaken by the performer
A stunt should normally only be undertaken by a stunt artiste who is competent in the particular stunt discipline or in exceptional circumstances by the artist or some other specialist operating within their accepted area of expertise and competence
A stunt co-ordinator should normally be engaged for complex stunts or for stunts involving more than two artistes. In such circumstances the stunt co-ordinator will be required to supervise and monitor the stunt but not participate in it
Equity and others have established grading schemes for stunt artistes and fight arrangers
The Equity Stunt Register places stunt artists into experience levels and defines the limitations of that experience
The stunt co-ordinator or artist should only do work that their levels of experience, skills, training and fitness allow
When a stunt co-ordinator or artist engages other stunt personnel then they should ensure only suitable and competent stunt artists are employed.

Equipment and Materials

Where vehicles are to be used in a stunt the vehicle must be fit for the purpose and normally be obtained from a from a specialist supplier. It should be prepared as required for the stunt.

Where equipment is to be housed in a stunt vehicle the equipment must be securely mounted by a competent person, (bearing in mind that stunts often impose additional mechanical stress & may require specialist mounts). Where practical additional safety lanyards (kept as short as possible) should be used as secondary support.

Staff should not travel in stunt vehicles. Where there is an essential requirement for personnel other that the stunt driver to be in the vehicle, a stunt arranger must be present and agree the need.

Stunts must not occur on public roads without the express permission of the local police. The road should be closed to motorists and pedestrians by the police.

Rehearsal and Communication

All stunts should be rehearsed thoroughly and adequate communication and emergency measures such as fire fighting or first aid put in place.

Safety can be improved by rehearsing the action. Only essential personnel should be in the area. All those involved in the sequence, including artistes, should be present at rehearsal or re-rehearsal and should be made fully aware of the action intended, the risks, the control measures and emergency arrangements.

All equipment and materials to be used must be fit for purpose and adequately specified and procured.

Stunts Co-ordinator's Responsibilities

Stunts
Co-ordinator's Responsibilities