A Stunt By Any Other Name Is Still A Stunt

A Stunt By Any Other Name Is Still A Stunt

A Stunt By Any Other Name Is Still A Stunt

Stephanie Moore
Stephanie Moore
a year ago

Filmmakers have a huge undertaking as they schedule and budget their projects, each piece is vital to the success of the project, and getting everything in place as efficiently as possible is huge. Stunts are a piece of the puzzle that bring joy to audiences and chills to the production team.

A Stunt By Any Other Name Is Still A Stunt

Why Do Stunts Bring Chills To The Production Team?

Stunts have special training involved, multiple safety protocols, stunt coordinators, and many other specialty measures to ensure that the performers, crew, and entire process are done as safely as possible. Each stunt is planned carefully and needs to be budgeted for time and cost as well.

Stunts have to be treated with the respect they deserve!

A Stunt By Any Other Name Is Still A Stunt

How Can Filmmakers Approach Stunts Responsibly?

1) Hire Stunt Coordinators and listen to their expertise

2) Schedule properly for the time it takes to safely coordinate and execute them

3) If the budget doesn’t take into consideration ALL needs of the stunt, change the stunt, DO NOT COST CUT with stunts.

4) Have the proper coverage for the kind of stunts that are being performed.

A Stunt By Any Other Name Is Still A Stunt

What Is A Stunt?

Or more specifically, what do the insurance companies consider a stunt?

Activities that may be considered as potentially hazardous / stunt activities are required to be reported to the underwriters for approval of production insurance.

A partial list of these activities are: Stunts, Falls, Fight Scenes, Pyrotechnics, Fireworks, Airplanes, Helicopters, Hangliders, Hot Air Balloons, Parachutes, Boats, Water Scenes, Animals, ATVs, Go Carts, Mopeds, Motorcycles, Scooters, Segways, Snowmobiles, Weapons, Blanks, Squibs, Precision Driving, Live Gangster Rap Music, Hard-Core/Soft-Core Porn.

A Stunt By Any Other Name Is Still A Stunt

Additional Stunt Descriptions:

-Aerial Scenes (Shoots from aircraft including airplanes, helicopters, gliders and balloons. Includes scenic shots from private or commercial aircraft that do not involve aerial acrobatics or other hazardous maneuvers. Does not include aircraft liability.)

-Stunts/Falls (Covers scenes involving scripted and choreographed falls), Fight Scenes (Fight scenes that are choreographed, structured, and sequenced. These scenes may involve physical contact between actors and the use of weapons)

-Recreational Vehicles (The use of recreational vehicles such as ATV's, go carts, mopeds, motorcycles, scooters, segways, snowmobiles, and similar type vehicles) -Water Scenes (Boats, canoes, kayaks, shots on lakes, shoots primarily in water, surfing, pools) Does not provide watercraft coverage.

-Precision Driving (Controlled driving on public roads, race tracks, off-road, chase scenes, skidding, collisions, explosions, motorcycles)

-Weapons (Scenes that involve prop guns*, squibs, blanks, knives, or other similar weapons)

*Guns that discharge other then squibs or blanks. Note that guns unable to fire are not considered stunt activities.

-Animals (Scenes involving the use of animals, such as dogs, farm animals, household pets, and zoo animals)

-Pyrotechnics(Fireworks, flashboxes, demolition, explosions, and other pyrotechnic effects)

If there are questions about whether a scene falls under a stunt or not, don’t hesitate to ask other producers who have this kind of experience, stunt coordinators, or even the production insurance agent. It can save you a lot of headaches and create a more efficient and safe production overall.

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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About the Author

Stephanie Moore

Stephanie Moore

Author, Film/Theatre Journalist, Line Producer, Producer, Production Coordinator, Researcher, Theater Professional, Unit Production Manager

Stephanie Moore is the lead designer of Gemini Crown Tech’s Production Value software where she created the foundation for the basis of the programs and products offered by Gemini Crown Tech. Stephanie’s background includes over a decade of experience in script development, budgeting, script cov...

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5 Comments on Stephanie's Article

Haley Mary
Actor, Songwriter, Comedian
Great blog, Stephanie. Would skiing (downhill skiing/ waterskiing) and snowboarding fall under the category of stunts or would that be considered to be more along the lines of special skills? Also, what if an actor needed a stunt person, but not a lot of people looked like them? Would there have to be an AI generated person created for the stunts in a film?
a year ago
Haley Mary
Actor, Songwriter, Comedian
That is helpful.  Filming the stunt person from far away makes sense. Thanks! 
a year ago
Stephanie Moore
Author, Film/Theatre Journalist, Line Producer, Producer, Production Coordinator, Researcher, Theater Professional, Unit Production Manager
Thanks, Technically yes, they would need a stunt coordinator and possible stunt person for the filming for the purpose of the insurance, as well as it is considered a stunt. A possible way to deal with the stunts is to have the cinematographer and director "cheat" the scene or have it far enough away as to not see the person up close. I hope that is at least a bit helpful, there are a lot of times that people don't look identical, they end up doing interesting shots to make the stunt work and "cheat" the shots. Stunts are not extreme close up so it makes it a bit easier to use a stunt double, as well as makeup artists who can do amazing work! Collaboration is key!
a year ago
Maurice Vaughan
Screenwriter
Great blog, Stephanie! And very important! Thanks for sharing. Is running a stunt? Like running through a house.
a year ago
Maurice Vaughan
Screenwriter
It makes sense, Stephanie. You're saying running might be considered a stunt when it's filmed, but the insurance company might not consider it a stunt.
a year ago
Stephanie Moore
Author, Film/Theatre Journalist, Line Producer, Producer, Production Coordinator, Researcher, Theater Professional, Unit Production Manager
That is a good question, it could be for the reasons of how the shot is being done, but may not be when dealing with insurance. I hope that makes sense?
a year ago
Ashley Smith 23
Creative Executive, Script Consultant, Producer
Thank you for sharing these insights, Stephanie! Often when thinking about stunts, we think about big action sequences, weapons, and fire. But it's interesting to think of it from the perspective of how production insurance defines stunts and how many things fall into that category.
a year ago
Ashley Smith 23
Creative Executive, Script Consultant, Producer
That totally makes sense,  Stephanie! Thank you for sharing this with the community.
a year ago
Stephanie Moore
Author, Film/Theatre Journalist, Line Producer, Producer, Production Coordinator, Researcher, Theater Professional, Unit Production Manager
It does influence everything! The budget, the crew, the cast, the insurance needs! All of it!
a year ago
Paul Drechsler-Martell
Stunt Performer, Director, Screenwriter
"Live Gangster Rap Music" being considered a stunt is definitely a new one for me.
a year ago
Stephanie Moore
Author, Film/Theatre Journalist, Line Producer, Producer, Production Coordinator, Researcher, Theater Professional, Unit Production Manager
surprised*
a year ago
Stephanie Moore
Author, Film/Theatre Journalist, Line Producer, Producer, Production Coordinator, Researcher, Theater Professional, Unit Production Manager
I was suprised by that one while researching, it seems to be an insurance definition rather than a truly stunt related one, but it was pertinent to considering the needs for budget and insurance at least.
a year ago
Thank you, Stephanie
a year ago
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