Freddy Moyanois a Green Bay-based actor, voice-over artist, producer, and filmmaker.
In wake of last Thursday's shooting on a movie set involving actor Alec Baldwin who accidentally discharged a prop gun that left the film’s director of photography dead and injured the film’s director, Moyano is talking about handling prop guns on set and that accidents can happen.
Moyano just recently filmed a Western movie in Spain called Aqua Brava. Click here to learn more about that film.
Below you can see a slow-motion video from the film Moyano did in Spain. He explains this clip has actual real sound coming off the prop gun when firing blanks.
WATCH:
A blank is a firearm cartridge that generates a muzzle flash and explosive sound like any normal gunshot.
They are meant to create a visual blast when fired, as well as a sound blast.
In the film he did this summer, Moyano says the other actor in the scene, Manuel Olaya, is also a gun prop expert and inspects and cleans barrels every time a scene happens. He owns all of the prop equipment, including wardrobe.
Moyano says the blanks for his own movie scenes were provided by the studios in Spain where they shot his film.
He explains that they are certified, as they do a lot of filming and live Western shows on the spot.
As veteran of the movie industry, he says it's not uncommon to hear about accidents involving prop guns.
"You hear about burns, you hear people who unload and put it in the pocket and then the whole coat starts on fire because there's still something burning and com-busting in there," Moyano said.
He explains in further detail how these guns work.
"So a prop gun uses bullets that have a small charge of gun powder. Okay there's a primer at the bottom, the propeller and then that's is discharged," Moyano said. "There's more of a visual blast that comes out of it and a big noise. The difference between that and a regular bullet is that there is no projectile on top, the tip. That's not on those blanks that are fired in movies etc."
But even with the utmost preparation, he says you can never be too careful.
In fact, he says when he shot his Western scene the prop gun also caught him off guard.
"What happened is when I fired one of them, one of my ears got a lot of pressures and ringing. And that ringing lasted for like seven or eight weeks," Moyano said.
And though he didn't get severely hurt, he says moving forward he believes this can all still be done safely.
"I think it's more of you know have a well-staffed crew that kind of pays attention to all kind of details. Safety, like safe distance around,” Moyano said.
To learn more about the Green Bay-based actor, Freddy Moyano and his award-winning work, click here.
You can alsoclick here to learn more about MLC Productions.
