Stunt Rigging in the Movie Industry.
Article by By Mike Chalmers for Wire Rope Exchange
Many of the world’s most famous faces and personalities will garner precious amounts of camera time at the Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California. And the films themselves will, at least for a night, finally receive their just deserves.
What probably won’t receive as much of the spotlight is the enormous amount of stunt rigging that goes into a Hollywood production. In fact, entertainment rigging is a world within a world, with its own celebrities, mad scientists, daredevils, and rock stars.
Oddly enough, Wire Rope Exchange had the great fortune to track down one of the biggest names in the world of entertainment rigging (and in this case, stunt rigging), and ask him about the ins and outs of this “world,” and what it’s like to set up and operate rigging projects that comprise some of the most talked-about films of the year — films that end up on stage in envelopes at the Dolby Theatre each February.
Keir Beck is one of the most experienced and sought after Stunt Rigger/Stunt Coordinators on Earth. With over two decades of adventure sports and climbing under his belt, and nearly fifteen years at the helm of his own
entertainment rigging endeavor, Beck has become a world-renowned specialist in the Stunt Rigging and Coordinating arena. His resume is a head-turner: Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions, Casino Royale, Superman Returns, San Andreas, Narnia, Pitch Black, Sherlock Holmes, Mad Max 4: Fury Road, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and many more.
In 2001, Beck started his own specialized rigging company — Inmotion Rigging — based in Arundel Old, Australia, with an additional location in Inglewood, California. Inmotion caters to the film and entertainment industry, working all around the world to provide creative and unique rigging solutions for both stunt and camera departments, game shows, live circus, and aerial entertainment.
We got hold of Beck while he jumped through time zones between California and Australia. Instantly likable, here’s what he had to say.
Wire Rope Exchange: You’re one of the most notable names in the industry. Can you give us a quick run-down of your job description day-to-day, and how you landed within this line of work?
Beck: My title is either Stunt Rigging Coordinator or just Stunt Coordinator. Working on a film that is heavily weighted with rigging-related stunts means that on a day-to-day basis, I would be either designing rigs from the storyboards or pre-visualization, doing safety reports, overseeing rigs going up, rehearsing, or filming. With more complex rigs, there’s a lot of time just thinking about how you can achieve what the director is asking.
The above is an extract from the full interview, to read the full and original article click here
