Bronson Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Hello, I'm wanting to use a paintball gun in a show (it is a riff on Chris Burdens live art piece 'shoot'). the person using the spring loaded paintball gun will have their back to the audience (and will remove it from a case on stage) and will shoot towards the back of the stage. they will be shooting a naked person. I am happy for the gun to look like a paintball gun, I am happy for the pellet to not be red. I only need one shot. my main concerns/ questions are:- has anyone done this before?- what would the main problems be for risk assesments/ venues?- has anyone specifically used a spring loaded paintball gun in a show before?- can anyone with more experience of this kind of thing clock anything I should be thinking about that I am not? - can anyone advise if the paintball gun will need to be stored in a secured place as a fake weapon would, even if it looks like a play paintball gun (bright colours, transparent etc) All advice immensely appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 I have never used a paintball gun but gather that if hit, it can hurt...a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_korman Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Hello, I'm wanting to use a paintball gun in a show (it is a riff on Chris Burdens live art piece 'shoot'). the person using the spring loaded paintball gun will have their back to the audience (and will remove it from a case on stage) and will shoot towards the back of the stage. they will be shooting a naked person. I am happy for the gun to look like a paintball gun, I am happy for the pellet to not be red. I only need one shot. my main concerns/ questions are:- has anyone done this before?- what would the main problems be for risk assesments/ venues?- has anyone specifically used a spring loaded paintball gun in a show before?- can anyone with more experience of this kind of thing clock anything I should be thinking about that I am not? - can anyone advise if the paintball gun will need to be stored in a secured place as a fake weapon would, even if it looks like a play paintball gun (bright colours, transparent etc) All advice immensely appreciated. Being hit by a proper paintball on uncovered skin hard enough to burst the paint ball (a) HURTS!! (I used to play paintball) and (b) leaves a welt or bruise. Is the cast member up for this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Don't shoot anything.Burst a small container of appropriate "stuff" at the target end. The mechanism and the makeup to cover a a single 'shot' is relatively simple, and are probably available for hire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 The op says that the "target" is naked.So anything that hits them has to come from the gun, and due to pain, has to be low velocity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronson Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 Being hit by a proper paintball on uncovered skin hard enough to burst the paint ball (a) HURTS!! (I used to play paintball) and (b) leaves a welt or bruise. Is the cast member up for this? Yes, its his show, his idea! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 He’s an idiot then, paintballs REALLY hurt direct to skin.You will also have ricochet issues (ball hits a fleshy part of him, bounces back and splats on something/someone elseThe paint is a bugger to get off set/stage/curtains where it splashesThe victim will also really need to be wearing eye protection as paintballs spin off course quite easily and if it hits anywhere in his face you will have some serious problems.Personally I’d fake it with a makeup/squib or a local effect (victim gets shot, instantly puts his hand where he has been “shot” and breaks a small die pack hidden in his hand. If there is absolutely no alternative to actually shooting then I’d be using an air soft ball in place of a paintball and soaking it in paint/dye - it won’t make as big a paint splatter as a real ball but will do enough and ticks all the boxes for authenticity. It would also be a dramatically safer (though not completely safe) solution to the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronson Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 no denying he is an idiot! although I am worried about him, and from a technical point of view I need to make sure he isn't hurt badly (he will wear goggles). my main concerns are regarding the venue and audience. I had been told they are completely washable...this seems debatable from what's been said here and ricochet issues could be a problem. even if we rehearse distances and monitor splat distances I suppose with something like a paint ball you may get one that is simply thicker than another. have you actually seen this in a show before? the air soft thing is interesting. I'll have a google as I'm not sure exactly what they are... thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Even if the paint is washable how many stages / curtains / set pieces are?No-one else is stupid enough to insist on using real paintballs in a theatrical setting, there is a magic trick that uses paintball guns in a sort of Russian roulette plot but even that doesn’t /really/ shoot despite what the audience thinks.Air soft are soft foam balls that are used in paintball guns for indoor play. They fly slower, are softer on impact and are effectively you shooting sponges at him so make most of the major complications go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadingle Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 If your target is upstage then there's lots of ways of faking it, as discussed above. I don't see any problem with using a real paintball marker (stop calling it a gun - the sport refers to them as markers!) as you get the paintball guys having them openly in the street when they're advertising their companies. In fact if you get the CO2 discharge it's going to make a faked effect that more realistic IMO... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryNattrass Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 How are you going to guarantee that the person firing the marker hits the target every performance? Seems a pretty stupid idea to me and faking it will probably be more realistic! (and safer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronson Posted October 30, 2017 Author Share Posted October 30, 2017 Even if the paint is washable how many stages / curtains / set pieces are?No-one else is stupid enough to insist on using real paintballs in a theatrical setting, there is a magic trick that uses paintball guns in a sort of Russian roulette plot but even that doesn’t /really/ shoot despite what the audience thinks.Air soft are soft foam balls that are used in paintball guns for indoor play. They fly slower, are softer on impact and are effectively you shooting sponges at him so make most of the major complications go away. When I have looked up airsoft, I can't find foam ones. They are bb guns basically, plastic pellets. Is there something more specific I need to search for to get me to the foam ones? have you seen foam pellets and air soft guns before? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadingle Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Reuseable foam paintballs Use with a standard paintball marker. I'm still of the opinion that firing any projectile is to be avoided! Having done many risk assessments for actual live firing on proper ranges I can see this being a nightmare to produce a satisfactory RA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave m Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 nerf gun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImagineerTom Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 NO you don't want the reusable rubber balls - they are more painful that regular paintballs. I'm trying to remember the exact brand name but there are "kids" paintball systems that shoot a soft foam ball and are actively advertised as painless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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