Hanging Someone

[Blame Jono]

off topic: is it hanged or hung? I never know... 

 

I was really looking forward to being superior in letting everyone know that it is hanged and not hung when talking about people. But I was beaten to it.

 

Me too.

 

For a play called Habeus Corpus we did a similar thing.

 

I've seen Habeus Corpus and I didn't see any hanging , so obviously not including the hanging doesn't deminish the overall effect of the show because I still enjoyed it.

 

Also we recently did Jesus Christ Superstar and Judus needs to hang himself. We had a noose come down from the roof and spotted in red and Judus staggered about clutching his neck dieing

[James]

I saw the Wintershaw passion one year, (You follow the action as the actors walk over the whole estate, lake scenes, cave scenes interior scenes etc...

 

And when it came to that but it wasn't pointed out, it wasn't made an issue of, as you were walking over one of the fields you saw off to your right on the brow of the hill a schilouette as he knelt there on the ground with (aparently) the noose going over the tree above him.

 

Another instance I saw hanging done particularly well was Ralf Nickleby hanging himself, (in Nicholas Nickleby) in this production there was a short length of rope made into a noose (I assume tied and stiched so it couldn't tighten. The scene was played out at the highest level of the stage (1 story up). Ralph held the noose in his hand, and as he hung himself there was an immediate lighting change to pick up just himself his head and the noose, you lost the hand holding the rope and the feet on the high level, as far as the audience were concerned you could just see this head and shoulders hung way above the stage floor. Everything else was DBO then a nice slow FTB. Very efective and very safe. The illusion was such the entire audience forgot the fact he was stnding on the floor until the lighting change.

 

James

[Chris Higgs]

Therefore you need to get someone who can do it. As has been mentioned the advantage of a outside professional company performing the effect is that the risk is devolved to them.

 

If you sub-contract the work, you are (most emphatically) not absolving yourself of liability.

I don't understand 'devolve' in this context, probably because it isn't health and safety "speak".

If the person being hanged is in your employment/control/care, you have a duty of care over that person.

You also have the duty to check the competence of the sub-contractor.

You remain both employer and duty holder.

Should the worst happen, you could be prosecuted and/or sued along with the sub-contractor.

Sorry to be picky..........

[Brian]

Chris is absolutely correct. There is no way that you can 'devolve' H&S responsibility.

 

I'd highly recommend to anyone with the slightest interest in H&S matters that they read the HSE Enforcement Guide. This is the document used by the HSE when they decide to prosecute. It shows you the steps they take when deciding who to prosecute. For such an important document it is very readable.

 

For more enlightenment I'd also recommend the HSE Prosecution Database.

[P. Funk]

the way they did it at the adelphi in chicago I think was really good.. very dramatic and clever...

 

in fact, very good show all round. everyone should go and see it!

why not... do it with a video projector?

[the kid]

why not... do it with a video projector?

 

Now that is clever. Laptop with animation on full screen projected on to a back drop clever.

 

The only thing that you'll have to be carefull about is the sourounding light but as its a shadow / shilouette the nyou shouldn't have to worry.

[gil-galad]

I have done several hangings of both live and fake persons.

 

The equipment to do a fake hanging on a live subject is only available with trained personnel and hence very expensive.

 

The preferred option is a fake person. As you are going to use a silhouette then this is really easy and cheap.

 

Make a fake person (e.g a guy) using hessian sacking stuffed into clothes with a wig (as you can flamebar it).

 

This can be tied at each shoulder and top of head to a pulley system to the side of stage.

 

Tie the noose off to a bar or the grid so it is around the fake persons neck.

 

When you want the hanging to happen, cut the string and the body will fall into the noose as if a trap door has been opened.

 

Cheap and Safe!!!!!!

[jagardner1984]

Apologies - it was me who said devolved - which was of course the worng word to use. I was simply suggesting, perhaps wrongly, that a professional organisation with a long and sucessful history in performing hundreds of safe operations in hanging people is statistically less likely to make a mess of the situation and cause yourself to be prosecuted that someone who has done it a couple of times, or maybe not at all, and is going to attempt to do it themselves.

 

Hope this clears that one up

 

James

 

P.S. Obviously it is important that you trust the person you are getting to do it. Personal recommendation would seem once such way of finding someone - or else forums like this - where already several people have suggested companies who do it

[wycome5]

Just an idea but what if you made a loop of rope (1 piece of rope) and then another which would be the vertical hanging bit (with a bit coiled round it if you wish) that hangs from the ceiling and is just tucked down the back of the actors shirt - surely this is no more dangerous than wearing a necklace.

[thebigcheese]

I have been involved in the hanging of people twice and did it the following ways:

 

1. The person walked off stage to say their line, this cued a body on a rope to 'drop' from the grid. Very effective as it provided a swinging motion and as it was silhouetted the audience didn't see that it was a pair of trousers stuffed with newspaper attached to a jacket.

 

2. This actually required the audience to see the person getting hung. The person (Judas in JCSS) was standing on the platform, loose noose round neck, jump off platform onto a big foam mat. The rope was made out of weak elastic and so provided the tight effect and there was velcro between the noose and the end of the elastic to provide a backup if things went wrong. It also let us disconnect the velcro and attach it to the bottom of the platform to allow the actor off the stage.

[PhilT]

If you ACTUALLY hang someone (ie. suspend someone above the ground) your first step should be a reputable rigging company or competent person.

 

For an amateur production I was involved in this required a point to be put into the roof of the village hall (truss span above stage etc etc), with a length of SWR ending in a carabiner. This was disguised as a pendant light fitting with the addition of a cheap lampshade.

 

The actor in question was fitted with a full body harness (under a costume) and a length of SWR disguised as a noose. The 'noose' could be attached to the carabiner and the actor could dangle to his heart's content.

 

Obviously this is a bit simplified, and required substantial training of the actor, but it did the job.

 

Please don't attempt to copy this, get someone who is competent to advise. But that's the principle.

 

Phil

[Nick Evans]

I find the above post alarming. If someone ignored the first line and proceeded to make best use of the remaining "advice", they would be undertaking a very risky and foolhardy procedure.

Please don't attempt to copy this,

Why not? If this is a dangerous procedure, why post? Someone somewhere is bound to be stupid enough to try and replicate it without sufficient expertise

[Guest lightnix]

Please don't attempt to copy this,

Why not? If this is a dangerous procedure, why post? Someone somewhere is bound to be stupid enough to try and replicate it without sufficient expertise

My thoughts exactly; moreover, why give sensible advice and then apparently contradict it? I'm kind of surprised this thread was bumped so long after the question was answered, although I notice it happened shortly after chucking-out time on Tuesday :)

 

There are only two safe ways to hang somebody on stage:-

1. Get a professional to do it. If you can't afford a professional, then...

2. Fake it, with a dummy, sihouette or some other means of suspending the audience's disbelief.

 

I mean, we are talking about people's lives here, you cannot just risk them for the sake of saving a little money on the budget. Why is it that any time the directors of a commercial company sacrifice people's safety for the sake of money, there's uproar and yet when the director of a show insists on doing the same, some people can't do enough to help?

 

Double standards? Of course, but hey - that's showbiz!

[Seano]

I find the above post alarming. If someone ignored the first line and proceeded to make best use of the remaining "advice", they would be undertaking a very risky and foolhardy procedure.

 

How far should you go, though, in trying to protect the stupid from themselves?

Personally, most of the stuff I'm interested in discussing is potentially dangerous to the terminally stupid, but I'd resent not being able to discuss it for the benefit of a potential Darwin award nominee. (Who can surely surf away to a bungee jumping site and find alternate inspiration for their expiration anyway.)

 

Just mho.

Sean

x

 

 

There are only two safe ways to hang somebody on stage:-

1. Get a professional to do it. If you can't afford a professional, then...

2. Fake it, with a dummy, sihouette or some other means of suspending the audience's disbelief.

 

Wrt number 1:

I refer the honourable gentleman to Chris Higgs' reply further up the thread. Unfortunately, getting a professional to do it is not in itself a guarantee of safety, and may offer no protection from legal liability in the event of things going horribly wrong.

 

For my money, no 2 is the way to go regardless of budget. If you can afford a professional, use a professional props maker to make the dummy look good!

 

Sean

x

[Guest lightnix]

How far should you go, though, in trying to protect the stupid from themselves?

Legally, "as far as is reasonably practicable", AFAIK.

 

There are only two safe ways to hang somebody on stage:-

1. Get a professional to do it...

Wrt number 1:...

...Chris Higgs' reply... getting a professional to do it is not in itself a guarantee of safety, and may offer no protection from legal liability...

You can say the same thing about any subcontractor in any industry and it's down to the hirer to use investigative means to establish the competence of a subcontractor, by asking for evidence of insurance, training, ISO 9000 accreditation, etc.

 

Yes, getting a professional may not offer you protection, but getting an unqualified amateur to it absolutely won't, should the unthinkable happen.

 

For my money, no 2 is the way to go...

Amen :)