Weapon Fabricator

To pull off a truly epic fight scene, a Screenwriter must incorporate weapons into the story. Guns, swords, bombs, grenades, cannons, and other items of destruction can all be used for violent scenes. Placing authentic weapons in the hands of Actors could spell disaster, however, and the insurance company behind the shoot might pull the policy once the word gets out.

That’s where a Weapon Fabricator comes in. Weapon Fabricators keep both sides — production and insurance — happy by creating realistic but safe versions of weapons.

The movie’s Director and Special Effects Specialist often have strong opinions about how the weapons should look and operate. The three of you hold many meetings to discuss concepts and determine how many weapons you must build.

If you’re a Weapon Fabricator, you look over photographs and specification sheets in your studio for real weapons. If possible, you borrow a live weapon so you can study it closely. Then, you begin to create your own copies.

Sometimes, you make your weapons out of metal, with real moving parts (but, of course, they can’t hurt anyone and they don’t make noise). Other times, you make them out of plastic or another inexpensive material so you can keep costs low.

After the pieces are made, you paint them carefully. New, space-age weapons may be painted in fantastical colors. Old, medieval weapons may get acid treatments so they look worn and used.

Once you have a few models made, you take them to another meeting with the Director and Special Effects Specialist to make sure the weapons meet expectations. This meeting may be repeated several times until you’ve tweaked the design and made everyone happy.