Simon atherton armorer works

In Hollywood, it takes an army to equip one. For Robin Hoodout May 14, designers needed to create an authentic-looking army fresh from the Crusades and outfit it with weapons. To make sure it was historically accurate, designers hit the books—and the museums, including the British Museum in London and the Royal Armories in Leeds. They even drew from unusual sources, like effigies in churches.

Once the designs were drawn up and approved by director Ridley Scott, it was time to create the weaponry. Yes, the man with the guns, or the swords or whatever weapons each film needs. I had a chance to speak with Simon Atherton about his work on the movie and here's what he had to say:. First off, could you talk a bit about how you got into being an armorer for the film industry?

Simon Atherton : Yeah. I was 16 years old, I wasn't very good at school and I was given an apprenticeship as a gunsmith. I did that, studied for six years and when I left, I was then wondering what to do. I was given the name and address of a company in London that did all the guns for the film industry, so I went and joined them. With Robin Hood being a period piece, is that more of a challenge for you, or more fun, as opposed to a modern-day piece?

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Simon Atherton : It's quite funny, you know, it is a challenge, but it's quite fun. When you're doing a gun film, let's say something like Black Hawk Downyou wish you were working on a sword film. And then when you start working on a sword film, you think, 'God, this isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be. With a gun film, you've got all of the problems with guns that you don't have with swords.

Trying to send swords into Morocco is as easy as trying to send M's. There's always a challenge with each film. One person might want steel and one person might just want rubber. The good thing about Robin Hood was that we used bamboo. I don't know if you ever noticed, but a lot of the blades in the fight sequences were made of bamboo, which was a first for us.

I talked to Stephen Ralphsthe archery coach on the film, and he said he made the bows for the movie. Could you talk a bit about working with him and what he brought to the production? Simon Atherton : Yeah, whenever we do a film with bows and arrows in it, we'll give Stephen a ring.

Simon atherton armorer works: Simon Atherton is a British movie

He made the bows for Braveheart. I've known him a very long time, so when we want some seriously good-looking bows, we'll go to him. Stephen is great and he comes and teaches the actors as well, gives them archery lessons. It seemed this film was really going away from the over-abundance of CGI. They built all these amazing, huge sets for the film.

Simon atherton armorer works: Simon Atherton was born

In The Pacific, actors are seen "gathering bits of material and wrapping webbing around their hands so their hands don't get burned," explains Atherton, because the barrels could get quite hot after firing. While Atherton worked mainly with small arms on The Pacific, he teamed up with the special effects department for larger weapons. If it's a tank firing, it's an explosion set up in the barrel," he explains.

Most important to Atherton was maintaining authenticity, in one instance, he worked with the millimeter guns, which he got to recoil after some struggle. Dale Dye the other day and I said, 'I will retire them,' and he said 'You shouldn't do that. Tagged in The Pacific.