As I’ve already noted elsewhere (“Celebrating Media: My 10 Favorite Television Shows (Since I Was Born)“), HBO’s The Wire is my all time favorite TV show.
There is a nice little feature on the official HBO website focused on Prop Master Mike Sabo in their Behind the Scenes section: On The Set Part 7
What follows is an excerpt on use of firearms props in the series:
Guns, bling, imitation coke and a lot of math worksheets – this week on the set, prop master Mike Sabo talks about the little things that make The Wire real.
In my job, I deal with everything the actors touch – everything from watches and wedding rings to guns and armor. I do all the blank firing guns on the show. And I do all the picture cars, every car that’s seen or driven on the show. And any food. And I deal with all the animals. If there is a barking dog, I order the dog. Sometimes I even do effects.
Most of the guns on the set are soft plastic. The only time I bring out guns is when they are called for in the script, and then I have to give the lecture to all of the background guys. “All right, you are impersonating an officer now.” A lot of times I give them a coverup to wear, because you don’t want ’em walking down the street outfitted like a cop. You don’t walk anywhere unless you give me the gun back.
The blank guns we use are real firearms that have been modified to shoot blanks. They could never fire a real bullet. But you have to be very scrupulous.
They have come a long way with blank guns. We fired one into a stunt girl’s mouth one time. That was something you could never do years ago.
A lot of productions use dummy guns with no moving parts and add the flash in post production. There’s also a solid dummy gun that uses little charges in the front. But when you fire a gun, there’s a kick and a noise– it gets the adrenaline pumping. That’s a realism you can’t get with a dummy.
The fifth and final season of The Wire begins January 6, 2008.
Jason De Bord