gun fights in movies can often look so real

that it's hard to imagine how they're put together.

Here at the British Action Academy,

stuntman Andreas Petrides teaches students

how to safely perform firearm sequences.

Holding it, 10-point check. One, two, three.

We do gun rush today,

which is the Firearms for Films course,

which teaches people about the performance side

of using firearms on a film set.

My background, I've been a stuntman for about 28 years now.

I've worked on many, many productions.

"Star Wars," I doubled Ewan McGregor

in all the lightsaber fights and obviously trained Ewan.

On "Bond" films, I've done both.

I've trained the actors, and also

I've played characters myself, and I've doubled characters.

In the old days, of course,

people used to actually get shot.

Nowadays, though, films use a series of dummy replacements.

There are blanks, real working weapons

loaded with blank cartridges.

These are for when you just need

a big muzzle flash or a loud bang.

'Function' guns are replica guns that don't actually fire.

Or for cheaper fake versions

that don't look as real in a close-up,

some movies use rubber guns.

The person responsible for these on a set?

The Weapons Master. And stunt performers

need to know exactly how to use them.

The thing with blanks is that

they do still make a lot of noise,

and you get the kind of flash as well

that you expect from a gunshot.

So it's a really realistic experience.

For actors, it's all about

selling the idea that it's a real gun.

Action!

Bang bang.

Bang! Bang!

And of course,

reacting to being shot is important.

They teach you the ways to kind of roll onto your

body so that you don't just smack the floor,

but it does still kind of hurt.

These guys, they don't mess about.

One thing that can be very real

is the weight of the equipment actors have to lug around.

According to Andreas, actors on the set

of "Saving Private Ryan" wore packs weighted down with ammo,

all in the name of believability.

The prop guns themselves go hand in hand with sound design.

When a gun fires, you're hearing three acoustic elements:

the muzzle blast sound, the impact point,

and the crack sound of the bullet traveling through the air.

Without this layering,

a movie just doesn't seem as realistic.

Cinema is filled with basic gun mistakes.

So how would a beginner go about getting it right?

My advice to anybody who wants to get into the

industry as a stunt performer is, it's dedication.

You know, it's part of your life,

you gotta really want to do it.

It's not a part-time hobby, and the more skills

you have under your belt, the more employable you are.