by the state. "It's an apprentice program in California," explains Jim Gill.
"You get a 3 card and work under other people. After you've done that
for a couple of years and shown you have safely handled a number of
kinds of work, they will vouch for you and you advance to the 2 card,
then the 1 card. Then you can run off and blow things up yourself.
"I recommend people learn as much as possible about computer and
digital effects, because that's the future." Contact pyrotechnicians to ask if
you can observe them at work, and see if you can get an apprenticeship.
Another option is to contact companies that stage fireworks displays.
Professional Profile: Robert Hutchins,
Special Effects Supervisor and Pyrotechnician
From the time he was in junior high school, Robert Hutchins was
involved in theatrics. He took drama classes, acted in productions, and
worked on stage crews in high school. After graduating from high school
in 1972, he took a few courses in
radio and television production
at Pasadena City College, then
went to work full time at Magic
Mountain in the entertainment
department, "running sound,
lights, and pushing chairs,"
from 1974 to 1976. Thereafter,
he periodically returned on a
freelance basis to work on
special promotional events.
"The big thing [at Magic
Mountain] was Halloween. We
dressed the park to be spooky
and hired actors to run around
as ghouls or whatever."
Hutchins was part of the crew
charged with staging an alien attack on the train that ran through the
park and surrounding pastureland, using pyrotechnics to create special
effects. The park employed several technicians who normally worked in
the film industry to orchestrate these effects. By working with them,
Hutchins learned some basic techniques in pyrotechnics and fireworks
displays, and made contacts in the film industry. One of those contacts
was Joe Viskocil, who later won an Academy Award for his work on
Independence Day.
Viskocil became a mentor, helping Hutchins refine his skills and refer-
ring him for film work. He went on to stage manage the "Kingdom of
What do you like
least about your job?
"What I like least is
lifting heavy objects."
--Robert Hutchins
What do you love most
about your job?
"What I like most is the variety. No two
jobs are the same . . . it's always a different
location, working with different people."
--Robert Hutchins
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
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