Editing Die Hard (section)

==Stunts and designs==
===Stunts===
The perception of film stunts changed shortly before production of ''Die Hard'' following a fatal [[Twilight Zone accident|accident on the set]] of ''[[Twilight Zone: The Movie]]'' (1983), and a push was made to prioritize a film's crew over the film itself.<ref name="VultureRoofStunt"/> Even so, Willis insisted on performing many of his own stunts, including rolling down steps and standing on top of an active elevator.<ref name=Independent1/><ref name="SlashDeBont"/> The first scene he shot was his leap from the top of Nakatomi Plaza with a firehose wrapped around his waist. The stunt involved a {{convert|25|ft|m|adj=on}} leap from a five-story parking garage ledge onto an airbag as a {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} wall of flame exploded behind him. He considered it to be one of his toughest stunts.<ref name=Independent1/><ref name="LATimesJuly03"/> The explosive force pushed him towards the edge of the airbag and the crew was concerned he had died.<ref name=Independent1/> Stuntman Ken Bates stood in for Willis when his character is hanging from the building.<ref name="Curbed"/>

[[File:Die Hard 1988 Rickman Stunt.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Alan Rickman hanging from a raised platform|[[Alan Rickman]] was suspended from a raised platform and dropped onto an airbag. To capture the descent, an automated system controlled the camera's [[Manual focus|focus ring]] to keep Rickman in focus.]]
A set was used for the following scene where McClane shoots out a window to re-enter the building. It was shot approximately halfway into the filming schedule so that all involved had gained more stunt experience. The window was made of fragile [[sugar glass]] that took two hours to set up, and there were only a few takes for this reason. Instead of a hoist, a team of stuntmen positioned below the window dragged the hose and pulled Willis towards the edge, as they could better control Willis's fall if he went over.<ref name="VultureRoofStunt"/> Editor Frank Urioste kept the scene where McClane falls down a ventilation shaft and catches onto a lower opening; Willis's stuntman accidentally fell further than intended.<ref name="DevMisc"/> During a scene where McClane shoots a terrorist through a table, Willis suffered a permanent two-thirds hearing loss in his left ear caused by firing loud [[Blank (cartridge)|blank cartridges]] close to his head.<ref name="GuardianHearing"/><ref name="RadioTimesHearing"/>

For Gruber's fall from Nakatomi Plaza, Rickman was dropped between {{convert|20|and|70|ft|0}}; reports are inconsistent.<ref name="DevMisc"/><ref name="SlashDeBont"/><ref name="Thrillist"/> He was suspended on a raised platform and dropped onto a [[Chroma key|blue screen]] airbag.<ref name="DevMisc"/><ref name="Thrillist"/> This allowed the background behind him to be composited with footage taken from Fox Plaza and falling confetti that looked like bearer bonds. Rickman had to fall backward onto the bag, something stuntmen avoid to control their fall.<ref name="Thrillist"/> McTiernan convinced Rickman by demonstrating the stunt himself and falling onto a pile of cardboard boxes.<ref name="VultureRoofStunt"/> Rickman was told he would be dropped on a count of three, but he was let go earlier to elicit a genuine look of surprise. McTiernan said, "there's no way he could fake that".<ref name="DevMisc"/><ref name="VultureRoofStunt"/> The first take was used, but McTiernan convinced Rickman to perform a second one as backup.<ref name="Thrillist"/>

Capturing the stunt was difficult because it was impossible for a human operator to refocus the camera fast enough to prevent the image from blurring as Rickman fell away.<ref name="VultureRoofStunt"/> Supervised by visual effects producer [[Richard Edlund]], [[Boss Film Studios]] engineered an automated system using a computer that rapidly refocused the camera via a motor on its [[Manual focus|focus ring]].<ref name="Thrillist"/> A wide-angle lens camera shooting at 270{{nbsp}}frames per second was used, creating footage that played 10 times slower than normal. Despite these innovations, the camera struggled to keep Rickman entirely in focus during his 1.5-second fall; the scene cuts away from Rickman as the usable footage runs out. To complete Gruber's fatal descent, Bates was lowered {{convert|318|ft}} from Fox Plaza in a harness that slowed his fall as he neared the ground.<ref name="VultureRoofStunt"/><ref name="Thrillist"/>{{sfn|Mottram|Cohen|2018|p=95}} Some of the Fox Plaza residents, frustrated by the debris and destruction around the building, refused to turn off their office lights for exterior shots of the Plaza.{{sfn|Mottram|Cohen|2018|p=95}}

Months of negotiations took place for permission to drive a SWAT vehicle up the steps of Fox Plaza. A railing knocked over during shooting was never replaced.<ref name="DevMisc"/><ref name="Gizmodo"/> Small explosives moving along a guidewire were disguised as the terrorist rockets, giving the appearance of them striking the vehicle. In the scene where McClane throws C4 down the elevator shaft to stop the assault, the effects team unwittingly blew out every window on one floor of the building.<ref name="SlashDeBont"/> The final helicopter scene took six months of preparation, and only two hours were set aside to film it. It took three attempts above Fox Plaza, and nine camera crews filming with twenty-four different cameras.<ref name="DevMisc"/><ref name="SlashDeBont"/> De Bont said the different angles enhanced the on-location realism.<ref name="SlashDeBont"/>

Mortar-like devices filled with propane were used for explosions. They took ten minutes to install and offered a six-second burst of flame.<ref name="VultureRoofStunt"/> The explosion of the Nakatomi rooftop was created using a [[miniature effect|miniature model]]; this was the only miniature used in the film.<ref name="SlashDeBont"/> Because Hans Buhringer (Fritz) was an inexperienced actor and filming was behind schedule, a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] stuntman was put in a blond wig and equipped with [[bullet hit squib|squibs]] to capture the character's death in one take.<ref name="VultureTidbits"/>

===Design===
To prevent the in-building locations looking similar because of the standard [[Fluorescent lamp|fluorescent]] office lighting, De Bont concealed small film lights in high locations. He controlled these to create more dynamic and dramatic lighting. This gave him the opportunity to use unusual light positioning. He also placed fluorescent tubes on the floor in one scene to indicate they had not been installed.<ref name="SlashDeBont" /> The shifting nature of the filming script meant some sets were designed before it was known what they were to be used for.<ref name="DevMisc" />

The Nakatomi Building's 30th floor—where the hostages are held—was one of the few sets.<ref name="SlashFilmSouza"/><ref name="DevMisc"/> It contained a recreation of the [[Frank Lloyd Wright]]-designed house [[Fallingwater]]. De Govia reasoned that it reflected the contemporary trend of Japanese corporations buying up American corporate assets. An early design for the Nakatomi logo was too reminiscent of a [[swastika]] and it was re-designed to look closer to a [[samurai]] warrior's helmet. A {{convert|380|ft|m|adj=mid|-long}} [[matte painting]] provided the city backdrop as viewed from inside the building's 30th floor. It featured animated lights and other lighting techniques to present both moving traffic, daytime and nighttime.<ref name="DevMisc"/>