As part of a small team, I had the opportunity to work on two remote-control machine gun turrets for the Netflix film Polar. The project required mounting two .50 Cal. Machine Guns and two M24 Machine Guns on each turret. 

One of the main challenges was the weight. The firearms alone weighed over 200lbs, not including the ammunition, the sheet steel, motors, and other mechanical components. We had to design something that could not only hold all of that weight but also articulate freely and easily. 

Another challenge was that each turret would have to be transported and mounted on the 4th floor of an abandoned building, without the help of a crane or elevators. 

We ended up designing a structure that could be disassembled and reassembled on site. The final design was based on 3/16" and 1/4" mild steel for a multitude of reasons. It could be easily welded, machined, and waterjet cut. We decided to use waterjet cutting for its accuracy, efficiency, and the design could be easily duplicated. We MIG welded each component in-house. Each machine gun had a motor and a pneumatic actuator. The motor was responsible for panning while the actuators provided tilting capabilities. We used a wire mechanism with adjustable tension for each trigger. All of this was wired-out to a control panel that allowed for freedom of control. 

I spent multiple days being on-set support for this and another prop. While it was very cold in the dead of winter and very late nights, I feel lucky to have been part of this project and I'm very proud of the outcome.