“Is it possible to identify living individuals simply through clues on and inside their bodies? For forensic detectives and scientists, it’s the ultimate test of their skills. Each week on The Great American Manhunt, the new eight part one-hour series premiering Thursday, April 19 at 9:00 pm (ET/PT) on the National Geographic Channel, those skills are challenged as never before. In each episode, a charismatic team of experts employs the very latest techniques and technology in forensic science – as well as a bit of intuition and some old fashioned clue busting abilities – to unravel the complex mystery put before them.” 

View a teaser here The Great American Manhunt – stuntman epsisode

The Great American Manhunt -stuntman episode is a post from: Richmond Stunts

By Free Insurance Quotes

Anatomy of a Stunt Driver is a post from: Richmond Stunts

On a plus side, my scene got a very positive response during the Director’s commentary on Blu-ray. JJ Abrams and Larry Fong talk about how awesome the hits to the face look! make sure to pick up your copy and support your local stuntman.

Kid Richmond close up on Super 8

Super 8 now available on Blu-ray is a post from: Richmond Stunts

Finally I got on board the show as one of two local stuntmen. We started our first day of rehearsal at the AMF building in Mechanicsville. By the end of day one I would be the only local stuntman left as the other one took a trip to the hospital. He was one of two guys that made that trip. For our first day we underwent some basic fight choreography and musket firing. The armorer for the show that trained us in proper technique of the past was a true professional. Overall there were roughly 80 background actors training with us stunt guys. Typically, background performers are whiny, irritating and obnoxious or just getting in the way. Not these guys though. The background performers that trained with us were tough and battle ready. I can’t call them extras because the definition of extra means [additional to what is necessary] These guys weren’t additional or excess of any kind, they were absolutely necessary to make the shot. With out them the battle would not have looked nearly as brutal and believable as it did. They worked for a fraction of what stunt performers make and dealt with the identical elements.

The next day we started rehearsal and training at State Farm, the same location that was used for HBO’s John Adams. Day two was grueling and rather intense. Garrett loves to piece together realistic fight scenes. Being that this was a period piece based on true events, Spielberg had the right guy at the helm. One thing our stunt coordinator thoroughly drilled into our heads was breaking the habit of overselling punches, bullet hits and stabbings. It’s a stuntman’s dilemma, he explained. Directors commonly mistake stunt guys for just being punching bags that give wide reactions when in reality we are actually actors that specialize in physical performance as opposed to line delivery. Though don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that we are incapable of delivering dialogue just as good as our coworkers.

After day two we had the weekend to relax a bit and get ready for a knock down drag out Monday. We tightened up our choreography, perfected our reactions and trained some more with bayonets and how to execute a proper kill strike. It was very important that we look believable and that we mimicked the fighting style of the civil war soldiers. After the first half of the day we walked to the actual location and created some new choreography and filmed it so Steven Spielberg could get a preview of what the stunt crew and background could provide for his show. Later in day I got whacked in the ear with a rifle butt. One of the stunt guys I was working with came in to deep with the gun; about six different times. My ear instantly swelled up and looked like it was on the verge of cauliflower ear. I shook it off and continued my day. When I finished up I went and had the blood drained. It made a huge difference and my ear instantly looked better. Oh yeah, another guy went to the ER also. His ear drum got busted from performing a fight in the muddy water.

Day four of rehearsal was relatively easy. Basically we went over what works, what doesn’t, what not to do and then dialed in some more choreography. The next day was our big battle. 5:30 am call and by 6:30 we were padded up, out of wardrobe and makeup and standing in 1.5 feet of mud and two feet of water. Even though the forecast called for rain, we still had rain makers scattered about. Our set was a big mud pit with stumps, sticks, roots and rocks. This mud was slippery as a buttered floor. Wielding around a 12 lb musket with 30 lbs of wet wardrobe while shoulder to shoulder with 150 other people in a 50 foot diameter pond is definitely a fueling cardio workout. By the end of the first take, most of us were winded and I had lost my boots and would proceed to finish out the 7 hour shoot bootless. Trying to move about and perform the choreography in the mud is difficult and exhausting. Spielberg came down from video village on occasion to direct in person. I would’ve been disappointed if he had never shown his face.

Our efforts were praised in the end. After a rough long day of fighting in the mud, taking rifle hits to the body and getting eyes full of gritty mud water Steven announced to us that he got his footage and that we all did an amazing job. The battle was very realistic and in some instances it was in the sense that at times many of us were actually fighting for air or ducking rogue punches and rifle swings. Like I said, it’s not easy to always hit your mark or execute your choreography while stuck in the mud getting pushed around by waves of people. The announcement that we were wrapped was sweet sweet music to our ears. This battle was definitely intense. I only wish I had a chance to get more behind the scenes pictures. I managed to snap a few since I had my iPhone 4S wrapped in a LifeProof case. I didn’t go through all that to not end up with a picture of my pretty smile. Note the gleaming white teeth. Make up tried several attempts to age them but after having 50,000 worth of dental work to get this smile I wasn’t about to let someone other than Dr. Neibauer come near them. First thing I did when I got home was shower and finally shave. Neck scruff, blah. But it was worth it.

Disclaimer: This is for any member of the production that sees the photos and decides to email me about the posting asking to remove them. I have a news flash;

1. the wardrobe wasn’t much of a surprise. I think everyone that has taken a history class knows what people wore back then.

2. not much of a secret about what happens during the battle or how Lincoln dies.

Lincoln is a post from: Richmond Stunts

Foreclosure is a post from: Richmond Stunts

I packed up my fire suit and gels to head to LA for this one. That’s primarily where the show is filmed. I had to portray a stoner, and not being a drug user I only had youtube videos and bad IT experiences to go off of (Why is it that most IT people are stones?). This fire stunt gave me an opportunity to test out a new skin protection gel I had been testing. The fire gel I use to protect my hands and face is essentially thickened water at its most simple explanation. The secret ingredients that make it work…. well that will remain a secret. Needless to say, the Director loved it and I walked away without ever feeling hot.

1000 Ways To Die is a post from: Richmond Stunts

Man VS. Wild, I’ve watched the show and always thought to myself,”Is Bear Grylls a legitimate badass?” Well after working with him I can honestly say YES. I was extremely impressed to see talent such as himself take on the physical challenges that were involved behind the making of Worst Case Scenario. Bear Grylls is definitely able to handle the challenges placed before him and has tremendous knowledge of how to remain safe when doing so.

I worked with Bear on the Physical Attack episode in which he demonstrates what to do when being mugged or attacked. Be sure to pick up the series available on DVD. And take a sneak peak of the Physical Attack episode here.

Worst Case Scenario is a post from: Richmond Stunts

Route Irish is a post from: Richmond Stunts

Stunt work on John Adams was an experience. The show’s budget was somewhere in the 100 million dollar range. Though the final cut doesn’t showcase the weeks worth of stunt work performed, it definitely took place. We had a battle at sea, massacre scenes and a huge storm that threatened to rip apart the ship at sea. The big ship scenes were actually filmed on land in State Farm, Virginia and green screen surrounded the ship. Water cannons, rain makers and high speed fans were used to create the storm.
Freezing temperatures, cold water and 100 mph wind doesn’t make for a pleasant filming experience for the average person but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Production moved into a studio location to film the ship’s interior scene in which Lt. Baron has his leg amputated. A gimble was built and a set placed atop of it. Imagine a mechanical bull except instead of a bull, it’s a room. We get jostled and bounced around as Paul Giamatti, Myself and the Surgeon hold down Lt. Baron as his leg is sawed off.

HBO® John Adams is a post from: Richmond Stunts

Yesterday was the release of Border Town, an independent production shot entirely in Richmond Virginia. For an independent film working with a SAGmodified budget it turned out rather well.

In the beginning stages of pre production the director asked for several large stunts e.g.  pipe ramp a Mercedes car, roof top tackle scene, lots and lots of squibs and a whole lot of old fashion ass kicking. The limited budget forced production back to the drawing board on what was relevant to the story and what should stay to help add value to the production. One of the scenes they cut in particular that I was disappointed about involved a car crash. One of the henchmen driving a Mercedes would hit a man causing damage to the windshield; then the car would spin out of control and smash into the side of a parked truck and possibly flip which is where the pipe ramp would’ve come in. The first script was actually packed full of action from beginning to end. It’s always tough as a stunt coordinator to read a good script packed with action and see it get pushed to the wayside due to budget. It’s not about the money as much as it is for the pure enjoyment of working a career that I love. Waking up knowing that I’m going to either flip a car or crash one into another is always a great source of motivation for pulling myself out of the bed.

Filming this project went rather smooth minus the fact that when I came in to stunt coordinate my first day on the project I was still recovering from a nasty bout of the flu which made me spike a 103 degree temperature. Needless to say I felt like I was on fire which I’m sorta use to by now. Day one was the “diner scene”; some fight choreography between Mark Joy and Terry Jernigan along with the two of them exchanging gun fire. Terry Jernigan did an outstanding job playing the sheriff and brings some comical relief to the screen. Mark Joy was a pleasure to work with as usual. I’ve worked with him in the past on a couple shorts with Lucas Krost/ director of The Branching Studio and he carries himself in a very professional yet humble manner. He’s been in the film business for quite some time now and has landed some decent roles so it was great to see a local Virginia actor get a much deserving starring role.
When the filming began for the final gun battle it was all shot on the same backlot that HBO used for the John Adams Mini series. The set was damn near falling down due to weather and age but the crew did an outstanding job of transforming a Colonial set into a small mexico looking border town. Even had its own bodega. Ann Minarik definitely showcased her prowess as an Art Director on this film. She had help of course but this woman has some amazing talent.

At first we were going to squib every thug that was getting shot but I decided against that since not everyone was qualified to get squibbed. Squibs are dangerous if not handled properly and only stunt performers or trained actors working with a stunt coordinator and special FX technician should use them. If you’re not sure what a squib is I’ll enlighten you:
Its an electronically controlled explosive about the size and shape of a dime and the only people that can purchase and rig them are licensed special FX technicians. The squib gets placed where the bullet impact would occur. First the stunt performer getting squibbed would put on a protective backplate usually made of kevlar. On top of the kevlar sits a brass plate that has shallow cup the size of the squib milled into it. Those two items combined protect the stunt performers body part. On top of all of that but under the wardrobe is a blood pack. The squib can be wireless where it would then be hooked into an FM transmitter that the performer have hidden on his/ her body and the special FX technician would have the triggering (fire, detonator) box or it could be a hard wire set-up where the squib would be wired directly to the trigger box which means the wire would have to be concealed by the wardrobe (usually running inside performers pant leg to the ground then to the trigger box. Upon detonation the outward force which is directional since its meets resistance against the backplate tears open the blood pack and wardrobe giving the appearance that a bullet has penetrated the body.
When it came down to who got squibbed I ended up being the only qualified and experienced stunt performer having worked with special FX several times before. I took a simulated shotgun blast to the back which required the use of 4 D80-1 squibs. That amount of blast is enough to punch a whole right through a solid board or my shoulder if I hadn’t been properly protected. The stunt went great. I was standing atop of a pickup truck hood while attempting to ambush the Vincent (Mark Joy) when Isabella (Linda Rodriguez) nails me with a cheap shot from a double barrel shotgun. For all the other thugs/ henchmen we killed them off with the help of Shave FX and their superior ability to generate the same effect in post production. So it was a matter of training the actors on how to react as if getting shot then padding out the ground below so they could fall hard and sell the hit.

Its always a great experience when working with the local film crew in Virginia and I look forward to the next feature that The Branching produces.

Border Town now available at Blockbuster is a post from: Richmond Stunts