The art of wire stunts is relatively new to the Nordic film community, especially so in Norway.
This particular stunt was done for a commercial made by TV Tromsø for Troms Kraft, directed by Torkel Riise Svenson. I was the stunt coordinator, Thomas Isak Johansen was responsible for the rigging and lead the pull team, and Åse-Lill Bjørklund was my assistant.
The task was to show an actor being shot out of the frame by two fire men operating a powerful water cannon, with the actor performing his own stunt.
Usually, with this kind of flying stunts a combination of steel wire and rope is used, with wire for the last section connecting the performer to the pull. Wire is comparatively thinner and therefore easier to remove in post-production than rope, and it runs easier through the block and therefore gives a more springy lift, while static rope is used for the team of people that pulls the performer up (it´s hard to get a proper grip on wire).
Wire, however, only comes in certain pre-fabricated lengths. Here we had to re-adjust for a longer pull since the photographer decided to frame the stunt differently, and so the wire was abandoned and the whole stunt was done with rope only. It saved us time on location, and therefore money, but gave the digital FX-guy more work. Incidently, it also makes the whole mechanics of the stunt show up better on these pictures.
All photos by Åse-Lill Bjørklund.
On location - an empty swimming pool, making for a fairly unfriendly environment, slippery and lots of hard surfaces and corners. One of the stunt coordinators duties is to make a risk assessment - What can go wrong here?
Stunt rigger Thomas Isak Johansen inspects the water cannon. The pressure was adjustable, and so we needed to decide how much punch we wanted it to deliver; We wanted it to look powerful enough to blow a man backwards, with lots of water spraying, but without actually risking hurting the actor.
Strapping the actor in the harness. Notice the hard plate on his front side for some extra protection against the water beam.
Some things should be sorted out with the actor beforehand, for instance if he has any back problems, fear of heights, if he suffers from vertigo, and so on. This guy, however, was a real sport.
The pull team - sometimes referred to as the jerks. Rigger Thomas Isak Johansen second from the back, where he has the best overview and can adjust the force and speed of the pull.
The stunt.
Going airborne!
The pull team lowers the performer on signal. Note the crash mats in the background. Here, no mats where used on the floor because of the framing, which is actually not unusual for wire stunts. The performer is still safe from impact with the floor as long as the pull team keep him suspended. But if we can get away with it, we always throw in a mat anyway.
Catching is an important stunt skill, especially when working with performers with little or no training.
The team awaits the director´s verdict. - Was it OK? - Should we go again?
In the end we did the stunt about 5 times. One of the many good things about wire stunts is that once you have the rigging and the team ready, the stunt itself is repeatable, assuring a fairly high degree of accuracy and adjustment while maintaining safety.
The finished film: