Wire-fu for The Rapture

Andrew Sokol
Wire & Stunt Coordinator
Fight Choreography
Safety Coordinator
‘Set McGyver’

Well, I thought The Chase was over the top with three “simple” project goals:
1. Choreograph a 2-3 minute fight
2. In an elevator, oh, and
3. At least one of the fighters will be wired for ‘Matrix’ like fighting
4. And leave room for 4 cameras in the elevator

We did it and had loads of fun doing it.

The “A Joker’s Card” project Johnny Wu asked us to wire two fighters to fight each other at the same time. Well, Wayne Orris saved the day by fabricating a ceiling track with dollies that allowed two pulling teams to track with the fighters as they moved along the track. Fortunately, we didn’t even have a single mid-air crash other than the scripted type.

“Hey Andy…” Johnny starts and I sense another Laws-of-Physics bending idea coming my way. Sure enough, some of the fight scenes in “The Rapture” will bend yet more Laws of Physics. Since we are trying to minimize the amount of CGI we have to figure out how to wire up the two main characters to fight in the style of the Matrix except one actor will have a 14 foot long tail and the other a 14 foot wide wing span physically attached to them while they fight. Two problems here: wire entanglement and actors crashing into eachother.

Man, I’m gonna need help with this one. Good thing we have a great props and FX guy Tom Luhtala! Another key to this is Christine Chapman in Wardrobe & Make-up. Throw in Wayne Orris who will fabricate an overhead frame which will maintain fighter-to-fighter orientation and we should have this challenge licked.

While all this is being done, our actors are busy with various Martial Arts Masters in Cleveland, Canton and Columbus to horn their fighting skills.

The yank and fly you see in the teaser trailer worked well. Six takes went as planned, almost. On one take, a bronze swivel failed, sending Chandler Chapman flying toward the pullers behind him. It turns out the swivel casting had a bubble inside which could only be detected by x-ray imaging. That swivel was the one and only component that wasn’t safety wired because it needed to swivel and a back-up wire would have prevented that. This goes to show you: DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME! Even with our experience, the unexpected can happen. Fortunately, Chandler is okay with no permanent damage done.

As the shoot date approaches the action sequences are jelling nicely. Fight timing is getting closer and closer. In the final fight scene between E and the Chimeras we create a timeframe offset. E is so enhanced that he moves 3 times faster than the Chimeras. This allows E loads of time to anticipate and react to the kicks and punches thrown at him. He actually uses Jonathan as a shield moving him into the way of the other attackers. E is so fast that this fight takes place in the real-time frame kept by a set of silver balls E tosses up in the air and catches after the first clash. Should be a neat visual result.

Stay tuned. We’re working hard to bring you a polished anime action flick!

Now Johnny, about that exploding water cooler gag…