{"id":641,"date":"2018-02-26T15:52:02","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T15:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.danger-boy.com\/blog\/?p=641"},"modified":"2018-03-02T16:54:02","modified_gmt":"2018-03-02T16:54:02","slug":"the-incredible-power-of-the-body-burn-stunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.danger-boy.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/the-incredible-power-of-the-body-burn-stunt\/","title":{"rendered":"THE INCREDIBLE POWER OF THE BODY BURN STUNT"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Tom Comet<\/p>\n

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Snowboard body burn stunt for FA Design and Sporting Life. Stunt Credit – Tom Comet of DangerBoy – www.danger-boy.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Of all the crazy stunts and effects that we perform around here at DangerBoy<\/a>, the body burn stunt<\/a> has to be the most impactful, awesome and emotionally powerful.\u00a0 There is\u00a0something primal that takes place in your brain when you witness another human being completely engulfed in flame.\u00a0 This insane vision short circuits your audience\u2019s synapses, gives them an adrenaline rush and makes them feel a little bit sick all at the same time. This is why the body burn stunt<\/a> is such a great story telling tool.<\/p>\n

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Snowboarder on fire for stunt photo shoot. Stunt Credit – Tom Comet of DangerBoy – www.danger-boy.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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We were reminded of all of this recently when we were contacted by the company Ad Hoc Content<\/a> in Toronto to assist them in creating a series of amazing images and short video clips for FA Design Outerwear<\/a> for their web site and a social media campaign.\u00a0 The images were created to draw attention and support for the Canadian snowboard team at the Winter Olympics in South Korea.<\/p>\n

The concept for this shoot was relatively simple but, as usual, it combined a bunch of things we do that we had never attempted together<\/span> before\u2026 \u00a0In this case we had to combine a full body burn stunt while riding a snowboard wearing some snazzy FA Design technical outerwear on a ski hill at night.\u00a0 Now that is a stunt brief that we can get excited about!<\/p>\n

Normally when we implement a burn stunt like this my team gets a little more control over the costume materials and the physical choreography of the gag (running, jumping, falling etc.)\u00a0 This time our stunt performer (me) had to wear very specific clothes and<\/em> actually ride a snowboard\u2026 Luckily, I’m an experienced snowboarder and have been practicing the fine art of the body burn stunt for close to twenty years.\u00a0 Still, it was not going to be easy\u2026<\/p>\n

Ironic as it may sound, safety is our number one concern here at DangerBoy.\u00a0 You simply are not able to continue with a successful career in stunts and special effects if you have 3rd<\/sup> degree burns from head to toe.\u00a0 We NEVER attempt anything like this without knowing exactly what we are doing and taking all the appropriate safety precautions.<\/p>\n

KIDS, DON\u2019T TRY THIS AT HOME!!!<\/strong><\/p>\n

As with all burn stunts, my life would be in the hands of my fire safety team so I chose them carefully from the guys I have worked with before and trusted completely.\u00a0\u00a0 The week prior to shoot we met and briefed the stunt thoroughly from top to bottom.\u00a0 We listed every step of the process from stunt prep and dressing through to emergency procedures and protocol. We tested the costume materials to be used and, pardon the pun, performed some warm up burns at the shop.<\/p>\n

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Snowboarder on fire wearing FA Design outerwear. Stunt Credit – Tom Comet of DangerBoy – www.danger-boy.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The body burn stunt is a daring dance full of complicated choreography.\u00a0 Miss any one step in that choreography and you could be wearing those scars reminding you of that for a lifetime.\u00a0 Like all good choreography it has to be rehearsed and perfected so that it can be done perfectly under pressure.\u00a0 For me this means first talking then walking through each step of the process with my team.\u00a0 Next, we mime through all the action with the props and costume but no real fire. Once we all know exactly what is required and where we need to be when, we rehearse the choreography with real fire a number of times increasing the size of the burn each run through until we get to the scale required for the stunt \u201con the day\u201d.\u00a0 If at any point there is too much heat or any technical or safety issues we STOP, go back to the drawing board, talk it through and start again.\u00a0 In the case of this stunt we even took a day at a local ski hill to all re acquaint ourselves with that environment. This was all done well in advance of the big shoot day.
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