6. Casting Reapers: The Deadly Audition Process for Choreographed Gun Fights

We've all been captivated by famous gun fights in movies like Face/Off, The Dark Knight, Hard Target, The Expendables, Equilibrium, and The Matrix. While none of us have the budget to put a thousand squibs on a wall and shred it behind our lead actor (ala the Matrix), there are many things we can do to create a gunfight that pushes the boundaries of quality and creation. While we are nearly to how you directly choreograph gun battles, but we must first get into the casting process, for the choreography necessarily flows out of who you cast. But the casting flows out of the core concept tor your battle.

So what does the “core concept” mean in regards to gun battles? Well, at its root, it has to do with how realistically you show things. Movies like The Hurt Locker are extremely realistic, while movies like Face/Off and the Matrix are extremely stylized. So, are you going to take a super realistic bent to the fight or are you going to add some dazzle to the fight itself? When I started work on Depleted and Day 419, I really wanted to have it be as realistic as possible, with people not doing impossible things. While this is a good concept, it's also necessary to realize that a good gun battle is as much about art as it is about reality. You are telling a perceptual story to your audience of what that gun battle “feels” like, as opposed to what it “looks” like. The best way to see what I mean is to watch the Normandy Beach sequence in Saving Private Ryan. It's extremely stylized, yet every WWII vet who watched it said that it was right on the money for what it was like being there. Spielberg's stylistic choices helped convey the feel of that battle in a way that “felt” authentic and honest.

The reality is that our brains can't process highly dangerous situations without creating a highly stylized version of it. This is why you could ask 10 different hostages about the gunmen who took them prisoner and they would all give different information. (This is why eye witness testimony is rarely the “smoking” gun that television would make you believe it is.) Their brain retained certain elements, but discarded the rest.

In distress, the human brain does things like accelerate our mental processes, causing time to appear to slow down. Sounds may become distorted as the brain tries to play lifeboat with what senses are most likely to keep you alive. As such, even trained soldiers often have stylized memories of battle that have little similarity to the facts of what happened to them.

As such, your goal is to replicate these existential feelings to the audience in such a way that they associate the fight with the elements your main characters are going through. (In Day 419, for example, our lead character, Jenna Whitmore, feels overwhelmed by a gun fight she's involved in and retreats into a surreal past, epitomized by a music-box style waltz composed by zero-project that washes overs her. As the fight progresses in syrupy slow-mo with strangely distant and distorted sound effects, the audience can associate with the strange beauty of the destruction around her and with her disconnect.)

Once you've decided how stylized you want your fight to be and what perspective it's going to be shown from, you can then move on to the casting process of your stunt players.

How does style and perception of characters dictate casting? Well, if you have a main character who either romanticizes death or is terrified of death, you might easily choose to have people's bodies react to gun shots as though they were being shot with canon balls, rather than 9mm slugs. On the other end, if you have someone who is either pragmatic or shell-shocked, then you might have much more realistic things occur when people get shot. (Because a bullet head isn't very wide, they usually don't push a person's body very far at all when they blast through it. As such, a kill shot usually simply involves the bullet passing through the heart and brain, emitting some bio matter when/if it comes out on the other side, and the person's body falling in whatever direction they were leaning in a rather anti-climactic slump, which, as you can imagine, is not nearly as spectacular as a barrel roll.) In Day 419, we leaned toward greater realism, although we added a mixture of elements from the former, as well. The types of deaths required for your “fall guys” will dictate what skills you require when casting them.

Too many filmmakers think that they need their main characters to be super athletic and will rule out great actors who aren't acrobats because of this. The truth is, unless your main character is going to get shot spectacularly, the acrobats need to be the people your main character kills. You could have a lead actor who can't bend his knees, but if you have him draw his gun and pull the trigger and whip pan to a fall guy who flies into the air and hits the ground, the audience will believe your protagonist is just as nimble as Jason Bourne in the Bourne Identity!

Assuming that you want to add some acrobatic responses to death, where do you find these acrobatic people to cast? Essentially, you need athletic people who can launch themselves into the air and land safely. (Now, you are going to need to put a protective mat underneath people. You can rent these or use a mattress.) Obviously, you will need to make sure all of your actors sign liability waivers, so that, if they do get hurt, you don't lose everything you own in the settlement. (We'll have a copy of some of these types of waivers in the World of Depleted Creative Community soon for you to download.)

Where are the best locations to find folks who might want to do this on your film? The best places to put postings and/or chat with owners/coaches/trainers are:

1. Training rooms for high school and college tumbling teams
2. Local gymnastics studios
3. Local MMA gymnasiums
4. Local martial arts dojos (in general) and Capoeira and Judo schools (in specific)
5. Your Local Chapter of the Creative Anachronism Society (these are folks who are trained in traditional fighting styles and often dress up in armor. Many of these are trained in a variety of martial arts and acrobatic elements.)
6. Local dance clubs (look for new variations of break dancing that are arising due to popularity of things like MTV's Number One Dance Crew and the like)
7. Outdoor Theatrical Venues that Use Stage Combat (usually in locations where there have been famous forts and/or battles)
8. Societies of War Re-Enacators (doesn't matter which nation they're from or which war they're re-enacting, so long as they can take a realistic fall)
9. Backyard (or Underground) Wrestling Associations (with the popularity of YouTube, they're popping up all over the world, so there's a decent chance there's a group of these daredevils in your community)
10. Local Police Department and/or Military Base (remember, most of the defenders of the public safety got into their line of work not just to help people, but because they're adrenaline junkies and, knowing this, their jobs provide them with a lot of martial arts training to stay alive)

While you're contacting these folks, check to see if the owners of some of these locations will allow you to do the casting at their location. (While most local libraries will let you do casting of low-budget films at their location for free, this is for speaking roles, not for physical roles. As such, you want a place that doesn't care about noise or about people falling down. In addition to the places mentioned before, you could also check with your local YMCA.) Most will probably want the stunt players to sign a separate liability waiver, so they can't be held responsible. This is all standard and perfectly logical.

Before your auditions, think through some of the “key” sequences that you want to see in your film. Regardless of where they will fit in the gun fight, almost all filmmakers have “shots” they want to see. Most of the time these shots will start with your protagonist, but will necessarily move on to the soon-to-be dead antagonist. (For me, in Day 419, I wanted to have my lead enforcer rise up into frame, pull out two Berettas, fire two distraction shots in disparate directions, and then pull his guns together to fire two rounds into the man in front of him, who would fly backwards.) Focusing on these trailer worthy executions, how does each antagonist die? Does he take a body shot that knocks him into the air? Does he take two shots to the head that spin him around, so he falls face first in the opposite direction? These are things to consider ahead of time.

Once you've come up with your “Greatest Kills” reel in your head, make a list of the sort of moves you want your stunt players to try out. On the day of the audition, make sure you have:

1. A sign up sheet where the actors will put all their contact information
2. A number of copies of the liability waiver (no one auditions until this is signed and given to you)
3. A list of actions you will be asking them each to do (unless they are unable to do so)
4. A video camera or video DSLR (ideally one that shoots 60 fps and ideally the same camera you will shoot your film with) and tripod
5. Padded mats for your actors (unless the location is providing these for you)
6. A note pad for taking notes

As with normal auditions, it's best to have your stunt players audition separately, so they don't feel under the pressure of other eyes watching them. As such, if you can find a location that has some sort of waiting room and a separate fighting or workout area, that's ideal.

Once you bring each person in, explain to them that you will be filming their audition, as you won't award any parts until after you've reviewed the tapes and rewatched their performances. (At this point, turn on the camera and start recording. Many solid-state cameras have time limits on how much they'll record per clip, between 12 and 20 minutes. Using this as a “timer” can be a good way to stay prompt on these sets.) Ask for their names and for them to tell you a bit about themselves for a minute or two. Then chat with them a bit about what your project revolves around and explain to them the part of your film that this gunfight will deal with, as well as the type of role they are auditioning for. Additionally, explain that, while you'll have them do what's listed on the sheet they picked up in the waiting room, you'll also have them do a few improv exercises so they're more free to be creative.

Feel free to ask them if they have experience with firearms, as this can mean you'll have to show them less (or more) about how to realistically hold the gun. (This is not necessarily the case, as some people have plenty of experience with guns, but they have awful habits, so they may have to be shown more correction than the person who is completely untrained. Of course, the needs of the character will also factor in, as the need for the appearance of training is very different for a street thug from Detroit than it is for an Israeli Commando.)

From here, you would make sure that they've set aside all their possessions that might hamper movement and that they are not trying to read from the sheet with the different things on the list. Instead, explain that you'll refresh their memory on each part from the list and let them react. Once they do the elements of the sheet, you'll move on to the improv exercises. These exercises will likely consist of you announcing a body part that will be hit with a bullet and then calling out the “shot”, allowing them to react in whatever manner seems appropriate to them.

Once you've done a few of these improv exercises, you'll thank them for their time and let them know that you'll call them within a certain number of days. (Make sure you provide enough time to go through and rewatch auditions in this time table, decide on your ideal cast, and contact everyone. Be honest with yourself and err on the side of caution, as it's better to over-estimate than under-estimate how many days it'll take you. If it's your first time doing this, then come up with your best guess and add two days to what you tell people.) Again, do NOT tell anyone who's auditioning that they're going to get a role during the audition. Everyone blurs together in an audition and only time and rewatching performances will help you sort it all out. (With that said, do take notes of different performers whose performances you liked during the audition, as this can at least help you get an idea of who rises to the top ahead of time.)

When you finish your casting and pack up all your equipment, you'll probably be exhausted and won't have any interest in trying to rewatch the footage that night. (This is why you added an extra two days to your best guess!) You'll give yourself either a day or two to absorb all that you've seen and then start on it with a clearer head. From there, you will allocate time to go through the auditions and make your selections. (If you have a fight choreographer, this would be an excellent person to have sit in on these watch-throughs and offer thoughts.) Unless you have very type-specific fall guys who are all unique, there are usually fewer call backs for these sorts of roles, since, if someone isn't quite good enough to be the biggest fall guy, he's probably good enough to be the second biggest, etc. (Of course, if you do need to call a few people back in for a call-back, this would now be the time to do it.)

Once you make your decisions and you've looked at your own calendar and/or your fight choreographers', you'll want to call back each and every person who tried out. With that said, never start with the “rejection” people first. (There's always the possibility that one of your “chosen” fall guys will have found out they have a conflict or have decided that they just don't want the part any more and you'll have to choose from one of the guys you'd originally not planned to cast. It's far harder to go backwards if you've already told someone they didn't get the role and they'll probably feel like you're “settling” for them, which won't make things flow nearly as well on set as if they'd been approached enthusiastically from the first call back.)

Call all of your “cast” stunt players, explain what days choreography rehearsals will be and what day they'll be expected to have their stunts filmed. (Also, let them know any additional specifics: provided food, provided costumes, costumes you need them to bring, and/or what, if any, pay is involved.) If they are able to do it, make sure that they've got it in their calendar, confirm their contact information, and tell them that you're extremely excited about having them in your film. However, if you, at this point, run into scheduling conflicts (or second thoughts, which the actor probably disguise as scheduling conflicts). If it's something that can be easily resolved (such as filming someone at a different part of the day you're at a location), then go ahead make it happen. If, after you offer a workable solution, the actor immediately realizes there's another “conflict” he forgot earlier, than you'll know he's decided he doesn't want to be in this film and should move on. Likewise, if the solution is something that will cost you extra money (like having to shoot at the dressed location on a day you don't currently have it), then you'll have to tell them that it's not going to work for this film. Either way, tell them that you'll keep their information for the next film you do. (Even if they changed their mind on being in this film, they might just be going through some personal crap at this time and really do want to be in another film you direct.) Then move on.

Once you finish all the “cast” roles, call everyone else who tried out. Explain how appreciative you were that they tried out and that, while they weren't quite right for these roles in this film, you'd be happy to consider them for a future film. (Always be upbeat about it because you don't ever want to burn bridges, especially since sometimes someone who doesn't work out for a stunt player, might end up being perfect for a speaking role, or even want to get involved in a technical role with your film. Depending on how much you chatted during the auditions and what you talked about, you hopefully know about special skills and/or hobbies the person has which might connect to this film or something else you're doing in the future.)

Once you've cast your people, it's time to move on to actually choreographing the fight itself. Even if you're not doing the choreography yourself, you still want to be aware of the process, so you can speak logically with your fight choreographer.

Tune in next time when we move on to:

Dance of Death: Choreographing Gun Battles

The director of two feature length films and half a dozen short films, Jeremy Hanke founded Microfilmmaker Magazine to help all no-budget filmmakers make better films. His first book on low-budget special effects techniques, GreenScreen Made Easy, (which he co-wrote with Michele Yamazaki) was released by MWP to very favorable reviews. He's curently working on the sci-fi film franchise, World of Depleted through Depleted: Day 419 and the feature film, Depleted.

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