Kamp Grizzly Shoots Innovative PSA About Car Accidents Using Cool Stunt Harness

You know how Ironman will punch a bad guy and the impact of his fist is so forceful, the henchman flies backwards through the air?

Spoiler alert: You can't really punch people that hard. Scenes like that are created by hooking a stuntman to something called a ratchet harness, which yanks him backwards quickly enough to make it look like he's flying through the air.

Sadly, there is a time in real life when people do go flying through the air, much to their harm. And that's in a traffic accident.

So in a PSA for traffic safety, Kamp Grizzly wanted to use the motif of flying bodies to show how an accident affects two lives. Their goal with this spot is to call attention to the reduced speed limits in Portland neighborhoods and get people to slow down and save lives. 

In their creative brief they say, "A car accident can at the same time happen in a flash of chaos while feeling like it unfolds in slow motion. In an instant the lives of two people can be changed forever. Stripping away the cars, smoke and flashing lights typical in an accident scene our focus will be on the people involved and the other worldly passage of time and sounds that can only be experienced in moments like these."

Their plan was to shoot a minimalist spot on our soundstage that would have maximum impact.

Greg Schmidt was the DP, Joel Stirnkorb was the gaffer, and Kai Shelton was the stunt coordinator.

Here's a demo video of the stunt harness being used for an action film.

The stunt harness created a very eerie effect in slo-mo, especially since the talent wore billowy costumes. The audio design was also pretty cool.

So instead of us trying to describe it, just watch the finished spot below.