NZCS members and guests were treated to another inspiring event on Wednesday night as an audience to legendary stuntman, stunt co-ordinator and 2nd Unit Director, Vic Armstrong.

Out here from the UK to work on a large Amazon TV production, Armstrong’s reputation and list of credits in the business is massive, including a series of James Bond movies, Indiana Jones movies, and the likes of Total Recall, Starship Troopers, Eddie the Eagle, Thor, Gangs of New York and countless other huge action block-buster films.

His opening showreel has glowing testimonials from Steven Speilberg, Martin Scorcese, Harrison Ford and other highly respected film-makers.

The presentation was accompanied by a continuous showreel of excerpts from action sequences he either directed, co-ordinated or performed stunts in. There were many stories to accompany various clips, including tales of very near misses, such as a float plane mishap on Indiana Jones, and the critical timing of a leap from a horse onto a moving tank.

Vic also elaborated on backgrounds to the planning of complex stunts and the development of rigs, such as high speed descenders, to solve specific challenges, and the important relationships between Main and 2nd unit directors and DP’s.

We were privileged to have Vic take time out of a very busy production schedule to share his stories with us at short notice.

~ Donny Duncan, NZCS Professional Development Manager