Blog Archives

May 30 2014

When Spider-Man runs out of web, he free runs

With the recent release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, you might have found yourself wondering how exactly Spider-Man would get around the city if he were to ever run out of webs. That webbing can’t simply be infinite can it? Now that would just be unrealistic! Well I bet you didn’t know that Spider-Man is also an expert free runner. The Amazing Spider-Man shows off his amazing parkour skills from sprinting full speed across ledges high in the sky to jumping from building to building in this short three minute video, made all the more impressive when you consider he’s doing this while wearing a mask which MUST cut down on his visibility.

+ Who

The video stars parkour athlete Ronnie Shalvis as Spider-Man. Ronnie is known as a professional free runner, stunt coordinator, and parkour trainer. According to his website, he has been practicing this art for the last seven years and has been involved in several extremely popular parkour videos including “Assassins Creed Meets Parkour in Real Life” which has received 36 million views on YouTube to date. Ronnie also has his own YouTube channel called Ronnie Street Stunts where he has uploaded over 100 videos and accumulated over 19 million views. Another stunt man, Chris Romrell helped coordinate the video. Both Ronnie and Chris are part of the CBR Stunt Team.

+ Where

The video was shot in the city of Provo, Utah. Provo isn’t a very big city and only has a population of around 115,000 (according to the U.S. Census Bureau). That’s a far cry from the 8.3 million of New York City, where Spider-Man actually lives. But hey, for the purposes of this video, Provo’s architecture looks really nice. Most of the scenes are on rooftops of various buildings and high rises. One of the coolest parts of this video is the crew actually used a flying drone with a camera attached to it to get a lot of the overhead shots.

+ What

At the beginning of the video everything is just fine and dandy as Spider-Man slings his way around the city then at (0:14) he goes to shoot a web and finds that nothing comes out! Spider-Man falls to the ground. This doesn’t deter him for long as he flips up and begins free running at (0:21). At (0:36) he jumps off a high ledge and spins around in mid-air then at (0:52) he crawls up to the roof of a building. (1:00) Spidey literally jumps from building to building and at (1:10) he does a handstand on the corner of a skyscraper. One wrong move and he could fall… (1:26) Spider-Man crawls up what looks to be a fire escape then back flips out of a window at (1:32). At (1:37) he does some handsprings through a back alley before climbing up another fire escape at (1:40). (2:05) Spider-Man begins to climb one of the tallest buildings in the city and at (2:18) there’s a panoramic view of him hanging from part of the ladder. (2:22) some police officers respond to a call as Spider-Man watches over them from above.

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Feb 12 2014

How to undress in style

Professional gymnast, coach, forerunner and stunt-man Damien Walters shows off a wide variety of skills in this amazing compilation from 2011. Leaps from buildings, trampoline, parkour moves, tumbling routines, high dives, and death-defying stunts like leaping over moving cars are mixed with fun, creative tricks like a tumbling routine that works him right out of his clothes. Damien has a gift for showmanship and ingenuity to match his athletic skills. He shows off in gyms, abandoned buildings, the pool and his own home in this beautiful high definition video. Music is “Follow U” by Yogi ft. Ayah Marar (Xilent Remix).

+ Who

Damien Walters is a British former gymnast who specializes in tumbling and trampoline, and participated in four Trampoline World Championships. He has focused on his career as a stuntman since 2007, performing in films like Hellboy II, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Eagle, I Am Number Four, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Captain America, and Kick-Ass. He won an award for “Best Fight” at the Taurus World Stunt Awards in 2010 for the film Ninja Assassin. He is also a freerunner and has one of the most-watched youtube channels, with over 80 million views. Currently Damien runs Derby City Gymnastics Club in Derby, England.

+ Where

This video is a compilation of a lot of tricks in different locations: a jump from a building, trampoline work in a gym, parker in a parking garage and on a city street, tumbling in a park, gymnastics in a gym, inside of a truck, his own bedroom and living room, a pool, a street, the woods and an abandoned building.

+ What

After an intro with his personal logo, Damien appears at (0:20) and starts the video off with a bang by doing a stunt-jump off of a building. At (0:27) we see Damien doing trampoline flips in a gym. At (0:30) we get a taste of parkour in a couple of city locations, and then at (0:35) we begin a mix of freerunning and tumbling in the gym, the park and city streets. He takes on two big wooden cylinders at (0:50), leaping one and then ducking the second. He leaps a car at (0:52) and leaps through a moving truck at (0:57). Tumbling and freerunning return at (1:00) in the gym and the city. Damien does some creative gymnastics in his home at (1:04) and then at (1:10) leaps a moving car from the top of a ladder. At (1:16) he grabs onto a moving workcart and zooms away. At (1:21) Damien returns to tumbling in the gym and then at (1:24) he heads to the high dive for some impressive pool work. At (1:27) he takes parkour to an abandoned building and then back to a park. He does a stunt where he leaps out of a car at (1:37). Trampoline, tumbling and diving follow in quick succession. At (1:56) he does a tumbling routine on the trampoline while removing his hat, shirt and pants. The video finishes up with more tumbling outdoors in the park and city, in an abandoned building and inside the gym, showing off Damien’s impressive skills. Credits roll at (2:26).

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