Karate Action Short, OSU, Emits Hardcore Brutality With Martial Grace
Lee B. Golden III
From L to R: Nate Hitpas, Tony Vittorioso and Micah Karns perform Goju Ryu Karate kata, Seiunchin, in the Vlad Rimburg-directed short, Ous.
Back in January, I wrote that it was going to be an exciting year for action fans, and particularly for those who follow the work of independent action director and filmmaker Vlad Rimburg. This week, Rimburg fortifies that exact point in his latest indie action shortfilm, expressively titled Osu.
The name itself is based on a mildly known word in Japanese culture that is also rooted in a myriad of meanings. In this case, the expression grants the application of yet another installment in the growing repetoire of stellar action shorts by Rimburg, whose YouTube channel has been gaining serious virality and recognition with major industry stunt coordinators and other film bloggers since the release of his homage to The Raid 2 with CZ12 co-star Caitlin Dechelle as Hammergirl back in March.
“It feels good,” says Rimburg when asked about his accolades through social networking. “I’m glad that in today’s society there is a way to show the world what talent one has, and it allows to network and build a fan base. The next step would be to start working in Hollywood. I would love the opportunity to work with coordinators so that I can learn from them and show them what I have to offer.”.
Featuring tricking impressario and martial artist, Micah Karns in his second outing with Rimburg, the project also showcases LBP Stunts Chicago’s own Nate Hitpas, who, along with friend and fellow Sharkey’s Karate progeny Tony Vittorioso, originally planned their trip to Los Angeles last month upon inquiring with Rimburg earlier on; The three recently appeared in the latest LBP test fight, Karate Bros. vs The World just last week.“They’re essentially my brothers, so working with them is pretty natural,” says Hitpas of Vittorioso and Karns. “We’ve trained together for so long, we each have a pretty good understanding of how the other one moves, so as a fight partner it becomes easier to adapt to whatever the situation might be.”.
From the week of April 26, the session took four days to finish, with each day accompanied by long, arduous treks through one of California’s national parks – one of the perks of partaking in what Rimburg solely describes as a “real Vlad-style shoot”. “When we got to our location the first day, I didn’t like it.” says Rimburg. “So, we hiked some more until we got to a mountain top. That hike lasted about fifteen minutes. It really killed us, and day three was the hardest hiking day there was because it was also the hottest.”.
From L to R: Micah Karns and Nate Hitpas trade brutal exchanges of hand-to-hand combat in the Vlad Rimburg-directed short, Ous.
He continued, “When I looked over the footage from day three, I realized that a camera setting was off and the footage was all a waste. So on day four, we reshot EVERYTHING from day three and added what we had to to finish.”.
The concept for Ous was also driven by an idea Rimburg wanted to utilize somehow, despite himself being a purveyor of Tang Soo Do karate, which turned out not to be much of an issue, really; Knowing that Karns and Hitpas are both prolific students of Shorei-Ryu Karate is evidently what aided in Rimburg applying his vision for the choreography (i.e. traditional blocks, chops, strikes, etc.). “For myself, Karate just always kinda seemed like the right fit.” says Hitpas. “It’s hard hitting, sharp, and quick. I have a deep appreciation for the martial arts in general, but Karate is sort of like my home. It’s where I started and it’ll always be a huge part of who I am.”.
As you might imagine by now, a Rimburg-style shoot is pretty demanding. However, there are equally, literally dozens of stunt professionals in the industry who have worked with Rimburg in the last fifteen years who can vouch for his work ethic. And to the good fortune of Hitpas, he can now add his name to the list of witnesses. “It was one of a kind.” says Hitpas of his new ‘learning experience’. “Vlad pushed us both to our physical and mental limits, and I honestly can’t thank him enough. The harder we fought, the cooler the finished product would be.”.
“I put those guys to work!” says Rimburg of Hitpas and Karns. “I don’t think I’ve ever made anyone do as many takes before as these guys did. On day four, I had Nate do the jump side kick to Micah thirty-nine times. THIRTY-NINE times, in ONE day! I pushed them! I yelled at them! And when they were out of breath, I told them to get up and do it again! I’m VERY proud of what these two accomplished!”.
After recently sharing credits in director Neil Burger’s latest film, Divergent, Hitpas also hopes to continue to hone in his skills as a stuntman while tapping into other facets of filmmaking, namely fight choreography, cinematography, and learning the editing process. “At the end of the day, I’ll always just be some small-time kid from the Chicago suburbs with a passion for action.” says Hitpas. “If there’s one thing I want out of all this, it’s to show the world what we as stunt performers are all about. I’m honored to be a small piece of the overall picture.”.
In the meantime, while Rimburg maintains his hopes for a gig as a Hollywood fight choreographer among the likes of well-respected professionals such as J.J. Perry (The Expendables 3, Haywire) and Larnell Stovall (The Raid 2, Ride Along), fans can still tune into his YouTube channel to catch his previous and upcoming indie work. And if you’re just now catching on, trust me when I say, it’s some of the best work from an astute action professional that one can only hope Hollywood will bring on board sooner than later.
It’s been said before, and it needs to be said again: Vlad Rimburg knows action. The grueling extent to which he puts his performers is proof positive of just what Rimburg will do to get the job done for the love of the art of creating top-tier action for film, and the results that consistently deliver each and everytime. And if you love action and this happens to be your first foray into Rimburg‘s visual resume, then consider yourself warned: Ous is a bone crushing, jaw-smashing, blood-gushing, dirt-tossing, skull-splittng heavyweight action short that taps right into the core of spirited Karate-style action, and pounds the pavement right down to the bare-handed, raw-fisted end!…
You’re welcome.
Check it out below, and be ready to subscribe to his Facebook page as soon as it is up and running. For more on Hitpas and Karns, head over to their respective official websites HERE and HERE.
