I have to say, stuntman and filmmaker Trevor Addie‘s latest mini test fight short, The Bird, a was a fun little gem to catch onto this week. The project, shot not too long ago shows actresses and stuntwomen Cassandra Ebner and Irma Evangelista in a brilliant little action video that manages to accomplish a LOT in just a minute.
The trio are also behind last year’s Christmas Day online shortfilm release project, Croft, a fan film short loosely based on the title character from hit video game, Tomb Raider. The shortfilm became a surprise hit throughout the festival circuit between last year and earlier this year, marking a significant milestone for Ebner who hosts her own channel featuring various vlogs as she journeys her way through a brewing career in film and stunts. “My motivation for stunts came from wanting to work in the film industry but not knowing which department.” she said. “Growing up I wanted to be a superhero, but found out I couldn’t do that. Then I found out actors and actresses could be superheroes so it got be excited about acting since I was eight. I started making my own fun skits and shorts growing up. Then I didn’t know if I wanted to be in front of the camera or behind it. Then I found out about stunts in high school when I was playing rugby. And thought that is exactly what I want to do! I get to be that superhero I’ve always wanted to be! So it was a child dream come true!”
The project was also co-written by industry stuntwoman Irma Evangelista who co-wrote and co-produced that very same project as the two have known each other for about three years now. Best known among gamers for her performance in a popular fantasy fight for the START Channel opposite actress/stuntwoman Samantha Jo, Evangelista has been a working stuntwoman for five years now, and she also shared her perspective with Film Combat Syndicate in our first-ever mini chat about her career.
“Stunt work is great because you are physically active, being creative, and solving solutions. It’s fun being part of the team and making new friends.” she writes. “I’m always grateful when the opportunity to show my skills come around. I’m always training and meeting new people that enjoy action on films. Theres so many things I love about my job like learning and maintaining new skills and creating fights or cool stunts, but the most thing I love about stunts is working with my friends and being part of the collaborating team. It’s rewarding when you see the end product and knowing you did it with the people you admire and trust.”
I know what some of you are probably thinking…all this for a one-minute video? Yes, for me it’s totally worth it. I love sharing some insight directly from stunt professionals whenever I have the time, even if I can’t always do full-on exclusive interviews. Moreover, with the amount of male stunt performers I usually see, I absolutely love watching women design and perform test fights like this, and even larger-scale sequences.
Check it out The Bird in the embed below where you can also subscribe to Ebner‘s channel.
