The only time anxiety kicked in was the picture of the whole team posing for a shot at the corner.
On the flip side though, I think you'll enjoy these behind the scenes without photoshop :
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y5ixzup47wcm1tw/BTS_katherine-2.jp...
(theres more on the dropbox link:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bqtxeldmqiacm9y/AACk0lp0tl9ncGvzl...)
Seeing a super-hero in a dangerous position is not really impactful--that's what superheros do.
Seeing a regular person who is trying to look like a superhero (but subtly failing) in a dangerous situation tells all sorts of stories about the roles we each imagine and hope for ourselves--and the fronts we put up for other people.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bqtxeldmqiacm9y/AACk0lp0tl9ncGvzl... <- wow!!
All are awesome though, great work.
I figure, if you are going to process the image so heavily, why bother even using a real rooftop. These images don't look real. They are, so why shouldn't they?
This is art. And it's not art of the kind where I decide to strip down to my underwear, decide to throw spaghetti and sauce at a large white canvas and say, "hey look at what I created".
What you've done is impressive and I'm willing to bet unlike anything anyone else commenting on this post has ever done.
It's cool. It's edgy. It's different.
Sure he's got an opinion, and that's fine. He likes RAW better than your final shots but so what? He might also like my spaghetti splattered canvas.
Your shit is cool--cool enough that you think it's worth showing and therefore, cool enough for you to be proud of it the way it is.
Great job!
http://raskalov-vit.livejournal.com/
Couple of highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLDYtH1RH-U
Of course, these things have a way of going full-circle, and—today—digital pictorialism is the big thing. It'll pass in a few years.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictorialism (some images below the fold are NSFW'ish)
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Stieglitz#O.27Keeffe_and...
[3] http://www.ishootfilm.org/blog/2014/10/20/11-the-incredibly-...
Especially the one guy giving a thumbs up toward the middle left. There's no way he's tied in and he's standing on the ledge. One misstep by anyone there and he goes over. At least that's the way it looks.
Edit: Here's the sidewalk immediately below the location shoot: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.789224,-122.40034,3a,75y,8.7...
It shouldn't be hard to produce another rendering from the same sources though.
If people want to see the real thing, take a look at:
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/high-times-meet-the...
Or just Google something like "urban exploration skyscraper".
While I appreciate the attempt to artfully present this type of thrill seeking little beats a go pro on a stick or one handed hanging from building framework. Dressing up makes it too hollywood and who needs that when real life is all more impressive
Hopefully the person was themselves hooked into the roof, and the rigging was hooked into the roof, with him acting on belay. But I certainly didn't see that.
I'm so glad nothing bad happened, but this seemed irresponsible from a safety and technical standpoint.
(I mean even the camera rig looked flimsy.)
To date, Ben has...
- Lit my head on fire
- Taught me to breathe fire[1]
- Stuck me under a rain machine[2] while I lifted a giant tire infested with spiders
- Popped a balloon full of curdled green milk over my head
Never a dull moment, and there's always an amazing photo afterwards to immortalize the moment (for better or worse).
[1] - Photo of me breathing fire courtesy of Subversive Photography who grabbed this shot while I attempted to spin in a circle. http://shostack.smugmug.com/SmugMug-Office-Hijinks/n-NGr8t/i...
[2] - Me lifting a giant spider-infested tire while I have freezing "rain" pour on me. Amazing how it turned out. http://shostack.smugmug.com/SmugMug-Office-Hijinks/n-NGr8t/i...
[EDIT] The links are just to individual photos of me on my personal SmugMug site because I think they're incredibly cool--nothing promotional.
It's a bit like having a child; I now spend nights worrying about the most ridiculous events that could happen to my daughter.
Why do our brains like to torture us like this?
But they were all tethered with safety harness and then evidence was removed in photoshop. How is that "magical, one mis-step would mean end"?
Sorry, but I thought the premise of this was daredevil stunts from ordinary people, but this is no different than greenscreen or cheap special effect which u seem to deride.
It's plenty scary - and more emotional, IMO - showing ordinary people doing terrifying things, even if they're tethered.
Photos of my team and friends: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/09/07/arts/artsspec... http://news.auroraphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/petzl.jpg
I have a bone to pick with the safety setup for this photoshoot. SmugMug staff should be concerned...
There are 2 types of fall protection rigging setups for this corner of the building scenario - Fall Arrest & Fall Restraint. Both have to do with the ability of the person to go "over the edge" in the case of a fall.
Fall Arrest is when the person has fallen over the edge of the building and they are arrested with the rigging equipment from falling and hitting the pavement 1,000 feet below.
Fall Restraint is a rigging system that restrains the person from falling over the edge in the first place.
From the video and photos it looks like Von Wong is a bit of a wahoo adrenalin nut[0] and though he and the team had good safety intentions, there are some serious safety issues I would like to point out. And next time please contact me so we can do this safely.
I am going to use this photo[1] and this photo[2] to point out safety flaws.
In these photos I see an Anchor on the I-beam (photo[1] left image red friction protection), a rock climbing harness for Body Ware, I see the connector with webbing, but I don't see a deceleration device. A fall arrest system consists of 4 items ABCD: Anchor, Body Ware, Connector & Deceleration Device. From this setup i'll assume the rigging plan was to build a fall restraint system to prevent their subjects from falling over the edge because there is no deceleration device.
There are just a few problems with this logic that lead to serious safety concerns. As we can see in photo[2] there is:
a) a hand holding the webbing "preventing" a fall, this is not a fall restraint system, it adds slack to the system that increases forces in the case of a fall (this is more apparent in the .gif: http://www.vonwong.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/1-VbF... You can see the black rope coiled up and moving, not cool. EDIT: It looks like the subject is attached via lanyard to the "safety" guy. In the case of a fall he is in the system preventing himself from performing a rescue.
b) the subject could fall off either side of the "point" of the building as the anchor is not around the I-beam in the frame, but out of frame to the right (making the length of the lanyard longer and increasing the force of the fall especially if she fell to the right)
c) that granite edge acts as a knife and webbing doesn't stand a chance being dragged across it if they fall over the edge,
d) because this is a fall arrest scenario there are serious forces on the system if the subject falls over the edge, especially if they are standing up! (the higher they are above the anchor the more potential energy they have).
These are really interesting photos, just when you do them be smart and rig it correctly.
[0]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/O32BWH3s0qkaA...
[1]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/CG8GkzYscTabC...
[2]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/content_link/8NXYjfzC6a5RV...
http://humzadeas.tumblr.com/image/105666488345 https://vimeo.com/104818943
This rooftop took quite a bit of scouting around to get but man was it worth it. Love SFO, wish I could visit again!
I never thought I'd say it, but I think I'll stick with the code.
(Great job, OP!)
I'm a huge huge huge fan of Von Wong's work. He takes things to the extreme and produces unique and mindblowing images.
And I had the opportunity to meet him in person, the guy is fascinating and very humble.
Had that happened in this case, the arm and the camera would have been traveling at >100mph when it hit the ground, on the busiest streets in the city. When you rig something that could put someone else at risk, rather than just what's attached to the rig, you build with the assumption that each individual component may catastrophically fail.
At the very least, you should have had a second stand farther back with an arm clamped to the near end of your working arm, plus you should have one person on each stand whose only job is to watch the stand. What you have here is OK for the height of a garden shed or the deck of a low-rise apartment building. It's absolutely not OK for the roof of a skyscraper, man.
And that's with the thing just bearing the camera load. You had the models using your load-bearing stand, which you are holding with only one hand, to steady themselves as they step up on the edge wall. They're gripping it well above your point of contact. If one of them lost it, s/he would have pulled the whole rig down, exponentially increasing the chances of the arm coming free. Or the camera coming off its mount. Or the ballast bag on the arm vaulting over the side.
Fort that matter, at the start of the video you're leaning out videotaping yourself with a camcorder that isn't visibly secured to anything and that doesn't have any gaffer's tape securing the battery to the camera. At this height anything that falls presents a deadly danger to the people in the street below. A camcorder battery is certainly heavy enough to kill someone. Sure, you're a careful guy, you've probably never dropped your camera. But even though nobody means to drop a heavy light or an expensive lens or a c-stand or a camera or a sandbag, I've seen it happen many many times in the middle of film production. Shooting without permits is one thing, disregarding well-established safety practices is quite another.
- As this appears to be a photoshoot for SmugMug, of SmugMug employees, does Smugmug carry the proper class of insurance on their employees to allow this sort of work? In most cases, unless additional coverage was purchased from the insurer, your general "office worker" insurance will not cover this type of work.
- Was the building owner aware of the photoshoot, and did they have the insurance to cover this sort of work?
- Does Von Wong's liability insurance cover this sort of work (especially since he's not tied off when jumping around on the ledges)?
- I don't see a shock absorber attached to the harness, whcih is necessary to limit the forces on the person to 900lbs (body belt) or 1800lbs (harness) in the even of a fall. I also note that the harness looks like it's a climbing harness NOT a proepr fall-arrest harness (the exception I saw was Hell-girl). Generally you must wear a full body harness rated for fall-arrest and be attached using the back D-ring when doing this type of work.
- The tie-off point, while not visible in the video/photos, (generally) must be a certified tie-off anchor or rated to 5000lbs arresting strength. Using a travel limiting device _may_ have been acceptable, but there doesn't appear to be one.
- The webbing making a sharp angle across the roof flashing is also not ideal, as you should be anchored from above in almost all cases.
- Was there a rescue plan in place? Had someone fallen, what would have happened?
If all of these things were taken into consideration and properly addressed, then thank you for doing your due diligence, otherwise I feel like this has OSHA violation written all over it.
I imagine the city of San Francisco also has regulations when suspending equipment beyond a buildings footprint over an active street.
People die regularly from improper fall arrest systems. You were not just doing a fun photo-shoot, YOU were responsible for these people's lives, as well as the lives of anyone walking below.
I will acknowledge that my knowledge relates to the Canadian labour code, but the US regulations appear to be similar.
https://www.osha.gov/Region7/fallprotection/fall_protection_... https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/construction/falls/fallarre...
I was glad to see they used safety equipment, especially since they were working with non-professionals, but I was annoyed that they didn't mention it in the article and played it down in preference of the breathless self-affirming schtick. Safety protocols matter, because they're what makes the difference between everyone going home after having done something difficult and had a life affirming experience, and going home with PTSD or not going home at all.
The photographer standing on the corner of the building with no safety so he can take a selfie? Fuck him. Doing that on your own or with similarly risk-tolerant friends? OK, enjoy your dangerous hobby, I can appreciate your enjoyment of it as a spectator and relate indirectly to high-risk situations I am comfortable with. Involving an audience of people (on the rooftop) while demonstrating such a disregard for safety? Horrible passive-aggressive behavior that burdens everyone else with significant mental and legal risk, not to mention his employer.
If this took place in a professional context (eg of a commercial film/photo shoot) that would be an instant firing offense of the never-hire-this-person-again variety. If you're going to do dangerous stuff in a group of mixed ability, you have an ethical and professional obligation to adhere to and demonstrate the highest safety standards. If you want an entourage to witness how badass you are (as opposed to leveraging that through your creative work) then you're a walking liability.
Edit: I see Von Wong arrived here at the discussion. I'm going to leave the above up unedited, not to be personally insulting but because it expresses my sincere annoyance about this issue.
If he falls or drops any equipment, he puts the people below him at risk of fatal injury. This isn't just a question of showing off for an audience, it's a question of the safety of bystanders.
As others have said, the level of safety demonstrated here appears negligently insufficient to match the risk to the photographic subjects and to bystanders below, machismo aside.
Yeah. It's like the old joke: what are every true redneck's last words?
"Hey y'all, watch this!"
Von, I'd be curious to know how you reached that level of comfort? Is it just the way you are, do you have training or experience in stunt work, something else?
Darwin awards, making fun of people who have died. Never really got how that became cool.
More often than not a combination of drug addiction, poverty and mental illness that lead to there demise.
It sucks but its the same aspect of our mind that thinks up the amazing things like skyscrapers and cameras that we're then able to build. Imagination. :)
For contrast look up stories of the woman with a damaged amygdala who literally has no fear whatsoever. She has to have people around her to keep her from doing dumb things like pick up poisonous snakes.
I was at Pinnacles National Monument when a lead climber swung around and pivoted out of his harness, resulting in a fatal fall. The whole process took about a second. It literally happened in the blink of an eye, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
It was a bit like seeing the Mission Impossible movie and admiring the great CGI that made it look like Tom Cruise was swinging from a rope off the side of the Burj Khalifa, and then seeing the "making of" video and realizing he was swinging from that rope.
http://www.tomcruise.com/blog/2013/06/13/tom-cruise-sitting-...
I can't say I've ever been a real Tom Cruise fan, but man, I have to admire his guts.
I don't like making all these negative comments. But I've seen people get seriously injured in entirely avoidable accidents, and could give you numerous examples of fatal accidents on film sets off the top of my head - whenever I read of one I study it carefully to ensure I never make a similar mistake. Film and photo shoots are fun, exciting environments, precisely because they often involve unusual locations, activities, or situations. But because everyone is participating in the pursuit of some larger goal (producing art of some sort) the people in the roles of director/producer have an outsize responsibility, because they are temporarily invested with significant authority to the point that people will put their common sense and personal judgement on hold, akin to Stanley Milgram's famous electric shock experiments, due to the blend of unfamiliarity and micromanagement that the endeavor necessarily involves.
http://deadline.com/2014/04/sarah-jones-midnight-rider-film-...
