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I approached Armor Express in July about being considered as a candidate to produce their film. They wanted a chase scene, they had their stuntmen and police force, and now they were accepting bids from all the production companies in the area.
I found out about it late, but managed to get a proposal in shortly after the suggested deadline. It was a great project with a decent budget and I was really excited when I found out that Eleven35 was their first choice. Pre-production moved quickly, we scouted locations and reworked the storyline countless times after being given advice again and again from the SWAT team we were working with that "this" or "that" in the story wasn't realistic or wasn't consistent with police protocol. But it was advice greatly appreciated and helped us start the film with a foundation of realism and legitimacy, a foundation that we had fun destroying as the action progresses.
(The SWAT team takes cover from the summer heat on a prep day.)
We filmed in August with one camera and a very small crew. Katie Fox produced, I directed the photography, Grant Floering was AC (assistant camera) and Alex Courville was our location sound. We had 4 stuntmen and a whole task force of police officers under our direction, guns, grenades, and all. And the bearcat. And we did all the filming in three days!
(Stuntman/Freerunner Ben Cichowski rehearses an alternate means of exiting the house.)
We started editing in October and had the film essentially finished by November. Some highlights for me would probably include --
1. Being able to film with the Canon 1DX and Zeiss Cinema Lenses. The camera rig was a BEAST.
2. Having to wear a vest because the camera was being shot at. (2:14)
3. Having free reign to explore the Grand Traverse Commons (Old State Hospital).
4. Realizing that the officers were just as intimidated by my camera as I was by their rifles.
5. Watching Alex get really excited about everything.
6. Editing and grading all the footage we got. Watching it come together was pretty cool.
7. Working with people who, after you tell them to go flip over something, go flip over it.
8. Sleeping. But really, this shoot was physically taxing in a significant way.
9. Filming the stunt guys running full speed through the woods. That was really rewarding. (2:55)
10. Almost wetting my pants when one of the officers fired his gun during a rehearsal, entirely unannounced.
When I heard that Armor Express wasn't going to release the finished film until January it seemed like forever to have to wait to share it, but January came quickly! They released it at Shot Show in Las Vegas last week, which is the biggest gun show in the world and a big deal for anyone in the industry. They flew me out for a few days and I got to see how the film was received and meet Lt. Brian Murphy, the police officer who was the first on the scene to a Sikh temple massacre in Florida and survived being shot 15 times. He was wearing a vest made by Armor Express.
Now I'm working full time with Armor Express until spring, producing content supporting and promoting their company and life saving products. I'm blessed by the opportunity for sure, and I'll try to keep the blog updated with the hot to-do's.
Thanks for reading!
JohnPaul Morris
Eleven35 Productions
(The SWAT team would have to bust down the door and this meant removing the screen door for filming purposes.)
(The SWAT team posing for a photo.)
(After testing a Flash-bang grenade in the house, meant to blind and deafen targets, this is the mark it left on the floor.)
(Adam and Greg scouting possible shoot locations with Eleven35 in Grand Traverse Commons, the old State Hospital.)
(This was a location that was really cool, but ultimately unusable for the shoot.)
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