A couple of months ago I was asked by the good people of Urban Apache Films to help out on a short they were shooting about Vikings. I gladly obliged. Little did I know it would involve an afternoon in A & E and an untimely death!
The two shoots I was to be involved with started well enough, a small private wood in Lincolnshire on a balmy day in February. We’d been shooting a scene with two of the guys in costume doing a sword fight. It all went well and I was in the mood for some Scandinavian heroism. I donned the outfit and the sword and myself and Lewis (the other guy) had a few swings; a block here, a parry there. But then the director calls “Action!” and on the second swing in I ended up with a sword in my hand! The tip of Lewis’ sword had punctured the soft, fleshy lower part of my palm just above the wrist. A trip to A & E was immediately apparent. I spent the next 2 hours sat in the waiting room dressed as a Viking with civilians, admin staff and, worst of all, fit nurses staring at me with the look one might give to a rabid dog.
The doctor who treated me turned out to be Egyptian and as it happened we watched Mubarak step down while I had my glue and steri-strips applied. At least the Egyptians won their fight.
The second day of shooting was much less painful in real terms although it technically ended in my dying on the floor of an old quarry. The day was a gnats cold and rainy but as the schedule had been pushed forward by a month we had no choice but to film. The scene involved me lying on the floor and being brutally stabbed through the chest.
The idea was for the sword to enter the chest and then for me to cough up blood. The blood was a concoction of maple syrup and food colouring. Nice. However, it looks great and the scene went really well. Before long I was coughing and spluttering blood all over the place and even rubbing it on the other guy’s face for dramatic effect. You can’t beat a good death scene.
So two months on, the film is finished and I’m off to the premiere tonight. I’ll update you soon and post a link to the trailer! For now, here’s some photos from the shoot.
