Stunt performer training comes to Sudbury this weekend

With the growth of the northern Ontario film and TV industry comes an increased need for local stunt performers.

Those aspiring to get into the industry and hone their stunt skills are being invited to attend a workshop put on by Northern Ontario Stunts this weekend.

Northern Ontario Stunts training workshop (Supplied)

Participants will learn fight choreography, stunt safety and how to navigate the industry.

Wayne Wells, one of the organizers, has been in the stunt industry for over 30 years.

"It's a wonderful job," he said.

"We have a saying like, where can we go to work, break things, shoot things, blow things up, smash things and not get in trouble for it and get paid for it at the same time?"

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But, performing actions that appear dangerous in a safe way isn't as easy as it looks.

"People watching are like 'Oh, I can do that,' but then when you show them a lesser version of that, they look at you after the fact, go, 'oh, that was harder than I thought,'" Wells said.

"We want to educate people to be safe. We want to educate them to be a good stunt performer because if you're a good stunt performer, you're going to get hired over and over. Protocol, etiquette on set, all that is very important."

He said three northern producers -- Justin Kelly, Ben Farella and Lieann Koivukoski -- have been instrumental in helping him get these workshops off the ground.

Those working in the industry said there is a real need for stunt performers locally, as it reduces the cost of bringing people in from out of town.

"Stunts are an important part of filmmaking, even on like a Hallmark film," Kelly said.

"The loving couple goes figure skating together and brings hot cocoa, you know, that’s a stunt or it requires stunt supervision, that sort of thing. And so having, a pool, a labour force to draw on within the community, allows us to fulfil the mandate of workforce development."

Forty people have already registered for this weekend's seminar and Wells said it's not too late to sign up.

The Sudbury workshop follows one that took place in North Bay in May.

Another one is planned for Sault Ste. Marie in September.

Wells said this is just the beginning and hopes Northern Ontario Stunts can become a staple in the north when it comes to training people in the stunt industry.