A young girl must make the decision to stand up and do what is right, taking the first step in her origin story.

We decided to start the new year off with an aptly named theme — Origins. This month’s short follows the hero’s journey of a young girl who rose above her childhood bully to become a hero for those who need it. It was a fun shoot filled with tons of stunts, a day on the playground, and an epic costume build. Here’s a quick look behind the scenes…

Day 1 was spent filming at the Los Angeles Boys & Girls Club. Both our young actors and our seasoned crew seemed to enjoy the location very much (check out the above behind the scenes video to see our Production Designer, Paul Bianchi, do a pretty impressive roundoff back handspring!)

But it wasn’t all fun and games. Our lead actors Torri Cachero (Samantha) and Brody Allen (The Bully) had to do a few stunts of their own! (And speaking as a former rugrat myself, I know that playground mulch hurts.) We also have to give a shoutout to Kate Tomlin (Kelly) who bared the burden of being the bully’s first victim. However, in real life Brody is a delight. He flew all the way out from Kentucky to be in our shoot! How cool is that?

One of the more impressive element’s of Samantha’s costume is her shield. It starts off as a boldly painted trash can lid and transforms into a thick, steel barrier used to block off blows from more powerful enemies. The shield was designed by our awesome Art Director, Jo Crandall (you can learn more about him by watching the behind the scenes video from our previous theme video, Revolution) He even created multiple versions of the shield for stunt purposes. When our lead Savira Windyani (Hero Samantha) had to fight off baddies, she was able to do so holding a lighter, prop shield. The main shield used in all of the beauty shots was real though. Jo welded it himself!

We hope you enjoyed our Origins short and appreciated getting a look behind the scenes. Stay tuned for our next video for our soon to be revealed theme — coming at you soon!

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