The Wynn Super Bowl
This was a fun project which I had a last minute invite to join. I wasn't official crew, but I immediately cleared my schedule to fly from LA to Vegas with Fred North in a AS-350 and go stand on top of a building as a stunt camera dummy for the Wynn hotel Super Bowl Commerical in 2005
Being a BASE jumper, I'm not afraid of heights or doing stupid shit on tall objects (usually in the middle of the night). This day presented some challenges to the norm (beyond standing on the edge of a 500 ft building with a helicopter 12 feet from your face). we were shooting in winter in Vegas and that means winds and cold temps. the gusty 30-40 knot winds added a level of excitement in addition to the convective heat loss of being exposed to the elements.
The Trust Factor.
From my view, this adventure was relatively low risk on my participation (roped in), with the lion's share of it placed on the Helicopter Pilot, Fred North. Let's look at what's on his plate here: Flying camera in close proximity to objects and people trying to hover in a high crosswind scenario over a densely populated area. There's no one in the world I'd trust more than him to be flying here, and based on his credits, the industry agrees with me.
Scott Gardenhour looking at the live view during one of the test takes. He's another gem of the industry having a brilliant creative eye, producing/directing talent, and a hilarious great attitude. The money shot was the tight Portrait of Steve Wynn talking marketing speak leading into the Helicopter fall away revealing the Logo and hotel. All in all - pretty EPIC.
And the final result, and yes, Steve Wynn stood on the edge of his own building, which is rad in itself:
