Stunt reel grows into a short film concept

A Special Forces officer turned crime syndicate operative uncovers the site of a drop being conducted by one of the world’s most dangerous, underground criminal organizations.

With his syndicate’s mission of eradicating this rival organization, the officer infiltrates the drop site in an attempt to recover an invaluable item and locate the group’s notorious leader.

However, things go astray when he is unexpectedly forced to deal with one of their organization’s most reputable mercenaries.

So goes the plot for Figures, a short film currently in pre-production, by Saultites, Jade Robertson and Jamie Hegland.

Despite coming from the same home town, Robertson and Hegland actually met in Toronto.

“We've actually only known each other a few years,” says Robertson.

“Jamie was recommended to me by my cousin who I lived with when I first came to Toronto and we got [him] to come out on a film I produced two years ago called Spandrel.”

Robertson noted that Hegland had stunt experience that came in handy during the filming.

“That was where the relationship was forged,” he says.

“The whole thing here was if you're from the Soo and you're in film, you naturally gravitate toward one another.”

After moving to Toronto in 2018 to pursue a career in acting, Jamie Hegland spent the last three years performing stunts for film and TV.

Hegland realized his passion was more in the stunt world than general acting, and he began to focus on training stunt-specific disciplines full-time while working various part-time jobs as a source of income.

His training focused on several disciplines in hopes to make himself more marketable in the industry, including acting for stage, film and TV, dance, acrobatics, martial arts and stage combat.

He also began to create his own stunt projects, including one that proved to be the inspiration for their current short film project.

“The idea started as a short, simple fight scene, originally meant to be used for Hegland’s stunt reel … Over the course of a couple weeks, the fight [sequence] evolved into something bigger as Jamie had several great stunts he wanted to include in order to promote himself to professional stunt coordinators,” says Robertson, who is acting as producer/director for Figures, handling creative, casting, financing, logistics, marketing, distribution, supervising post-production and more.

“After thinking of creative ideas to incorporate these stunts into the fight, he started to consider the idea of creating a fully realized story to help give the fight more impact.”

From then on Hegland started developing the screenplay. He quickly realized he could use the support of Robertson to help produce the short film and manage the production.

“Producing an action short film has been something I always wanted to do but never thought it was something I could pull off quite this early in my career,” says Hegland.

“With Jade’s expertise in indie filmmaking and having the time in COVID to give it more thought and focus, I was able to find the right inspiration and drive to go forward with such an ambitious project.”

Hegland will not only be acting in and performing the action sequences for the film, but also he will be directing the pre-visualization for the project.

“For stunt projects, especially ones with complex fight sequences, it is very important to film a pre-visualization of the film before the official shoot dates,” says Hegland.

“This way you can go into the shoot knowing everything you need to and have full trust that all the bigger details were ironed out previously during the pre-visualization.”

Roberston explains that pre-visualization makes for a much smoother shooting schedule and less stress when under time constraints during the film shoot.

“Once we’re on film day, Jamie will pass on the directing to me and other key creative members of the team,” he says.

The duo is currently fundraising for the project through Indiegogo with a target of reaching $10,000.

“This should give us the perfect amount of wiggle room to secure our locations, build various set pieces, buy the proper costumes and props, pay our dedicated crew members and fund all other aspects of the project. All in all, it will provide us the ability to put great production value into the project in order to get the professional quality experience,” says Robertson.

The duo’s plan is to create a short film that feels like a professional, big-budget production but create it with a tight-knit team on a small-scale budget.

“We plan to do so through meticulous rehearsal and visually stunning camera work. With the right key creative members driving the project we can workshop many great ideas and see how they fit on the screen. In order to create a professional quality product, I believe it comes down to how prepared the team is and how willing they are to do everything they can to provide a top-notch piece of cinema. By planning every detail, from location dressing, costume, the film score, and practical effects, we hope to be so prepared for the film that we don’t miss a single beat.” said Hegland.

The Indiegogo campaign includes demo clips of action sequences.

“[The clips] were built to give the viewers a chance to see what we can pull off, not necessarily what will be in the finished product. That fight was created, rehearsed and filmed in under five hours and it turned out fairly well,” he says.

“It really makes you wonder what we can pull off with a month of creating, workshopping and rehearsing the full action sequences. If we can make such a video with just a half a day of work we can surely plan some incredible things with a few weeks.”

Robertson and Hegland both want the film to showcase the “tremendous amount of talent and passion” that Canada, more specifically Toronto, has to offer within action filmmaking.

“When it comes to action filmmaking I absolutely love when a fight sequence is done right,” says Hegland.

“That means including talented and passionate performers, highlighting their abilities using creative camera work and building a world around them that gives each action sequence more of a lasting impact on the audience. When an action scene impresses you with the performer’s physical prowess, gets you excited and inspires you to want to learn more ... that’s what I love.”

For Roberston, working in the action genre may be new, but his love for it isn’t.

“It was something I haven't attempted yet, an action-heavy thrilling knock-your teeth out kind of film where the action is on the forefront,” he says, citing films like Mission Impossible, John Wick and Logan.

“Seeing what stunt performers are capable of doing is like seeing the potential of humans in real-time so I just am totally mesmerized by it. I'm a big fan of high octane action … this was really just something I wanted to put myself out there for.”

Although the crew is currently planning on initially working out of Toronto, the Sault is still a consideration.

“We intend on shooting part of the film in Toronto but that doesn't mean we wouldn't want to bring Figures to the Sault as well or maybe even the sequel or feature-length version down the line.”

When the short is completed, Robertson and Hegland hope to submit to local and international film festivals.

“In the event that the film scores well, we'll hopefully find a short film distributor,” says Robertson.

“Littered with exceptional stunt work, technical action sequences, strong performances and an entirely practical perspective, this film aims to make any cinema enthusiast an immediate fan and hopes to leave you wanting more.”

Find out more about the Indiegogo campaign for the film or watch demos of Hegland’s stunts here.

Find out more about Jamie Hegland and Jade Robertson on their Instagram pages.