Home Entertainment The Assassin’s Creed movie created a 125ft leap of faith without CGI

The Assassin’s Creed movie created a 125ft leap of faith without CGI

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Assassin's Creed (3)

If there’s any one image that sums up Assassin’s Creed, it’s the leap of faith. In the games, getting the lay of the land usually required some deft parkour up a historical monument, followed by a quick perch on a convenient piece of lumber at the summit. Getting back down from that post? You could slowly work your way down a building, or you could instead hope that the wagon full of hay beneath you is made up of stern-like stern-like stuff.

Close your eyes, have faith and just…leap. It truly is a signature gameplay mechanic in Assassin’s Creed games, and the upcoming film adaptation wouldn’t have been complete without some daredevil stuntman risking his neck for Michael Fassbender. Fortunately, Damien Walters was that very stuntman, as he pulled off a signature leap of faith that was pure skill and good old-fashioned wirework.

“There’s not that many people who do high falling these days because everything’s done on wires,” Walters said to TotalFilm via GamesRadar.

I do quite a lot of wire falls. Or they’ll CG the guy. So to actually get the chance to do it for real was really cool. We rehearsed at the location the day before, and got up to 100ft in rehearsal. And then the next day, we got even higher. We started at 70ft, went to 80, 90, 100, 110 and then 125. When I did the 110ft, Justin was like, ‘You don’t need to go to 125ft if you don’t want to.’

I went, ‘No, it’s fine. I’m happy.’ He was like, ‘Well, if you’re happy, let’s do it.’ I even wanted to go a bit higher when we did that. I think the next one would be very cool if we did a higher jump, but off the real churches.

5G2A6715.tif

The real challenge here? Not only the leap itself, but the body language that goes with it as Assassin’s Creed game characters usually adopt a very rigid shape during the execution of that move. “The character in the game doesn’t change shape, he holds that shape for as long as possible,” Walters said.

The problem with that is there’s no adjusting in the air, so you’ve got to guess as soon as you take off how much rotation to put in, and the higher you go, the more of a guess it is. As soon as you hit the bag, it’s a lot of speed to stop within two metres. You’ve got to spread your weight as much as possible. If you land on your feet you’re just going to crumple into a big heap.

The biggest danger is landing wrong on the bag. It’s not about missing the bag. It’s 10 x 10m, so you shouldn’t miss it if you’ve got any ability about you. It’s the fact that you have to land flat on your back. On the 90ft jump I landed a little top-heavy. I’ve got a little bump on the back of my head. It’s quite tight, the bag, so if you land slightly wrong you get a big whack. Even when you land properly, you get a fair whack in the back.

The wind’s a big issue. The bag is three–and-a-half metres high, so the wind can pick one side up and put the other side down. We had to park a truck in front to try and stop the wind from hitting the side of the bag. That’s something you don’t really want to think about when you’re up there. It’s like, ‘I hope that bag’s going to be there when I land.’

Assassin's Creed (1)

I’m a big fan of traditional stunts and practical work in movies. No matter how realistic your CGI is, it’ll always pale in comparison to knowing that someone risked life and limb for a two-second shot that could have very nearly ended them. The Assassin’s Creed movie drops on December 21 this year. Just stand clear of the wagon full of hay that is parked conveniently under the tall building.

Last Updated: October 3, 2016

17 Comments

  1. Love the fact that the movie guys have realized that audiences don’t just want to see CG effects. Seeing someone really do something like this is always awe inspiring.
    Usually closely accompanied by the thought,” That guy is f@#%ing crazy!”

    Reply

  2. Grimsupanoob

    October 3, 2016 at 11:24

    Now THIS is a movie that really promises to hopefully, finally be a decent video game to movie adaption…. unlike any Uwe Boll Movies…

    Reply

    • Original Heretic

      October 3, 2016 at 11:49

      Uwe Boll. Now there’s a name to make any movie-lover shudder. Ugh, I feel like washing my brain out with soap now.

      Reply

      • Grimsupanoob

        October 3, 2016 at 12:06

        You know it is bad when the dvd sales of your movies, make more money than the cinematic releases….

        Reply

  3. ??????? ????? ™

    October 3, 2016 at 11:26

    Nothing is true, everything is permitted

    Reply

  4. ??????? ????? ™

    October 3, 2016 at 11:28

    38.1 metres for the civilized

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

      October 3, 2016 at 11:32

      ^^^^^
      This

      Reply

    • HairyEwok

      October 3, 2016 at 12:15

      So jumping off Rochester Castle then. That’s not too high.

      Reply

    • Dungeon of JJ

      October 3, 2016 at 12:43

      Yea, I was like…”feet? What year is it?”

      Reply

    • Mike Winmill

      October 6, 2016 at 22:58

      ‘Merica!

      Reply

  5. VampyreSquirrel

    October 3, 2016 at 11:28

    125ft dive.. that’s crazy, yet impressive

    Reply

  6. DragonSpirit009

    October 3, 2016 at 11:44

    Good to see that they giving it their all in this movie. Really makes me hope it will be good.

    Reply

  7. HairyEwok

    October 3, 2016 at 12:07

    125ft leap of poop yourself

    Reply

  8. Dungeon of JJ

    October 3, 2016 at 12:43

    I’m curious to check it out. Never was a huge fan of the Assassin’s Creed games, but it’s a cool series none the less.

    Reply

  9. BakedBagel

    October 3, 2016 at 14:20

    Howcome no one posted the video o_O ITS MIND.BLOWING.

    Reply

    • ??????? ????? ™

      October 4, 2016 at 09:19

      WUUUUUUUUUUUT?

      Amazing!!!

      Reply

  10. ashlaydown

    October 4, 2016 at 14:03

    Assassin’s Creed is an action-adventure video game series created by Ubisoft that consists of nine main games and a number of supporting materials. The games have appeared on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, iOS, HP webOS,[1] Android, Nokia Symbian Windows Phone platforms, and Wii U.
    The games are set in a fictional history of real world events and follows the centuries-old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control. The main games in the franchise were developed by Ubisoft Montreal for the single player and Ubisoft Annecy for the multiplayer, with the handheld titles developed by Gameloft and Gryptonite Studios, with additional development by Ubisoft Montreal. The series has been well received by the public and critics, and has sold over 93 million copies as of June 2015, becoming Ubisoft’s best selling franchise.[2] The series took inspiration from the novel Alamut by the Slovenian writer Vladimir Bartol,[3] while building upon concepts from the Prince of Persia series.
    http://www.mobiringtone.com/channel/16/bollywood-hindi-ringtones/

    Reply

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