This week finds me back in Southern Ohio working on the independent feature film “The Reliant.” The crew has been scaled back to second unit. We will be filming a mixed bag of inserts, aerials and establishing shots to wrap out the initial photography. It is always fun to work with a smaller second unit!
Greg Kraus on the set of “The Reliant”
On the second unit, I will be providing production all the rental gear including my Red Weapon camera package. I am also joining up with the Camera Department as 1st AC after spending the last three weeks working as Key Grip on the shoot.
The Reliant – Principal Photography
During principal photography, I was only providing the lighting and G&E for the production and was not on the crew. I had just wrapped from DPing the film “The Colours Of Desire” and I was enjoying some downtime. I got an emergency call from the UPM. The Key Grip had to leave, so I decided to go down and help out for the final three weeks of filming.
The movie has a pretty decent budget for an indie film. It features 30 stunts, including an epic riot scene, motorcycle stunt and lots and lots of gun play! We did some car rigging and mounts. We even destroyed the producers door during a scene when an actor took a hatchet to it. The results look like we were filming The Shining! However, the door wasn’t the only casualty, we turned two Kino tubes to dust during a hospital scene.
Destroyed Kino Flo Tubes
Car Mount
Broken Door
The Reliant – The Cast
The cast was amazing! It stars Brian Bosworth, Kevin Sorbo and Eric Roberts. Brian Bosworth aka “The Boz” is a former NFL football player turned professional actor. As a football star he gained notoriety not only for his on the field play but through his flamboyant personality and controversial comments off the field. He has acted in “The Longest Yard”, the 90’s movie “Stone Cold” and more recently in the movie “Do You Believe.” Kevin Sorbo starred as Hercules in the TV series “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” in the 90’s. More recently he was in the 2014 movie “God’s Not Dead.” Kevin Roberts, has been in several films including The Dark Knight, The Expendables and he is the brother to actress Julia Roberts. The film also casts brothers David and Jason Benham, Mollee Gray, Kevin Wayne, Blake Burt and Julia Denton.
I am looking forward to seeing the film once it is complete!
Actor Eric Roberts On Set of “The Reliant”