09
de Setembre
de
2016 - 04:48
Recam Stunts began as a school for stunt performers for film, television and advertising in 2013 in Granollers, but its roots go back to 2011, when the centre's director, Brazilian Renato Camargos, began running action courses for new stunt performers. "It was a delicate moment due to the economic crisis. When I was looking for advice on starting a company, most of the answers were: 'No! Are you mad? This is a terrible time!'" Camargos says. Today, the school is located in the Poble Nou neighbourhood of Barcelona, and many of its students are from Vallès, both Occidental and Oriental.
"The producers who know me trusted me with projects that went very well, and that was a boost to motivation. At the time I asked myself: 'And what if setting up a school works?'" says the director. So, along with the action coordinator Adrián de Cea, he founded the school, and through word of mouth, the amount of work they had doubled year on year. At the beginning, they depended on colleagues who were the closest to get started. Today, they work with stunt performers from all over the country and even other European countries. "That is what you get from so many years in the business; you get to know professionals with different profiles and you create a professional network that works well," he says. They do not have a permanent staff, and instead rely on freelancers: "I contact them when I need a specific profile with a particular skill, but no one in the company is permanent," he points out.
The name of the company, Recam Stunts, seems strange. It is in fact a play on the director's name. "Re, from Renato, and Cam, from Camargos, while also referring to the words REC and CAM on cameras," he says. Camargos was born in Brazil in 1983, and at 17 he came to live in Barcelona. His mother and brother lived in Granollers and he wanted to be with them. He has training in different physical disciplines, such as dance (break dance, contemporary and ballet), martial arts (judo, capoeira, Muay Thai, Wing Chun and Kali) and acrobatics.
In 2003 he was in an audition for a musical in Barcelona. There was a team of stunt performers there from Barcelona and Madrid, and they took him on. "That was my first contact with this company. In that same year, apart from the musical, I began to make films, and I realised that I had found something I loved and that I was good at," he says. From then on, his aim was to train and learn every day, while filming to gain experience.
From Granollers to Barcelona
After arriving in Barcelona, Camargo went to live in Granollers, where had access to a place that was ideal for classes and that, moreover, was near his house. "It was great to be there for two years, but there were a lot of people who wanted to do the course in Barcelona, and we thought it would be good to have a place in Barcelona for our clients. We have gained in structure and position," he says. His partner Adrián de Cea lives in Madrid, which is why they have also opened a school in the Spanish capital. Sometimes, the two teams even get together to share training sessions.
Courses to become the best stunt performer
Recam Stunts is a company that offers students coordination and performance of stunts for film, television and advertising. They also do courses and workshops for those people who want to get into the business. Anyone can enter, and as far as the job market goes, what is sought after is time spent training and moral codes. A good stunt performer, according to Camargo, has to be willing and versatile, as well as resolute. "He or she also has to be someone who is punctual, and friendly and serious as required," he says.
According to the founder, the interest in becoming a stunt performer has grown gradually over the years. "The reason could be because increasingly more and better action films are being made. Yet, what we do need is more women. It would be good to have more women in this industry," Camargo points out. Recam's stunt performers have worked in different national productions. One of them, José Álvarez, was taken on for the film Sólo Química (Alfonso Albacete, 2015) as an actor-stunt performer.
Above all, word of mouth
To get the company known, the founders have invested in marketing and set up a website; they have run campaigns on social networks and paper advertising. "We explore all the vias, but it is funny to see that word of mouth continues to be one of the most important and efficient," he says.
As for the future, Recam Stunts wants "to continue doing things well and continue growing the infrastructure. "Everything to improve the level of our stunts," says Camargo.
"The producers who know me trusted me with projects that went very well, and that was a boost to motivation. At the time I asked myself: 'And what if setting up a school works?'" says the director. So, along with the action coordinator Adrián de Cea, he founded the school, and through word of mouth, the amount of work they had doubled year on year. At the beginning, they depended on colleagues who were the closest to get started. Today, they work with stunt performers from all over the country and even other European countries. "That is what you get from so many years in the business; you get to know professionals with different profiles and you create a professional network that works well," he says. They do not have a permanent staff, and instead rely on freelancers: "I contact them when I need a specific profile with a particular skill, but no one in the company is permanent," he points out.
The name of the company, Recam Stunts, seems strange. It is in fact a play on the director's name. "Re, from Renato, and Cam, from Camargos, while also referring to the words REC and CAM on cameras," he says. Camargos was born in Brazil in 1983, and at 17 he came to live in Barcelona. His mother and brother lived in Granollers and he wanted to be with them. He has training in different physical disciplines, such as dance (break dance, contemporary and ballet), martial arts (judo, capoeira, Muay Thai, Wing Chun and Kali) and acrobatics.
In 2003 he was in an audition for a musical in Barcelona. There was a team of stunt performers there from Barcelona and Madrid, and they took him on. "That was my first contact with this company. In that same year, apart from the musical, I began to make films, and I realised that I had found something I loved and that I was good at," he says. From then on, his aim was to train and learn every day, while filming to gain experience.
From Granollers to Barcelona
After arriving in Barcelona, Camargo went to live in Granollers, where had access to a place that was ideal for classes and that, moreover, was near his house. "It was great to be there for two years, but there were a lot of people who wanted to do the course in Barcelona, and we thought it would be good to have a place in Barcelona for our clients. We have gained in structure and position," he says. His partner Adrián de Cea lives in Madrid, which is why they have also opened a school in the Spanish capital. Sometimes, the two teams even get together to share training sessions.
Recam Stunts has competition both in Barcelona and Madrid, but what makes it stand out is that when the school opened they had already been working in the business for 13 years. "Our methodology is based on our experiences on film sets, and there have been quite a few of them…," he says. They are now working to improve the school, both in terms of methodology as well as materials.
Courses to become the best stunt performer
Recam Stunts is a company that offers students coordination and performance of stunts for film, television and advertising. They also do courses and workshops for those people who want to get into the business. Anyone can enter, and as far as the job market goes, what is sought after is time spent training and moral codes. A good stunt performer, according to Camargo, has to be willing and versatile, as well as resolute. "He or she also has to be someone who is punctual, and friendly and serious as required," he says.
According to the founder, the interest in becoming a stunt performer has grown gradually over the years. "The reason could be because increasingly more and better action films are being made. Yet, what we do need is more women. It would be good to have more women in this industry," Camargo points out. Recam's stunt performers have worked in different national productions. One of them, José Álvarez, was taken on for the film Sólo Química (Alfonso Albacete, 2015) as an actor-stunt performer.
Above all, word of mouth
To get the company known, the founders have invested in marketing and set up a website; they have run campaigns on social networks and paper advertising. "We explore all the vias, but it is funny to see that word of mouth continues to be one of the most important and efficient," he says.
As for the future, Recam Stunts wants "to continue doing things well and continue growing the infrastructure. "Everything to improve the level of our stunts," says Camargo.