Stunts › Sequences › The Revenant (2015) ›
Grizzly bear attack — practical/digital handoff
The five-minute continuous-take grizzly bear attack — DiCaprio performed against a stand-in actor in a rough motion-capture suit; ILM's photoreal CG bear was animation-blocked to the stand-in's motion. The choreography combined practical impact + body-roll work by stunt double Mark Mottram with ILM's digital bear handoff in compositing.
Rigging
Equipment + technique
mocap
Stand-in actor in mocap suit performed bear actions adjacent to DiCaprio; ILM tracked motion data + replaced bear with digital character in post.
Safety
Officer + bulletins
Bulletins observed
Rigging glossary
4 rigs used in this sequence
Each entry explains how the rig works mechanically and the safety bulletin that governs it. Click through for the full glossary detail.
fall
Pad arrangement (catch-pad layout)
The choreographed layering of foam, airbag, and pad elements behind set walls and props that catches a performer hitting an unrehearsed surface during fight choreography.
fight
Reactive-camera fight choreography
The post-Bourne / post-John Wick choreography style where camera motion is choreographed alongside the fight itself, so impact reads through camera shake and proximity rather than wide framing.
fight
Gun-fu (close-quarter firearm choreography)
The combat-shooting choreography style codified by 87Eleven on the John Wick franchise: extended one-take sequences blending firearm handling with martial-arts striking and grappling.
fight
Padded / breakaway weapon
The non-functional fight weapons — foam cores under skinned costume, balsa-and-resin breakaways — that allow contact strikes without injury.
References
Further reading
- The Making of The RevenantJonny Elwynarticle
- Codex on The RevenantCodexarticle