A post by gisbornesboy trying to locate the source of a particular GIF led me to this entry. Even if you’ve never seen Strike Back, don’t intend to watch Strike Back or simply haven’t visited this particular video in a while, you owe it to yourself to take only one minute and watch this, trust me.
It’s the SB Viral test video made by seanographic.co.uk.
Sean shot the video footage while a promotional photo shoot for SB was talking place. I swear, I can almost feel that gritty sand on my own skin. The earth tones, the sound effects, the editing and Richard’s brilliant acting all add up to one INTENSE minute. The video impacted me so strongly, I ended up writing a ficlet based on the video called Captive not to mention the fanart and GIFs based on it.
This fanart is based on one of the photos taken during the shoot that coincided with the viral vid shoot. A very powerful image.
Dang, that’s good!
Now if only Porter could have broken free from SB 2 to live for another series revolving around him–the production firmly back in Brit hands, of course.
Cheers! Grati ;->
No kidding. It certainly isn’t the same without him.
Whoa! Never saw that before! That’s powerful …
That’s one of the reasons I posted–I figured there were readers who had never seen it and it really does deserve to be seen. It’s like a (very) mini-movie. Sean did an extraordinary job putting it together and needless to say, Richard gave his usual stellar performance. When it first surfaced, I must have watched it at least ten times in a row.
I can’t stop watching it.
Did I mention it’s addictive? I did the same thing when I first discovered it.
I’d seen screen caps from this but not the moving pics crikey it was powerful. Can’t beat Richard for these sort of performances but as Richard has proved time & time again any character in his hands are brilliant. On a shallow note doesn’t he look extremley sexy tied up lol
It’s amazing, isn’t it? The way he goes from looking a little subdued and weary, to increasingly frustrated and finally that raging, roaring beast who refuses to be caged. All in one minute. And holey moley YES. Nobody looks better tied up than Richard Armitage’s characters. All that pent-up alpha male aggression held in check with ropes. The wet t-shirt and fatigues didn’t hurt, either. *thud*
And men thought they were the only ones who like wet t-shirts. Silly boys …
Our secret…
That is a very intense scene. I actually worry about Richard when he puts that much effort into a role. It can spill over into your personal life. No wonder he was never in the frame of mind to keep in touch with his friends while working on Strike Back.
Like many of his videos I have completely lost count how many times I’ve watched this – often over and over one after the other – and it still blows me away!! It’s a pity they didn’t use it as a promo for SB! I think people would have been astounded and more likely to watch the series. Sadly it deteriorated once Cinemax took over and they killed John Porter! That was it for me. As many of us have commented about other series he’s been in, they seem unable to write him out in any other way except to kill him. Can’t they come up with non-violent means of removing a character? I would have thought they had more talent and imagination than that!
It’s a shame they didn’t use it, it would have searched as a truly eye-catching promo. Cinemax ruined it IMHO once JP was removed from the show. I didn’t care for the whole “boobs, bums, bullets and blowing up things” direction that they took it in. It simply became more “blokes with hot babes and guns” exploitation and I completely lost interest. And yes, there are certainly plausible ways they could have written Richard out of the shows without the extreme violence. I think of Richard’s wish for an elegant non-violent death for Lucas. Oh, how they betrayed him.
This video had a very, very strong effect on me the first time I saw it!!It I must have watched it countless times right then and lots of times since, and the effect is still very strong. A thoroughly intense one minute indeed!
Angie, do you know when the video was published – I don’t mean the date it was published on Vimeo, but a “real” publishing date before that? As Teuchter says, it wasn’t used as a promo for SB. Does that mean it was published after SB was aired for the first time in UK? What a pity!
Cristine, it apparently was a test video that Sean created as an example of his work and sadly, TPTB did not choose to use it in promoting the series. I cannot understand why. If I had known nothing about the series or Richard Armitage and had seen this, I would definitely have wanted to know and see more. Interest truly piqued! Anyway, I am so glad he decided to post it online so we could all enjoy it.
This affects me in a way like nothing else; raw, intense and powerful, Richard is beyond sublime, and I never tire of watching him. Then there’s the shallow side of me that adores the way the wet t-shirt and fatigues mold every contour and muscle…those thighs *guh*…he’s absolutely mouth watering.
And I thought it was just me having these extremely shallow thoughts!!
“EVERY contour” pretty well sums it up and “mouth watering” is a very apt description!! Great minds obviously think alike!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes indeedy!!
**drooling quietly**
It affects the viewer on many levels. The artistry of the video itself, Richard’s extremely compelling performance that blows you away–and how damn hot and sexy he still manages to look through it all.
Predictions that Richard will make it big are growing, and it’s not just us!
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/5-breakout-movie-stars-fall-2012-51446
Thank you for that link Mezz. This is fabulous news and not surprising to me me at all. I kind of figured that the director of the tornado movie bagged Richard because he suspects the same thing.
No surprise to me, either. And I left a comment on the site. Emphasizing his acting ability first and foremost and then mentioned he wasn’t hard on the eyes, either.
Oh dear, this video is still as addictive as in 2010! What an intense mini-drama. First he is exhausted and subdued, but the splash of water revives his pride and aggression. Amazing how he uses his body to create tension even in this confined situation. Apart from all that, you can never have enough of tied-up Porter.
It really is. It’s an amazing little production. You see such a transformation in this character in this brief amount of time and basically with no dialogue other than the mouthed “I’m sorry sorry I can’t answer that question.” He has amazing control over that physicality. And yeah, there’s just something about tied-up Porter that is endlessly appealing.
I love the fanart !! Well done Angie, it’s just breathtaking! As is the video, of course.
Glad you liked, Judit.
I just watched the video about six times in a row and I realized what stuns me the most (apart from HIM of course!!!) is the fact that he isn’t actually tied TO the chair! Yes, his hands are tied behind his back but that is all. I think that one of the things that makes that whole minute so much more powerful is that he manages to give the impression that he IS tied to it and we believe it! As I have said over and over, “How does he do that”?????
Oh, yes, the tension of the scene is definitely ratcheted up because, for us, the audience, he is indeed bound and bucking against those ties, frustrated and determined to break them, to break free. He’s entered the mind of the prisoner and we, in turn, experience what he experiences.