Posse (1993)

Almost all the animal scenes involve horse action. There are several battle scenes or scenes of confrontation where horses rear or fall, or riders fall from horses. All of these scenes were performed with trained riders and/or stuntmen and trained rearing and falling horses. The ground was properly prepared for all horse falls. Our representative carefully inspected the ground for any potential hazard. Riverbeds were also inspected when horses were to ride through water. The horses were comfortable with the water. In a scene where horses appear to collide, there was never any contact between the animals. The effect was achieved with camera angles and careful timing as the horses approached each other. In all the scenes involving gunfire, only quarter loads were used and the gunfire sound was augmented in post production. There is an escape on horseback from a brothel in which there is a rider on horseback on the ground level as a man swings out of a second floor window from a rope. As he swings back and forth, he lands on the saddle of the horse with the rider and the two riders escape on one horse. Stuntmen were photo doubles for the actors and the scene was carefully rehearsed and timed. The horse and rider stood just out of camera range until the backswing when they rode into frame and the stuntman slid onto the horse. When Colonel Graham and his men arrive by railroad car in a western town, mounted riders jump out of a railroad boxcar onto the ground and ride off. To achieve this shot a ramp was built on the opposite side of the boxcar out of camera range. Although doors on both sides of the boxcar were open, only one could be seen. The riders rode their horses up the ramp , then through the boxcar, then jumped 38″ onto the ground below. The ground had been prepared with very fine gravel to cushion the landing. There is a spectacular nighttime confrontation in a western town involving much gunfire and explosions. As some riders are shot and fall off their horses the horses are left riderless. Extra wranglers were provided to catch the loose horses. This climactic scene was shot in many cuts. Special effects and camera angles were skillfully used and no horse was near when the explosions occurred. There is a stunt during this scene in which a horse and rider appear to react to an explosion by jumping through a store front window and falling inside the shop. A trained falling horse and stunt rider were used for this scene and the stunt was carefully planned. The horse was really 15-20 ft. from the special effects explosion, but camera angles made it appear closer. The window was made of harmless candy glass and the frame constructed of balsa wood. The ground inside the shop had 2 ft. thick padding to cushion the fall. Rather than reacting to the explosion, the horse was responding to his rider’s cues. Turkeys and other poultry are present in another store. The sounds of gunfire and explosions for that scene were augmented in post production. In other animal action a white bird is seen on the shoulder of a madam in a brothel. A doberman is on leash in a western town, and a colt is seen with horses as atmosphere in Freemanville.