Norman A. Kent

Last updated
Norman Kent
Born (1956-08-23) August 23, 1956 (age 66)
El Paso, Texas, United States
NationalityAmerican
Known for Skydiver, Photographer,

Norman Albert Kent (born August 23, 1956) is an aerial cinematographer and skydiver best known for his aerial videography in films such as Cutaway, Drop Zone and Terminal Velocity.

Contents

Childhood

Born in El Paso, Texas, Kent grew up in Mexico City. His interest in photography developed as a young teenager after an excursion into the Mexican jungle when he was so taken with the beauty of the experience he wanted a way to share it. [1]

Aerial photography

When nineteen, Kent made his first parachute jump and found skydiving to be an opportunity to fulfil his passions for both adventure and photography. While still relatively inexperienced Kent had a photograph published as the centrefold of “Parachutist” Magazine which led to offers of commission to shoot for movies, television and various print media. [1]

His first skydiving film was entitled Ride a Cloud, and Kent went on to make numerous films targeted at the skydiving fraternity, such as Kinisthesia, Wings, Willing to Fly and From Wings came Flight. [2]

Kent has been one of the official photographers verifying many skydiving world records in all parts of the globe. [3] [4] [5]

Kent's notoriety for his aerial photography led to a demand for his services in Hollywood and he provided cinematography and coordinated aerial sequences in films such as Cliffhanger, Terminal Velocity, Eraser and Cutaway. [6]

Stunt work

Kent's skydiving expertise and connections in Hollywood have led to skydiving-related stunt work in numerous movies and TV shows. These include:

Skydiving

Norman Kent has made over 19,000 skydives during a career spanning over 30 years. [7]

Kent was awarded the USPA Gold Medal for Meritorious Achievement in 2006 in recognition of his "contributions to skydiving and the USPA". [8]

Kent periodically offers aerial videography workshops. In addition to videography considerations such as lighting, backdrop, and composition, his classes also cover camera suits, canopy openings, and the special safety considerations unique to videography in freefall. [9]

Book

Kent published a book of skydiving photography in 1993 titled Norman Kent Photos. [10]

Recent work

Kent most recently served as director of photography and stunt coordinator for the skydiving unit for the action comedy Get Smart. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BASE jumping</span> Sport of jumping from fixed objects using a parachute

BASE jumping is the recreational sport of jumping from fixed objects, using a parachute to descend safely to the ground. "BASE" is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs). Participants exit from a fixed object such as a cliff, and after an optional freefall delay, deploy a parachute to slow their descent and land. A popular form of BASE jumping is wingsuit BASE jumping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wingsuit flying</span> Variant of skydiving

Wingsuit flying is the sport of skydiving using a webbing-sleeved jumpsuit called a wingsuit to add webbed area to the diver's body and generate increased lift, which allows extended air time by gliding flight rather than just free falling. The modern wingsuit, first developed in the late 1990s, uses a pair of fabric membranes stretched flat between the arms and flanks/thighs to imitate an airfoil, and often also between the legs to function as a tail and allow some aerial steering.

Tracking is a technique used by skydivers during freefall to increase their horizontal speed. Tracking is considered a fundamental skill in the sport because it allows multiple skydivers to gain separation from each other prior to deploying their parachutes. Nearly all licensing organizations mandate a student show proficiency at tracking in order to obtain their skydiving license.

<i>Drop Zone</i> (film) 1994 American film

Drop Zone is a 1994 American action thriller film directed by John Badham, starring Wesley Snipes, Gary Busey, Yancy Butler, Michael Jeter, Sam Hennings, Luca Bercovici and Kyle Secor. When a U.S. Marshal has to break up a drug smuggling gang, he has to take to the skies. Drop Zone was released by Paramount Pictures in the United States on December 9, 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accelerated freefall</span>

Accelerated freefall (AFF) (known in Canada as progressive freefall, and in Finland as Nova (NOpeutettu VApaapudotus, a literal translation)) is a method of skydiving training. This method of skydiving training is called "accelerated" because the progression is the fastest way to experience solo freefall, normally from 10,000 to 15,000 feet above ground level (AGL). In static line progression, more jumps are required to experience freefall, but the jumps are less expensive for the student as one instructor can dispatch multiple students per load and students are initially dispatched from lower altitudes. Under accelerated freefall, one or sometimes two instructors are dedicated just to one student.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie L. Irvin</span> American parachutist

Leslie Leroy Irvin was a stunt-man for the fledgling Californian film industry. Flying in balloons, he performed using trapeze acrobatics and parachute descents. For the 1914 film Sky High, Irvin made his first jump out of an airplane while flying at 1,000 feet above the ground. In 1918, he developed his own life-saving static line parachute, jumping with it several times and promoting it to the US Army. Irvin joined the Army Air Service's parachute research team at McCook Field near Dayton, Ohio where he made the first premeditated free-fall jump with the modern parachute on April 28, 1919.

<i>Terminal Velocity</i> (film) 1994 American film

Terminal Velocity is a 1994 American action film directed by Deran Sarafian, written by David Twohy, and starring Charlie Sheen, Nastassja Kinski, James Gandolfini, and Christopher McDonald. It follows a daredevil skydiver (Sheen) who is caught up in a criminal plot by Russian mobsters, forcing him to team up with a freelance secret agent (Kinski) in order to survive. It was one of two skydiving-themed action films released in the fourth quarter of 1994, and received mostly negative reviews from critics.

Simon Crane is a British stuntman, stunt coordinator, second unit director and film director.

<i>The Gypsy Moths</i> 1969 film by John Frankenheimer

The Gypsy Moths is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by James Drought and directed by John Frankenheimer. The film tells the story of three barnstorming skydivers and their effect on a Midwestern American town, focusing on the differences in values between the town folk and the hard-living skydivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space diving</span> Skydiving from near space

Similar to skydiving, space diving is the act of jumping from an aircraft or spacecraft in near space and falling towards Earth. The Kármán line is a common definition as to where space begins, 100 km (62 mi) above sea level. This definition is accepted by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), which is an international standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics and astronautics. The United States Air Force uses 50 mi (80 km) to award astronaut wings.

<i>Cutaway</i> (2000 film) 2000 American TV series or program

Cutaway is a 2000 American action television film about skydiving, co-written and directed by Guy Manos. The term "cut-away" is used frequently in the film, in reference to parachuting and also in reference to life in general. Cutaway stars Tom Berenger, Stephen Baldwin, Dennis Rodman, Maxine Bahns, Ron Silver, Casper Van Dien and Thomas Ian Nicholas. This was Rodman's third film. It aired on the USA Network on October 3, 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banzai skydiving</span> Rumored form of skydiving

Banzai skydiving is a rumored form of skydiving in which the skydiver throws their parachute out the airplane door, waits, and then jumps after it. To be successful, the skydiver must catch the parachute, secure it, and glide to the projected landing zone. There is no known, credible evidence that a banzai skydive has ever really occurred according to its definition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parachuting</span> Action sport of exiting an aircraft and returning to Earth using a parachute

Parachuting and skydiving is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Para-SAR</span> Brazilian Air Force special operations search and rescue unit

The Esquadrão Aeroterrestre de Salvamento (EAS), known by its nickname Para-SAR, is a Brazilian Air Force special operations search and rescue squadron, based in the city of Campo Grande.

Guy Manos is a former world champion skydiver and multiple world record holder, as well as a screenwriter, film director, and stuntman. He is a graduate of the University of Miami Film School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speed flying and speed riding</span>

Speed-flying and speed riding are advanced disciplines of paragliding that use a small, high-performance paraglider wing to quickly descend heights such as mountains. Speed flying and speed riding are very similar sports; speed flying is when the speed wing is foot-launched, while speed riding is a winter sport done on skis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernesto Gainza Medina</span>

Ernesto Gainza Medina is a professional skydiver, stunt performer and stunt coordinator, skydiving consultant, skydiving instructor and instructor examiner. He is also an experienced BASE jumper, wingsuit flyer and Guinness world record holder.

<i>Storm Over the Andes</i> 1935 film by Christy Cabanne

Storm Over the Andes is a 1935 American adventure film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Jack Holt, Antonio Moreno and Mona Barrie. The low-budget programmer is set against the backdrop of the Chaco War between Paraguay and Bolivia. A separate Spanish-language version, titled Alas Sobre El Chaco, also directed by Cabanne, was made.

Lewis B. Sanborn is an early developer of the freefall method of skydiving who along with Jacques-André Istel helped popularize sport parachuting in the United States. He is considered by many to be a pioneer and legend in the sport. In 1959, Sanborn and Istel co-founded Parachutes Incorporated, the first commercial parachuting center in the United States. An accomplished pilot, member of the United States Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from 1948 to 1952, national skydiving champion in 1954 and 1959 and hall of fame skydiver He continues to jump on a regular basis and is still very active in the skydiving community.

Luke Aikins is an American professional skydiver, BASE jumper, pilot, and aerial photographer. He is the first person to intentionally dive from mid-tropospheric altitude and land safely without a parachute or a wingsuit and the second skydiver to intentionally jump and safely land without using a parachute.

References

  1. 1 2 "Norman Kent's Bio". Norman Kent Productions. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  2. "Dive In - Norman Kents Visual History of Skydiving".
  3. "Kennedy Engineers Set Skydiving World Record". NASA. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  4. "300 Way photos shot by: Norman Kent". gofastsports.com. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  5. "Women's world record, 2002". Jump for the cause, 2002. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Norman Kent Filmography". IMDB. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  7. "Dive in". Amazon. November 2001.
  8. "USPA Awards". United States Parachute Association. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  9. Antonsen, Vidar, Skydiving Magazine, January 2009, pg 29
  10. Kent, Norman (1993). Norman Kent Photos. Germany: Vellmar. ISBN   3-929792-00-1.