Former Woodstock resident Sean Devine, along with his partner, Matt Morgan of Precarious Egg, a Portland, Oregon-based film production company, suspended a man by hooks through his skin from the bottom of a hot air balloon in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. on June 11.
The stunt was part of Precarious Egg’s documentary, "Feet Off the Ground," an exploration of the human suspension community. Zane Whitmore, 34, of Seattle, was pierced two times across the shoulder blades and suspended beneath a tethered hot air ballon, which then was released to circle the skies above the Long Valley Caldera as Whitmore hung below. The balloon reached a maximum height of around 10,800 feet above sea level during the approximately 75 minute flight.
“This balloon suspension is really the culmination of several years of immersing ourselves in the body modification and suspension communities,” Morgan said in a prepared statement. “We wanted to explore the motivations and humanity of this often maligned subculture, to bring their experiences to a wide audience.”
Morgan and Devine expect primary shooting to wrap by the end of the summer, and plan to premiere Feet Off the Ground in 2012.
