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BEHIND THE SCENES:

BY RICK STEWART

... a front-row seat and over-theshoulder look at the best snipers in the world.

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very year, the U.S. Army invites the worlds top snipers to Fort Benning, Georgia, to compete. Those who attend the International Sniper Competition say it is the most intense and grueling shooting challenge of its kind. Bringing together the best shooters from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, SWAT, other government agencies and even foreign competitors, the Army is interested in more than providing bragging rights to that years best team; the event also serves as a forum for the collaborative exchange of experience and ideas. Two independent producers from Legion Productions,
Damian Smith and Eric Katzenberg, immersed themselves in this elite competition to capture the event like it had never been done before. Their documentary, Sniper Comp, provides audiences a front-row seat and over-the-shoulder look at the best snipers in the world. Smith found his calling while he was still in high school. An above-average student with a below-average desire for academia, Smith sought to forgo formal education and get his hands dirty right away. The industry told him he needed

Those who attend the International Sniper Competition say it is the most intense and grueling shooting challenge of its kind.

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to pursue his calling at college but he wasnt buying it; instead, he sought out every opportunity in television and the movie industry that would give him the insight and experience he could build his resume on. Smith believed that absorbing every nugget of experience and every example of failure would only help him reach his goal. Signing on to work for various production companies he took on every job in the business from best boy to grip, camera assistant to second sound. Smith poured himself into each job like his future depended on itand in many ways it did. The television and motion picture industry can chew people up and spit them out without remorse. If Smith was going to succeed in the business and beat the odds, he knew he was going to have to invest the sweat equity required and then some. While working on the popular TV show Dawsons Creek, Smith met Katzenberg, another jack-of-all-trades producer in the business with a desire to start his own company. In 2005, Smith and Katzenberg began to forge a mutual respect and growing belief that their combined experience was more than enough to advance their own ideas, collaborate on their own projects and stand the industry on its ear. These entrepreneurs knew that, to be noticed, theyd need a unique product. We knew we had to create opportunities, and while we were developing some other productions, we had some military content come along that we felt like we could do in a way that someone hadnt done before, Smith said. While Smith never served in the military, almost everyone in his family had. I grew up in Orange County, California, right by El Toro Air Station so I grew up in a very Marine-heavy area, with a lot of Marine blood coursing through our familys veins. If that incentive wasnt enough, two of Smith and Katzenbergs initial investors were former military officers. It was very natural for me to make the transition to making military documentaries, says Smith. I was familiar with a lot of cool things that most people didnt know about or at least things that havent had much exposure in the media. Using Smiths Legion Productions, a former service company, they began collaborating on a project about Americas elite military snipers and created a show about the competitive nature of the best of the shooting best. Smith

Competitors come from every branch of military service and other agencies utilizing a vast assortment of weapon platforms and optics. Damian Smith has witnessed the collaborative exchange of ideas and the benefits derived from shared tactics, techniques and procedures.

I grew up in a very Marineheavy area, with a lot of Marine blood coursing through our familys veins.

We never betray our word or the intent of those who put their trust in us.

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and Katzenberg approached the Discovery Channel with a concept that set a pretty significant hook and piqued the interest of the channels brain trust. At that time, the channel was locked into a fairly stable show schedule but also had some throwaway time slots that provided a proving ground, so to speak, for these young producers. Smith says that Discovery gave them short notice and a small budget to capture footage they could use to build a show for an almost throwaway time slot. Legions opportunity, although trial by fire, resulted in a show called Top Sniper that not only exceeded everyones expectations but also proved itself popular even in re-runs. Top Sniper II and Modern Sniper followed for the network with similar success. The Discovery Channel, to its credit, took a chance on a show probably no other television network would have touched, and the gamble paid off.

Participants compete in scenarios that replicate those encountered by real-world operators under various tactical and environmental situations.

Keeping faith and honoring the sacred trust of those they film is critically important to what they do.
Located just a few miles from Camp Lejeune, Legion Productions had a plan to showcase the military and military members in ways that the network hadnt done before. Smith and Katzenberg wanted to change the mindset of Hollywood while elevating the notion that these professional warriors were interesting people America would pay attention to. As with any documentary we produce, Smith said, we come into a story organized and prepared for what we think the story is and how it will flow. But, he continues, It never ceases to amaze us the various directions stories take and how the message and original intent changes along the way. As you speak with Smith and Katzenberg, you can see that its the unknown that keeps them on their toes and the giving back aspect of their business model that brings them the greatest sense of fulfillment. Keeping faith and honoring the sacred trust of those they film is critically important to what they do. Many in the media work their way in for a story with little concern about the fallout or aftermath of what they do. Protecting tactics, techniques and procedures, and honoring the wishes of those they film, is of paramount importance to Smith and Katzenberg. Smith says they go the extra mile not just to win the trust of those they are filming but also to keep it. We never betray our word or the intent of those who put their trust in us.

On the firing line, shooters and spotters engage targets at varying distances and in different movement scenarios to showcase their proficiency as teams.

Sniper Comp is not a rehash of other made-for-television sniper shows.

With Sniper Comp, Legion Productions employed an innovative business model. Smith and Katzenberg want to produce shows with military content that benefit not one particular entity but share the wealth with everyone involved. They set up a three-legged approach where the production team, the investment team, and the principles being filmed all benefit equally from the experience. A three-legged stool cant stand without one of its legs, and this business model keeps everyone an equal part of the success of the total production and an equal beneficiary in its financial success. Giving away two-thirds of the profit might sound like poor fiduciary sense, but this business model, a step of faith, has proved itself. The investor wins, the production team wins and those they are filming win with equal percentage. Everyone involved knows what each partner brings to the table and recognizes without one they all fail. Sniper Comp is not a rehash of other made-for-television sniper shows. The approach was to document, beginning to end, all aspects of the International Sniper Competition at Fort Benning, while inviting viewers into the lives of the people who attend. The humor, strategy, game play, and the way these competitors exchange ideas, share tactics and pass along the lessons they have learned is an amazing testament to the integrity of these elite warriors and a crucial factor in building the interoperability necessary to succeed in conflicts to come. The future brings new and hopeful opportunities. Sniper Comp 2, which was filmed during the 2011 International Sniper Competition, is currently generating funding for post-production work. Order a copy of Sniper Comp, and clear an evening soon.