Gavin Free
Gavin Free | |
---|---|
![]() Free at RTX 2013 | |
Born | Gavin David Free May 23, 1988 Thame, Oxfordshire, England |
Nationality | British |
Occupation(s) | Creative Director at Rooster Teeth, Producer, director, cinematographer, actor |
Years active | 2006–present |
Known for | The Slow Mo Guys Achievement Hunter |
Gavin David Free (born 23 May, 1988) is an English actor, entertainer, producer, and filmmaker. Originally from Thame in Oxfordshire, he is best known for his work at the Austin, Texas-based production company Rooster Teeth – where he currently serves as creative director – featuring in many of their projects including the Achievement Hunter gaming division; starring in his own YouTube-based web series The Slow Mo Guys, which he created with friend Daniel Gruchy; and co-starring in the animated comedy series X-Ray and Vav alongside Ray Narvaez, Jr..
The Slow Mo Guys features slow-motion footage of various stunts and experiments, garnering over 790 million views since it launched in 2010. In April 2011, the channel was voted the winner of YouTube's On The Rise program, which highlights up-and-coming YouTube partners on the homepage. In September 2012, their episode involving crushing watermelons was featured on The Tonight Show. Free appeared alongside Gruchy in YouTube Rewind 2013, 2014, and 2015.
He is also known for his slow motion cinematography work for films,[1] including Hot Fuzz (2007), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), and Dredd (2012).[2] Free has also worked on slow-motion footage for the BBC show Top Gear.[3] In 2014, Free and fellow Rooster Teeth employee and domestic partner Meg Turney, were featured in the music video for Barenaked Ladies single "Did I Say That Out Loud?". He starred in the science fiction action comedy film Lazer Team (2016), alongside his Rooster Teeth co-workers Burnie Burns and Michael Jones.
Early life
Free was born in Thame in Oxfordshire [4][5] where attended Lord Williams's School.[6] In 2006, Free joined Green Door Films, the first production house in Europe to use Phantom digital high-speed cameras as a source of slow motion, working as a data technician and camera operator. He has worked on adverts and music videos for U2, Enter Shikari, Klaxons, Kasabian, The Chemical Brothers, X-Press 2, and the "Everybody Hurts" charity single.[7]
In 2009, he was hired by Rooster Teeth Productions to direct the seventh season of their machinima series Red vs. Blue. Free also directed its mini-series Relocated.[2][8][9][10][11] He acted in Rooster Teeth's comedy mini-series Captain Dynamic [12][13][14] and began appearing in Rooster Teeth Shorts the same year.[15][16][17]
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Gavin_Free.jpg/220px-Gavin_Free.jpg)
In 2010, he created The Slow Mo Guys along with friend Daniel Gruchy in order to get a work visa.[18] The Slow Mo Guys consists largely of various objects being filmed using Free's Phantom high-speed cameras. As of December 2015, their YouTube channel has garnered over 760 million views and 7 million subscribers.[19][20][21][22] In April 2011, the channel was voted the winner of YouTube's On The Rise program, which highlights up-and-coming YouTube partners on the homepage. In September 2012, they were featured on The Tonight Show.[23][24][25] In February 2013, Free announced that the The Slow Mo Guys had been picked up by Rooster Teeth and that further episodes of the series would be released on Rooster Teeth's website, as well as the series' existing YouTube channel.[26]
Free joined Achievement Hunter (a video gaming division of Rooster Teeth founded by Geoff Ramsey and Jack Pattillo) in 2008 as a contract host before becoming one of the main six hosts in 2012. He is one of the most prolific employees on the site, regularly appearing in their Let's Play series of videos, its podcast Off Topic,[27] and tutorials of how to get achievements and find easter eggs in video games.
In May 2013, Free began starring as a "lab rat" in the Rooster Teeth series Immersion, replacing Geoff Ramsey and Gus Sorola. In Immersion, Free must test video concepts in real life alongside friend and co-worker Michael Jones.[28][29][30] He was a contestant in the second season of Rooster Teeth's gaming show The Gauntlet in 2013[31][32] Free has had two cameo appearances in Barenaked Ladies music videos for their songs "Odds Are" (2013) and "Did I Say That Out Loud?" (2014). In the latter video, he accidentally lights himself on fire trying to play a song for his domestic partner Meg Turney, which subsequently goes viral.[33][34][35] Free and The Slow Mo Guys co-star Daniel Gruchy appeared in YouTube Rewind in 2013, playing themselves being pulled by an RV, itself a nod to Breaking Bad, while an explosion goes off behind them.[36][37] The two both returned for the YouTube Rewind 2014 and 2015.
Free began starring in the Rooster Teeth animated superhero comedy web series X-Ray and Vav in November 2014.[38][39][40][41][42] He voices Vav alongside his former Achievement Hunter employee Ray Narvaez, Jr., who voices X-Ray. The season was renewed for a second season, which premiered in July 2015.[43][44] That same year, he appeared in Rooster Teeth's murder mystery comedy series Ten Little Roosters as a fictionalized version of himself and was a contestant on the improvised comedy series @midnight on Comedy Central.[45][46][47][48]
In 2015, Free and Rooster Teeth co-founder Burnie Burns hosted multiple episodes of the hypothetical scenario series Million Dollars, But..., in which each person comes up with a typically difficult scenario; for example, having to date Adolf Hitler for a year — which the cast comically re-enact — for which they will be given a million dollars. The pilot episode premiered on May 21, 2015, with the series continuing on July 9, 2015.[49][50] He was a reactor on the web series YouTubers React in August 2015.[51] Free became the creative director of Rooster Teeth in October 2015, replacing Burnie Burns who was then promoted to chief creative officer.[52]
Free stars as Woody in Rooster Teeth's science fiction action comedy film Lazer Team.[53][54][55][56] The film was released theatrically on January 27, 2016.[57] It received mixed to positive reviews from critics at film festival showings and upon its release.[58][59][60] He joined the voice cast of the anime web series RWBY as Scarlet David for its third volume.[61][62]
Personal life
Free has been in a relationship with The Know host and cosplayer Meg Turney since 2013.Cite error: The <ref>
tag has too many names (see the help page).[63]
Filmography
Film and web
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008–2009 | Red vs. Blue | Jones (voice) | Also director of season 7 and Relocated |
2009 | Captain Dynamic | Gavin | |
2009–present | Rooster Teeth Shorts | Gavin | |
2010–present | The Slow Mo Guys | Himself | Also producer and editor |
2013 | The Gauntlet | Himself, Contestant | Season 2 only |
Chris Hardwick's All-Star Celebrity Bowling | Himself | Episode: "Nerdist vs. Rooster Teeth" | |
"Odds Are" | American Football player | Music video | |
2013–2015 | YouTube Rewind | The Slow Mo Guys | |
2013–present | Immersion | Himself | Seasons 2 and 3 |
2014 | @midnight | Himself, Contestant | 1 episode |
"Did I Say That Out Loud?" | thatguy21 | Music video | |
Ten Little Roosters | Gavin Prime / Gavin Two | Mini-series | |
2014–present | Happy Hour | Himself | |
X-Ray and Vav | Vav (voice) | Based on characters created by | |
2015 | YouTubers React | Himself | 3 episodes |
Let's Play Live: The Documentary | Himself | Documentary | |
Lazer Team | Woody | Feature film | |
RWBY | Scarlet David (voice) | ||
Reunited | Newscaster 2 | Cameo; short film | |
2016 | Crunch Time | Gavin | [64] |
2016 | The Eleven Little Roosters | MI6 agent[65] |
Non-performance credits
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2007 | Top Gear | Slow Motion Cinematographer, 1 episode[66] |
2007 | Hot Fuzz | High speed camera |
2011 | The Good Cook | Cameraman[67][68] |
2011 | Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows | Phantom download technician[69][70] |
2012 | Snow White and the Huntsman | Slow Motion Cinematographer[71] |
2012 | Dredd | Slow Motion Cinematographer[72][73] |
Podcasts
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2009–present | The Rooster Teeth Podcast | "Best Gaming Podcast" at the Podcast Awards (2012 & 2013) [74] |
2015–present | Off Topic | Achievement Hunter podcast |
References
- ^ Rooster Teeth (1 September 2013). "Game Time -- Burnie & Gav Play Halo 4 Ricochet". YouTube.
- ^ a b "Gavin Free | Supanova Pop Culture Expo". Supanova.com.au. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ "RT Podcast No. 235". Rooster Teeth. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ Free, Gavin. "Gavino". Rooster Teeth.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (5 September 2009). "Secret Door". YouTube.
- ^ "On your head! Slow-mo film becomes YouTube sensation". Thame Gazette. 11 March 2011.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Free, Gavin (7 March 2010). "Follow up to last journal". Rooster Teeth Productions. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ^ Shaffer, R.L. (19 August 2010). "Red vs. Blue: Recreation Season 7 DVD Review". IGN.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (16 March 2010). "Red vs. Blue Reconstruction 3". YouTube.
- ^ "Gavin Free in Red vs. Blue". YouTube. 3 July 2013.
- ^ Whittaker, Richard (1 May 2013). "Rooster Teeth Marks Tenth Birthday With Fireworks". Austin Chronicle.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Rooster Teeth (26 February 2009). "Captain Dynamic Episode 1". YouTube.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (25 March 2009). "Outtakes". YouTube.
- ^ Marks, Chris. "Cast and Crew - Captain Dynamic". Rooster Tooths.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (23 May 2013). "RT Shorts: Slow Mo Love". YouTube.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (2 August 2009). "Mixed Messages". YouTube.
- ^ "Gavin Watches Slo Mo Love". YouTube. 7 November 2013.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm7je7zsJ9c&t=13m57s
- ^ "Giant water balloon exploding in super slow-motion – The Feed Blog". CBS News. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ "Slow Mo Guys: Amazing slow-motion film shows what happens when football meets face | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ "'Slo mo guys' fast becoming stars | The Sun |News". The Sun. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ White, Alan (24 October 2014). "How The Slow Mo Guys Took Over YouTube". BuzzFeed.
- ^ "USA vs. The World, Part 1". NBC. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ^ "The ultimate slow-mo splash". itv.com. 6 October 2014.
- ^ Free, Gavin (29 September 2012). "Jay Leno". Rooster Teeth.
- ^ http://roosterteeth.com/members/journal/entry.php?id=2990299
- ^ "Off Topic: Creative Director, Here - #0.2". AchievementHunter.com. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ^ "Rooster Teeth · RT Podcast No. 187". Roosterteeth.com. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
- ^ Rooster Teeth. "Immersion: Split Screen - Behind the Scenes". Rooster Teeth.
- ^ Rooster Teeth. "Immersion: Racing Simulator". Blip.tv.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (27 October 2013). "The Gauntlet - Season 2 - Episode 3: King of Halo". YouTube.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (10 November 2013). "The Gauntlet - Season 2 - Episode 5: Portal 2 Puzzle". YouTube.
- ^ Ramirez, Ramon (18 July 2014). "Here's the exclusive premiere of the latest Barenaked Ladies video". The Daily Dot.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Barenaked Ladies (25 June 2014). "Behind-The-Scenes of 'Did I Say That Out Loud' video shoot". YouTube.
- ^ http://roosterteeth.com/archive/?id=8177
- ^ "YouTube Rewind: What Does 2013 Say?". YouTube Spotlight. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (14 December 2013). "RT Life - Gavin is on set at Youtube Rewind". YouTube.
- ^ "Exclusive Interview with Jordan Cwierz and Lindsay Jones of X-Ray and Vav!". BubbleBladder. 11 December 2014.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (4 December 2014). "X-Ray & Vav - Episode 1: X-Ray & Vav Rise". YouTube.
- ^ Connor MacRae Media (16 July 2013). "X-Ray and Vav Entrance at AH panel RTX 2013". YouTube.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (20 November 2014). "X-Ray and Vav Livestream". YouTube.
- ^ "X-Ray & Vav: OFFICIAL TRAILER". YouTube. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ "X-Ray & Vav Season 2 Intro". Rooster Teeth. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ^ "Rooster Teeth Drops 'X-Ray & Vav' Season Two Trailer". Tubefilter. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (11 November 2014). "Ten Little Roosters - Episode 2: And Then There Were Eight 4K". YouTube.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (24 December 2014). "Ten Little Roosters - Episode 8 - And Then There Were Two & One 4K". YouTube.
- ^ @midnight (14 May 2014). "WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2014". Comedy Central.
- ^ @midnight (15 May 2015). "Burnie Burns, Gus Sorola, Gavin Free - Bad Cosplay - @midnight w/ Chris Hardwick". YouTube.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (16 July 2015). "Money Mouth & Delayed Climax - Million Dollars, But... Episode 3 in 4K". YouTube.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (3 September 2015). "Bloopers & Outtakes #2 - Million Dollars, But..." YouTube.
- ^ Fine Brothers (2 August 2015). "YOUTUBERS REACT TO FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 4 TRAILER". YouTube.
- ^ Burns, Burnie (27 October 2015). "Vlog for October 26 2015". Rooster Teeth.
- ^ Takumi, Rie (18 March 2015). "'Lazer Team' drops first action-packed trailer". GMA News and Public Affairs.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (12 January 2015). "Lazer Team Behind the Scenes - Episode 3". YouTube.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (16 March 2015). "Lazer Team Official Trailer #1 (2015) - Sci-Fi Action Comedy Movie". YouTube.
- ^ Gross, Joe (25 September 2015). "Fantastic Fest 2015: "Lazer Team" will delight Rooster Teeth cultists". austin360.
- ^ Hullum, Matt (October 2015). "Lazer Team coming to theaters this January!". Matt Hullum- roosterteeth.com. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ Weinberg, Scott. "FANTASTIC FEST REVIEW: LAZER TEAM". Nerdist. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ^ Donato, Matt. "Lazer Team Review [Fantastic Fest 2015]". We Go This Covered. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ^ Corrigan, Kalyn. "[Review] 'Lazer Team' Stands a Step Above Most Sci-Fi Comedies". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (31 October 2015). "Chapter 2: New Challengers". Rooster Teeth.
- ^ Croswynd (1 November 2015). ""RWBY" Vol. 3: Chapter 2 Recap". Desu Daily.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ "IAMA Meg Turney AMA! • /r/SourceFed". reddit. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ Gaudiosi, John. "How These YouTube Content Creators Just Changed Hollywood". Fortune. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (21 August 2015). "The Eleven Little Roosters Teaser Trailer - 4K". YouTube.
- ^ Dunkelman, Barbara (27 April 2015). "Barbara Dunkelman on Twitter: @GavinFree @RichardHammond lookit ur lil face". Twitter.
- ^ Rooster Teeth (7 August 2013). "Rooster Teeth Animated Adventures - Gavin's Secret Admirer". YouTube.
- ^ Hopkinson, Simon (2013). The Good Cook. Globe Pequot Press. p. 320.
- ^ The Slow Mo Guys (14 December 2011). "10,000fps!? - The Slow Mo Guys". YouTube.
- ^ "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) Full Cast & Crew". Internet Movie Database.
- ^ "Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) Full Cast & Crew". Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Twitter / GavinFree: @EricVespe That was the last. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 7 December 2012.
- ^ Twitter / GavinFree: @dancottle Dredd was the last. Twitter.com. Retrieved on 7 December 2012.
- ^ "2012 Winners and Nominees". PodcastAwards.com. 7 January 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
External links
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