Sean Casey (filmmaker)
Encyclopedia
Sean C. Casey is an IMAX
filmmaker and professional storm chaser
who appears in the American documentary
reality television series Storm Chasers
. Casey created an IMAX film called 'Tornado Alley' about chasing tornadoes and had to build the Tornado Intercept Vehicle
(TIV) and the Tornado Intercept Vehicle 2 (TIV2) to film inside a tornado.
Tornado Alley, was released worldwide on March 18, 2011. Casey has been named one of the 50 best minds of 2008 by Discover Magazine.
and the Doppler on Wheels
radar trucks (DOW 2-DOW 7).
Construction began on the TIV in 2003 and cost over $80,000. Sean began concept of the TIV after having to use rented minivans to storm chase, and being unable to get up close to a tornado. The windows are bullet resistant polycarbonate
at 1.5 inches thick. There's a 7.3 liter Ford Power Stroke turbodiesel under the hood, and the top speed is 85 mph. The TIV weighs in at 8 tons and holds 60 U.S. gallons of fuel.
Construction began on TIV2 in September 2007 with help from Great Plains Technology Center in Lawton, Oklahoma after Sean realized he needed to upgrade his vehicle. TIV2 weighs in at 7 tons and is a 4 wheel drive 3 axle vehicle. It stands taller than the original TIV and is capable of going on mud and unpaved roads without the fear of getting stuck. The original TIV has 2 wheel drive and extremely low ground clearance that would cause it to get stuck on unpaved roads. It is powered by a 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine, modified with propane
and water injection to produce 625 horsepower. This gives TIV 2 an estimated top speed of over 110 mph. Fuel capacity is 95 U.S. gallons in a custom fuel tank, giving TIV 2 an approximate range over 750 miles. The body of TIV 2 is constructed of a 1/8-inch steel skin welded over a 2-inch (51 mm) square tubing steel frame. The windows in TIV 2 are all bullet resistant 1 5/8 inch interlayered polycarbonate
sheets and tempered glass. TIV 2 also features an IMAX filming turret similar to the one on the original TIV. The original TIV's somewhat cumbersome hydraulic claws were not used on TIV 2 in favor of 4 hydraulic skirts that drop down to deflect wind over the TIV to stabilize it and protect the underside from debris plus 2 stakes that extend down 42 inches. The stakes were so effective that after the first use TIV 2 couldn't retract the stakes and they had to be dug out by hand.
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
filmmaker and professional storm chaser
Storm chasing
Storm chasing is broadly defined as the pursuit of any severe weather condition, regardless of motive, which can be curiosity, adventure, scientific exploration or for news professions/media coverage....
who appears in the American documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
reality television series Storm Chasers
Storm Chasers (TV series)
Storm Chasers is a weekly American documentary reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2007 on the Discovery Channel. Produced by Original Media, the program follows several teams of storm chasers as they attempt to intercept tornadoes in Tornado Alley in the United States...
. Casey created an IMAX film called 'Tornado Alley' about chasing tornadoes and had to build the Tornado Intercept Vehicle
Tornado Intercept Vehicle
-The TIV 2:Casey and his team developed and built the second Tornado Intercept Vehicle, dubbed "TIV 2", to be featured in their next IMAX movie and the Storm Chasers series. Work began in September 2007 by 40 welding students at the Great Plains Technology Center in Lawton, Oklahoma and was...
(TIV) and the Tornado Intercept Vehicle 2 (TIV2) to film inside a tornado.
Tornado Alley, was released worldwide on March 18, 2011. Casey has been named one of the 50 best minds of 2008 by Discover Magazine.
Tornado Intercept Vehicles
Casey has built two mobile armored trucks called Tornado Intercept Vehicles (TIV and TIV2) to film from inside the tornadoes he chases with Joshua WurmanJoshua Wurman
Joshua Michael Aaron Ryder Wurman is an atmospheric scientist and inventor noted for tornado, hurricane, and weather radar research.-Life and career:Wurman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Radnor High School...
and the Doppler on Wheels
Doppler On Wheels
Doppler On Wheels is a fleet of radar trucks maintained by the Center for Severe Weather Research led by Joshua Wurman, with the funding mainly provided by the National Science Foundation...
radar trucks (DOW 2-DOW 7).
Construction began on the TIV in 2003 and cost over $80,000. Sean began concept of the TIV after having to use rented minivans to storm chase, and being unable to get up close to a tornado. The windows are bullet resistant polycarbonate
Polycarbonate
PolycarbonatePhysical PropertiesDensity 1.20–1.22 g/cm3Abbe number 34.0Refractive index 1.584–1.586FlammabilityV0-V2Limiting oxygen index25–27%Water absorption – Equilibrium0.16–0.35%Water absorption – over 24 hours0.1%...
at 1.5 inches thick. There's a 7.3 liter Ford Power Stroke turbodiesel under the hood, and the top speed is 85 mph. The TIV weighs in at 8 tons and holds 60 U.S. gallons of fuel.
Construction began on TIV2 in September 2007 with help from Great Plains Technology Center in Lawton, Oklahoma after Sean realized he needed to upgrade his vehicle. TIV2 weighs in at 7 tons and is a 4 wheel drive 3 axle vehicle. It stands taller than the original TIV and is capable of going on mud and unpaved roads without the fear of getting stuck. The original TIV has 2 wheel drive and extremely low ground clearance that would cause it to get stuck on unpaved roads. It is powered by a 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine, modified with propane
Propane
Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...
and water injection to produce 625 horsepower. This gives TIV 2 an estimated top speed of over 110 mph. Fuel capacity is 95 U.S. gallons in a custom fuel tank, giving TIV 2 an approximate range over 750 miles. The body of TIV 2 is constructed of a 1/8-inch steel skin welded over a 2-inch (51 mm) square tubing steel frame. The windows in TIV 2 are all bullet resistant 1 5/8 inch interlayered polycarbonate
Polycarbonate
PolycarbonatePhysical PropertiesDensity 1.20–1.22 g/cm3Abbe number 34.0Refractive index 1.584–1.586FlammabilityV0-V2Limiting oxygen index25–27%Water absorption – Equilibrium0.16–0.35%Water absorption – over 24 hours0.1%...
sheets and tempered glass. TIV 2 also features an IMAX filming turret similar to the one on the original TIV. The original TIV's somewhat cumbersome hydraulic claws were not used on TIV 2 in favor of 4 hydraulic skirts that drop down to deflect wind over the TIV to stabilize it and protect the underside from debris plus 2 stakes that extend down 42 inches. The stakes were so effective that after the first use TIV 2 couldn't retract the stakes and they had to be dug out by hand.
IMAX films
- Africa: The SerengetiAfrica: The SerengetiAfrica: The Serengeti is a 70mm American documentary film released in 1994 to IMAX theaters. It is narrated by Academy Award-nominated actor James Earl Jones, and directed by George Casey. It was shot on location in Tanzania and Kenya....
(1994) - Alaska: Spirit of the WildAlaska: Spirit of the WildAlaska: Spirit of the Wild is a 70mm Academy Award-nominated American documentary film featuring the landscape and wildlife of Alaska. It is narrated by Charlton Heston and released to IMAX theaters in 1997....
(1997) - Amazing Journeys (1999)
- Forces of Nature (2004)
- Tornado Alley (2011)
- Tornado Alley 2 (2014)
Television
Casey appeared in the following television programs:- Tornado Intercept (2005)
- Storm ChasersStorm Chasers (TV series)Storm Chasers is a weekly American documentary reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2007 on the Discovery Channel. Produced by Original Media, the program follows several teams of storm chasers as they attempt to intercept tornadoes in Tornado Alley in the United States...
– Season 1 (2007) - The Science of Storm Chasing (2007)
- Storm Chasers – Season 2 (2008)
- Storm Chasers – Season 3 (2009)
- Storm Chasers – Season 4 (2010)
- Storm Chasers – Season 5 (2011)
- The Ellen DeGeneres ShowThe Ellen DeGeneres ShowThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
(November 13, 2007) - Marines: Earning the Title (director)
- US Army Rangers (director)
- Entertainment TonightEntertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
- Paula Zahn on CNN
- Good Morning AmericaGood Morning AmericaGood Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
- Fox and Friends
- Today on NBC
- NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
- The InsiderThe Insider (TV series)The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
- MythBustersMythBustersMythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
, Storm Chasing Myths (October 13, 2010) - TMZTMZ on TVTMZ on TV, or simply TMZ and TMZTV, is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007. The program is generally aired on Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates, though a majority of the stations that carry the series are Fox affiliates...
- CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
Mornings - CBS Early Show
Music videos
Casey directed music videos for the following artists:- Rilo KileyRilo KileyRilo Kiley was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Jason Boesel....
- Violent FemmesViolent FemmesViolent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...
See also
- Storm ChasersStorm Chasers (TV series)Storm Chasers is a weekly American documentary reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2007 on the Discovery Channel. Produced by Original Media, the program follows several teams of storm chasers as they attempt to intercept tornadoes in Tornado Alley in the United States...
- Doppler On WheelsDoppler On WheelsDoppler On Wheels is a fleet of radar trucks maintained by the Center for Severe Weather Research led by Joshua Wurman, with the funding mainly provided by the National Science Foundation...
- Tornado recordsTornado recordsThis article lists various tornado records. The most extreme tornado in recorded history was the Tri-State Tornado, which roared through parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana on March 18, 1925. It was likely an F5, though tornadoes were not ranked on any scale in that era...
- VORTEX2
External links
- Tornado Alley IMAX Movie of Storm Chasers
- Production website of Storm Chasers