Research Into Fight Scenes

This was done by Ben:

To gain an understanding on how we would make the fight scene achievable we researched into the fight scenes looking at large budget films and their fight sequences and small budget, and large budget TV fight sequences. 

Ways to shoot the sequence:

• The fight is shot in many small pieces; In movies you can see how camera always changes many positions during fight scenes. The camera position faces so that the fist blocks the view of impact, finding the right angles is key to make the sequence seem as realistic as possible actors keep the distance between them so actually there is no real contact between them, The sound and the impact effects are added later on.

• Each scene is reviewed to make sure that actor that gets hit timed accordingly to the first actor that is hitting him so that it looks believable to a viewer. Also actors can perform parts of the fight in slow motion to make the best timed hits and other complicated awesome moves, It is edited and fixed later on so it looks like real time.

• Decide what kind of fight you want it to be. It can either be a classic kung fu fight like the Bruce Lee, Matrix movies, Krav Maga like Bourne Ultimatum or Boxing like Rocky (realistic, real life fight scenes).

This fight scene from X Men is in slow motion and is extremely effective. It is an a alternative way of approaching a fight scene which works well but would be so hard to shoot:

Here is a more natural fight scenes and more usual. They are still very effective however require a lot of camera and acting skills. We would need to look into this technique more as this would suit our kind of thriller:

• Make sure that the person you cast, if not having had training in that particular martial art, can at least pull off some of the moves. If you are shooting a kung fu fight, make sure the person can pull off high kicks and knows at least a couple of takedowns, etc. If he doesn't, get someone who has trained in the art to teach him
• Max is physically fit and has good agility so will work well

• While shooting, do not make the fight continuous. Create pauses in the fight after every few seconds and register the fighters expressions by zooming into his face etc 
• To make it realistic we need to see him feel the impact and react

• Make sure you have some funky moves in your fight. Only boxing punches in a fight is really boring. Include the high kicks frequently, the takedown now and then.
• Use the variety of punches and kicks to show the severity of the fight

• Make sure you film the fight from all angles possible. Choose a suitable setting and make sure the fight is performed throughout the setting for e.g. the street or the garage
• Use all the angles to give punches certain impacts

This video involves an extremely intense fight however includes a range of cool shots we can consider in our title sequence:

• Use handheld camera and vocalize reaction this means it gives the shots a more realistic look it also means you can cheat the audience the shaking and fuzziness at impact means we never see any punches land. Vocalizing the reactions means it will heighten the drama of the sequence.
• Getting the reactions on the day and then putting them in over the top when editing

“So you’ve got a stunt pilot and two stuntman who have to be on rigs. What you have to do there is you have to choreograph the fight. So a large section is outside the body of the helicopter as well as inside. You can’t put Daniel Craig, in a flying helicopter. It’s too dangerous. You have to create rigs. But the helicopter is spinning, then it’s barrel rolling, then corkscrewing, then it’s looping the loop. That needs three different hydraulic rigs, because you have to make a static helicopter move in three different ways. So immediately, that’s four different sections. You’ve got the live helicopter, which has to be shot by another helicopter. You have two helicopters flying in the square, one shooting and one that’s spinning, with stuntmen in it. Then you’re cutting in and out to a series of different rigs, The real helicopter is shot with nine different cameras from all around the square, as well as the camera off the other helicopter. Then you’ve got people underneath. You have stuntmen underneath, that have to be added in post. What you’re doing is knitting together sections you’ve shot seven months apart, with different people on different rigs, so it looks absolutely effortless and completely coherent. And it’s tricky!” 

                 - Sam Mendes

Talking about filming the opening of the new James Bond film Spectre. A large budget film has many options and has long schedules to film complex fight scenes. This is how they achieve visual masterpieces. The suits one punch is achieved simply by changing camera angles having a straight cut to the other side of the face of the guy being punched. With good reactions this punch looks very realistic also the dubbed sound effect of the impact of the punch helps to further highlight the punch. The small budget opening titles, The Hurtwood Media 2014 piece ‘food chain’ effectively manages to film a fight scene by using the handheld camera to make the beating seem more violent, Also slamming the hands into the garage door provides a vocal reaction and then once the boy is on the floor the added visual effect of the fake blood helps to show the brutality of the beating showing a during and after reaction to make it seem realistic.

The targets to seek when knocking someone out would be the temples, top of the head and ridgeline of the chin.

Top of the head: Often referred to as the “crown shakra” in many arts and yoga, the top of the head is a vulnerable place of the body. It is the last area of the skull to form after we are born and thus the weakest in terms of structure. A heavy blow to any region in this area can start an internal chain reaction of bleeding that can pressurize the brain and cause concussion or death. This impact can result in long-term damage that is often not noticed immediately. It’s what doctors often refer to as shocks to the brain and can come from any major impact to the skull area. This is why many competitions have strict rules around attacking the head/skull region of the opponent.

Temples: Located along the sides of the forehead, behind the eyes. The temples are a common weak point of the body and a major pressure point. When we feel headaches, often they are located or associated with the temples. Thus a common technique to relieve that headache is to rub the temple area. Likewise, a strike to this area can cause a person to blackout. 

Ridge of the chin: The ridge between the ear and the chin are filled with vital pressure points that link the head to the rest of the body. Pressure applied to the jawbone with the palm of the hand can actually alter or guide the opponent to whatever direction desired.