Research into Fight Scenes and Analysis of Fight Scenes
Split into Sections- Doing this allows the scene to be filmed easier and helps the actors figure out their timing for each section.
Cast- Make sure the cast you pick are co-ordinated and can learn a choreographed movement. It helps them look more realistic in the fight.
Rehearsing- Rehearse ahead of time to allow the actors to get the movements correct and to make sure that all of the movements are strong and quick.
Camera Rehearsal- Rehearse the camera shots to figure out good angles. Doing this then allows you to watch it back and figure out the problems with the shot or which shots work the best.
Movements- Make sure that many of the movements are over exaggerated. It allows the impact to look more painful although nothing similar to a realistic fight. Some movements can be realistic but make sure that you choose the right ones to keep the same as in real life.
Sound- Sound is the most important element. Make sure to get the actors grunts to add more of an affect but also make sure to get the sound of their feet moving and the movement of their clothes because without this audio, it feels as if something is missing.
Shaky Camera- This is a choice for a fight scene and may not work but this style of movement can make the fight scene look much more realistic and can also hide some of the sloppy moments in a fight scene.
Health and Safety- Make sure that if you do any big movements that could injure someone to think through it carefully and supply some safety, such as a mat to land on. This keeps the actors safe on set.
Relentless- Kevin Tsai (Student Short Fight Scene)
For a student fight scene it looks semi-professional and could be mistaken for a real fight scene in a movie. The movements are quick and executed cleanly, making them look real and impactful. The camera angles are also impactful and show the fight well. The camera follows the movement and keeps up with the actors, managing to keep the fight entertaining.
The editing is quick and makes the fight look real because of the fast and quick movements. It also makes the scene much more brutal overall and allows the audience to feel the tension they anticipated in this fight scene. Though it has great editing, some frames could have been removed to make the fight move much faster and to add a more brutal impact than they already have. The sound was also edited nicely and adds so much more to the fight. Although many of the sounds are fake and edited in, it still played smoothly into the video and created the same amount of impact.
The choreographing of this fight scene was also well planned and worked incredibly. They managed to also pull stunts and do many movements that wouldn't of been able to of been done on the day. It shows how much they planned ahead and practiced this fight scene to get the movements as smooth and impactful as possible.
The Matrix- Mr.Smith Fight Scene
The hand to hand combat in this fight scene is of a very high standard and many of the movements included are realistic. The movements are quick and short, making the punches and kicks look much more realistic and painful. This is also a very well choreographed fight scene because the movements are smooth.
The editing in this allowed the impact to be put through to the audience, making the fight look brutal and painful for the actors involved. The editing also allowed the fight scene to be cut into sections, allowing the cameras to move and to make the whole filming process much easier. It makes it easier as the actors don't have to keep doing the same part of the fight scene over and over again, allowing the actors to know where they left off and saving them a lot of energy.
The camera shots are also very quick and close in the action, making the audience feel as if they are involved in the fight scene. Many of the angles used also allows to make this scene look more brutal and realistic as you don't see the fake impact. It tricks your eyes into seeing someone getting punched in the face when in reality they aren't punched at all. It manages to put an image into the audience's mind, meaning it is well angled in the choice of the camera shots used.
The Raid- Mad Dog Fight Scene
This is my least favourite fight scene of the ones I have analysed. Although still a good fight scene, it is too over exaggerated and loses the meaning behind the fight. The camera angles are good in this scene but some of the angles show the staged fight, showing that there is no actual impact going on. Some of the action is well choreographed and looks brutal but many of the moves I don't particularly like.
The sounds are also very exaggerated that are coming from the actors. It makes it feel very unrealistic and silly in the amount of noise that they make whilst fighting. The other sounds such as the feet moving and the clothes moving are perfect and work well with the action. Another thing is the low music behind the fight which makes it feel much more fake. It doesn't allow the fight to work as an impactful and strong scene, the quiet of the scene making it much more brutal.
The choreographing of the fight is well done, making the moves smooth and quick. It shows how much they practiced this fight scene but still looks unrealistic in some of the punches and kicks they perform. They do manage to perform many stunts which look incredible and brutal but goes back to this messy looking fight.
Kill Bill (Volume 1 Fight Scene)
In this particular scene there are actually two fight scenes; one between the Bride and GoGo and one between the Bride and The Crazy 88's. The fight scenes are unrealistic but this is the style of this film and the fights fit perfectly for this kind of film.
The choreographed fight scenes are well planned and quick. It keeps the audience entertained from the wide use of different camera shots and works incredibly as an overall scene. Although some moves are unrealistic, the stand off when they are readying their weapons is very realistic and is also a way to build tension for the upcoming fight scene. I respect the amount of people that had to learn this choreography and how much time and dedication went into this scene alone.
The sounds are well balanced and are very strong, being able to hear the actor's grunts, the movements and the weaponry all in one scene. The moves that the characters do for the deaths are brutal but once again unrealistic which is the style of Quentin Tarantino; the director of Kill Bill. The sounds do fit the movements of the characters and the hits they make or take but of course hide in a Wilhelm scream in the audio.
Kill Zone S.P.L Fight Scene
This was the most brutal out of the scenes that I have analysed including their movements and the death. The camera angles used made the fight seem much more brutal and realistic and you got to see the actor's expressions very frequently, adding much more to the scene.
The choreographed fight in the scene was fluent and amazing overall. It kept the audience entertained throughout the whole fight scene as it added a thrill of danger by using the weaponry that they had; one being on a advantage. The movements were quick and strong which made the whole scene more impactful and tense throughout. The camera angles didn't change much throughout but still seemed to work. These camera angles more focused on the expressions of the characters and the hits that they took. The camera stuck on one angle for most of the fight but was angled enough to make the fight look realistic.
The sound was also well done, making all of the hits sound painful and every movement sounding as if they were fighting with all of their power. The sound was amazing and it made the scene much more tense because it gave across the impression that they are trying to kill each other.
References
"Top 10 Movie Fight Scenes". YouTube. N.p., 2017. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.
"The Fight Choreography Of 'LOSSES'". YouTube. N.p., 2017. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.
