How to choreograph awesome low budget fight scenes with no experience!
If you’re an independent filmmaker, it can be difficult to co-ordinate a fight sequence that looks polished. Below are a few do-it-yourself steps to ensure that you can create the best fight scenes for your independent film project.
We are working on a short film and our actress had no prior experience in fight choreography. However, she was really good at controller her body. We were able to use clever editing techniques and easy fight movements with less than 45 minutes of rehearsal time to create an entertaining combat scene. Check out the trailer to get a sneak peak at the choreography. Fight begins at 30 seconds.
If you liked it, take part in our iPods and iPad giveaway. Click here for more info. This is how we did the fight scene:
#1 The Breakdown of a Fight
Do you get excited when its time to shoot a fight sequence? There’s a lot of elements that you need to think about before jumping in. Factors such as rhythm, timing, reactions and multiple camera coverage plays a big role in creating a good fight sequence.
Speed: People may think that speed is everything in making a fight look good. However a filmmaker has to think of the fighting style that suits their story, style and characters. Is this fight going to be a ground fight with straight punches only? Or will it be similar to traditional Chinese fight scenes with spins, sophisticated hand movements and take downs? Sometimes, if fight scenes are too fast, the camera may not catch the movement as with Bruce Lee’s example when he did Enter the Dragon, the director, Robert Clouse told him to slow it down.
Rhythm: Fight scenes look better when there are pauses in between techniques so that the choreography has rhythm. For example, a fight will look bland if straight punches are executed one after another. It will look more entertaining if the actor combines a series of combinations at set rhythms. You can think of it like a drummer. He can hit the drum using consistent quarter beats. However if the drummer add half-notes, eighth-notes and other variations mixed into his beat, it’s much more intriguing to listen to.
Timing & Reaction: Make sure that the choreography consists of proper timing and reaction shots. The kicks and punches should connect on camera when the technique is executed. The opponent should also react appropriately to the impact of the hit. Most fights are filmed in a way that the actors look like they are getting hit. In fact, it is where the camera is placed that makes the hit look realistic.
Multi Cam: Make sure you get proper coverage for your fight scene. You can utilize different camera angles to your advantage by removing mistakes, doubling up on a set of techniques. Most of the time when I am putting together a fight sequence, I would be using several camera angles and the best takes possible. For example, a filmmaker does not have to use take 1 & 2 from camera A & B for the entire fight. You can switch from take 2 to 5 then from camera A to D if the shots look better on those angles.
During the practice phase, fatigue builds quickly if you don’t rest. Don’t waste all your energy on a rehearsal, instead rehearse slow, get a feel and practice lightly on the technique. You can help save your body from getting injuries as well. Then on the actual take, show the cameras what you’ve got.
#2 Fight Training
The techniques I’m about to describe, I’ve learned from Kin Sze’s Bamboo Kung Fu School and Hong Luck Kung Fu Club where I have been training at periodically for over two decades.
If you want to make a good fight scene, I personally think that there is one thing that an actor must learn. Make a basic punch look good. From there, you can do variations and spin offs to make it look more elaborate.
Just a really quick lesson on punching. If you are right handed, stand slightly with your left shoulder facing forward. Your punch will be from your right hand. A jab will be from your left. Hold a fist. Make sure your knuckles are straight and that your thumb is outside. Keeping it inside can break your thumb on impact.
Keep your body and arm relaxed when you throw the punch. At the moment of impact, tighten your arm, body and fist. Your arm should not be straight, rather slightly bent when you punch so that you don’t hyper extend it.
During filming, you can either quickly retract your arm back, or keep your arm out for a split second for the camera. But in reality, pull your arm back quickly as the opponent may have a chance to grab it. You can think about how a snake attacks, they strike hard, then quickly retract their bodies.
Once you have learned the straight punch you can then finally get ready to choreograph the fight scene. Check out Kin Sze’s video on his hand techniques.
#3 Designing The Fight
A few weeks prior to filming our project, my brother and I discussed the fight sequence. Once it was planned out, we asked a camera operator to film us and tried the movements slowly. By doing this, you can see where the potential camera angles are. You can also see what’s going to work and what won’t.
In the fight sequence, we designed 2 different ways of disarming the weapon to see which technique our actress would be more comfortable with. We went as far as creating a breakable table that could be used multiple times as we practiced. Our “stand in” for the pistol was a piece of cardboard as it is a good idea to use “stand in” objects during rehearsal because the actual prop that you use can break. See below for our practice session.
Everything is about timing, the punches have to look like they hit at the right time, and the actor will have to react to them on cue as seen in the example above.
Depending on your story line and the reason to fight. A filmmaker can use everyday items such a weapon that a character can potentially find on their set. For example, if an actor is trapped in an alleyway where group of gang members are going to attack him, there can be a potential weapon there such as a stick, or glass beer bottles. Jackie Chan is well known for using the environment to come up with clever weapons. Check out an excerpt below on the thinking that is involved in his fight scenes from his documentary Jackie Chan – My Stunts.
During this step, take your time in planning the fight scene. Come up with ideas, try them out with the camera and actors. This is where you can understand where the strengths and weaknesses are in your scene. Some actors know how to control their bodies well, and others will find it challenging.
#4 Editing is Essential
Editing is the most crucial part in the entire process. Even if all of the above were executed poorly, you could still save your fight scene via editing. Sound is an important aspect of the editing process. If the video is poorly shot, great sound is really the last resort.
Be sure that you have all the sounds needed to sell your shots. For example, if you have characters running on the street, you can add helicopter sounds to the shot. If your actors fall onto the floor in a house, you can add bottles breaking even though there are none in the shot. You can also add sound effects like dogs barking in the distance as the fight scene breaks out.
You can also make the fight scene feel longer by cutting to another part of a scene. For example, if 2 characters are fighting, we can then cut to a group of people watching the fight while hearing the fighting sounds, then cut back to the characters.
If you have multiple cameras setup, you can try using this technique: I sometimes emphasize a punch or kick by playing it twice, once per camera angle. I then use different impact sounds for the same punch. So when you watch it, you will see a punch doubling up to stress the importance of that hit. Similarly to this clip from Transformers at 1:34 minutes, the explosion happens twice to create an epic feel.
On a separate note, at 1:15 minutes, an explosion occurs close to the camera. This is most likely from an air cannon blasting across the camera which was at a safe distance away from the actors. Air cannons are safe as they use compress air to propel soft objects into the air. Having objects crash in front of the camera creates a lot of excitement for the audience. So if you can have safe objects that won’t break such as plastic cups, and plates come crashing into the lens when the actors are fighting, it will create a lot of energy. Yes plastic cups! Watch our archival footage here. Everything you see were made out of plastic, but sounds like glass breaking.
Check out one of our test clips in which we utilize everything mentioned above. From timing to rhythm, non-breakable objects crashing into the camera to a bit of visual effects from Andrew Kramer. We practiced slowly so that we still had enough energy to do the actual filming. Another tip we use that wasn’t mentioned was that we introduced the music later into the fight as this creates a unique emotional feeling.
Fight choreography is a fun and exciting way to take your action film to the next level. It takes some time to really get to dial it in. With all the tips mentioned above, an indie filmmaker should have enough information to get started. Be sure to watch other fights and videos to learn from them. The main thing is to keep practicing and keep coming up with ideas and trying them.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. And if you have any editing questions, don’t hesitate to ask us. Keep producing my friends, and like always, happy editing.