{"id":117743,"date":"2019-08-01T06:00:11","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T11:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=117743"},"modified":"2019-08-01T08:51:50","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T13:51:50","slug":"secret-to-creating-engaging-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/secret-to-creating-engaging-action\/","title":{"rendered":"From Jason Bourne to Indiana Jones, This Is the Secret to Better Action Scenes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, we’ll discuss how to create a more cohesive action sequence when dealing with hand-to-hand combat, as well as long-range action scenes.<\/h2>\n

Imagine a movie where in every important dialogue scene, the actors just yell at each other. They blow out the audio levels, their words slur together, they talk over each other, and despite catching a few words here and there, you can\u2019t really understand what\u2019s happening. Or, imagine a dialogue scene in which the words are crystal clear but because of the cinematography, you\u2019re not quite sure who\u2019s talking to whom, where they\u2019re supposed to be looking, or if the actors were even on the same set together.<\/p>\n

To me, either scenario is some kind of awful. We would never accept this chaos in our film’s important dialogue scenes, so why do some filmmakers find it acceptable to film action sequences with the same disregard?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve discussed in detail the first scenario when applied to action scenes (shaky camera, hard to follow action, etc.) in the article Directing Fight Cinematography: The Right Way and the Wrong Way<\/a>. In this article, I want to cover the second scenario, wherein the action feels disjointed. You may be able to clearly tell what\u2019s happening in each shot but, as a whole, it feels a bit lifeless, like one person just talking to a wall. I’ll talk about how to create a more cohesive action sequence by focusing on engaging your opponents and propelling the scene forward through cause and effect.<\/p>\n

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Action scenes happen in a film because a character must overcome an obstacle, like a dangerous scenario or an evil villain. The action is exciting because our hero must engage in some form of physicality to accomplish his goal. However, if we can\u2019t capture that momentum, it ends up feeling like random shots strung together. This concept can be more easily conveyed with a gun fight. Watch this clip<\/a> from the film Mile 22<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>

Image via STX Entertainment<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

We rarely, if ever, get any kind of over the shoulder, where Mark Wahlberg<\/a> (or his allies) are firing at the enemy. There are few shots of heroes and villains together. Aside from one of the last shots, this sequence almost feels like two different scenes mashed together. Compare this with the sniper scene from The Bourne\u00a0<\/em>Identity<\/i><\/a>, the first Bourne film.<\/p>\n