Fight choreography + education reqs?

[Sihing_Dave]

alright guys what kind of education(other than martial arts) does one need to become a fight choreographer??

any info would be greatly appreciated

sihing dave

[David Jamieson]

It's always a good idea to get some theatrical training. Likely, if you are in an urban centre you can find an acting class or two.

fight choreography is not jsut dranw from martial arts, there is a strong element of understanding theatre and theatrics involved.

This is why movie fu is not much like actual fu. It is choreographed to look good to the viewer and not to be effective.

anyway, theatre school will take you far in this and your martial arts stuff will aid you in the styles you want to choreograph.

[Shaolinlueb]

knowing how to build a fight set that looks good.

[GeneChing]

And before you start dreaming of the silver screen, most fight choreographers pay their dues in live theater, which is a considerably harder venue to choreograph in than movies since there are no retakes - it's all live. In America, most fight choreographers don't do martial arts so much as they do fencing because there's more call for that in live theater, what with the popularity of Shakespeare and all. Plus it's very hard to choreograph martial arts for live theater without highly trained martial artists. A good starting point for this is The Society of American Fight Directors.

[David Jamieson]

yes, I had completely forgotten about that org ~G.

that's some good link fu for the dude though I must say!

[SimonM]

Don't assume that someone trained in theatre doesn't know about the real stuff too.

I had a drama teacher in high school.

Reed Needles was the brother of Dan Needles (of Wingfield Farm fame). He was a classically trained thespian.

We were doing a school play and he was giving us a quickie lecture on stage choreography. During this lecture he did point out that stage choreography was different from real sword-play. One of the leading men of the play was a Kempo black belt. He gets all swaggery and somehow ends up holding a stage-prop rapier against our drama teacher. Took our teacher all of about five seconds to disarm the guy. It was almost funny.

[Sekabin]

Yeah martial artists often complain about how 'unrealistic' movie fights look, but when they try to choreograph something it looks as dull as a very dull thing. One of the most enjoyable bits of my theatre training was the fight choreography. It's a great feeling when you stage a fight and hear the audience gasping at the sheer violence of it all...

I'd advise the same - learn the ropes working in live theatre. You'll understand what it takes in terms of positioning of actors in relation to the audience (or camera), and also the work that the actor must do in both giving a punch/throw/grapple/kick and taking it. It's a LOT different to 'realistic' martial arts.

[GeneChing]

The Society of American Fight Directors is abbreivated SAFD (pronounced Safe-D by some) . You got to remember that many of the actors you might be choregraphing ARE NOT martial artists, no matter how many *months* of training they might have had to prepare for the role - case and point Charlize in Aeon Flux. It's even more pronouced in live theater. A fight choreographer in live theater needs to be able to create something that is not only exciting, it's safe for the actors and something they can do time and time again before a live audience. Most audiences are more concerned with the story than the fight scene (sad to say ) butthe fight scene is always a critical turning point in any plot. It moves the story along in a totally unique way. Too many kung fu flicks suffer from fixation on the fights with no story context make them interesting. Another case and point here would be Tom Yum Goong. So in answer to Sihing_Dave's question, martial arts falls a far second to knowledge of theater when it comes to becoming a fight choreographer. I would say that networking is even more important than martial arts.

[David Jamieson]

it's fair to say that understanding camera work, composition of shots and editing of the film then coupled to music can make your heart race even if you are simply watching an egg boil.

[Hua Lin Laoshi]

It's all about camera angles and selling the fight.

Camera angles so the don't see that the puch is a foot or more away from the target (unless real MA guys).

Selling it means the reaction means way more the the moved used. You know, throw a punch and the guy flips backwards and falls. The ridiculous stuff we all hate but everyone watches anyhow.

Doesn't matter what techniques you use your opponent has to fly back in pain and sell it to the audience. Most of you guys know what you see either would never work or wouldn't cause the reaction you see.

Just like those qi demos.

[WinterPalm]

It's cool to see that you are interested in martial art movies. Myself, I completed a short 20 minute Kung Fu film last summer and had a well received screening at a local art house several months ago.

For prerequisites, I would say to practice real kung fu, or karate or judo or whatever style you do, a lot! Work on partner drills, forms, two-man forms, sparring, and individual technique practice. That will improve your kung fu and also give you a basis of understanding the body and positioning for a fight scene. Personally I loathe movie kung fu with the exception of Jackie Chan, and I don't care much for the 'impressive' stuff. We made our movie to showcase some of the kung fu our Sifu has taught us.

Another element I would say to research is Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, the Three Stooges, all that sort of slapstick comedy. One of Jackie Chan's idols is Buster Keaton and that comes apparent in his movies. A kung fu movie is going to be very physical, obviously, but in ways you may not understand. First and foremost you are emboding a fighter, or potential student, or whatever. Watch old Chan movies and notice all the theatrical movements, the ways people gesture, that is all opera stuff, try to make the movie very physical. Also pay close attention to the way any fight scene is done and the style used ie, Batman Begins (A fine movie) versus Drunken Master... the style of filming is very different.

You should also become very close to a group of people you can work with and start as soon as possible in making fight scenes. Extract from your style, extract from another one in a book, extract from a Bruce Lee movie, but put this all together and then film it. Learn the ins and outs of basic film making.

The last point is to add comedy. Comedy will help you very much in the long run. People want to see comedy, it's tied to the Kung Fu movie genre and helps keep people interested...we may enjoy seeing some very interesting moves, or a style represented, but if you don't have comedy and try too hard, it may come out stale. This also helps the fact that you are going to make a movie that is probably going to be way below your expectations but that's ok, it's a process, just like Kung Fu but make sure you have fun while being rigorous and very demanding.

I hope to have a clip or several from our fist flick up for you guys to view and I am interested to hear more about what you are doing. I'd take your questions and try to help you but you haven't seen my clip and we might have different ideas of what constitutes the genre. You can fire away if you wish I am by no means a professional but I've been making movies for a couple of years now.

Creativity is the key!

David

[Sihing_Dave]

thanks y'all all this advice really helps alot!!!!!!!!!

[GeneChing]

Swordplay martial art a ‘unique’ local activity
Jess Layt
4 May 2017, 3:37 p.m.
Swordplay martial art a ‘unique’ local activitySwordplay martial art a ‘unique’ local activitySwordplay martial art a ‘unique’ local activitySwordplay martial art a ‘unique’ local activitySwordplay martial art a ‘unique’ local activitySwordplay martial art a ‘unique’ local activitySwordplay martial art a ‘unique’ local activity

Have you ever dreamt of being a pirate? A brave knight? A cunning musketeer?

Swordplay in Catherine Field offers you the chance to turn that dream into a reality.

The unique school of theatrical fencing and stage combat teaches various weaponry skills, including broad-swords, rapiers, daggers and quarterstaffs.

The school has just opened a new venue in Catherine Field, after several successful years in Glendenning.

Swordplay organiser Karin Kennedy said the school offered a unique form of physical fitness.

“This is something for the people who aren’t interested in things like football, swimming, dancing or traditional martial arts,” she said.

“It’s not boxing or rolling on mats, its skilled, disciplined moves with a variety of weapons.”

Ms Kennedy said the “exploding” population along Camden Valley Way prompted the group to set up shop in Catherine Field.

She hopes they can provide a great outlet for people looking to take part in creative physical activities.

“People can build a bigger skill set and pick up some fitness at the same time,” she said.

“We’re not bound by any historical time period with our teaching so people can learn the skills of anything they want.

“They can be pirates, musketeers, Jedi masters or Victorian duelists.”

Ms Kennedy said the school is always open to promotional events which call for a little theatricality and have performed at numerous fundraising events in the Macarthur area in the last decade.

They were also a common sight at the Brigadoon festival in the Southern Highlands.

She would love to see a historic festival held in the Macarthur area one day and feels the growing population would love to take part in such an event.

“There’s all sorts of new people coming into the area, from gamers to cosplayers,” she said.

“Why just dress as a pirate or a knight when you can be one?”

Ms Kennedy said in addition to learning enviable weaponry and theatrical fight skills, Swordplay students also grew in confidence.

“It is great to see everyone become super self-confident.”

The school is now taking students at Catherine Field Hall, 170 Catherine Field Road. All weapons are provided.

Open adult classes are for people aged over 14 years.

For more information visit www.swordplay.net.au.

Couldn't cut&paste the pic, but you're not missing much.

[SteveLau]

There are movie making programs provided in art school. Whether they are for behind the screen or front of the screen production, fight choreographer needs such education in order to enter the business. In the early days, the choreographers just learnt the trade while working in movies at the same time.




Regards,

Steve Lau
Hong Kong

[Jimbo]

There are movie making programs provided in art school. Whether they are for behind the screen or front of the screen production, fight choreographer needs such education in order to enter the business. In the early days, the choreographers just learnt the trade while working in movies at the same time.




Regards,

Steve Lau
Hong Kong

What the old-school MA choreographers accomplished during the golden era of HK/Taiwan cinema from the late 1960s through the '80s was remarkable, and will likely never be equaled. Each developed their own distinct style of choreography, and back then, there were literally countless productions per year coming out of HK/Taiwan, especially during the '70s. So here were tons of opportunities for them to hone their craft. You can follow the choreographers' progression through the years as they got better and better. And of course, they had such a large talent pool of Peking/Beijing/Cantonese opera performers, as well as traditional KF/karate/TKD, etc. performers to draw from.

Nowadays the MA productions out of Asia are few per year, and are mostly big-budget affairs with lots of CGI. And there are FAR fewer performers to draw from, much less headline these bigger-budget movies.