Has anyone shot a Martial Arts fight scene?

Richard J. Johnson

Richard J. Johnson

Joystick Member
I am going to a Martial Arts academy tomorrow to meet with the owner and a few martial arts experts. A few of the instructors have film experience.

Has anyone ever shot a fight scene similar to the witch scene in Iron Monkey or the boss fight in Fist of legend? but without wires.

I only have one camera and I know I need wides, mediums, and close ups. Is there anything else I need to know to prepare for this? The more they do it, the more of risk for injury. any input would be great.

Basically the fight only involves 2 people in a hallway. thanks in advance.
 
Trying to accomplish Yuen Woo-Ping's HKC fight choreography without wires is like trying to make filet mignon without a flame.

I've shot a bit of action, lots of martial arts but nothing too major. What you really want to do is cover exactly what you need in a fight. Make every fall count because these guys can seriously hurt themselves. If you're not catching a fall or a real hit, it's wasted.

If you haven't learned how to stack frames yet, now is a good time to do so.
 
I was 'fortunate' enough to be involved in some martial arts and samurai stuff way back at film school. In our case we worked closely with the stunt guys/actors. They had a choreographed fight and the key was getting the right coverage.

Some shooting tips:
-The classic coverage is OTS shots to hide pulled punches. If you have a stunt coordinator who has experience they may have shot suggestions to go with choreography.

-Be conscious of the fight that's happening and how it fits into the movie. If it is long, keep an eye on places where you can snip one sequence or another.

-Like Kholi says, these guys are going to get tired if they have to run through the fight at high intensity a bajillion times, and when stunt guys get tired they're more likely to make mistakes and hurt people.
 
Guys, guys, guys....don't you know how they shoot martial arts fights in Hong Kong???

They use BLOCKING TAPES

They pre-shoot the entire fight scene from EVERY POSSIBLE ANGLE, for EVERY POSSIBLE FIGHT BEAT, at 50-70% speed.

They edit it.

They refine it.

They go out and reshoot sections of the fight scene (or the whole thing all over again) so they can have an even more refined version.

Once they have shot and edited their IDEAL BLOCKING TAPE (with the DOP and Camera Op and Stunt Coordinator and Choreographer's input)....

...they take that blocking tape ON SET and recreate the blocking tape angle-for-angle, shot-for-shot.

That's it. It takes the guess-work entirely out of the equation on your set with actors and time and money churning away.


SHOOT, CUT, REFINE a Blocking Tape until its the fight you want it to be (and do this WITH your camera department if possible).

Take your blocking tape onto your set and RECREATE THE BLOCKING TAPE, shot for shot, edit for edit, but with all the bells and whistles.

With a blocking tape you can even shoot your fight BACKWARDS or OUT OF SEQUENCE because you'll know exactly what you want, where you want it, when you want it and know what the actors need to do to get that particular shot and where they have to do it geographically on the set.


This is how Yuen Woo Ping shot his fights for "Iron Monkey" and "Fist of Legend". He uses blocking tapes. The "Matrix Revisited" documentaries have blocking tapes for most of the major fight scenes. Check em out.


PS - don't forget to overlap your fight beats from one shot to the next. And if you want that "Hong Kong" style to your fights then STOP YOUR DOP from shooting the entire fight in TIGHT ECU'S. "Hong Kong" style is WIDE ANGLES, LONG SHOTS, LONG TAKES, sometimes DUTCH-TILTED, INSERT SHOTS on particular moves and ALWAYS showing off the choreography, not JUST the emotions on the actor's faces.
 
Thanks for all of the Input! I have switched up ideas and although I'm still doing some martial arts stuff it's going to be more like the Kung-Fu theater stuff mixed with the god awfulness of Dolemite Karate.

I still want it to look good though. I have been watching a ton of clips and looking at camera angles and moves. But I see there is much more to it than that.

I can't seem to find a stunt cooridinator locally. and I don't want to shoot without one being on set.
 
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