Ninja technique?

V

VideoMaker

Well-known member
I have a client who has requested an event be shot using the "Ninja technique". He describes this as erratic camera zooms and pans we see in many current works. I've done a search on "Ninja technique" and don't find anything. Is this a known term for this style of shooting? Is it known by something else? I'd like to read up on it a bit but don't know what to look for.

Jerry
 
I think you client described just what it is. Really fast in and out zoom a couple of time with fast pans that sometimes miss their marks. Just think low budget japanese karate movies from the 70's. As for the term "Ninja Technique" I've never heard of it but knew what you were talking about as soon as I saw it.
 
What he really meant was "chop socky". If you haven't seen the Kill Bill films, they're the best modern application of the original technique.
 
Yep, I think this is what he is talking about. Do you think it would be a mistake to attempt this in 24p because of the excessive motion? Should I instead go 60i?

jimpatro said:
What he really meant was "chop socky". If you haven't seen the Kill Bill films, they're the best modern application of the original technique.
Click to expand...
 
jimpatro said:
What he really meant was "chop socky". If you haven't seen the Kill Bill films, they're the best modern application of the original technique.
Click to expand...


From Wikipedia:

Chopsocky is a colloquial term applied to a diffuse group of martial arts movies made primarily in Hong Kong and Taiwan during the 1960s and 1970s. The term was coined by Variety magazine. The word is a play on chop suey (Chinese for 'mixed pieces'), combining "chop" (as in karate chop; a strike with the edge of the hand) and "socky" or "sock" (as in a punch). Thus, "chop" and "punches" are an appropriate term for movies and books with "martial arts" themes.
The term was usually characterized by over-blown story-lines, cheesy special effects, and excessive violence. Although it is commonly used as if it were a name of martial arts cinema by the general media, the word is a disparaging term against it as a whole.
 
Right, generally very cheesy stuff. Tarantino made it classy.
Another genre from which he borrowed is the Spaghetti Western. Again, generally looked down on but some of us love it.
 
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