Fight Scene Analysis

Although we do not have a lot of time for a long, drawn out fight scene; we thought it best to research some other Thrillers that have fight scenes to see how they handle it in different ways.

We have found a good tutorial on fight scenes where some examples of big budget films are used: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4r5Mvlukhk

Through watching this we have come up with some ideas, first and foremost it is important to use different camera angles e.g. POV, over the shoulder shots to be able to create a fast paced sequence of a fight that really captures the audiences imagination; making them think they have actually just witnessed a fight. We will attempt to do this through a long shot of Adam creeping up to Kieran to stab him, followed by some close ups of him in the motion of trying to knife Kieran.

Secondly, it is important to establish a sense of realism as in a real fight, people tend to stumble slightly or swing and miss unless they are particularly good fighters. So we intend for Kieran to block Adam’s hand as he tries to knife him, as we are aiming for some realism in our opening.

Thirdly and finally, we will possibly slow down some of the action in the editing process to reinforce the gritty brutality we are aiming to convey in our Thriller. This will allow more emotion to be seen, as it is usually missed in normal time. We may also possibly speed up a clip as this will contribute to a faster pace which will then subside as Adam is disarmed.

After an ellipsis edit, Adam will take his knife out and then try to stab Kieran while he as his back turned. He will then manage to slice him on the wrist from which he will begin to bleed. After this we will use a technique where Kieran did a blocking punch into Adam’s abdomen, whilst stamping on the ground to give a more brutal sounding punch. This was all filmed behind Adam as this then stops Kieran’s fake punch being seen.

Pictures of finished fight scene:

Here we see Adam swing the knife at Kieran, and, through analysing other films' fight scenes; we knew it of great importance to use a variety of shots in a small space of time to create drama and pace. These are critical to a good action scene. Especially since we have time constraints.

The two cuts together form a match on action which allows us to show where Kieran gets cut (his wrist), and also we added a slicing sound to add a bit of 'shock value'; thus adding to the gritty brutality we have been going for.

Here, we utilized blocking to prevent the audience from seeing that Kieran does not actually punch Kieran - this is done by Kieran punching near Adam, and then Adam reacts accordingly to the impact that the punch would make if it was real. 

Kieran also stamped his foot when he threw his fake punch, which we then added to with a punch sound effect. Coupling these together beefed up the overall sound in the mix. Also, if we had not managed to find a good punch sound then the original sound would have done the job just fine.

The punch and then Adam's fall combine to make a 'cause and effect' edit, which adds pace and allows us to cut to the next shot where Max holds Adam down onto the table.

 With the punch obviously disarming Adam, Kieran gets his knife and then threatens Adam until he tells the two gangsters where the drugs are hidden; resulting in a successful interrogation, and a successful fight scene.