Fighting
- Thread starter Jerboa
- Start date
The proper answer is "hire a fight director" as any other answer will invalidate your insurance.
However, filming a punch is all about angles and foreshortening.
The person who throws the punch should land the punch at least six inches in front of person who is being hit (There must be no possibility at all of the punch landing). You then place the camera at an angle that makes it look as though it made contact (This is usually behind the person who is throwing the punch). The rest is about acting, it's the reaction that makes it real.
(Actually it's sound effects that you mix in that really make it work.)
In the UK actors are trained in stage combat and take a certificate to prove that they've had stage combat training. To do the job properly you need actors who have had that level of training.
However, filming a punch is all about angles and foreshortening.
The person who throws the punch should land the punch at least six inches in front of person who is being hit (There must be no possibility at all of the punch landing). You then place the camera at an angle that makes it look as though it made contact (This is usually behind the person who is throwing the punch). The rest is about acting, it's the reaction that makes it real.
(Actually it's sound effects that you mix in that really make it work.)
In the UK actors are trained in stage combat and take a certificate to prove that they've had stage combat training. To do the job properly you need actors who have had that level of training.
I agree with the above.
However, I've worked for about four years with martial arts fight sequences, and to be honest, if you don't have to worry about legal issues, the best way to film someone getting punched in the face/stomach/arm is to... have him/her actually get punched in the face/stomach/arm.
It doesn't have to be a hard hit, as long as the reaction is right. You can even speed it up 25% in post to make it look more powerful.
If legal issues DO matter, though, I would follow what Clive says with the addition that you try filming over the shoulder of the "victim" as well. That way, you can use the cut between shots to be the point of contact, and in neither case does anyone have to get hit, or nearly hit.
However, I've worked for about four years with martial arts fight sequences, and to be honest, if you don't have to worry about legal issues, the best way to film someone getting punched in the face/stomach/arm is to... have him/her actually get punched in the face/stomach/arm.
It doesn't have to be a hard hit, as long as the reaction is right. You can even speed it up 25% in post to make it look more powerful.If legal issues DO matter, though, I would follow what Clive says with the addition that you try filming over the shoulder of the "victim" as well. That way, you can use the cut between shots to be the point of contact, and in neither case does anyone have to get hit, or nearly hit.
Sounds like a mini-contest. Best punch scene.
Have you ever played a game where you put your hands up in front of you and tell a friend to go between your hands while you try to catch it by closing your palms? thats how you should do with cameras.
Since our eyes' perception is bad with 'linear' focus, its easier to trick with that concept, (in addition to what mentioned above).
I think it's easier to go grab tons of indie films online and what their action sequences and study their angles, locations, and movements and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
Of course, hire professional if you can
Since our eyes' perception is bad with 'linear' focus, its easier to trick with that concept, (in addition to what mentioned above).
I think it's easier to go grab tons of indie films online and what their action sequences and study their angles, locations, and movements and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse
Of course, hire professional if you can
There's a number of tutorials available- if you get the "Ultimate Fights volume 2" they've got a how-to on there, just for example:
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Fights-Vol-Al-Pacino/dp/B00005YXCK/ref=sr_1_7/104-1917885-3234304?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1184539549&sr=8-7
The above answers are all right in their own way... you can make contact with body parts, especially if they're padded under the costume, but actors can generally commit more to an attack (making it look better) if they know they aren't really going to hit the other guy, so I usually prefer the non-contact hits for all but close-ups.
It's all about having it look like the weapon (fist, foot, etc) and target (face, body, etc) are in the same place at the same time, which means one is in front of the other so they overlap. This is all about angles, from the director & dp's & choreographer's point of view.
For the actors, it's more about timing, since to get that correct angle the person getting hit has to react at the exact time it appears to the camera that there's been contact. Most common mistake is for them to react too early, then we see the gap between the fist and face, or it just doesn't look like there was any real force behind the impact.
But yeah, short answer is to find someone who knows what they're doing... although that can be hard to judge if you don't know yourself and if you don't have examples of their work to look at. Have them do a screen test for you if you have the time.
http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Fights-Vol-Al-Pacino/dp/B00005YXCK/ref=sr_1_7/104-1917885-3234304?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1184539549&sr=8-7
The above answers are all right in their own way... you can make contact with body parts, especially if they're padded under the costume, but actors can generally commit more to an attack (making it look better) if they know they aren't really going to hit the other guy, so I usually prefer the non-contact hits for all but close-ups.
It's all about having it look like the weapon (fist, foot, etc) and target (face, body, etc) are in the same place at the same time, which means one is in front of the other so they overlap. This is all about angles, from the director & dp's & choreographer's point of view.
For the actors, it's more about timing, since to get that correct angle the person getting hit has to react at the exact time it appears to the camera that there's been contact. Most common mistake is for them to react too early, then we see the gap between the fist and face, or it just doesn't look like there was any real force behind the impact.
But yeah, short answer is to find someone who knows what they're doing... although that can be hard to judge if you don't know yourself and if you don't have examples of their work to look at. Have them do a screen test for you if you have the time.