When we start to work on choreography, we don’t have specific scenes in mind. We don’t have a script to tell us our character’s motivations or what words to use. We often fall back on silly arguments to get our choreography started, and then we take the entire fight less seriously. What are some good, […]
In stage combat, we have three priorities: Safety: all movements must have built-in safety so the risk to actors is minimized. Simulation: every movement should look genuine and feature authentic-looking intent. Storytelling: the combination of movements should match each character’s personality, level of aggression, goals and further the plot of the story if possible. The […]
Blood adds horror. That’s the single reason to add a blood effect to a death scene. So, the only creative question in whether to consider a blood effect is: does this scene need more horror? In Romeo and Juliet, for example, do we need Mercutio’s death to be horrific? I’d say yes. Do we need […]
The team at Film Riot have just finished Action Month, during which they shot several short action films (and a lot of behind-the-scenes footage) with their production company Triune Films. Listen to host Ryan Connolly describe the reasoning behind decisions and choices of equipment made in the early stages of pre-production planning, through the process […]
At the top of the year, I was approached to be the fight director for Romeo and Juliet at Bard on the Beach. Kim Collier is directing the play, and liked my work on her Hamlet two years ago. I was very proud of our results in that play, and was eager to put some […]
Okay. This is Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in the movie adaptation of Assassin’s Creed. Let’s do this. Is that the story of Assassin’s Creed? Also, why’s he running around? Also… I don’t understand anything that happened there. Has There Been a Good Videogame Movie? A comprehensive list of movies based on video games can […]
For a better understanding of the daily breakdown of lessons in our Fight Directors Canada Basic certification course, I’ve prepared this outline. You may find this useful if you’re a participant (starting tomorrow) or if you’re considering signing up for September’s session. (Online registration is now closed, but there are still spots in the session […]
