It feels like every movie has an epic action scene these days
so what makes an action scene stand out welcome back and if you're new
here my name is Robert Macfarlane and I'm a director and filmmaker just like you
I take your favorite film and tv and analyze just how the best filmmakers in the world do it a
classic situation for a lot of fight sequences is where the story restricts the space for the fight
to take place this is a brilliant technique to really up the ante for any fight sequence
moving or still this has fantastic potential to be a brilliant space to have any sort of action
scene it has enough space and objects and things to get in the way to really get creative with your
action the audience knows in such a tight space how can the hero possibly avoid every single punch
now obviously in your film you may not have a bus so when choosing your restricted space
try and choose something that makes sense for your story
but also restricts your particular character's strength
this brilliant moment from Captain America is one of my favorite action scenes
not because it's the most epic and cool but it's absolutely electric
because Captain America can't use one of his major weapons that he always uses
a lot of martial arts films also add an extra element to this by putting action
scenes within environments and spaces that add a lot of props a lot of potential weapons
to the fray this can really spice things up and add a lot of variety to your scenes
to your action sequences rather than just being a punch-up
on a side note if you are a filmmaker storyteller or director
don't forget to check out my cinematic language 101 guide down below or up above cheers and we're
back stakes are the single most important concept I really hope you take away from today's episode
and I don't necessarily mean that if they lose the fight they die I mean to go one step further
than that take this scene for example from nobody the filmmakers didn't just leave it at well if he
loses this fight he'll be really hurt and injured this girl's gonna get home safe tonight so when
adding stakes into your next action scene really analyze your character what is their moral compass
and what are they really willing to fight for this really nicely segues into my next section
character desire imbue your character with a very specific desire not just to survive
she falls off so each action sequence
should have a personal goal embedded within it and if it doesn't it should create a new goal
give me the goddamn kitty cat bracelet Nobody is a master class in creating a really embedded
desire in the character to motivate our fight sequences take this character for example
in this sequence we're presented with a character who's leading a very
normal albeit mundane life the way this montage is built showing each day and the
repetition we start to understand that he's not leading a very fulfilling life
so it's very surprising to us to then see this character in a really surprising turn
have an explosion of violence akin to the violet explosion in Fight Club where the characters found
violence as a form of expression for their pent-up emotions I want you to hit me as hard as you can
I'm gonna [ __ ] you up well in Nobody they built a character that's repressed their violent
tendencies so it's just a matter of time for that pressure cooker to explode and we get to see that
in a really really fun and cathartic way the key to this technique is to find something that
this character really cares about and then put that thing in jeopardy whether it be something
that's morally correct an object or a loved one and then put that character in a position
where they themselves can move into action this is super important make sure that your character
actually moves into action themselves they're not shoved into action one is making your character
very submissive very reactive and that's not very satisfying you're alive too bad you will die
whereas the other is where the character is proactive and we want to see characters that are
proactive those characters are more interesting to watch I've got a plan you got a [ __ ] plan
listen hutch I'm not coming out of hiding to save your white ass now I know what you're all
thinking this is obviously very easy if you have a very physical protagonist so what happens if you
have a really passive character well make sure you've given them a desire a value that means
so much to them that they are willing to fight for it in their own specific way it doesn't always
have to be a massive hugely impressive punch up with kicks and flying things and explosions
sometimes the most important the most impressive fight sequences are where the character is not a
superhuman but they're willing to put themselves on the line for their desire for the thing that
means that much to them the key here ask how much does this matter to your character how much are
they willing to put on the line and if they're really not willing to put their personal safety
or even more their pride on the line then maybe you need to up how much that means to them wow you
made it all the way to the end of the episode you must have really enjoyed it so you know
share it with someone else who you think might really enjoy it too thank you