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Selected
Thoughts On Staged
“Lightsaber” Combat By:
Michael “Rogue428” Haspil (All example movies are Quicktime Sorenson 3 codec) Before we even begin, the disclaimer stuff. I am not a professional stunt person or fight coordinator. I purport no special knowledge or responsibility for the techniques described below. Melee combat, by its very nature, is dangerous. Staged melee combat, only slightly less so. These techniques are by no means foolproof, and the chance of someone getting hurt increases exponentially when you start to swing an object towards them, rehearsed or otherwise. So if you get hurt or hurt someone else doing the stuff I talk about in here, I accept no responsibility. Now that that’s
out of the way, I’d like to give you a little
background on myself.
I have been involved in “staged combat” in
one way or another since high school (drama club,
RenFair, etc). I
am a martial artist, rank of Shodan (1st
degree black belt) in Taijutsu and a very amateur fencer
(as of yet…un-rated…because I can’t really grasp
the whole “right-of-way” thing in the heat of the
moment…but that’s another story)…so you experts
can take what I have to say with a grain of salt.
The rest of you amateurs…LISTEN UP!
I’ve broken a lot of these rules (and a lot of
blades)…some as recently as last February.
So by virtue of messing up…I know what I’m
talking about (or at least I’d like to think I do).
Having said that, if anybody has better info or
thinks anything I am saying is blatantly wrong…please
speak up, I ain’t Nick Gillard or Bob Anderson…and
frankly I can use the help too! “Need help on
saber fight choreography!” That topic shows up every
couple of months in the forums, so I figured I’d right
a tutorial. This
tutorial isn’t going to help the cast and crew of “A
Question of Faith” or “Duality” very much.
And if you’re at that level of expertise, I’d
ask you to read on, only if to offer corrections or
additional advice.
However, if you don’t know how to use a sword
and don’t know a parry from a riposte, then read on!
This tutorial is for you! Having
said that, I’d like to start off by recommending a
book. The
book is, Actors on Guard by Dale Anthony Girard
and Amazon and other fine booksellers carry it.
It covers in great detail what we’re all
talking about with this “Staged” combat thing.
I think it is a must read for anyone wanting to
try their hand at this. Okay…here
we go. Contents On Lightsaber Prop Construction On the "Lightsaber 101" Combat system -- Parries -- Attacks On the Inevitable Double-bladed lightsaber On the subtleties of "wrist moves" On scripted variations and flourishes
In
real combat the object is to injure the opponent as
grievously as possible.
In “staged”
or arranged combat the emphasis must
be on safety first.
It need not be stated that injury must be avoided
at all cost lest the production suffer.
The object of “staged” combat is to provide dramatic and entertaining conflict in
order to punctuate appropriately a dramatic work. For this reason, attacks in “staged” combat should not be
effective at all, but should rely on the actors to make
them look believable and more severe than they actually
are. Further
realism can be attained through creative blocking of the
fight and by placing the camera in such a manner that
blows look like they are connecting, (but in fact are a
foot away from actual contact).
Another point regards complaints from some
audience members that some of the moves are not
realistic enough. For
instance, “Why
did the bad guy duck out of the way when the hero
vaulted over him, why didn’t he just jam his sword up
into the hero’s gut and kill him right there?”
The simple answer is, in a real
fight, he would’ve and the hero would be lying there
with a sword in his gut, but in a real
fight the hero would have never vaulted over the
villain in the first place.
The truth of the matter is that staged
combat is never like real
combat. Rather, think of staged
combat
as an elaborate dance set up to look
like real
combat. In actuality, real combat (especially with swords) is very
short, very brutal, and frankly not much fun to watch. If
one considers proficient swordsmen engaged in combat, in
the European fighting styles, with the exception of
probes and jabs to test an opponent’s defenses, combat
normally would stay in the single digits of attacks,
parries, and ripostes.
In the Oriental fighting systems, it would be
very unusual to see combat extend past one or two
strikes (this also accounts for director Akira Kurasowa
sending hordes of swordsmen to attack Toshiro Mifune in
order to make the fight last a little longer…but
Mifune kills each attacker in one or two strokes,
staying true to the style).
Also, anyone who has engaged in or watched foil,
epee’, or saber fencing can attest to a bout not
lasting past thirty seconds before a touch is called.
(That’s why fencing bouts score to five or
fifteen…not one).
Watching a one-touch bout is not very thrilling
and exciting to watch, and is usually over in seconds.
When you actually begin to think about it, no
matter how good you were, how daring and exciting would
you be if you were engaged in a sword fight that your
life depended on? You
would be as conservative as you could be, while trying
to kill your opponent as swiftly as possible.
The result would not be very dramatic or
thrilling to watch. Think
of your favorite movie fights.
Several great ones come to my mind; “The Mark
of Zorro” between Basil Rathbone and Tyrone Power,
“Rob Roy” between Tim Roth and Liam Neeson, of
course, the Jedi battle at the end of Episode I, between
Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul.
Now think about how many times one of the parties
should’ve been killed “if it had been real”.
I think you won’t get by a couple of seconds. Having
said that, there is a phenomenon unique to staged combat that, when safety
allows, should be avoided at all costs.
It happens all the time and most of us are guilty
of it at one time or another.
The trend is something I call “banging
sticks”. It
involves participants of a staged fight attacking each
other’s weapons, rather than attacking each other
resulting in banging sticks together.
(The broadway production “Stomp” does a great
job with this and it is very entertaining, but it is not
staged combat). Every
staged fight has some stick banging added in there to
make the fight last longer.
But, by and large, the fight looks a lot better
and has heightened dramatic interest if every move is
“check”. If
the audience has the perception that the individuals are
evenly matched and are really trying to kill each other
and that the first one who messes up is a goner, the
fight is that much better.
Again, bring to mind, the fight at the end of the
Episode I. Compare
the fight between Obi-Wan and Maul, after Qui-gon gets
stabbed, to the fight when both Jedi and the Sith are
fighting. Maul
is clearly playing with them towards the beginning.
During the first half of the fight, there are
many times when they should have killed each another but
didn’t. The
second half of the fight, between just Obi-Wan and Darth
Maul is extremely high intensity, every move is
“check”, and you get the idea that the first one to
make a mistake will be dead before he knows it.
It makes for a better fight and better engages
the audience. However,
how long can you keep that intensity up? With
consideration to the Jedi/Sith Lightsaber combat system,
the attacks, parries, blocks, and ripostes are seldom
realistic. Rather,
the fighting system is much more flamboyant than
practical. This
reflects the Jedi/Sith mastery and reliance of the
“Force”. Without
such mastery, common maneuvers such as, spinning around
in the face of your opponent (which so far, all Jedi do)
would be sheer suicide.
Rather, the combat system lends itself rather to
what “looks cool”, instead of what would be
practically sound, or indeed prudent, in actual combat.
For this reason, the attacks, parries, and
ripostes are more “open” than practical combat would
allow. These
larger movements are sometimes grossly exaggerated over
what the real combat maneuver would be.
This helps maintain a decent margin of safety and
allows the camera to better capture the motions of the
fight easily. It
also allows the audience to participate in the emotion,
and anticipate certain moves, of the fight.
This
brings up the subject of real versus “pulled”
attacks. Real
attacks attempt to break through an opponent’s
defenses in order to inflict injury. With a “pulled”
attack, the attacker knows where the defender’s parry
or block will be before he actually attacks.
Therefore, the “pulled”
attack should be made with only enough force to lightly
make contact with the opponent’s parry.
This is done for safety considerations so that if
the defender should make an error and miss their parry,
the attacker could stop their attack with minimal effort
and without causing injury to the defender.
(And believe me….I speak from experience here).
But Mike, you say, we’ve all seen the footage
of Ewan McGregor and Ray Park going at it so hard that
they are bending aluminum rods!
Doesn’t this fly in the face of everything
you’ve just said?
Yes it does!
But then they have Nick Gillard as a fight
coordinator and Ray Park has been doing this stuff for
how long? And
they have insurance against busted heads and such, and
months of practice.
How many fan films can afford to send cast
members to the hospital?
I know mine couldn’t.
So our motto is safety first, pulled
attacks are the only sensible choice. On “Lightsabers”
prop construction
When
considering the Jedi/Sith main weapon of choice, the
“lightsaber” (and variations thereof), one must
remember that it is essentially a massless weapon).
When constructing props that will be used for
staged combat it is important to keep this in mind and
ensure that the majority of the weapon’s weight and
mass is contained in the handle.
At the same time, the entire prop must be sturdy
enough to survive the rigors of staged combat.
The aim should be to place the balance point near
the “top” of the handle, where the “blade
emitter” would be if it were real.
This will result with a well-balanced weapon,
allowing it to move as if the blade were nearly without
mass. I
recommend using a metal handle such as those machined by
Parksabers (the old ones….I haven’t used the new
ones and so I can’t vouch for how they’ll hold up)
if you can find one. However, if fortune or budget does
not allow, a properly weighted plastic handle should
work. It is
also within reason to construct your own metal handled
stunt saber. Numerous
tutorials exist on the internet on how to do this.
A ¾” wooden dowel provides a readily
accessible and inexpensive blade. And, if I’m not mistaken, some successful fan filmmakers
like Clay Cronke (of “New World” and “Brains and
Steel” legend…see TFN Fanfilms) prefer the plastic
toy blades. Last
time I checked, these were set for “buy one get one
free” status at toy stores everywhere.
ASIDE: On numerous forum boards, I have read about how people do not
favor using a ¾” wooden dowel as a lightsaber blade. Instead, they recommend PVC piping and even aluminum poles.
Now, I know that on the films, the stunt sabers
were aluminum (at least on Episode 1) and if I were
making a fan film with Nick Gillard or Ray Park…then
by all means that might be what I used.
But! They
are professionals.
We are amateurs.
Please DO NOT USE metal saber blades.
During a fight mistakes will be made.
A ¾” wooden dowel will break before your head
does (again I speak from experience)…an aluminum pipe
will bust your head open.
BTW, if you are breaking ¾” wooden dowels
during “staged” combat…you need to “pull” your
attacks more. YOU
ARE HITTING TOO HARD!
During my fan film we had 9 different lightsabers
of various configurations…some were homemade, some
were Parksabers handles…8 of them survived the
production. The
one that didn’t, broke over my head, after the other
actor got caught up in the moment and hit a little too
hard and I missed my parry.
We wound up finishing the film and not having to
go to the emergency room because I used a ¾” dowel
and not an Aluminum tube.
Another moral to learn from this is to constantly
“settle yourself and your performers”.
Before each fight segment, remind people that,
this is “staged” combat…SAFETY FIRST!!! On the
Lightsaber 101 Combat System When
I decided to make my fan film, I wanted all my best
friends to be in it.
Unfortunately, after high school, life had
scattered us to the four winds.
Not all my friends could make it.
Those that could, could only fly in for the
weekend. And
due to reserving the location and the weather, we only
had 1 day to shoot.
Circumstances dictated that there would be little
or no time to rehearse the elaborate fight sequences I
had blocked out for the script.
So I shelved them. Now
I had a problem. How
was I going to have saber fights in my movie, without
time to rehearse? With
performers that had not fenced before and didn’t know
martial arts …without resorting to “Banging
Sticks!” (Mind you, a lot of “stick banging”
still wound up in the production, but so it goes.)
For most of my performers, the first time they picked up
a saber was the night before the shoot! Well…we
did it…and 95 percent of the fight sequences in the
film were unrehearsed!
(I don’t recommend
this…and I’m not bragging…If I had to do it
again…I wouldn’t have done it this way…but
circumstances dictated that it was that or nothing. And I wound up getting a dowel busted over my head for
it…so there you go.) LIGHTSABER
101! (insert reverb here) That’s right! You too can be a Jedi master in minutes. Right in the comfort of your own home! It’s just that easy. No. Seriously.
This is a very bare-bones, basic fight
choreography system and it takes some variations (see On
Flourishes and On Wrist Moves below) and
creative editing both in-camera and in post-production
to make it come off.
(Lots of takes, from different angles don’t
hurt either.) But
to reiterate, this is the most basic of fight
choreography systems, and is basically optimized for fan
film lightsaber combat.
I drew it up myself, so if the terminology for
the positions doesn’t match established fencing or
choreography systems, I apologize. During the following section, it will really help if you follow along with the attached pictures. I drew what I could (and I’m no artist either) and hopefully between my descriptions below, the stick diagrams, and example movies you can make sense of what I’m talking about.
1. {This
stance as I have described here, assumes a right-handed
person. If
left-handed your footwork may change, but since the
lightsaber is mostly a double-handed weapon, it should
not affect the actual fight movements at all.
You may want to try reversing the leading leg
position and seeing which is more comfortable or natural
for you.} The
first position is of course the En guarde position,
which I refer to as “Ready Postion I”.
This is the main position that all your moves
will be done from and also your main reference position.
You can accomplish all parries and attacks from
this stance very easily. Your
right leg should be placed forward with the knee
slightly bent. You
should be leaning forward slightly with your back kept
straight. The
foot of the rear leg should either be held at ninety
degrees to an imaginary line going from toe to heel of
the leading foot, or should be facing forward resting on
the ball of the foot, in order to spring into action. (The former if parrying, the latter if attacking.
More on that later, see On Footwork below).
The blade should be held directly in front of you
with both hands. If
your right foot is forward, your right hand should be
the top hand on the hilt, and vice-versa.
The tip of your blade should be at your
eye level, so that you can keep track of where the blade
is (if this were real the tip of the blade would
be pointing at your opponent’s eyes or heart…but
this is staged…so safety first).
Best example I can think of to illustrate this
position is the lightsaber duel in SW:ANH between
Obi-wan and Darth Vader. Variation:
Ready Position II My
nickname for this one is the “Conan stance”.
We see this a lot in Episode I.
Right from the start, this stance is very
limiting. But
it looks cool. You cannot execute many parries from this (except P5 and P1,
more on that later) attacks from this stance are always
very open and are almost always against the upper body,
making them very easy for the camera to spot.
This stance is also good for conveying a resolute
defensive posture. In
this stance the right leg is back, the left leg is
forward with the knee slightly bent, not locked.
The right foot is pointing ninety degrees away
from the direction the body is facing.
The right arm is cocked backwards and the left
arm is across the chest in order to maintain its hold on
the blade hilt. The
hilt should be parallel with the ear, with the top of
the hilt at approximately the same level as the ear and
the blade pointed straight up.
A lower variation occurs when the hilt is held at
about armpit level, but isn’t as flashy. (reference
pictures Sheets 2,3,4
all movements from neutral Ready Position I) 2. Parries
are extremely important because they are your defensive
moves. But
keep in mind, that if your opponent is pulling his
attacks properly you should have to worry about actually
defending yourself, since the moves are rehearsed
anyway. Once you’ve practiced your sequences you should concentrate
on making your parries look real instead of being
real. I
can’t stress this enough.
If you feel that your opponent is hitting too
hard and that you’re about to get clocked.
Yell “Cut!”, and address the situation, you
can always do another take, but not if you’re hurt.
Having said that though, a good rule of thumb is
to always parry with full force and never attack with
full force. That
way if someone gets overzealous they won’t power
through your defenses. Parry 1 (abbreviated as P1) From
the center Ready Position move the blade quickly to the
right so that your hands are about 8-12 inches to the
right of your body.
This is a defense against an attack to the upper
right side. Parry
2 (abbreviated as P2) From
the center Ready Position swing the blade in a
counter-clockwise arc so that it ends up pointing down,
either in front of, or just to the right of the right
leg. This
is a defense against an attack to right leg. Parry
3 (abbreviated as P3) From
the center Ready Position move the blade quickly to the
left so that your hands are about 8-12 inches to the
left of your body. This is a defense against an attack to the upper left side. Parry
4 (abbreviated as P4) From
the center Ready Position swing the blade in a clockwise
arc so that it ends up pointing down, either in front
of, or just to the left of the left leg.
This is a defense against an attack to left leg. Parry
5 (abbreviated as P5) From
the center Ready Position move the hilt to either side
of the head while moving the blade so that it rests at a
fifteen to thirty degree angle to an imaginary line
parallel to the ground.
The reason this is done instead of going straight
across, is that while you blade is at an angle it allows
your opponent’s weapon to slide down slightly and thus
dampens the impact (thus saving you some dowels and
maybe a busted head.
Again, can’t say this enough, if you’re
breaking dowels, you’re hitting too hard). Parry
6 (abbreviated as P6) The
“behind-the-back” maneuver.
From center Ready Position, move both arms over
your head rapidly so that the blade pointed downwards
protects your back.
This is very rare and executed only when
specifically scripted.
It does not appear as a standard parry in any of
the “boxes” mentioned below. Parry Full Box
(abbreviated PFB) A “Parry Full Box” simply means
that you are going to execute a sequence of every parry.
Now you can designate what your full box is going
to be. The
parries can be grouped in whatever order you want. However, just make sure that your Parry Full Box matches your
Attack Full Box or someone is going to get hurt. For the purposes of this tutorial, a full box is the
sequence of parries as follows: Parry 1, Parry 3, Parry
2, Parry 4, Parry 5.
(P1,P3,P2,P4,P5). But if you are scripting a fight, the only time you will do a
Parry Full Box is when your opponent is doing an Attack
Full Box. (BTW,
Full Boxes are great “filler” for pacing a fight in
between more specific moves and sequences). Parry Upper Box (abbreviated PUB) A “Parry Upper Box” is simply a
sequence of the upper parries.
So it would be Parry 1, Parry 3, Parry 5
(P1,P3,P5). Again,
the only time you’re doing a Parry Upper Box is when
the opponent is doing an Attack Upper Box. Parry
Lower Box (abbreviated PLB) A “Parry Lower
Box” is simply a sequence of the lower parries.
So it would be Parry2, Parry 4, Parry 5
(P2,P4,P5). Parry Example Movie ATTACKS(reference pictures Sheets 5,6,7 all movements from neutral Ready Position I) 5. Attacks are what
make the staged combat exciting.
A quick aside here though with emphasis on pulled
attacks. If
I know that I am going to attack my opponent’s
right side, and I know that he is going to parry
the attack, and in fact we’ve practiced it that way,
why should I still swing the blade hard enough to put it
through him? I
shouldn’t! I only need to swing the blade with enough force so that it
will reach his parry.
(Remember your opponent’s parries shouldn’t
be real!) So
please keep this in mind when executing attack moves. Attack 1 (A1) From Ready
Position I, swing the blade from left to right,
attacking your opponent’s right side.
The target of this attack is your opponent’s
right arm/right side of the chest.
This attack should not be targeted below your
opponent’s waist or above your opponent’s shoulder. Attack 2 (A2) From Ready
Position I, swing the blade in a counterclockwise arc
from left to right attacking your opponent’s
right leg. The
target of this attack is your opponent’s right leg.
This attack should not be targeted above the
waist. Attack 3 (A3) From Ready Position I, swing the blade from right to left, attacking your opponent’s left side. The target of this
attack is your opponent’s left arm/right side of the
chest. This
attack should not be targeted below your opponent’s
waist or above your opponent’s shoulder. Attack
4 (A4) From Ready
Position I, swing the blade in a counterclockwise arc
from left to right attacking your opponent’s
right leg. The
target of this attack is your opponent’s right leg.
This attack should not be targeted above the
waist. Attack
5 (A5) From
Ready Position I, swing the blade down in a wide loop
parallel to your body and finish it right above your
opponent’s head.
The blade should trace a path, that if continued,
would bisect your opponent in half.
It is extremely important that this attack
be pulled, because the target is the opponent’s head.
If you hit too hard and your opponent does not
parry just right, injury can very easily occur
(again…speaking from experience.) Attack
Full Box (AFB) Just
like in the Parries, an Attack Full Box runs through all
the attacks systematically.
Again, you can change the order of these attacks
but make sure that your Parry Full Box matches your
Attack Full Box, or mayhem will follow.
For the purposes of this tutorial, an Attack Full
Box is the sequence Attack 1, Attack 3, Attack 2, Attack
4, Attack 5 (A1, A3, A2, A4, A5). Attack
Upper Box (AUB) Attack Upper Box
runs through the upper attacks.
The sequence is Attack 1, Attack 3, Attack 5
(A1,A3,A5). Attack
Lower Box (ALB) Attack
Lower Box runs through the lower attacks.
The sequence is Attack 2, Attack 4, Attack 5
(A2,A4,A5). Example
Attack Movie
A very brief word
on footwork, footwork in fencing is critical.
Just like in boxing or other fighting systems, if
you don’t move your feet, you’re dead in the water.
Since this is the very basic fight system, I am
not going to cover ‘fancy’ footwork moves like
crossovers, ballestras, or fleches.
We’ll stick to the Advances and Retreats.
The general rule is that you Advance when
Attacking and Retreat when Parrying (I say
general…because this is staged combat we’re talking
about here…and you may want to parry while advancing
in order to close the distance so you can do some uber-cool
rehearsed stunt etc...).
Some fight coordinators actually script out the
footwork too, but for the purposes of this tutorial, we
are just going to assume that you advance with an attack
and retreat with a parry. Advance From
Ready Position, place the front foot forward,
heel-first, one step while pushing off the rear foot
toe-first. As
the front foot lands, the rear foot should come up one
step. The
feet should just barely clear the ground.
This is gliding motion.
Maintain the starting distance between your feet.
You should never wind up with your feet together.
Retreat From Ready
Position, rear foot glides back toe first propelled by
the forward foot heel first.
Each foot moves and equal step, thus maintaining
distance. One
more thing to add, remember that lightsaber combat
isn’t on a fencing strip, you can move sideways too! On the inevitable double-bladed
Lightsaber Ever since we all
saw the first teaser for Episode I, we all thought the
double-bladed lightsaber was cool. And many fan films either incorporate them or want to.
Can the “Lightsaber 101” system be used with
a double-bladed saber?
Absolutely!
But be warned, the results you’re going to get
are more along the lines of European quarter-staff
combat rather than the spinning Oriental (Bo) staff
moves that we see in Episode I and “Duality”.
Quarterstaff fighting is not as dynamic
(especially when you can’t slide your hands up and
down the length of the staff).
So, be warned, you will have to spice up your
moves a bit, with modified footwork and some flourishes.
Otherwise all the moves stay the same, just pick
which blade you’re going to attack or parry with. Example
Double-Bladed Lightsaber Movie. If you want the
book definition, a riposte is simply an attack made
after a successful parry.
But for the purposes of this tutorial, we’re
going to get more specific.
In the “Lightsaber 101” system, a riposte is
a quick counter-attack after a parry, and more
importantly, a counter-attack made without the normal
large swinging movements of our normal attacks.
In other words, the riposte is not telegraphed
nearly as much as a normal attack, and as such, becomes
a much faster maneuver.
Because of the speed involved with a riposte, be
especially on your guard for safety concerns and
adhering to the fight script. On the subtleties of “wrist”
moves Although these
“wrist” moves are not discussed or depicted in the
“Lightsaber 101” attachments, they will cursorily be
described below. Many
of the movements are identical to the “Lightsaber
101” system except that the origin of the movement
comes from the wrist rather than from the shoulder or
the elbow. For
instance, the sequence “attack 3, attack 1, parry 1”
sequence using only the wrist would be as described
below: With
the right elbow nearly “pinned” to the right side,
swing the blade with only the wrist to attack opponents
left side in the “attack 3” movement.
Assuming the blade does not meet a parry, block,
or target, and completes its full arc, immediately swing
the blade from your left to your right in a backhand
motion attacking the opponent’s right side and
completing the “attack 1” move.
The “parry 1” movement is accomplished from
this position (once again assuming that the “attack
1” move has not met a parry or target) by rolling the
wrist so that the blade pivots around your wrist in a
circle covering your entire right side.
(Note:
watch Obi-wan and Qui-Gon in Ep. I.
They are particularly fond of this maneuver when
they fight battle droids. Often they use the “circle parry 1” move, not as an
actual parry, but simply as a means of returning to the
ready (en guarde) position and pressing their attack.) On
Scripted Variations and Flourishes A flourish is
simply a showy display of a weapon.
It can mean whipping it around your head, tossing
it up and flipping it around and catching it. Basically, any move you do that really adds nothing to the
offensive or defensive nature of the fight, but looks
cool anyway. Think
of it this way. If
it is a move you would never do in a real fight, because
it doesn’t help you.
But it looks pretty cool.
Chances are it’s a flourish.
Well, without flourishes, this basic system gets
very boring, very fast.
And that is Bad with a capital “B”, for
staged combat. So
you need to add flourishes in there, especially with
Jedi and Sith. So
toss in the occasional flip (if you can do it), or
spinning around moves.
Just make sure that they fit in with your overall
fight. And
above all, if you’re going to take the time to do a
flourish, make sure it looks cool!
I mean, that’s the whole point right? Just a
brief word about tempo and pacing.
A fight is basically a physical argument.
When you argue, you don’t speak in a monotone,
you yell and shout, you interrupt one another, there are
moments of silence.
The same thing goes for staged combat.
There are shouts and stop-hits and periods of
just circling and feeling each other out.
Now a big part of this will be done in the
editing phase of the fight, but keep it in mind when
scripting and filming and it will make things a lot
easier. Now, in this system, I have left out a lot. I’ve left out stop-hits, binds, disengages, lunges, thrusts, etc…, all a vital part of swordplay. Well, this tutorial is only meant to whet your appetite and to try to give you a safe basis to work from. If you want to get into that stuff, check out the book I mentioned at the beginning, or your local martial artists. Also look for local fencing clubs, believe it or not, many community colleges have them. And they would be more than happy to show you. I
wanted to include just a very brief short to give you an
idea of what it looks like when all put together.
In this segment, two Jedi are fighting a Sith
(who is using a double-bladed light saber).
Below, I have scripted out the fight as it
appears (post edit process).
So that you can understand how the scripting
process works. Read
the scripting then watch the twenty second clip and see
if you can name the moves as they are done.
This is a very simple fight segment and yet I
think it comes off looking very good.
(Keep in mind that the double-bladed saber is
using European quarterstaff technique with some
flourishes thrown in for spice). Here’s
how it goes:
Then
there’s a slight pause for pacing as Jedi 2 appears
and enters the fight,
I certainly hoped
this helped. At the very least this should give folks a very basic
starting point for some organized staged combat.
Remember, Safety First!
You can’t make your film if your melon is
cracked open or you’ve got broken bones. Be
safe, have fun, and good luck on your film.
I
look forward to seeing it. UPDATE: Recently got an email from a knowledgeable guy, decided to reprint it here. Dear Michael, I recently enjoyed reading your tutorial on TFN regarding Lightsaber combat in FanFilms. Particularly impressive was the fact taht you must have done a decent amount of research as you are a professed amateur who apparently has learned quite a bit about the basics. I am currently invovled as swordmaster in a feature length fan-film which should be finishing up this summer (hopefully). I also am a fencing instructor of the Classical Fencing Society Salle d'Armes, a fencing group which focuses not on modern sport fencing but rather on the western martial art of fencing. I just wanted to add a few thoughts from my experience if you don't mind and perhaps you might apend them to your tutorial. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
