Film Riot is a YouTube channel (as the host Ryan Connolly puts it, speaking very fast) that takes the mystery out of the effects and techniques that go into your favourite Hollywood films. While this does mean that most of their combat is dependent on visual effects and editing, it also means that they can keep their combat very safe.
Here are some of my favourite episodes featuring fight scenes:
Quicktips: Realistically Punch Faces!
Too busy to watch? (As if the episode weren't short enough!) Here's a summary:
- Traditional punch: operator sends fist beside victim, but cutting viewer's sight-line
- Speed ramping
- Extending the forearm in VFX
Throw Knives at your Friends!
Both done with masking.
The Fight Choreography for 'LOSSES'
This is the "behind the scenes" video for the feature fight in their short film: http://bit.ly/lossesfilm
Smash Heads With A Bat & Vomit Realistically!
To summarize the baseball bat hits:
- Reverse footage for the hit. I've used this method for smashing a head on the floor.
- Mask a post that is hit instead of the actor, film the reaction separately and overlay
- Like a punch, send the bat behind the victim, film it with a long focal length to visually compress the space
Just Subscribe Already
If you like what you've seen, they have many other tutorials, especially on action-movie effects like:
- Setting friends on fire
- Car crashes and vehicle hits
- Guns and bullet hits... so many episodes on guns
- Bloodtober: blood products and effects, decapitation by various means, other creepy effects
- Magic and superhero effects like flying, teleporting, laser guns, etc.
Budding filmmakers should watch every episode, since they also cover lighting, cinematography, colour grading and editing, locations... basically all of the elements of low-budget film from start to finish.
They also sell a massive sound-effects pack for fights that I highly recommend for any filmmaker who wants to create fight scenes. This is not your average low-quality foley CD; it's hundreds of high quality sound files, custom recorded by a foley expert with professional equipment, all well-organized and ready for film editing. Their store is here: http://bit.ly/triunefightsfx
Head of Stage Combat at Academie Duello and certified Instructor with Fight Directors Canada. Head of Bartitsu at Academie Duello, the longest continuously running Bartitsu program in the world. Read more from David McCormick.