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bjbj Elements of the action genre show up in one way or another in every other genre
that s out there. To understand how to make your very own action video, the first thing
that you re gonna need to think about is how these projects are defined, some of their
style, then how to shoot with a variety of camera angles, and lastly how to edit it and
put it together. An action movie is defined by a story that is primarily carried forward
through physical action. The story involves a hero and their efforts in dealing with the
bad guy. Action has been associated with many other genres since as early as the 1920s,
but it didn t take off as its own genre until the 1970s. There are many different variations
of the action genre. Some of the more popular subgenres include the action-adventure, thrillers,
and martial arts. The big emphasis during an action-adventure film centers around the
travels, conquests, struggles, and situations that the protagonist is faced with, rather
than a simple emphasis on violence and physicality. Action thrillers often build their stories
around a race against the clock, contain a lot of violence, and usually have a very obvious
antagonist. Elements of the crime, drama, and mystery genre are very apparent, although
they stand secondary to the action. Martial arts films are dominated by physical action
and generally focus more on the fight scenes themselves rather than the characters. Their
primary appeal is how well these scenes play out rather than moving the story along, and
often stand in place as a method of storytelling and character expression and development.
Action movies can take on a variety of different styles, but one of the biggest consistencies
is quick forward motion. With such a heavy emphasis on physical activity, motion is the
primary focus. Lighting for this genre generally centers around how the scene is gonna be cut
together in post, so in most cases everything is lit up fairly evenly to make the subject
or subjects stand out. Shooting outdoors is going to require understanding when the best
time to shoot actually happens to be. Depending where you re located, these are the hours
of 5:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., or the hour before sunrise and before sunset,
also known as the magic hour. No genre uses more camera angles than the action genre.
Whether it s mounted, moving, or zooming in and out, if you can make it happen and it
makes sense, do so. They key is to grab a variety of separate shots. Never limit yourself.
There is no such thing as too many angles, so be sure to think outside the box. The first
thing to think about is camera placement. Using a variety of angles keeps the pace high
and the action dynamic. The more creative the shots are, the more energetic the visual
become. Take a look at this example.
Next step: You need to consider how the placement is gonna trick the audience. If we shot a
fight scene using only wide angles we would expose the fact that the subjects really aren
t anywhere near making physical contact with each other. This is why it s a good idea to
have the subjects work with some depth of field between them so that the distance is
closed off. This will make it appear as if they re much closer to each other, and the
use of a variety of angles will make it appear as if they re making physical contact with
one another. The last element to this genre is tying everything together when you edit
the piece. Action films are built around quick, fast-paced thematic editing set to a heavy,
beat-driven soundtrack. Sometimes the cuts are so fast that you can t even see what s
happening, or the action is sped up but the sound effects are kept at the same speed.
This plays a mental trick on us and lets our brain think that we ve seen something that
we actually haven t. Because these shots move so quick, it seems as if the subject is running
through the group of bad guys left and right; however, this only works because the video
is being sped up and the sound effects are being added. Because it plays out so quick
the brain makes a mental connection and the clips make sense to us visually. Another editing
technique to keep in mind is cutting on the action. This is a technique where you would
cut from one video clip to another that matches the same action as the first video. This gives
the impression of continuous action. Since these cuts take place during some sort of
motion we tend to accept the movements as happening in real time, even though in reality
they may have happened hours apart. The main thing to think about when it comes to the
action genre is thinking outside of the box and making sure that what you re shooting
feels dynamic and captures the physical nature of the script, and the story is carried along
throughout that action. [End of Audio] The Action Genre Page PAGE of NUMPAGES Female
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Office Word Verbal Ink The Action Genre Title Microsoft Word 97-2003 Document MSWordDoc
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