Stunts: fights and falls

[Music] hi my name is jock Mahoney in the good old days of motion pictures when the director had to film a fight the director take the heaviest side and inform him the leading man was upset and was going to land a few good ones then the director take the leading man aside and tell him that the heavy was going to make a real fight out of the scene leading man better put the heavy away quick well to everyone CH grin real fights didn't come off on the screen so Alan pal Roy at Warner Brothers realized that there had to be a technique developed so he took cameras and a gagle of stunt men through trial and error developed the screen fight technique that we use today now in the good old days they usually schedule fights the last day of the picture with the picture already shot if someone was hurt so what today the entire action is handled by train stuntmen you all right no trouble good it was a nice fall may I introduce Chuck CLA who will be working with us in stunts number one thank you CH audience has live vicariously and action is a big part of that game now if there's a credibility gap in what you see it becomes a farce Meet The public's demand for new and more exciting scenes the risks involved are multiplied actor contracts will prevent them from doing dangerous stunts even if a man wants to do his own work because of insurance policies stuntmen are ready willing and able to take the risks that is for adequate compensation and often for the challenges to prove that can be done plus adequate compensation there's an old saying here in Hollywood that the toughest part of any stunt is get the assistant director to agree on your price the third member of our group that'll be helping a show technique today in stance number one is Jay Jones gentlemen you want to get started now no athlete in the world would think of doing anything without first a good [Music] warm-up most people are in less than top physical condition but first and foremost for every stunt man is a good warm-up as it should be for you [Music] you're going to film a fight sequence the first thing you have to consider is the camera camera only has one eye therefore it's depth perception is very bad but that's good the camera in the correct position on a punch it'll be real and it'll be a hit that same punch with a different camera angle you'll definitely see that it's a Miss film normally goes through a camera 24 frames a second you can actually throw a punch between frames that means that the camera misses the punch and the audience is cheated so you have to set a punch up in three parts you set the punch this gives the audience the inkling of the coming action and also your partner sees that the punch is going to start the punch must travel the longest distance possible before the point of impact so set it long travel to the point of impact and then follow through same on The Roundhouse left set it longest distance possible to the point of impact impact and then your follow through at a normal working distance you have no problem missing but say you're working much closer you have to start your punch exactly the same but bringing it on a flat plane closer to your chin than your opponent's chin for a very simple reason if you bring it closer to his chin on the follow through you're going to get him with an elbow so start it out here normally on a flat plane right straight across closer to your chin than to his chin and the follow through again Chuck and Jay would like to show you the proper head takes for different punches okay do the uppercut again and get in there that's it beautiful okay block the punches now right and the left okay block at a kick beautiful when you using a high camera angle shooting down actors rehearse a slow punch so the cameraman can adjust the proper impact height as he sees it through the camera no matter how off the mark it seems to the actors that's where the punch must travel for the correct result on film a low angle camera shooting up at the actors is set the same way you ask the camera man to advise you with the right line of travel that the punch must take to hurt a fellow actor is unforgivable so ability cooperation and safety are your Prime concern now the fine line between an injury and believability is control and practice control and practice take all the time that you need to rehearse a fight sequence until you're absolutely comfortable with it and don't get in front of the cameras until you are now if you're the guy that's taking a bump or a fall make sure you know how you're going to land and where you're going to land now what if you're going to take a high fall there's an old adage and it isn't the fall that killed you it's a sudden stop I've been told that a Russian fell from an airplane at 13,000 ft landed in a deep snow bank and was able to dig his way out and walk away he was shaken but he wasn't injured the snow compressing under him brought his Landing to a gradual stop now often in a motion picture when a precipitous fall is eminent and incorporated into a fight sequence the audience will eventually see the fall in three cuts the real actor takes a punch and his reaction tells tells us that he's about to fall the second cut is a long shot in which a stunt man doubles for the actor continues the action for the fall itself without showing its completion the last cut shows the real actor seemingly hitting the ground on impact it's most important that the stunt man matches the actor's position as he starts his fall and that his body flying past camera or out the bottom of camera duplicates the actor's position for the shot of impact the film editor cuts the three scenes together and interesting sequence [Applause] results in order to learn bodily control in the air one of the best things to use that I know is a diving board I'd like to show you a few Dives that uh will help you with your coordination [Music] a jack [Music] knife Swan Dive half twist half Gainer with a half twist [Music] another excellent way to master bodily control and coordination is to use a [Music] trampoline now don't take unnecessary risks working alone a couple of spotters can Aid you out of possible Danger [Music] for a high fall stuntmen frequently use Nets air pads or empty cardboard cartons to land on the boxes are assembled by simply interlocking the end [Music] flaps once assembled all sharp Corners are Hammer flattened a very important safety consideration [Music] in placing the boxes the stunt man doing the fall determines positioning and how large the stack must be as to height and width a piece of canvas is placed over the boxes to hold the pile together on [Music] impact once the ends of the tarp have been lashed together securely our man is ready for a practice fall when he lands on the tarp covered boxes air compressing as the box has collaps will cushion is fall that is providing the physics equation is correct and everything else goes well 1 2 3 are you all right all of the proced meetings prepared us for a fight sequence like this one this is what It All Leads up to [Music] he [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] m [Music] I