Genre Conventions: Action

For our genre exercise we will be creating a short action film.

"Action film is a genre wherein physical action takes precedence in the storytelling. The film will often have continuous motion and action including physical stunts, chases, fights, battles, and races. The story usually revolves around a hero that has a goal, but is facing incredible odds to obtain it. "
(The Script Lab, n.d., para.1)

The Action genre is very wide and can include Action-Comedy, Action-War, Disaster Films, Action-Adventure, Superhero, Martial Arts etc.  Generally the action genre is more about the pace and style of the cinematography and storytelling then the themes or setting of the film (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Crime, Spy films etc can all be action films)
  
Like any genre, Action films come with their own set of cinematography conventions and visual clichés.  Our group briefly discussed this the other day and listed quite a few of these.  As a refresher this is what we came up with:

• High Shutter
• Quick cuts
• Shaky cam/ handheld shots
• Close ups -usually combined with fast cuts
• Use of very wide shots
• Slow Motion
• POV's
• Sweeping camera 180°/360°s

While researching action films I also came across the 'whip pan' which is often used in action films and can be seen in most of the below examples.  The whip pan can be used as a transition to conceal a cut but also can be used to describe a rapid panning shot which follows an action.  On occasion it can be used to double as a POV shot. 

 
Here are a few film examples, looking mostly at fight and chase scenes:

The Raid Redemption (2011), Directed by Gareth Evans:




The Raid Redemption is an Indie Film which premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.  I haven't seen the film in its entirety but I stumbled across it while researching the action genre.

The above sequence uses of a large number of the cinematography techniques we had identified earlier, but also shows a couple we hadn't thought of initially.  These are the 'whip pan' seen at 0:44 which follows the action, and also the use of a variety of shots and camera angles (bird's eye, worm's eye, dutch tilt) etc.

This sequence makes use of shaky, handheld camera for the majority of the shots.  Not only are there a number of close ups the clip also demonstrates the use of the very wide shot at 0:37.

I'm not sure what has been used in terms of shutter in this sequence but judging from the motion blur I'm guessing that it is not an especially tight shutter angle.  


The Bourne Supremacy (2004):




Shot angle variations (birds eye view at the start is one example), shaky cam, quick cuts and close ups are among the cinematography techniques used in the car chase scene above. There are also a couple of POVs but they are cut so quickly that it isn't obvious (2:07), and a short "Whip Pan" at 1:01.


The Bourne Ultimatum (2007):



I decided to look at another Bourne example as this one is a foot chase and fight scene.  The shaky cam doesn't seem quite as erratic as the car chase from The Bourne Supremacy and this might be in part because of how it is inter-cut with steadier footage.   Once again close ups and variations in camera angles are used a lot throughout the clip.

This scene also includes slow motion shot which we often associate with Action films (1:13).  The whip pan is also much more obvious in this sequence than the previous and is used as a transition at 1:02. 


Hot Fuzz (2007):




While the previous examples show the genre conventions clearly, they are both serious films.  This isn't a necessity for an action film.  Hot Fuzz (2007) for example is an Action-Comedy, which parodies a lot of the conventions of an action film.

Even though they are parodied cinematography techniques can be clearly be seen in the above clip: whip pans, close ups, extreme wides, fast cuts, slow motion, handheld etc.  At the end of the clip (2:44) another of the techniques we identified which didn't show up in the previous examples can be seen, the camera 360°.  It's pushed to the extreme here due to the nature of the film but is often played straight in other action films.

Another important note to make here is about lighting.  Action films aren't defined by the lighting used any more than they are by the setting and this is illustrated quite clearly by the differences in the style of these films.  The lighting has been chosen to enhance the mood of the story, so it is obvious that a serious action film will use lighting with stronger contrast than one with a comedic tone. 





References:

http://thescriptlab.com/screenplay/genre/action#