How To Direct An Action Movie
The three types of action movies are: Live Action, Movie for TV, and Miniseries. The three types of action movies that I’m going to discuss are:
- Live Action
- Movie for TV
- Miniseries.
Live action movies
The first type of action movie that I’m going to discuss is a live action movie. The action in this type of movie is usually a combination of man against man and nature.
It’s a genre of movies that will always be around. Action movies of this type are typically made using either a very long shooting schedule or actors doing large amounts of physical activity.
As such, this type of action movie is not for every director. If you have any previous experience with stage acting, then this may be something that you’re interested in.
Of course, if you do, I’d strongly recommend that you get some training in to be safe.
For instance, fight scenes in this type of movie usually require the actors to use their whole bodies. And one wrong move on the part of the actor can result in injury, causing a change in the direction of the shoot. I’ve seen this happen countless times.
Action movies for TV
The second type of action movie that I’m going to discuss is a TV series.
The action in this type of movie is usually being used for establishing shots to show the scope of the action. These movies are usually based on one book or a well-known series.
However, it’s still an action movie because of its visual style, because of the long shooting schedule, and because of the physical requirements of the actors and crew.
Again, if you have any previous experience with stage acting, then this may be something that you’re interested in.
For instance, fight scenes in this type of movie usually require the actors to use their whole bodies. And one wrong move on the part of the actor can result in injury, causing a change in the direction of the shoot.
I’ve seen this happen countless times.
How to direct an action movie
The types of movies that I’m going to discuss are generally very long. It’s not unusual to shoot for a week or even a month without a break.
In general, a director should have the ability to direct actors well and be able to show this to the audience. On average, a movie is about 2 hours long.
If the director is able to direct all of the action scenes without breaking the pacing, then the audience should be left with the impression that everything that they’ve seen was shown in one sitting.
This is generally very difficult to do because it’s very easy to lose the audience’s attention. However, a good director can achieve this.
The action in this type of movie typically consists of long shots showing wide-open space with shots featuring only one person.
The action is shown in a stylized fashion with the director preferring to show the physical movements of the characters rather than allowing the camera to show what is happening in the background.
If you’re able to master the art of directing action scenes, then you should be able to make an amazing job of directing an action movie.
Now that I’ve explained the two types of action movie that I’m going to discuss, I want to share with you some of the things that I’m going to suggest that you do in order to make your movie an amazing success.
Directing an action movie
If you’re able to show the audience everything that they need to see, then it may help to describe the plot of your action movie as you’re working on the scene.
So you might consider describing what you’re doing on the set as you’re doing the scene.
It’s important to be aware of the size of the action scene so that you’re able to direct the actors to do the best work that they possibly can. So a good strategy is to allow them to do as much as they can without overloading them.
The director may want to stop filming as soon as they feel that the scene has been shot.
If you have an excellent script and the director is able to direct their actors perfectly, then the audience will be left with the impression that all of the action scenes have been filmed in one sitting.
This type of action movie can take anywhere from 2-5 days to shoot, depending on how much time the director is able to dedicate to the project. A good general guideline for this type of movie is to shoot for 2 or 3 hours of the shooting schedule.
The camera movements will be extremely quick, requiring a great deal of skill on the part of the director. You should have a lot of confidence in your ability to direct this type of action film.
You should be able to stop and start filming as soon as you feel that the action has been shot. The good news is that you don’t have to worry about rushing around trying to keep the audience’s attention for the whole day.