Technical Research

FILMING TECHNIQUES:

• Shaky Cam: The shaky cam made popular by the Bourne films. This is used to create tension by bringing the audience into the action by use of erratic movements. This has transformed into one of the biggest pet peeves in action cinema today. It really depends on how it is used and to what effect it is used during the movie.

• Slow Motion: A film technique as old as the genre itself. It is used to either showcase a really cool action set piece or stunt or increase the drama of a particular scene.

• Zoom: Used mostly for dramatic effect with the director having the camera zoom in to an object or an actor’s face during a tense scene.

• Tracking Shots: Camera shots that follow/track our actor(s) throughout the action scene. They can be either edited together or done in one take. Think the hallway scene in Oldboy or the shootout scene in Heat. A brilliant example of this is the opening sequence of The Avengers - Age Of Ultron.

• Quick Cuts/Fast Paced Shots: Most often connected with the styles of Michael Bay and Tony Scott, this style is a really popular form of filming to increase that feeling of high stakes that is necessary in action films in order to become effective.

• Lens Flares: A most recent film technique used to enhance the realism of the scene by enhancing the light reflections in a scene to put you in the action. It can be really annoying when it is overused (Battleship), but it can still be a cool effect in moderation

• Crane Shots: The bird’s eye view shots that are usually seen in fantasy films. Take the wide shots of the location in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.