@LittleGremlin001
“‘It’s a movie’ (story) isn’t your free pass to treat everything as unimportant, but it is your free pass to decide what’s important.” I love this quote so much.
@M4TCH3SM4L0N3
I have a feeling that at some point, some studio-head was like, "What do you mean she's just called 'the lady'? Who ever heard of a main character without a name? You will lose the audience; the character has to have a name to be relatable! What? What does Clint Eastwood and some Italian guy have to do with this? We're selling Western films here, not some Spaghetti-loving art house film: I'm talking AMERICAN WESTERN. Give the broad a name by next week or lose her, I don't care which!" And that's how I imagine Sharon Stone came to be credited as 'Ellen.'
@crouton_1823
"god doesn't play dice. And as a writer, you are god."
@beepbow8444
Bloobus LOSES A POUND OF FLESH.
@capitalistraven
I think probably the best example of this principle is martial arts films. No one ever wins just because they're better, everyone is good at fighting so there has to be some reason your protagonist is gooder. Usually there's the premature showdown to demonstrate the protagonist isn't ready yet and gets their but kicked, then they learn and grow and because of that growth they win
@GodBox.INFINIUM
Like the old saying goes, “Early bird catches the peak writing advice to propel the, past the competition, securing their future as the best writer on the face of the planet. Be on the lookout for INFINIUM.” Thanks Local script guy 👍🏾
@YourGuySmallFry
When "making characters fight" it's important to create a situation that is impossible for both characters to benefit from. Only one character will succeed and that's what creates the conflict, otherwise they'd just compromise and avoid a fight.
@JackLowry
This is so good I'm gonna put an action scene in my romantic drama, can't wait for my female lead to go to battle with an alien invader.
@michaelkaruza490
"Funko pop people" got me rolling on the floor. Thank you.
@unorthodoxunicorn1307
My only counter-point to this really good essay is that the 'winner' of a fight isn't always the character who's still alive by the end of it. If a good action scene is one that's linked to the psychological development of the characters involved, then so is the determination of who the victor and the loser are in that action scene as well. While the tile-shard-thingy is definitely a convenience, Rick dies firmly believing in his ideals while Peacemaker's conviction in his own ideals weakens, resulting in his inevitable fuckening. There's also the possibility that both sides in an action scene can 'lose' the fight, regardless of the physical outcomes. If a story's theme is 'A' (what the writer/god believes is 'right') and the two characters whacking each other over their heads believe in 'B' (what the writer/god believes is wrong), then the winner would have to deal with consequences that mimic the pain that the loser experienced. A good example of this would be (spoilers for The Last of Us Part II) Ellie killing Nora. Nora gets tortured to death and Ellie gets the information she wants from her, but Ellie's actions result in her own mental torture.
@aliseotmane6112
Where most would just shrug or lie awake one random night feeling anxious about the video essay that didn't live up to its full potential, this guy puts his money where his mouth is and DOES OVER, like he promised he would. Outstanding. The rigor, ethics and dedication to your craft is a goddamn example to us all and I shall never again clash my character action figures randomly together - unless that's somehow a selfaware plot point. Also did you just call me a fornicator?!
@toddnichols6153
Action scenes in action movies are like songs in musicals. It's not just "if you take the song/action scene out, you miss something" - no, the song/action scenes are the cruxes of the whole story, the part where you see the epitome, the incarnation of what's going on in the plot and characters. The non-action stuff, the few lines that aren't sung - those are just the tissue that connects the songs/action scenes where we really see the characters. The classic Disney 'I Want' song that sets up everything important you expect from the main character. The climactic battle that shows you that, now that your previously solo protagonist is willing to accept help, your hero with his friends defeats the main villain in a way he wouldn't have if it weren't for the unique tactics, talents, whatever of those friends he tried to fight without. If it's a key inner conflict an important character, have them sing it. If there's a conflict between the protagonist and his lancer, have them fight it out in the ring. If the action or the songs are what drives your audience to experience your story, make the action or songs the place where the 'juice' is in the story. Then, it's not just cinematic junk food.
@_zurr
The video is great, but I'm especially glad because you BROUGHT UP THE PEACEMAKER FIGHT AGAIN! I've been wanting to respond to that shit in a way that works with the emotional variables in this video. The Suicide Squad doesn't actually use conviction as the primary variable, it's actually the value of action in the face of death. And in this way Rick losing because of luck is thematically sticky to how the others die in the film, but Rick's death actually has meaning in driving Peacemaker reflect on his convictions and its possibility of being wrong, in spite of his victory.
@haroldp.sadwood1181
I want to point out the John Wick movies as a popular example of action movies that get to have their cake and eat it too in this regard. All four movies are, cover to back, a series of action scenes where John Wick & friends tear through legions of bad guys because they're built different and it's awesome to watch. However, when it really counts at the end of each movie, the final conflict comes down to more than that.
In the first movie, John gets the obvious motivation of his dog being killed, which is a stand in for his dead wife and his memory of her. He uses this willpower to tear through armies of dudes in suits until he's captured, which is the first scene where he wins not because he's better, but because he has friends and people he relies on, which is a recurring theme, that no man is an island. Willem Dafoe helps him out, and he confronts the big bad Russian, who he forces to give up his son. John gets his revenge, and big bad Russian has to come to terms with the fact that he sold out his son to save his own life. Willem Dafoe is caught and murdered, and we fast track to the final confrontation. Big bad Russian is now exposed, having given up his son and being driven to insane action. He sends his right hand man out to die, and he loses the final fight with John Wick not just because he's better, but because he has literally given up everything he had (his son mostly), while John still has everything he was fighting for. Okay, onto the second movie.
The second movie is pretty simple. Just when John thought he was out, they pulled him back in, and the guy who pulled him back in is obviously the antagonist. In the first half of the movie, John is basically working on autopilot, not really certain what he's fighting for, and is forced to kill a friend. However, when the dude that hired him inevitably turns on him, he is given a proper revenge motivation and is again forced to turn to his friends for aid, which is the only reason he makes it out, again. The bad Italian man gets cocky and thinks he's safe inside the hotel, only for John Wick to shoot him in the end and break the hotel's rules ("Jonathan, no. No, Jonathan, don't do it. If you shoot him, we'll take away all your gold doubloons, Jonathan, I swear.) The guy loses to his hubris, and John wins because there's nothing left for him to lose by breaking the rules. This one is barely a fight at the end and all comes down to the themes.
Okay, so the third movie is long and has a ton of final fights, but really it hinges on John figuring out what the hell he's actually fighting for. He's basically just in survival mode, but now that he's excommunicado, he decides his best bet is to get himself reinstated, and when he meets the French dude from La Haine, he says outright that he's living to remember his wife. However, when he is told to kill Winston in order to be reinstated, he gets close, but refuses, showing that his loyalty to his friends is really what's keeping him around. The final fight really is just a slog that John wins because he's built different, but it involves others fighting alongside him to win, for the most part, which is cool. Then, the ultimate betrayal happens when Winston shoots him off the building. Also, I should mention that the movie has been showing the consequences of John's actions on his friends the whole time, with his Russian posse, Winston, and Larry Fishburne being punished for his actions.
Finally, the fourth movie kinda rolls back the ending of the third by making John Wick friends with Winston again, but it keeps his ending motivation to tear down the Table. This is because they are the ones punishing his friends, but also it is the only way he could ever really be free. Lots of shit happens with lots of characters, and it finally comes to a head with Bill Skarsgard. John loses the fight with his blind friend because, for the first time in the series, he has more of a reason to win than John (protecting his daughter) and John more or less lets him win. Bill Skarsgard then loses due to his hubris (again, always happens with these villains) and John frees his friends, plus himself by dying.
So yeah, in conclusion, you can have the most action-heavy, pew pew movies ever and still end them off with a satisfying, meaningful final conflict that addresses the themes of the movie. They're not perfect, but damn are they good.
@KateHolden
When making action scenes for my comics, I start from "moments" first to create structure. Think about your "big panels" first, which are the equivalent of a big, panning slo-mo shot or a pause in the action for speech, rest or tension. Then run in these staccato small panels/shots/ moments that build the tension up to them (side note: modern long scroll comics are often bad for action because they don't use small panels effectively, everyshot is a big full-bleed panel and it just drags). I find that showing the emotional reaction to every action really helps add narrative power and ground the fight, stopping it being like watching action figures bashed together. Rhythm and emotional payoff are key!
@jacksobrooks
I thought I had hallucinated this upload when I went to watch it last night. Good to know that my brain is functioning perfectly in every way.
@ira-jay
In defense of the Rick flag vs peacemaker fight, the way I see it is that one massive reoccurring thing in the movie is about the characters having someone by their side, whether it is just a someone or it’s a group or even a country. Rick lost because he lost his loyalty to America with no one with him to back him up and be there for him (he and ratcatcher were not close at all. She even seemed emotionally against him defecting up until he was killed) but peacemaker still had his iron strong loyalty and so he, the one backed by America in his heart, of course beat Rick who in his heart was betrayed by the country he gave all of his support to. Peacemaker then went on to try and kill rat catcher and then “died” to bloodsport, who seeing the girl he had solidified a connection mutually, being held at gunpoint by the guy who was now abandoning his team and severing a group of people he had at his side, locked in and popped his ass. Because American never really was on peacemakers side, they did not give a fuck about him, but ratcatcher and bloodsport had a real connection, which is something Rick didn’t have at all at that point. So Rick lost because he had no connections while peacemaker had at least a one sided fake connection. Then peacemaker lost because his fake connection didn’t stack up to the real connection formed between bloodsport and ratcatcher, he lost to the power of friendship, and Rick’s death was. NOT random, or even for the sake of the plot. At least that’s what it is to me
@Minusoh
That character sheet has been helping me a bunch in realizing my two main characters wouldn't act like I had planned for the story, so I'm really looking forward to a second version that goes into more detail!
@hbison5360
So nice, I'll watch it twice.
@ZelphTheWebmancer