In honor of the appearance of Russian subtitles and Russian dubbing for “Merantau” (for which special thanks to Slav and zamez ;)), I bring to your attention part of James Plumb’s interview with the film’s director Gareth Evans. Since some standard questions and answers were published on the site earlier, I had to choose the most interesting - the part dedicated to fight choreography and staging.
Are there any differences or challenges between writing an action film script and writing a drama script? For example, are fights motivated by the actions of the characters or by the need for combat to occur at certain points in the film?
GE: While I'm a huge fan of martial arts films, I think it's especially important to create each fight sequence within the context of the story. It's important that every use of Silat is the result of a natural progression of the storyline, and not just blatantly inserted anywhere, because we have about 5-10 pages of script without fights. The structure of the film itself tends to build conclusions and reverse actions, which, nevertheless, allow for a powerful ending that does not trample on the dramatic moments. I hope that viewers will see both a high-quality drama and an excellent action movie in “Merantau”.
How do you describe the fight scenes? It's just “They're fighting!” or do you describe each movement separately?
GE: It’s a thankless task to script every movement; Such actions are also counterproductive because they impose precise actions on the choreography team, and the team knows much more about martial arts than the writer. I simply describe the scene sufficiently to give ideas for location, layout, props and number of enemies, and then make quick notes to give the scene completeness and rhythm. Naturally, I had a whole lot of ideas with strikes and tricks, but I wrote them down separately or just kept them in my mind, and then shared my developments during choreography rehearsal. A script with every movement written out is too difficult to read, and it often happens that only the person who wrote it fully understands it.
When did you start creating fight choreography? Did you already have the final version of the script ready? Or did the plot itself develop as the choreography was created?
GE: Before starting to create the choreography, a draft working script was ready, which was gradually corrected, but the script corrections never had anything to do with the choreography. All of these changes had more to do with structure and dialogue. I spent quite a lot of time on how and when to insert fights so that they would look organic. Therefore, we considered choreography and script as separate creative elements. It was only after I started working on characterization and dramatic detail that we began to change the choreography, thereby anchoring it to the story and making it more impactful and unique.
Work on staging the fights began in June, took a total of two months and was carried out in a working environment. I'm not very good at Silat, but fortunately for me, the team made new suggestions every day, and together we tried to achieve the best possible result. My tastes were significantly influenced by such serious works of Jackie Chan as all parts of “Police Story”, and I still consider the most impressive and superbly choreographed fight to be the fight from “Armor of God” - the banquet hall and Jackie Chan against the monks. Therefore, during the choreography, I insisted on more use of props and scenery, simultaneous attacks by many fighters, more desperate actions, increasing the overall tension. Meanwhile, our team, using all their skills and knowledge, came up with a way to “fight” out of the situation we had imagined.
Of course, both the choreography and the script developed simultaneously, but more than anything else, I would like to note our meetings with the art department, which influenced the script in the form of new creative images and ideas. Which, in turn, led to changes in the choreography, sometimes in the form of abandoning standard stunts or, conversely, restructuring a weak episode into something more complete and flexible.
Have you already created a storyboard? Do you view scenes from certain angles or do you shoot first and then think about where to place the camera?
GE: For fights, creating a storyboard in the usual sense of the word is not an easy task: a list of takes and pencil sketches cannot reflect either the fluidity and complexity of the choreography or the cinematography, so using a regular handheld camera, I first shot rough frames ( without any editing, just for the sake of watching the choreography in the scene), and then, from the filmed material, I came up with a list of takes and shot again, taking into account everything filmed earlier, and only then edited the draft version. This way, it was easier for us to note specific places of choreography or camera work. Then, we simply returned to the previously created material and filmed short episodes for the sequence before starting the actual filming.
Later, during takes, rough editing helped us a lot. These working shots of the choreography served as an initial reference point for the editor on set. We shot the film in high definition (HD) using a Panasonic P2 system, which allowed for on-site editing. The advantages of such shooting are not only the ability to see the smooth stitching of episodes, but also the fact that you can be sure of covering everything that is happening on the screen before all the equipment is moved to another location.
Do your actors need to have martial arts experience?
GE: I have always believed that it is not difficult to distinguish between a real fighter on screen and a person who started practicing martial arts three months before the start of filming, but this should not be regarded as disrespect on my part towards the actors. Although I focus on the dramatic storyline and acting, I have no doubt that our film is inextricably linked with martial arts. There was nothing to think about here; our main character had to be a fighter along with the other key characters, who were required to be able to perform complex combat episodes. I spent a long time racking my brains over some challenging roles in which the dramatic and physical elements were almost equal, but in such cases, when auditioning for some fighters, it turned out that they had natural acting abilities. I was very lucky with this project because most of the cast have a natural and pure talent for dramatic performance. Yayan Ruhian, in particular, as Eric, deserves special attention, as he easily adapts to the characteristics of his character, which are radically different from his personality and background. I was shocked when I found out that he had absolutely no experience in acting.
I was lucky enough to meet the leading actor Iko Uwais during the filming of a documentary film in 2007. Then he was very shy, an ordinary quiet young man. But as soon as he put on the Silatov uniform and started training, he instantly transformed and became unusually photogenic. It didn't matter how many people were training nearby, it seemed like the camera was only filming him alone. I immediately told my boss/wife/producer that the guy is a born action star and immediately started researching everything about Indonesian culture and Pencak Silat style. This served as the starting point both for the promotion of Iko Yuwais himself, and for the spread of Silat and the creation of a new branch of films of this genre in the homeland of the style itself - Indonesia.
So far, they don't have real action stars, as such, but they will soon. It's time to introduce the Pencak Silat style to the world and introduce everyone to the future martial arts star Iko Uwais.
Author: James Plumb
Source: forcesofgeek.com
Translation: EvilDollaR
I would like to clarify a little: the film did not use pure Pencak Silat, but Silat Harimau.
Thank you!
This is where my eye caught my eye, I can’t help but say:
"and I still consider the most impressive and superbly choreographed fight to be Jackie Chan’s fight with the monks in the BANQUET hall from “Armor of God”" :)
Thanks, Slav, corrected it. :)