Shooting Fights

[Nicholas Davidoff]

I'm working on a project where we're shooting A LOT of fights. MMA and martial arts action almost daily. Handheld, steadicam, dolly, crane, you name it. I was wondering if anybody might have some cool tips and tricks they can to share on how to really spice up the fight photography. Maybe add some variation between fights, dynamic and overall impact. Maybe some stories on what works and what doesn't, I'd love to hear 'em.

[Robert Starling SOC]

The more complex fights I've shot have been choreographed by professional fight / stunt choreographers. They work out the complete fight scene(s), rehearse it with the cast and come to set with a rough rehearsal video to show the key camera positions and movement to pull it off. If you need a name PM me and I'll give you the contact info. I don't know what they charge but for the time it saved on set I'd say it was fairly priceless.

 

Robert

[Nicholas Davidoff]

The more complex fights I've shot have been choreographed by professional fight / stunt choreographers. They work out the complete fight scene(s), rehearse it with the cast and come to set with a rough rehearsal video to show the key camera positions and movement to pull it off. If you need a name PM me and I'll give you the contact info. I don't know what they charge but for the time it saved on set I'd say it was fairly priceless.

 

Robert

 

Thanks for the reply Robert, and I'm sorry if I was unclear. This is a union feature and all the fights we're shooting are exactly as you've described. Professionlly staged and choreographed by top fighters and choreographers. I've shot many (staged) fights to this day and am very familiar with the conventional angles and approaches to fight photography. I was wondering if there were any unusual or uniques tips, tricks or camera rigs some of you may have used to spice up fight scenes.

[Jess Haas SOC]

When doing Steadicam for fight scenes I like to keep the post as short as possible and tuck the batteries and monitor in as close to the post as possible in order to allow for quicker movements to follow the action. I also use a close to neutral drop time. All of this gives you something close to the fast action feel of handheld with the smoothness of Steadicam.

 

~Jess