REEL POWER STUNTS
STUNTS - FIGHTS - WIRES
ACTION DESIGN
Crafting High Level Sequences from Prep to Post
What is Action Design? What is an Action Designer?
How does Action Design differ from Choreography?
Action Design incorporates choreography & stunt coordination, but is more than that.
Action Designers are also involved in other crucial aspects of crafting sequences - including the cinematography & editing. They are filmmakers, storytellers, who help productions craft the highest quality action & fight scenes.
Most come from extensive backgrounds in stunt performance & coordination, so are familiar with the physical realities of filming action scenes. They also have experience, when as a performer or coordinator, the final finished sequences did not live up to their potential due to weak camera & editing choices, poor planning, a lack of vision, and sometimes a lack of experience or aptitude for action by the filmmakers.
Good Action Design is not simply creating the most visually thrilling & spectacular sequences. The scenes should honour the whole movie/series' visual aesthetic, the world of the story & the characters who inhabit it.
When working as an Action Designer, Jude Poyer strives to understand & deliver the expectations of directors, producers & showrunners.
His process involves filming & editing detailed, accurate previz of fight/action sequences during pre-production. These previz can be refined to incorporate director/producer notes, & once approved, become the shot-for-shot, edit-for-edit bluprints for principal photography.
When action sequences are so thoroughly broken down in prep, it gives departments (for example, VFX, SFX, Make Up, Props, Grips) a clear picture of what is (and isn't) required for each shot.
Following previz eliminates the worry of "will this cut together?"
Previz is the time to experiment with different camera choices (angles, lenses, movements & speeds) and editing decisions - resulting in rhythmic scenes of visual clarity.
With a signed off previz, filming can be scheduled forensically, so no time is wasted on coverage which won't end up in the final sequence. The exact moments to be shared between, for example , actor & stunt double or main & 2nd units are known and scheduled in advance.
Action Design Action Designer Action Director 2nd Unit Director Stunt Viz stuntviz previz previs stuntvis Farang Gangs of London
In preproduction, Jude Poyer is comfortable designing action & previz by either leading the process, or in collaboration with directors.
During principal photography, Jude often directs action, either on Main/2nd Unit or a dedicated Action Unit.
Once filming a sequence is complete, he provides the editors with edits of the sequences - to be ingested into their AVID, Final Cut or other systems. Along with these edits, he often provides captioned versions noting, for example, the need for VFX work (eg wire removal, bullet hits) or sound design.
