From Concept to Clash: Visualizing Our Film's First Fight

Hey all, Yung Lee, Action Designer / Action Director of this film here making my first post! I recently had extensive discussions and meetings with Matt and Freddie about the crucial story beats for our film's opening action sequence: the fight between the two brothers. As the very first action set-piece, this scene is paramount in establishing both the core conflict between them and the overall tone of our film. Our goal is to quickly show that these two know how to "scrap" – that it's a natural, almost daily part of their lives together.

Perhaps you've been in that awkward position, visiting a friend's house, when their siblings suddenly erupt into a wild, messy brawl, leaving you as the sole, bewildered witness to the unfolding chaos. That's precisely the visceral, uncomfortable feeling we're aiming for. After all, most sibling squabbles are famously over the most trivial things, with the initial cause long forgotten amidst the ensuing pandemonium. It's the unbreakable bond of "fire and blood," as they say!

The Power of Visual References in Filmmaking

As filmmakers, whether we're working with storyboards or a "slug edit" filled with action descriptions, having a visual representation of the script is invaluable for communicating our vision across all departments. When it comes to action sequences, this becomes even more imperative. Words and still pictures, no matter how descriptive, can only convey so much.

This is where reference edits truly shine. They allow us to build out the emotional feeling and pacing of a scene without incurring the significant costs of hiring a storyboard artist or a full previsualization (previs) company like The Third Floor. It's a testament to the idea often explored in books like "Steal Like an Artist"—that all creative work builds upon what came before. ( book link: Amazon.com : steal like an artist book )True originality often emerges not from inventing something entirely new, but from layering different interpretations and influences until something truly special emerges.

A fantastic example of this in practice is Rian Johnson's film Looper. Johnson famously created a comprehensive reference edit for his movie, compiling scenes from various other films to articulate his precise vision to potential investors. (You can see a clip of his process here: https://vimeo.com/51294350?p=1s). When you're operating on a limited budget, without the luxury of dedicated storyboard artists or full previs teams, this technique becomes an incredibly powerful and accessible tool. This is something I have always done at the start of a job on previous films like Kingsman: The Golden Circle, SOLO: A Star Wars Story, The King’s Man, and Shang Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings, The beauty of our digital age is that a vast ocean of reference material is readily available online, making the creation of these "temp edits" remarkably easy.

Back to Our Brothers: Building the Scene

In one of our recent directors' meetings, Matt highlighted the memorable fight scene from Pineapple Express that takes place at Red's house. He nailed it – that scene perfectly encapsulates the chaotic, almost primal nature of a sibling fight: someone makes the first move, immediately regrets it, and then chaos truly ensues as the other chases them down, leading to a genuinely ugly and messy escalation. This was the ideal jumping-off point for our reference, prompting me to seek out other films with a similar tone and feel that would fit the story we're aiming to tell.

The rough structure we built for the brothers' fight went something like this:

1. The Spark: An argument erupts over the age-old question of who should take out the trash.

2. The Trigger: Insults are flung back and forth, pushing Danny to impulsively throw something at Dicky.

3. The Escalation: Dicky, fueled by a sudden, almost rabid rage, viciously attacks Danny, leading to furniture being destroyed throughout the restaurant as their brawl intensifies.

4. The Fall: The fight dramatically moves up a staircase, culminating in Danny being violently thrown off the second floor, landing harshly onto the ground below.

5. The Twist: The scene concludes with Danny cleverly feigning unconsciousness. As Dicky rushes down, full of remorse and concern, Danny seizes the opportunity, wrapping a telephone cord around Dicky’s neck, uttering a chilling "Say goodbye to Mom" as we get a heartfelt goodbye from Mama’s boy Dicky before the two come to their senses.

To bring these beats to life, I compiled references from six different films:

●      Love on Delivery (Stephen Chow film): For that classic, over-the-top childish argument.

●      Dumb and Dumber: To capture the essence of escalating threats and building tension.

●      Pineapple Express: To nail the moment the tension explodes into that unique brand of brotherly, violent "love."

●      Legend: For the fight building in intensity and getting progressively more dangerous.

●      The Protector: To showcase a classic, gnarly big stunt fall as a dramatic end to the conflict.

●      Step Brothers: For that feeling of intense, messy grappling and rolling around, allowing dialogue to flow through the chaos.

And there you have it! From initial script discussion to movie reference compilation and the creation of a preliminary edit – we now have a conceptual visual blueprint for our scene. This foundational reference will be invaluable as we move forward to interpret, choreograph and execute the scene in our own unique fashion. It’s a perfect illustration of how to truly "steal like an artist."

-        Yung