We are so familiar with fight scenes on our screens that they are almost taken for granted, but how do they come about? This comprehensive book explains the artistic process of creating the fight scene from scripted page to finished performance. Fight choreography is the art of creating scenes of illusionary violence for an entertainment medium. It must tell the story of the fight in a manner that is safe for the performer. To do this, the choreographer has to consider everything that directly impinges on physical movement. Fight Choreography looks at each of these factors and draws on the author's own experiences to illustrate the excitement and range of the genre. * Introduces the fight choreography, the performer, characterization and the director * Looks at working with sets, costumes, lighting and special effects * Advises on the variety of armour and weapons, including photographic reference sections * Explains how to choreograph fights with phrases, logic and rhythm * Gives specific advice on subjects ranging from symbolism to blood effects and from battle scenes to motion capture AUTHOR F Braun McAsh has been a professional fight choreographer since 1976. He has over 120 professional credits in film, television and on stage, with over 400 fights on film alone. He is best known as the swordmaster for the hit TV series Highlander and the fourth Highlander movie Endgame. He has directed fights for every artistic medium including opera, motion-capture and animation SELLING POINTS * A comprehensive guide that explains the artistic process of creating the flight scene from scripted page to finished performance * Aimed at novice or experienced fight choreographers, actors, directors and designers * Superbly illustrated with 86 colour photos * Packed with examples * Author a professional fight choreographer for over thirty years and has over 120 professional credits on stage, in film and on television.

Authored by professional fight director J. Allen Suddeth, all the aspects of brawn, brawl, and broadswords are covered.

A History of Contemporary Stage Combat chronicles the development of stage combat from the origins of the Society of British Fight Directors in 1969 to the modern day. Featuring interviews with some of the pioneers of this art form, the book analyzes how stage combat developed in response to the needs of the industry and the changing social mores in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the European Continent, Australia, and New Zealand. It also explores the quality of theatrical weaponry, as well as outcropping of stage combat such as intimacy design and theatrical jousting. A History of Contemporary Stage Combat is an excellent resource for actors, directors, stage combatants, theatre historians, and anyone with a love of action on stage and film.

All of us have seen films in which the story and acting might be great, but the film suffers because the action and fight sequences are not convincing enough, are terribly shot or edited, or do not integrate seamlessly into the story, causing them to be ineffective, gratuitous, or worst of all, unintentionally humorous. However, when done well, fight and action scenes support and heighten the story and expand the characters. Fight Choreography: The Art of Non-Verbal Dialogue helps filmmakers ensure that the fight scenes in their films add to the film's overall quality. Creating a stage fight with a high level of clarity and entertainment value is a very complicated endeavor and requires skills that acting classes and martial arts schools cannot teach. This book helps filmmakers make sense of this art form and how they can use it to create their own styles of fights for a variety of projects, whether they be feature-length films, shorts, or television shows. The book is instructional, informative, and entertaining, and focuses on every important element involved in fight choreography, from basic philosophies, initial concept, and planning, to filming, editing, adding special effects, and sound mixing the final product. The book is not only an indispensable resource for filmmakers, but will also interestfilm buffs who want to learn how great fight sequences are made so they can better appreciate the action.

This book is an introduction to the basics of stage combat in the area of unarmed combat. It holds enough information to give students an understanding of the subject, as well as how to perform some of the more simple "tricks of the trade." The importance of the safety involved in performing stage combat is also discussed.

The Art of Unarmed Stage Combat is a guide to the principles and techniques of theatrical violence, combining detailed discussions of the mechanics of stage fighting with the nuances of acting decisions to make fighting styles reflect character and story. Expert Fight Director Robert Najarian offers never-before-published games and exercises that allows actors to develop the skills and concepts for performing violence for stage and screen. This title utilizes a unique system of training techniques that result in stage violence that is both physically engaging for the performer, while remaining viscerally engaging for the audience. This book is written for the actor and fight director.