1905 movie network feature "I also want to find a second Jackie Chan, but it’s very difficult and the market doesn’t need it."Recently, when talking about the current situation of the action actor market in the past few years, the eyes are red. The topic of Kung Fu actors finding successors has once again become the focus of public opinion.
With the advance of technology and the post-production of special effects, many dangerous action scenes no longer require actors to play in person. Coupled with the rise of other types of films, the situation of domestic action actors seems to be getting worse and worse.
As a famous action director in Hong Kong, he has a lot of intersections with Jackie Chan, and has served as action director and stunt director in the representative works of isomorphic action aesthetics.
How does Huang Mingsheng feel about Jackie Chan’s confusion? What are the action scenes worthy of attention in the new film directed by him as a martial arts instructor?
Head action actors are hard to come by
"I think this question is actually very natural, because there are not many kung fu superstars like Jackie Chan, they are all geniuses, and geniuses don’t happen often, so it’s normal." Under the spotlight, Huang Mingsheng said half-jokingly. In his opinion, there are many head action actors in China, such as,,, etc.
These actors themselves had a certain degree of martial arts skills, so they were more handy and entertaining when shooting action movies. They were among the action actors and could be met with rare talents.
Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer action actors, which is also due to various reasons.In the 1980s and 1990s, action movies became the hallmark of Hong Kong movies. Starring Jet Li, it also set off a nationwide frenzy for martial arts.In this context, the market demand for action movies was huge, and action actors naturally became the market’s darlings. The number of relevant practitioners was at its peak.
With the passage of time, the aesthetic ability and viewing taste of the mainstream audience of movies have quietly changed. The development trend of the film market in the new century, "a hundred flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend", has made the era of action movies no longer exist. The demand for the number of action actors has declined.
"Now that many genre films have developed in the market, you think the proportion of kung fu films and action films is decreasing, but it’s actually a good thing. This proves that the domestic film market is very inclusive." Huang Mingsheng admits that the current reduction in the proportion of action films and action actors in the market is actually a relative process. In addition, some well-known action actors in Hong Kong have been transformed into directors behind the scenes.
The improvement of the level of the domestic film industry, the maturity of green screen cutout and post-production special effects synthesis technology are also one of the reasons for the overall decrease in the number of action actors. In the early years, when these technologies were not yet mature, most of the dangerous action scenes required actors to complete the actual shooting.
In addition, the current film production model often requires more market recognition for actors than action ability. In addition to their own strong business, action actors also need a certain amount of box office appeal in order to have more acting opportunities. Under the combined effect of multiple factors, the golden age of action actors is gradually fading away.
What qualities does a qualified action actor need to possess?Huang Mingsheng admits that physical coordination is the most important. This is also the advantage of head action actors. Today’s martial arts guidance team can express movements in many ways. After a period of reasonable training, ordinary actors can also complete many movements themselves. But Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Wu Jing and other action actors with experience in martial arts since childhood will have a stronger visual impact and higher fluency.
In addition, a professional attitude and strict self-requirements are indispensable self-cultivation for an excellent action actor. In the development of domestic films, action actors are still a rigid demand.
Cultural and martial arts opera design concepts are similar
"In fact, the action design is actually the same as the literary drama. First of all, you need to understand the whole story and characters, and you need to design a reasonable and realistic style for the film." Huang Mingsheng, who has many years of experience in action directing, admits that the design concept of literary opera and martial arts is similar, and authenticity naturally becomes the key word for creation.
Click to watch the video: "Deep Sea Crisis" action guide Huang Mingsheng: The design principles of cultural and martial arts dramas are all the same
Produced, directed, and directed by Huang Mingsheng as a martial arts instructor, "Deep Sea Crisis" tells the story of the international nuclear weapons expert who was hijacked by terrorists and caused the world to tremble. Our public security counter-terrorism personnel worked closely with the Navy to finally resolve the crisis.
With such anti-terrorism works "relatively few in the history of Chinese cinema", Huang Jianxin bluntly said that filming was challenging. This is a fresh field that needs more exploration. For film action direction, it is also full of challenges.
In Huang Mingsheng’s opinion, every action scene in the movie is difficult, and each has its own difficulties. Among them, the good and evil parties chase each other on motorcycles and fly up the fishing row from the beach, and finally end with a big explosion scene, the most difficult to shoot.
Because of the live shooting, the fluctuation of the tide will change the distance from the shore of the fishing rafts and other props in real time. This requires the action guidance team to calculate the variables in advance, so that the movement route of the actors and motorcycles is within a safe range. In order to better present the screen effect of this scene, the actors conducted many rehearsals.
"Actually, we often encounter such a problem, even if the actor has some experience in making action movies before, it may not be consistent with our [action] design, so he will go through some training in the early stage." Huang Mingsheng’s better visual effects of action scenes cannot be separated from the cooperation of the actors. The professionalism of many actors in the film moved him.
The action scenes performed by the male lead not only required the use of professional grappling and fighting skills, but also some new moves designed by Huang Mingsheng. Yan Yikuan "has never done these moves before, and he has never faced the level of danger." The female lead actor of the film even started action training before the crew started filming.
After many years in the industry, Huang Mingsheng’s movement design philosophy is changing.At present, although many movies are not action movies in terms of genre, there are also many uses of action elements. In the past, the theme of Hong Kong action movies was to serve action elements, but now action elements are more to serve the theme of movies.
Currently, Huang Mingsheng is involved in the production of a science fiction action movie. In the future, he particularly hopes to have the opportunity to work with Wu Jing.
