Production

The origin and evolution of the action genre: How has stunts and effects impacted the industry?

With the advancement of CGI and effects, what was once thought impossible is now achievable. The use of CGI has virtually paved the way for filmmakers to create what was once imagine. "The primary aim of special effects is to create things that don't actually exist"(Wasko, 2003). Look at what Marvel Studios have achieved for example; they've created a franchise surrounding a fictional universe that without the help of CGI wouldn't be possible. This essay aims to investigate the history and evolution of both stunts and effects by looking at some of the pioneers of stunts such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin and how they have impacted the film industry.

"Long recognised as a pioneering story film with an important impact on American cinema"(Solomon, 2011)

In 1902 A Trip to the Moon directed by Georges Méliés was released. It is known as one of the first science fiction films and one of the pioneering story telling films. The film features early special effect techniques such as substitution splice which allowed the director to make objects or people appear/disappear. This was achieved by stopping the camera, moving the actor or object around while everybody freeze and then turning the camera back on.  A good example of this is at the start of the film when the astronomers lift their telescopes into the air, it cuts and they suddenly have stools.

a Trip to the Moon had been shot at Méliés' film studio in his garden. The design of his studio allowed natural light in, the camera attached to the ground and the stage was created to allow backdrops to be changed in front of the camera. This allowed him to create optical illusions by changing the placement of both actors and scenery. (Solomon, 2011)
This is a great example of how a tracking shot was achieved a century ago. The film bought inspiration for verticality to the film industry a century later with movies such as Avengers, Avatar and Star-trek.

The original King Kong(1993) was another milestone for special effects as it used many techniques that are still in use today such as models, matte paintings, miniature props and tiny sets, combined with live action.(Wasko, 2003). Over the past several decades and the constant evolving technology we have access to, have allowed us to utilise more complex special effects which means filmmakers have an array of tools that allow them to create almost anything imaginable. 

"Matte painting is all about story telling"(Mattingly, 2011) Matte painting is a special effect that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that doesn't exist on location. A good example of this special effect is in Avengers: Infinity War, during the fight between Iron Man and Thanos, the background had been matte painted to include the ruins of Titan. Before modern technology, to matte paint a film you were required to place a sheet of glass between the camera and the scene that was going to be filmed. An artist would then paint an image on the glass that would block out part of the scene you want to create the illusion for. This was an easier way to create the effect than having to create a set.(Mattingly, 2011)

Back in the silent film era, stunts were more dangerous than they are now, take Buster Keaton for example during his years as an actor before he was hired by Metro Goldwyn Mayer (1928) he would often partake in dangerous stunts which would require precision. "He was capable of incredible acrobatics that he incorporated into his films" (James L. Neibaur, 2013)
Such stunts include Keaton standing still while the facade of a building fell on him with him coming out of the debris without a scratch, this was successful due to an open window that was just big enough for him to fit through. (Sam, 2018) Not all his stunts went well. For instance, during the filming of Sherlock Jr, Buster Keaton was hit with a cascade of water that fell on him and broke his neck. He didn't realise it was broken until several years later.(Palace, 2018)
On the topic of broken necks, actor Sylvester Stallone received a hairline fracture and underwent an operation to have a metal plate inserted into his neck (The Guardian, 2010)

In 1977 the world was introduced to the first Star Wars film, Episode IV: A New Hope. With this release, set a new standard for years to come. In 2014, the official Star Wars YouTube channel uploaded a featurette that goes behind the scenes of Episode IV in detail and explains how they were able to create a fictional universe packed with creatures, spaceships and technology that did not exist at the time.(Englehardt, 2016) For example during the scene with Chewbacca and C-3PO playing chess, they used stop motion with miniatures of the creatures. Matte paintings were also used during the creation of the film, As digital matte painting wasn't a thing yet, they had an artist paint on glass and then positioned it in front of the camera as mentioned before.

With CGI becoming more advanced and accessible every year, the role of the stuntman seems to have become more obsolete and possibly in the future we may see the extinction of stuntmen in Hollywood films. Although this is unlikely to happen within the next 10 to 20 years as actors that perform their own stunts such as Tom Cruise, Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie and Jason Statham bring a sense of realism to the films they star in. (South China Morning Post, 2018)

The use of derma wax and fake blood to create wounds is a more viable option than to use CGI, this is because it is far easier to mimic a wound with wax as it is attached to you while you would be required to motion track to create a CGI wound.(Vinther, 2003)

The Expendables franchise is an excellent example of action with stars that do their own stunts such as Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mel Gibson to name a few.  Stallone is a writer and director for Expendables as well as starring in it, in an interview with FHM Magazine he said “Man, it was seven guys, kicking each other’s ass, one guy tougher than the next… no joke, our stunt guys were begging for mercy” this just goes to show that these actors take it seriously when it comes to fight scenes to the point they actually come into contact with each other and it can end up with injuries as I mentioned earlier with Stallone who obtained a hairline fracture. (The Guardian, 2010)

Actor, Director and Stuntman Jackie Chan famous for his often death defying stunts and even being recognised by Guinness World Records as most stunts performed by a living actor. “Achieving these Guinness World Records titles is recognition of all my life's work" - Jackie Chan during an interview (Guinness World Records News, 2012)

Jackie Chan has stated that both Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton have been an inspiration and even making him reforge his style. He once said, "I wanted to be like a Chaplin or Buster Keaton, but all the martial arts directors I worked with wanted me to copy Bruce Lee,”. (New York Times, 1995)

The use of CGI in films such as Furious 7 (Part of the Fast and Furious franchise) where during the filming phase the Late Paul Walker died in a car accident while only half the filming had been completed. To put into summary, if this happened before CGI had been developed then it meant that recasting and re shoots would be required. Thankfully both of Paul's younger brothers Caleb and Cody jumped in to help re shoot certain scenes and this allowed Weta Digital (Peter Jackson's visual effects company) to scan them and work with them to recreate the facial structures of Paul Walker. (Giardina, 2015)

A good example of how CGI has impacted the film industry is by looking at James Cameron. Over the years, VFX Pioneer James Cameron has created some out of this world films such as Avatar and Titanic, both which sit as the most and second most grossed film in history. (Dalton, 2018) The development of Avatar took 10 years as the technology required to create the film just didn't exist. "Cameron and his team had to essentially invent new moviemaking technology on the spot, which they used to make one of the most visually mind-blowing fantasy films ever made” (Stefansky, 2017)The success of the film can be clearly seen from the money made which is $2,787,965,087 (£2,116,915,830.38) making it the highest grossing movie of all time. (Box Office Mojo, 2012) Avatar had "ushered in the 3D revolution” (Child, 2017) by creating a narrative surrounding a made up language and a completely CGI world "Pandora" which had not been seen before and made film studios scramble to compete against Avatar. (Child, 2017)

Unlike Avatar which relied heavily on CGI, Titanic was created with in studio effects. For example, the poop deck of the titanic was built so it could be tilted to 90 degrees within seconds. (The American Society of Cinematographers, 1997) A 1/8 scale model was developed to be used on real water which would allow them to capture authentic water splashes. (VFXHQ, 1997)

Cameron's Digital Domain company was bought in to provide the water effects, vfxhq has a great article that shows the process of blending two shots into one. (Failes, 2017)

Titanic held the spot of “Highest grossed film ever made” from 1998 up until 2012 when Avatar was released which became highest grossed and bumped Titanic to 2^nd place. We can understand how popular the film was and how it was able to stay as the highest grossed film for 14 years by looking at the money that it made which to date has made $2,187,463,944 (£1,676,472,366.68). (Box Office Mojo, 1997)

From my investigation, it is quite clear that Georges Méliés was a pioneer of early special effects with his use of the substitution splice and matte painting effects. While James Cameron and George Lucas are pioneers of modern age special effects with Cameron's Avatar and Titanic films being highest grossed ever and ushering in a new era for 3D movies. While George Lucas set a new standard for special effects with the release of his Star Wars film. Early 1900s films such as a Trip to the Moon and King Kong used techniques that are still being used today by film companies, for example; Titanic using miniatures to recreate the sinking.

With no modern age CGI technology, stunts in the 1900s were dangerous to perform with a few actors such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton conducting their own stunts which added a sense of realism to the film. However with the introduction and advancement of CGI in the past decade, stunts are now safer to execute and CGI allows filmmakers to create what they envision. If it wasn't for CGI then films such as Furious 7 wouldn't have been released as Paul Walker hadn't completed half of his scenes before his unfortunate death occurred. 

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