Details of Media: October 2022

What Makes Action, Action?

What makes action, action? Action is a genre that typically has violence and physical feats. This genre can usually have a hero that partakes in a life-threatening situation against a villain. It also normally ends with a victory for the hero. The plot of an action movie can usually be about something heroic, someone seeking revenge, chases and fights, or a final showdown.

What are some production techniques in action films?

There are also many production techniques that directors like James Cameron, who directed The Terminator, for example, or Tony Scott, who directed Top Gun, for example, use. Some production techniques come from camera angles. Camera angles are the biggest production technique used in action films because the angle is what makes the scene look realistic. An example would be in the 2021 action movie No Time To Die, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. In the scene where we see James (Daniel Craig) fight a soldier and start to choke him, the acting and the camera angle is what makes it look realistic. Thanks to the camera angle being a mid-shot, and the shot is in front of the actors and

not on the side or over top, (where you would have been able to see that the soldier is actually not being choked) it looks very realistic and the audience believes that the impact is actually happening. Another important production technique that action films use is sound effects. The sound effects in a film are how the audience knows how hard an impact was, and the sound effects also help the audience believe that what is happening in the film is what actually happened. One last important production technique used in an action film is makeup. The fake blood and makeup for black eyes are what tie the whole scene together. It would be very unrealistic to have a fight and not bleed or have a bruise. So makeup is another very important production technique to make an action film.

How are action films being marketed?

The target audience for action films is usually for young males, from ages 16-25. This is because men around these ages are usually the ones attracted to fights, violence, blood, etc. Usually, to advertise action films, for the target audience, trailers and posters emphasize fights, chases, and explosions.

For example, the 1988 action film Die Hard, has a movie poster with an explosion in a building. The explosion in the poster is to attract the audience. The colors red and orange also help with these posters because they are the color of explosions. So in the poster for the movie die hard, everything is black and white except for the explosion and the title, since that will attract the people to want to see the film. (The title in Die Hard is red, which attracts the audience as well). Another example is the 2001 action film Fast and Furious, which has two cars on its poster to attract people that wanted to see action by car chases.

What films embody the genre action well?

The film Top Gun: Maverick made in 2022 by Tony Scott, embodies the genre action for many reasons. The film not only has a well plot, but the plot is typical for a action film. The plot of the film has a hero, it contains physical feats, it ends with a life-threatening situation and with a victory for the hero. The film also includes chases and fights, a final showdown, and a part of seeking revenge. The film has all of the properties that an action film would have, and it is tied up into a nice movie. The movie is also very visually pleasing because the acting is well and the production techniques help the movie seem very realistic.

Another film that embodies the action genre very well is the 2022 action film Bullet Train directed by David Leitch. This film also contains much of the content and production techniques that an action film requires. It contains violence and physical feats, it has a hero, it puts the hero in a life-threatening situation, and the hero ends in victory. The film also has a lot of production techniques for example excellent makeup to show bruises and blood, fantastic sound effects to make the audience hear the pain being inflicted, and the camera angles tie the whole thing together to make it as realistic as can be. The film also has marketing to catch the viewer's eye for example, chases, explosions, fights, etc.