Fighting at 1/2000th of a Second.

Most teachers, practitioners, and fight directors worry about a fight in its entirety in terms of its ebb, flow and dynamics within a larger framework (such as a play, television program or a movie). However, occasionally an opportunity comes along in which you might be tasked to micro-manage a fight – literally a fight lasting less time than the blink of an eye – and dissect the combat movement to its smallest component. It is indeed, a unique opportunity.

This past March, NYC photographer, Bruce Fuller, approached me to help him realize an idea. Bruce is a theatre and dance photographer who was working on his own portfolio and wanted to apply his lightning fast strobes and digital cameras for dance to stage combatants, weapons, and a more “martial” approach. What came out of our collaboration were truly remarkable combat images, the type that used to be reserved for only high-end dance photography.

I enlisted the help of 4 current students of mine:

            Vera Varlamov (MFA 1), Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts,

            Jerry Ford (BFA 4), Rutgers Mason Gross School of the Arts,

            Aaron McDaniel (BFA 3) S.U.N.Y. Purchase,

            Emma DuBerry (alumni) The Lee Strasberg Institute.

We all met on a Saturday morning in March, at the Horace Mann School in Riverdale (Bronx) NY. Bruce had arrived earlier to set up the lights, cameras, monitors and background. We then spent the next five hours exploring fights at micro-second speed.

The key to the success of these types of images is the duration of the flash tubes in the lights. 1/2000^th of a second is the optimal flash duration to stop all motion as if it’s suspended in mid-air. For the first hour of the session Bruce trained us in this high speed shooting technique. Of particular importance is the action/camera timing, body/weapon positioning, and of course, any and all safety requirements. Since the shots have at least one actor in the air, height is a pre-condition. There was a lot of jumping during those hours as the fighters and I become comfortable with the technique and started to experiment with the possibilities. I was specifically tasked with staging moments, switching actors in and out, creating poses and situations, and supplying weapons. Needless to say, I brought two of everything, from small swords, to broadswords, knives, resin pistols, and even a few cherished breakaway bottles.

Once we were all comfortable, we played mix and match: jump, pose, parry, and looking fierce, with different actors rotating in and out. As the day progressed we discovered more interesting angles, subtleties, and image concepts. Of great help was a television monitor to which we had linked the camera. After each series of shots we gathered round and tweaked the movement or, in some cases, reworked the shot entirely.  Over time, we used the monitor less and less as we were able to “ feel” the good shots. The monitor provided confirmation. My experimentation of image concepts and staging ranged from attempts at kills, solo poses, and parries, encompassing weapons from swords, daggers, double pistols. For an image with a lighter tone, the weapon of choice was a rolling pin, which turned much out better than anyone suspected.

One thing I would like to explore further in future sessions is the use of capes. With a well-timed throw, capes add a very interesting element as they suspend in mid-air in interesting shapes, framing the action of the image.

I’m going to leave it up to Bruce to detail the technical aspects of the set ups. But for the rest of us, if you have access to someone with this expertise, or is willing to experiment with it, I recommend following through. Every person involved with the shoot ended up with spectacularly unique images for their portfolio and social media sites. There was a tremendous response from each and every posting of the images on-line. As the competition for work gets tougher, portfolio and website shots like these can make the difference between a call and no call. As a fight director, being versed in this type of fight photography only adds to your marketability.

Techno-speak from the Photographer

Let me be upfront about this type of photography, it ain’t cheap. The good news is that up to six actors (plus the fight director) can split the cost of a day shoot and the per person cost is no more than having a good head shot taken. Also, if you do it on a weekend, any equipment you rent on Friday doesn’t have to be back until Monday, so you get an extra day of usage.

Equipment

            4 - Broncolor Pulso A2 power packs

            1 - Broncolor bi-tube Pulso Twin head (main light)

            3 - Broncolor 1600 watt Pulso heads (background and fill light)

            1 – 5’ Photoflex Octobank

            2 – 3’X6’ white reflectors

            1 – 15’X24’ background

            1 – Nikon D700 (lens’s, 105mm 2.8, 24-70mm 2.8)

            4 – Pocket Wizard’s for remote triggering

            1 – Television monitor

             3 – Large Pizzas

The Broncolor power packs need to be set to a flash duration of 1/2000^th of a second. At that speed you are able to get 400 watts of power out of each of the two lamps in the bi-tube flash head, giving you 800 watts of total power. The Octobank goes on the bi-tube head and you should be able to get an f8 to f11 across the stage.

The camera will need to be pre-focused. No camera in the world will be able to auto focus at that speed. Set your sync speed at the highest level and make sure your camera is on manual.

As to training the actors and fight director, all jumping needs to be with legs and arms visible. The tendency is for the jumpers to kick their legs back, which results in the appearance of a missing limb. Timing of the actors is critical. I usually start with no weapons and one actor. Then go to two actors with their hands on the other’s shoulder so they can start to feel the timing. After that we go hands free and finally add the weapons. Also, at the beginning, switch your actors frequently. They can learn a lot by doing, then watching, and then doing again. Frequent rotation also conserves their leg strength for the long shoot. At the beginning you can expect to keep about 1 in every 35 shots. Later that drops dramatically to about 1 in every 10.

Ultimately, what really matters (after fulfilling the technical requirements) are two things: a great fight director who can adapt quickly to this highly technical shooting, and trained actor/fighters. This is why Allen was my first and only choice for this project, and why I let Allen cast the shoot. His ability to create fight “pictures” is quite extraordinary. His actor, once they “got it,” were as much a part of the creative team as anyone. True tireless collaborators. Back to you, Allen.

Here are a few things that we all learned that helped us with this shoot.

1. The actors should bring lots of changes of wardrobe, to mix and match, and perhaps share. Avoid black and white.
2. Clothes should be tight fitting, but comfortable. Accessories such as scarves, hats, and capes come in handy. They look great in still photography as the cloth “billows” and takes on energy of its own.
3. The two dimensional nature of still photography allows one to take advantage of perceived depth of field for shots such as “stabs”, “wounds”, or “strikes.” “End of the lens” shots would enhance this effect.
4. Having a fight director is essential to help focus movement, create new concepts, or adjust actors or weapon positions.

Though it took everyone a while to coordinate the simultaneous jumps (harder than it sounds) we all finally synced up with Bruce and began to crank out tons of product. Toward the end of the session, we did a series of solo shots with the actors. Each actor was able to create material within his or her comfort zone. Jerry Ford, the martial artist, performed a series of amazing kicks; Emma, a series of leaps; Vera, a series of graceful poses; and Aaron performed some armed poses high in the air.

Know that the actors involved in this type of shoot will get tired of jumping, as the “anti-gravity” illusion is part of the charm of these shots, as you want to lose the floor in the framing, and that they will be sore for a few days afterwards. However, as exemplified by the photos in this article, the effort might be worth it for one and all.

Finally, it’s important to know, with the exception of one shot, no jumping aids or Photoshop trickery were used. These are the actual shots of the actors in flight. We needed to use a jumping support for one shot as the height required to make the shot work couldn’t be done unaided. We leave it to you to figure out which one that was.

Bruce and I plan to experiment again in the near future, and I will post those photos as well, and keep you all updated on our discoveries. Meanwhile, enjoy the shots!