Think Tank Thursday

When is it too real?

Choreographing and performing a fight is a difficult endeavor on so many levels. Is it safe? Is it serving the story? Is it interesting? Am I going to break something? Is it real enough? Is it too real? And any other concern that pops into an overactive mind.

The sweet spot it to settle into the area of being realistic but not too realistic. The term that fits for me is "life like."

If the violence isn't realistic enough the audience doesn't buy it. That is a pretty simple concept with few exceptions (if the play is a fantasy or unrealistic, fantasy or unrealistic violence can fit.)

The harder concept is being too real.

If violence is too realistic it will turn the audience off. It will make them cross the line and be concerned for the actor's safety, or it will trigger too intense of an emotional reaction that will push them to discomfort.

An immediate argument can be made about all the realistic violence we see on T.V. My counter to that is that most T.V. presents life like violence and just approaches realism. To be clear, when talking about television in general it is referring to the basic programming that everyone can watch. Specialty channels like HBO and Showtime can get away with and do show realistic violence because they don't have to worry about the FCC. 

What the general programming is missing in their violence most notably is blood. In fact, many movies are missing blood, or a realistic depiction of it (Kill Bill has plenty but it is in such a way that it is obviously fake). A movie can get slapped with an NC-17 if the violence is too real and that often involves a realistic display of blood.

Why does this addition of fluid push us over the line?

When its made to look real, those effects make the violence and pain almost indistinguishable from real life. Very, very few people actually want to see someone get hurt or in pain. An audience in theatre and of movies need small reminders here and there that things are all for show. The opposite is true in horror movies that really convince you that they are based on fact. The more real you think the terror is the more likely you are to be afraid.

Vocals can be too real, some movement choices and reactions can be too real. While we are striving for accuracy and believability we have to continue to be mindful of the middle ground.

Greg