From Writ to Script

I've been training professionally to work my way into a longform career. In the meantime, I've been writing—everything from blogs to scripts for story-driven podcasts. I work with some amazing people to bring joy to everyone in every form I can learn how to do. If you want to read some thought-provoking articles or follow along with some amazing and sometimes very comedic stories meant for radio time.

The next block is my first blog post from my website.

Using Arrows and Running Fast

I am a huge fan of the TV shows Arrow and Flash. Lately, however, I've found myself doing other things while just listening to the shows. The writing and stories are intricate and detailed, while the dialogue is often catching and humorous. What made these shows, however, are the action scenes and graphics that set these shows apart from what we were used to in other shows. Over the years, as more and more outstanding action pieces were released, I found myself no longer being impressed by the choreography.

Don't get me wrong, the choreographers are doing the best they can and the work they do is intense on a weekly basis. Even if the moves shown are expertly performed, they've become commonly done. Once a thing is repeated so often it becomes no longer unique. With Arrow, you can only do so many fight scenes where you smack a few people with the bow and make people do front flips. I personally feel that they should draw back on the character and have him do more archery.

I see the fear that the producers and actors would have that the faces of their shows wouldn't be seen as much if more arrows were just flying around, but you can easily do a scene where an archer strategically moves through the room where he can have enough distance and timing to fire arrows and down each of his opponents. My style would be saving the fisticuffs until you no longer have to worry about multiple enemies throughout the room.

Imagine a scene in a warehouse, something commonly used in the show, where enemies are surrounding the room on the catwalks and around the item targeted by the lead character. An arrow drops down in the middle of the group, spewing out a visual disrupting gas. For style, you can have Arrow enter the room shooting two arrows in opposite directions taking out two of enemies up high. He then roles to cover from the other enemies opening fire on him. The enemies walk toward him as they lay down heavy fire on his position. They stop to reload and wait for a reaction and then Green Arrow peaks around with his bow drawn and fires at the leading assailant. The arrow strikes the gun, making the man drop it in surprise. The arrow has pierced the trigger, making the gun start firing while bouncing around the room. This causes the group to scatter and run for cover.

At this point, you can have Arrow take out each individual as they hide from the gunshots in unique and creative ways using his bow, showing that he's an expert archer. When it comes down to the last man guarding the target object, then you can go to a fist fight where it shows that not every person is easily defeated by just tossing them to the ground. Make it intricate and show that Arrow can be hurt, but he's still skilled enough to take on the goon because of strategy and experience.

I love martial arts and I grew up on many action movies where every punch and kick had a reason, reaction, and a consequence. I've trained in martial arts ever since I was a three year old and have a deep love for detailed, realistic fights. Having some fantasy isn't bad. I'm also a lover of D&D, video games, and films. I know that some reality has to be discarded if you want a fictional character to always win.

Check back for another post about The Flash and how it can utilize more reaction for its speed.