Chapter 355: A Fierce Strike

During a break in filming, Jessica Alba made it a point to find Murphy and introduce her new boyfriend to him.

"Murphy, this is my boyfriend, Derek Jeter, the shortstop for the New York Yankees." She continued, "This is Murphy Stanton, Hollywood's most outstanding young director."

"Pleased to meet you, Murphy."

The tall and robust man opposite him extended his hand first, and Murphy shook it, "Nice to meet you, Derek."

Although they were both polite, they lacked common topics. Despite baseball being North America's second largest professional sport, Murphy knew nothing about it, and after a few pleasantries with Derek Jeter, they had little else to talk about.

"I've got things to do." Murphy pointed towards the set and told Jessica Alba, "Why don't you show Derek around?"

"Okay." Jessica nodded, promising, "I'll start rehearsing from tomorrow."

Murphy smiled and turned back toward the set.

Returning behind the camera, he spoke briefly with Phil Lasher, then consulted with a Western sword-fighting master who was the action director, discussing the next action scene. When he sat back in the director's chair, he saw Jessica Alba and the shortstop named Derek Jeter walking out of the studio.

Murphy sighed softly. To a great extent, he had changed Jessica Alba's career path, and even talking about changing her fate was not an overstatement, yet Derek Jeter still appeared.

He wouldn't be foolish enough to interfere in Jessica Alba's private life; that was a thankless task. Since she had chosen Derek Jeter, she would have to bear the consequences.

The break ended quickly, and filming resumed. Murphy put these thoughts aside, completely immersing himself in his work.

In front of the camera, Sean Bean, playing Ned Stark, and Miller Clayton, playing Jaime Lannister, swung their great swords. However, their movements were not fluid, and sometimes just one chop would cause Murphy to call a stop. Unedited action scenes never looked as spectacular as the final product.

Even if the filming occasionally lasted a few seconds longer, Sean Bean and Miller Clayton's movements, by contemporary Hollywood standards, seemed somewhat clumsy, but that was the effect Murphy wanted.

More often than not, the stunt doubles were the ones on set for the filming.

This key scene lasted nearly an entire afternoon, ending with Ned Stark getting stabbed in the thigh by a lowly foot soldier.

In many epic films or TV shows, the protagonist is portrayed as a one-man army, handling multitudes of enemies with ease, even shrugging off surprise attacks from blind spots. 

But this approach does not suit "Game of Thrones," a series where characters like Legolas don't exist with such an overpowered nature.

To be exact, while there are exceptionally skilled fighters in the show, their abilities are only relatively impressive.

Formerly known as "A Song of Ice and Fire" in North America, the show had another nickname: "A Song of Kill and Fuck." The 'Kill' often involved brutal slayings rather than chivalrous duels, and the 'Fuck' was more often rape than consensual sex.

The so-called top fighters did not have much higher combat abilities than ordinary soldiers, and thus, their struggles often ended gruesomely.

For instance, Jaime Lannister, known as a top-tier fighter, was captured by mercenaries after exhausting himself fighting Brienne, who nearly got raped.

Brienne, a true member of the Kingsguard, would feel despair at the sight of eight soldiers despite being unharmed. Facing just one mercenary, she got her face bitten off.

The Hound, the king's top bodyguard and a first-rate fighter, fought three of his brother's men at once, killed them all, but was left with fatal wounds and abandoned by Arya.

This is partly why many are unimpressed by Daenerys Targaryen, as in this realistic, brutal world, she seems to always have an advantage, achieving victory after victory and flourishing without hardship.

Of course, Jon Snow also has his bugs; wherever he goes, those around him fall or suffer while he ascends effortlessly through sheer luck.

Returning to reality, although a TV show cannot completely avoid giving its characters some plot armor.

After shifting scenes, the close-quarters combat continued to be filmed, utilizing stunt doubles extensively as before.

It was simple to distinguish which shots were done by the actors themselves and which by stunt doubles. Shots with clear frontal views typically involved the actual actors; those where faces weren't visible were almost always performed by doubles.

Detail-oriented viewers might notice that in both films and TV shows, about 90% of the time in action scenes, faces are obscured.

"Game of Thrones" doesn't necessarily feature complex fight scenes, but to depict realistic combat, significant costs are incurred.

Given these constraints, Murphy had to produce quality action scenes at a relatively low cost. His previous collaboration with Tiger Chen taught him a lot, and handling these action sequences was still manageable for him.

Murphy employed the simplest methods for shooting action scenes, which he classified into two types: the Simple Punch and the Fierce Strike.

The Simple Punch is a widely used technique in the global film industry for its effective results. For example, David Fincher's "Fight Club" utilized this method effectively, starting with Edward Norton's first punch. Throughout the movie, this straightforward technique was repeatedly applied.

In the filming of "Game of Thrones," all actors were willing to perform these stunts because they didn't require much skill; they just needed to get the timing right. As Sean Bean put it, "It's quite fun to perform."

For the Fierce Strike, Murphy's basic approach was simple: have an actor deliver a punch or a sword slash aimed at the head or neck of the opponent.

Of course, anyone outside the industry could easily guess this little trick, so choosing the right shots was crucial. Otherwise, the intended illusion created by positioning would completely lose its effect.

To shoot the Simple Punch, Murphy used a long lens, which compresses space and makes objects appear closer together than they are in reality.

The Fierce Strike also covers a variety of shooting techniques. Sometimes, just one powerful punch or sword slash is enough to decisively down an opponent.

Murphy's action scenes were always brief, with outcomes usually decided within a few exchanges. He needed the Fierce Strike effect for this reason.

To capture these action shots, the director had to ensure that the actor's strike was powerful and perfect.

This filming technique also required adjustments. The camera had to move in sync with the actor's punching or slashing motion to convey the speed and impact of the strike.

Camera angle was critical. It needed to stay close to the victim while facing the direction of the protagonist's attack. If a long lens was used, the camera couldn't be too far from the actors; Murphy had to make sure the shot captured both performers just right.

However, the camera couldn't be too close either; if it was, the victim would dominate the frame. Filmed from this perspective, the audience might feel like the victim, which would undermine the exhilarating or brutal effect of the protagonist's strike.

Therefore, when using this technique, Murphy always remembered that the attacker was the focal point, employing a central framing that generally produced excellent results.

Once shot correctly, a punch that had no real force in reality could look incredibly heroic and valiant.

Although filming in Northern Ireland was exhausting, Murphy's team was well-organized and composed, and at no point did the cameras shake needlessly.

After completing the action sequences, the crew faced some challenges while moving equipment onto a glacier for outdoor scenes, eventually opting to shoot a sequence outside the hotel. Nearby, a thousand-foot cliff had formed icicles, but these obstacles did not impede Murphy's progress.

It was now December, and the Northern Irish weather was unforgiving. However, the work ethic and operational efficiency of the crew pleased Murphy greatly.

Whether in the challenging conditions of Northern Ireland or the more temperate Mediterranean island of Malta, Murphy's three units, nicknamed "Dragon," "Wolf," and "Lion," performed much more smoothly than planned.

The themes of the series, filming locations, comprehensive production plans, and budgets, as well as the skills of the cinematographers and the efforts of the actors, were all key to the successful workflow in Murphy's view.

Work continued intensely until close to Christmas 2005. The crew only granted a two-day break to those not required on set, while most of the main cast and crew, led by Murphy, focused on maximizing the snowy season for shooting at various outdoor locations around Belfast.

Unable to return to Los Angeles for Christmas, and unlike previous years when Gal Gadot would have gone back to Tel Aviv, she didn't fly to Israel but instead joined the latest group of arrivals in Belfast via a chartered flight.

As usual, Murphy didn't go to the airport to meet her; Gal Gadot took the crew's shuttle directly to the location.

Unlike before, this time Gal Gadot was accompanied by another girl.

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