Fights, Camera, Action: Film choreography and Sam Wandi's First Short Film: E.T.A.


Haywire, Redbelt, Warrior, Fighting and a host of other recent movies that feature Mixed Martial Arts (or rather Mixed Martial Artists) have been flooding the screens since the explosion in the popularity of MMA. My 17 year old brother Sam Wandi recently wrote, directed, filmed and edited his first short film: E-T-A (Estimated Time of Arrival) and, as the film has a short fight sequence in it, he asked me to help choreograph / participate in it. It's all such a short sequence and I'm a terrible actor, but if anything it gave me a glimpse into the time and effort that goes into producing a short fight sequence (especially on practically zero budget!).

The film has had a lovely amount of attention, praise and kind words and even some constructive criticism and I'm happy to say that Sam is already in the works preparing a second film. More info on that soon.

Preparing for this post, I did a little research on film / stage combat and learnt that Douglas Fairbanks was the first one to consult a martial artist / pugilist (a fencing champion, to be exact) for an onscreen fight back in 1920:

Mask of Zorro Douglas Fairbanks 1920




One of the most amusing fight scenes I have ever seen is the one in the classic 1960s flick The Great Race. The best part of this fight is that it was done mainly with...pies! The pastry bill for the scene named "The Greatest Pie Fight, Ever" was a, ehm, whopping $18,000

The Great Race:  1965

 

And last but not least, the moment you have all been waiting for: I present to you:


E-T-A (5-20-1), A short film by Sam Wandi ft TYLER WARD MUSIC (600d) 2012



Sam and I are very appreciative of the management of Mr Tyler Ward who allowed the use of his music. Tyler is a talented musician and I encourage you all to follow his rising career.

*Sam works hard. Very hard. He worked a number of jobs to earn the money to buy his equipment and then spent tireless hours filming, rendering, editing and not to mention directing this film. If you want to show your support of this young work-machine, please follow him on twitter and YouTube. Personally, I can't wait for his next effort.
**If you are also interested in Motorsports, check out Sam's Motoring Blog: WandiSports


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Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

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