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Jackie Chan - How to Do Action Comedy

Every Frame a Painting · explainer · Watch on YouTube

Film analysis & criticismFilmmaking & video productionStand-up & sketch comedy

What it is

Every Frame a Painting analyzes how Jackie Chan stages action comedy, with nine principles such as starting from a disadvantage, using the environment, clear shots, and keeping action and reaction in the same frame.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN repeatedly recommends it as the clearest explanation of why Chan's fight scenes beat fast-cut Hollywood action.

  • 9 people recommended it
  • 8 different months
  • 3 strong recommendations
  • first 2015, last 2022

What HN commenters said

  1. “One of my favorite "Every Frame a Painting" videos is on Jackie Chan.”

    Will change how you see modern action fight scenes.

    seanalltogether, 2017-10 · Strong recommendation · in “Jackie Chan’s Plan to Keep Kicking Forever”

  2. “Here’s a really cool video breaking down exactly how Jackie sets up his stunt-action-comedy.”

    Breaks down how Jackie Chan sets up stunt-action-comedy sequences.

    doitLP, 2019-01 · Strong recommendation · in “The Painful Price of Becoming Jackie Chan”

  3. “does an excellent job of explaining why Jackie Chan's way of doing action is awesome”

    Explains why Chan's action beats contemporary Hollywood.

    Fricken, 2022-01 · Strong recommendation · in “Colors in movies and TV: What happened to them?”

  4. “at 5:26, they show how Jackie edits hits to appear twice across cuts to aid in viewability.”

    Shows how Jackie Chan edits hits to repeat across cuts.

    bentcorner, 2015-04 · Recommendation · in “Why don’t our brains explode at movie cuts?”

  5. “There is a great video essay about Jackie Chan's style (and how it differs from standard Hollywood action movies)”

    Explains Jackie Chan's style versus Hollywood action.

    mopsi, 2019-10 · Recommendation · in “The Demise of Physical Comedy”

  6. “Every Frame a Painting has a good video on this.”

    Contrasts Jackie Chan's films with American-produced ones.

    andrewzah, 2020-10 · Recommendation · in “Be prolific”

  7. “Every Frame a Painting has a very good video essay on how Jackie Chan films action scenes”

    Shows how Jackie Chan films action scenes, especially punches.

    dmitriid, 2020-11 · Recommendation · in “David Fincher’s Impossible Eye”

  8. “I didn’t realize this until I saw this”

    Explains Chan's steady wide-angle action versus shaky fast cuts.

    jonpurdy, 2022-01 · Recommendation · in “Colors in movies and TV: What happened to them?”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: jackie chan, film analysis, video essay, editing, fight choreography

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