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The Action Genre, Getting with the Chase

The Action Genre, Getting with the Chase
by mdf. escarcha

Chase is an action dynamic essential in delivering excitement for the audience. Without it, the action machine breaks down. In any case, the need to understand what makes a "chase" exciting is essential in making the lean mean action machine engaging for the viewing public.

Strip away the gimmicks and what is left is the real deal. Meaning, Chase is a dynamic that has structure and principles. Structurally, it has three vital parts namely 1. the hunter, 2. the hunted and 3. the range. The hunter refers to the entity that is pursuing the hunted. Considering that it is an entity, the hunter may take the form of a character or an event. For example, a police officer pursuing a convict is a character that serves as the hunter in the chase. On the other hand, a gruesome event like a murder that is pursuing an ex-convict serves as the hunter in the chase.

The hunted is the entity being pursued by the hunter. Again, the hunted may take the form of a character or an event. For example, a wife who is running away from her husband serves as the hunted in the chase. On the other hand, a wedding that is running away from a bride serves as an event being hunted.

Distance and time define the physical range between the hunter and the hunted. On the other hand, relationship determines the emotional range between the hunter and the hunted. This emotional range may pertain to age gap, social status differences, and level of maturity or types of attitudes. For example, a retiring Kentucky cop is pursuing a teenage convict who escaped from the local prison. The cop is on his way to Las Vegas to look for the said convict with the hopes that the latter went to visit his dying mother. In the example, the physical range of the hunter and the hunted is determined by the present location of the cop and his intended destination. The initial escape and the impending capture define the time in the equation. Age, profession and social status set the emotional range.

These three parts creates the "Chase Triangle". In turn, the triangle is governed by two principles namely 1. the ambiance and 2. the environment. Both principles define the arena from which "the chase" will occur. Ambiance refers to the emotional dimension of the arena like culture or subcultures, period or socio-political condition. On the other hand, environment refers to the physical dimension of the arena like civil works, buildings or transportation system.

When we are confronted with an action movie, we often witness a chase on the screen. The French Connection is one of those iconic chases that caught and still catching the imagination of viewers. As the hunter chased the hunted, the range was well defined. In terms of arena, we felt the interaction between the ambiance and the environment as the said principles affected the chase triangle. But when the same chase was copied by a Bong Revilla movie, it did not work at all.

Again, chase is only one of the needed dynamics of an action genre. If you do not connect the chase with the bigger picture, the tendency is that you are missing the point. An action movie is not just about the chase, it is much more than that. What "chase" does is to help make the bigger picture interesting and exciting. I always remind my students to never interchange the word innovation from outright plagiarism.

A good chase is only possible when it fits the bigger picture. If it sticks out like a sore thumb, then, something is wrong with the development and management of a material. One of the most enchanting chase ever made was concocted in a sci/fi-action movie called E.T. The way it was crafted depended on how the other dynamics operated. There was a pattern on when the chase would begin and when the chase will end. Local versions of the said movie, again, failed to understand why E.T. worked.

E.T. is not just about the alien or the boy who takes care of the said alien. It is about an experience that we all crave to go through. And this experience is defined partly by a qualified genre called sci/fi-action. Thus, we can not just copy E.T. by creating another second rate alien who looks like a talk show host or casting a cute kid. Or perhaps, putting everyone behind a green or blue screen.

A chase has a short shelf life. In a nutshell, a chase is all about originality or perhaps about innovations. When it is done, the next step is to come up with another out of the box chase. Copying a done thing is stupid and immature if you are dealing with action. A famous american action director once said that " a great action movie never repeats itself, that is why I do not like remakes".

A Compounded Genre: Catching The Comedy-Action Wave

A Compounded Genre: Catching The Comedy-Action Wave
written by mdf. escarcha

Left and right, comedy-action is the new flavor of the month. Nevertheless, prophets of doom still insist that action is dead. Not really if you understand the fundamentals of action as a genre. Spreading the gospel of "action" seems to be difficult in an industry plagued with decaying action stars. But the market tells a different tale. If truly the industry is dying, the market is not.

The market is independent but at the same time dependent with the industry. Sounds confusing? Perhaps, the confusion resides within an industry that is filled with layers and postures. Strip away the sugar-coatings and what is left are hard core data that reflect the needs of the market from which the industry refuses to service.

Countless debates encourage the chicken or the egg mystery. I remember the teachings of USP and the ideal vision of "market rules". But then again, are we really talking about the same animal. Or perhaps, that animal they are talking about is just a pigment of their imagination.

In third world countries, it is always the industry that drives product-consumer equilibrium and not the other way around. This is why outsourcing is the in thing to do right now because third world countries are atmospherically favorable to industry dominance. If in the macro level this is true, then in the micro level the same thing is surely happening.

It is important to immediately dismiss the chicken or the egg discourse. It is not happening here in the Philippines. Local industries of various types determine the product-consumer equilibrium. If we are led to believe this is not the case, probably we are living in the wrong planet.

Check out the things that you buy. Are you buying these things because of competition or are you just buying what others are buying? And when you are buying the things that other people are buying does this mean you are in control?

A film studio once created a product with a glossy look. Somehow, the glossy look was linked with opulence under extreme stress. The poor were fascinated with the problems of the rich and how such problems led them to their demise. There was something about the glossy look that made the not so rich citizens excited in a twisted manner. The funny thing was that the poor empathized with the rich characters. They did not resent Sharon Cuneta for being a rich brat princess in her teenage movies, rather, they felt that they too were rich brat princesses trap inside the bodies of poor daughters of domestic helpers.

When we stare at the end of the barrel of a gun, we see a light that will surely kill us in an instant. This is the way the film industry works in this country. We are constantly forced to stare at the end of the barrel of a gun and wait for the impending end. But do not get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it. And the redundancy is self-serving.

Simple math, a film studio dominated by strong women will produce materials filled with strong women, strong women and strong women. Even the male characters are models of strong women. There are times the materials are archetypes or "bio-pics" of the strong women who are running the machinery. In the end, nobody gives a shit about the market, not even the strong women, strong women and strong women.

Making these statements will surely get your ass fired in three seconds. Speaking from experience, it is not a pleasant career kodak moment. A colleague once said that if you get fired on the basis of doing the right thing, the best thing to do is to resign. But I guess this not a good advice because resignation entails zero benefits.

At the tail end of the 90s, it was apparent that drama was not the genre to go for. Yet, people were insisting that based on USP, drama was profitable. I guess, the surplus of strong drama queens was reaching unfavorable levels. To make matters worst, they were getting old and the fan base was shrinking or migrating to HongKong and Dubai.

Comedy was the next best thing. When a drama flick flopped, comedy saved the day. But senseless comedy is not a genre but a product of incompetence. The king was getting old and the jesters were slated to be his replacement. But like action stars, superstar comedians were rare commodities. As a result, comedy no longer got the magic "finger".

Romance was a glitter of hope. But love teams were from the Jurassic age. So, in the end, it was a futile exercise. What appears to be a romance was actually a second class "idol centered" drama. In a nutshell, it was another strong woman who was dramatically in love. Again, there is nothing wrong with it. Except for one thing. The strong woman was masturbating using the weak man as the weapon of mass destruction.

It was by chance that majority of the mainstream film studios noticed that Vic Sotto Movies were slamming the box office. Major film studios, whether they admit it or not, were puzzled because their comedies did not sell like hotcakes. It was an extensive creative team soul searching multiplied by several powers.

Genre played an important role in Vic Sotto movies. Apparently, he has a strong creative team who realized that given the present market condition, there was a need to improve or upgrade. Comedy won't work just like that in its pure form. It was imperative to look for another genre that would serve as a new platform for Vic Sotto. And by consequence, comedy-action was the compounded genre that they were looking for.

Comedy-action, as a compounded genre, allocates the structure of comedy and the components of action. The target of the action in the case of Vic Sotto movies is the personality of the superstar comedian. Kung-Fu Hustle, to draw a comparison, travels in the same orbit. In fact, one can draw similarities between the main character of Kung Fu Hustle and Vic Sotto as Enteng Kabisote.

I remember when I was part of a creative team, I was trying to push for compounded genres or even combined genres. But it was not receive in a positive manner. Perhaps the move was a bit radical for them. Or maybe I was just not pushing it to hard. In both cases, I was at fault. Nevertheless, I knew that sooner or later they would learn their lesson the hard way.

I believe that we are in the comedy-action wave and somehow the next big thing will be another compounded genre called horror-drama. I find it exciting to make this fearless forecast. I still feel that pure genres are relevant but the market is conscious with regards to getting the most out of a given amount. Yet, I dare not explore multiple genres in one feature. I think it is too much for a single material though possible if ever.

The Inciting Incident : The 1st Principle of the Action Genre

The Inciting Incident : The 1st Principle of the Action Genre
by mdf. escarcha

The target of the action is always affected by an inciting incident. An incident is either a function of chance, fate or destiny. Chance tends to operate within the present tense. For example, you enter a bank and then suddenly three men announce a bank robbery. In the said situation, the inciting incident is unfolding. And as it unfolds, it is always about "what is happening" in a given moment.

Fate revolves around the past. It is always based on a prior event. For example, a boy meets a girl in High School. And after several years, he meets her again. But this time, the girl is the clever thief who is under investigation by the boy who happens to be the smart cop in charge of the case. In the said situation, the inciting incident is a function of fate. Fate is not effective without a prior event that will set-up the inciting incident.

Destiny pertains to the future. Unlike Fate, it needs no prior event to set it up. Instead, it is made-up of events that are either a function of accidents or coincidences. Another difference is that destiny makes use of the present events to direct a character to its destined end point. Thus, the initial event for the chain of accidents and coincidences becomes the inciting event. For example, an assassin bumps into a childhood friend in a 24 hours fastfood restaurant. He learns that the said childhood friend is planning to enroll in a school that teaches cha-cha. The teacher of the said school is the assassin's next target. In the example, both accident and coincident were operating. The destined end point in this case is under the control of the individual who is developing and managing the material. If the destined end point is for the assassin to kill her true love, then the accidents or coincidences will direct the character to the destined end point.

As an inciting incident, the source is always an event. Meaning, the event is independent or autonomous from the main characters. Meeting someone inside a supermarket is void of any human intervention. If someone sends a person for you to meet inside a supermarket, then it is not an inciting incident at all. This is a bit tricky because one way or the other, there is a need to determine whether or not an event is free from any human intervention. For story editors, there are indicators that determine whether or not an event is subject to human intervention. To cite one indicator, a story editor must determine whether or not an event is an action or an activity.

Chance, Fate or Destiny, an inciting incident is geared towards moving both the story and character forward. If the incident does not exhibit a forward effect, then it is called a forestalling incident. Seldom do we encounter this incident in conventional materials. But in experimental storytelling, forestalling incidents create resistance in the movement of both character and story.

In theory, one can create numerous inciting incidents in a material. But due to limited execution of the material, one incident is often enough to capture the imagination of the audience. But if you ask me, inciting incidents should follow the rule of three. Wherein in one material, there should be a min of 3 incidents to make the material fluid and unpredictable.


Let us play a game, for example, a father by chance finds a gun inside the lunch box of his daughter. The father confronts his 12-year-old daughter. The daughter confesses to his father that she is a gun for hire agent. Given this inciting incident, what could be the forestalling incident?

We know from the incident that the ball is already rolling with regards to the chance discovery of the weapon and the eventual confession of the daughter. In order to stop the movement of the proverbial ball, there is a need to either eliminate the father, the daughter or the gun. For example, what if the father suddenly dies soon after a nightmare about her daughter. Given that the father is an agent that knows the gun and the confession, eliminating him will end the forward movement of the discovery and its eventual spread outside the relationship.

If the gun is eliminated, is this a forestalling incident? Remember the first scenario above. The gun is the concrete manifestation of the emotional confession. Do you think if the gun is eliminated, the confession will remain within the intimate relationship?

The elimination of the gun does not end the movement of the ball. Rather, it forces the ball to move in a different direction. The gun is just a concrete manifestation of the confession. Therefore, there is also a need to eliminate the confession as the emotional component of the gun. If the daughter takes her gun and surrenders to a police officer, this becomes the forestalling incident that stops the ball from rolling.

Though, mainstream cinema seldom use forestalling incidents, the mastery of the said "device" in tandem with the inciting incident creates this four dimensional treatment of the material. Action movies that reached iconic statuses tend to have this four-dimensional treatment. But I must admit that applying this treatment tend to consume so much time at the development and management stage of any material. Yet, if a team pulls off such a treatment, the reward is beyond what is desired.

The first principle of action with regards to inciting incidents gives us a clear view with regards to how an action genre affects the general development and management of a material. It gives us the means to understand how action begins, unfolds and ends from material to execution. I remember that I was given the chance to develop an action movie. Sad to say, I did not have the methodology in such development without management. Thus, development was only base on hunches, rumors and inaccurate assumptions.

I learned that there is more to it than what is perceived to be what it was. Now I realize why the project did not push through. We were pretending to know the genre but the truth was we were just copying what was available during those days. I guess, there is no excuse for incompetence in the face of creative immaturity. At this point, I apologize.

The Action genre is a living entity that yearns to develop or transform in this questionable industry that we have. I think it is time for us to have our inciting incident and look forward with regards to change. After all, this is a new era and action stars are Jurassic conceptions of dinosaur-like film studios. Probably, there is a need not to invent or re-invent, rather, to innovate from what we used to have.

A Qualified Genre: The Magic Behind Fantasy/Action

A Qualified Genre: The Magic Behind Fantasy/Action
by mdf. escarcha

As a writer begins to bend the reality of any narrative, he or she oversees the creation of a world that is unique and specific to his or her personality. What we see, as the audience, is the writer's dreams and nightmares. We, as the audience, take the chance to explore the writer's construct with the intention to understand beauty as well as the horror that such a world offers.

Fantasy alone is not a genre. Rather, it is a qualification of a genre. For example, the term family/drama qualifies the genre drama in terms of dramatic problems and solutions that refer to family related experiences. The same is true for fantasy/action wherein it qualifies the action in terms of problems and solutions that refer to fantastic experiences.

The Wizard of Oz is a good example of fantasy/action. The main character travels in a world created by the writer of the material. This world reflects the dreams and nightmares that are unique to the said author. And as the main character moves through this world, we as the audience discover the beauty as well as the horror that such writer offers through his world.

Fantasy/action is not for those who like to copy the works of other authors. As a qualified genre, it takes a lot of brain power as well as extreme originality to pull off such a unique construct that is so specific. I always tell my students that the decision to specialize on this type of qualified genre requires an individual to consciously avoid reading or watching materials related to the said qualified genre. Or else, you end up copying the elements of other materials.

Determining whether or not a material is fantasy/action depends on how the world is constructed from which the story and the character will move. Superman and Spiderman are not fantasy/action movies. In fact, these are compounded genres. The difference is that the world is not a unique and specific construct. It is familiar and general almost similar to that of the real world. What I see is different is the construct of the characters in the physical level considering that they have supernatural powers.

Generally, one important characteristic of a fantasy/action is that the main character is uprooted from the real world and transported to a fantasy world that is unique and specific. With emphasis on the character as a construct that is completely human with no supernatural powers at all. In the movie, Never-Ending Story, an average kid is transported to a fantasy world. This particular kid tends to assume a generic quality. Making it possible for the audience to assume the role of the kid at any point as the material unfolds.

It is vital that when a character moves from the real world to the fantasy world that the said character begins with no supernatural powers at all. As the material unfolds, a character may or may not acquire fantastic skills or weapons that are utilized as tools in achieving whatever end. But these skills or weapons are temporary and are only available within the parameters of the fantasy world.

A material may tackle the politics within a fantasy world. Meaning, the action is limited within the bounds of the said world. In this case, supernatural powers are translated within the context of the said world. Thus, flying beings are not extraordinary but are part of the usual workings of the said world.

The magic of any fantasy/action is not the monopoly of either character or story. The magic is a function of how the fantasy world is constructed. Meaning, the more unique and specific the said world, the more engaging it is. Thus, it is all about location, location and location.

If the fantasy world is not magical, no matter how good the story or the character is, it will not work. So when we develop and manage a fantasy/action, the first thing to do is to define the construct of the world. We do not talk about the characters nor do we begin to establish the story. The world will define its characters and story. If the fantasy world is a vast desert, then the characters will look like desert dwellers. If the world is a chain of buildings suspended in the air, then the story will be about why the buildings are suspended in the air.

There are no physical references with regards to fantasy/action. The qualified genre relies heavily on the mental references of an individual or a creative team. In the end, the name of the game is to come up with something that is so fantastically original. If the viewers will see that the elements in the material are just second rate copies, then the magic will immediately disappear.

In my opinion, a good fantasy/action is measured by a question. What element in the movie you fell in love with? If you fell in love with the character or the story, then the genre did not work. But if you fell in love with the fantasy world and you craved to be part of that world, then the genre did its job.

Domestic Violence : The Object of the Vision

Domestic Violence : The Object of the Vision
by mdf. escarcha

If my Physics serves me right, H20 has a given boiling point. But reaching that boiling point depends on the quantity of water and the amount of heat applied. Thus, given the amount of heat applied, two liters of water will boil faster than five liters of water. Reverse this condition, given the same amount of water, if heat A is greater than Heat B, then Heat A will boil the water faster than Heat B.

If we construct an abstract verbal model and refer to the boiling point as a function of violence, the violence depends on the quantity of water and the heat applied. Quantity of water pertains to Human tolerance and heat applied pertains to stress as a stimulant. Thus, Violence is equal to human tolerance over stress as a stimulant.


Human tolerance depends on two functions namely personality of formation and personality of revelation. When stress as a stimulant is introduced, the responses of the said personalities, in theory, are always parallel. Meaning, if formation acts on the stimulant, revelation will also do the same. And if formation reacts on the stimulant, revelation will also do the same thing. But what happens when the relationship is inversely proportional?

Postulate One, if the relationship between the formation and revelation is directly proportional, then human tolerance is high. Thus, given stress as a stimulant, a character constructed under this condition tends to exhibit greater control over violence.

Postulate Two, if the relationship between the formation and the revelation is inversely proportional, then human tolerance is low. Thus, given stress as a stimulant, a character constructed under this condition tends to exhibit less control over violence.

Postulate Three, what happens when the relationship between formation and revelation is indirectly proportional? What happens to the character and his or her control over violence? When two elements are indirectly proportional, one assumes that there is a third element involved that connects the two principal elements. So in this case, what do you think is the third element?

Postulates 1 & 2 refer to man or woman as a person who exercises free will. The relationship between formation and revelation is directly or inversely proportional to one another. Thus, there is no obstruction or filter between the two elements. On the other hand, when a third element is involved, there is a filter or an obstruction that either influences or exercises power over the two principal elements.

Given the provision above, if the relationship between formation and revelation is indirectly proportional, then violence is defined by the third element. Meaning, if the third element acts on the stimulant, the first and second elements will do the same. Thus, given stress as a stimulant, a character constructed in this condition tends to exhibit no control over violence.

If a man belongs to the first postulate, given a certain amount of marital stress as a stimulant, it will take a lot of inciting incidents before he will act on or react on the marital stress as a stimulant. But, if it will take a lot of inciting incidents before he acts on or reacts on the marital stress as a stimulant, is the amount of violence when released greater or lower?

We go back to the boiling point. If H2o has a fixed boiling point, then human tolerance also has a fixed amount of violence. This is true if we are dealing with H20 as the type of human tolerance. But what if we substitute H20 with peanut oil whose boiling point is lower than water?


Stress affects the boiling point in this case. Given a character that exercises greater control over violence, control becomes a function of tolerance over stress. If tolerance is greater than stress, then the amount of violence increases because one must gradually increase stress until it reaches the breaking point of tolerance resulting to violence. The gradual increase in stress becomes deliberate, thus if the relationship is directly proportional, violence is also deliberate. And the more deliberate the violence, the more it is cerebral than emotional.

On the other hand, if tolerance is less than the stress, then the amount of violence decreases because stress remains constant. The breaking point of tolerance, is this case, is quick and impulsive. Thus, if the relationship between revelation and formation is directly proportional, violence is deployed quickly and by impulse. And the more impulsive the violence, the more it is emotional than cerebral.

Postulate two operates in a different way. If tolerance is greater than stress, then the amount of violence increases because one must gradually increase stress until it reaches the breaking point of tolerance resulting to violence. The gradual increase becomes deliberate, but because the relationship between formation and revelation is indirectly proportional, violence is deployed quickly and by impulse. And the more impulsive the violence, the greater the neurosis.


On the other hand, if tolerance is less than the stress, then the amount of violence decreases because stress remains constant. The breaking point of tolerance, is this case, is quick and impulsive. Thus, if the relationship between revelation and formation is indirectly proportional, violence is deployed deliberately. And the more deliberate the violence, the less the neurosis.

Postulate three revolves around the relationship of the conduit with tolerance and stress. If we manipulate the variables outside the conduit, the violence attacks the conduit. For example, the conduit is a Christian Value of "Thou Shall Not Kill", if we manipulate the variables outside the conduit, decreasing external tolerance or increasing external stress will neutralize the equilibrium of the conduit. On the other hand, if we manipulate the variables inside the conduit, the conduit disrupts the external equilibrium. Thus, the Christian Value neutralizes itself.


Practical applications of the postulates determine the direction of a material. Postulates 1 and 2 project vertical storytelling. Wherein postulate 1 is more vertical than postulate 2. On the other hand, postulate 3 projects horizontal storytelling. Combining 3 and 1 produces diagonal storytelling while combining 2 and 3 produces an ellipse.

If we follow the stated postulates together with its provisions, postulates 1 and 2 are character driven materials in terms of violence as a core value. In postulate 1, violence is an action. While in postulate 2, violence is an activity.

When violence is an action, it has a physical and emotional or cerebral components. On the other hand, when violence is an activity, it only has a physical or cerebral or emotional component. This makes the violence enigmatic. We can see the physical manifestation of violence but there is no clear meaning or there is no meaning at all. Writing a material in this construct is challenging because the enigma as it moves away from the abstract becomes more concrete despite of the absence of its function. The reverse is also possible. An activity may have meaning but it has no form. So, violence becomes a mystery. You feel the violence but you can not see it. Thus, the violence is more emotional or cerebral than physical. And as it moves away from the physical, it becomes more abstract despite of the absence of its form.


For the third postulate, violence is either negative or positive. When it is positive, it becomes a healing agent or an inviting event. If it is negative, it becomes a disturbance or inciting incident. In both cases, the said conditions disrupt either the conduit internally or tolerance and stress externally.

In the midst of domestic violence directed to women, the said postulates offer us a glimpse in terms of the behavior of the material as reflected by the story, plot, genre and characters. A man who belongs to postulate one has the tendency to employ violence as an act. While a man who belongs to postulate two employs violence as an activity.

Postulate three defines domestic violence as either the internal breakdown of the conduit or the conduit neutralized by external variables. Marital Vows, as a collective is a good conduit that defines a husband's tolerance over stress. If the conduit disintegrates internally, marital violence is due to the breakdown of marriage as an institution. But if the conduit is neutralized by external variables, marital violence is due to the breakdown of the man-woman relationship. Thus, the first case suggests that marriage as an institution defines the relationship, while the second case, the relationship defines the institution.

The postulates presented in this article are approximation of character behavior in terms of personality formation and personality revelation. Violence, as a core value of any material, is affected by the dynamics of the said personalities that occupy a single space. As stated before, violence depends on human tolerance and the amount stress applied. Manipulating these variables affects the character in terms of its attitude towards violence and how the character employs it in its immediate physical and emotional situation.