Wire fu

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Wire fu is an action film genre in which the actors use wire-work to perform amazing stunts of qing gong. The English term is based on a combination of kung fu and wire work.

Almost all modern wuxia movies fall in this category. However, not all martial arts films used wire work. Hollywood employs wire-work in many recent movies.

1 In practice
2 The batteries beneath the cape
3 See also
4 Examples of wire fu movies

[edit] In practice

The basic concept is not very complex, and originates in the mechanical effects of stagecraft. The basic setup most people may know about is the flying angel cliche in a school or church play.

Planning and persistence is important, as it often takes many takes to accomplish the stunt, let alone making it look just right.

[edit] The batteries beneath the cape

Typically a harness is hidden under a costume, and a cable and pulley system is attached to the harness. When live sets are used, wire removal is done in post production. Another technique of creating wire fu is by using a green screen. This is done for more complex stunts and camera angles. The actors are suspended in the air by green wires. Then special effects are added to the scene such as the location.

One of the more famous uses of wire fu was in the film The Matrix. Possibly the most famous scene in it is when Agent Smith and Neo leap into the air and are suspended, with weapons firing at each other. The scene was done with the green screen technique and bullet time, though many scenes in the movie were done completely on set without need for green screens. In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon the characters can almost fly, vaulting into the air with ease. This was spoofed in a Pepsi commercial when the characters fly off the rooftops and battle for a can of Pepsi.