When you want to show the exchanges of fists and blades so the audience can read every one of them. Use it for martial arts, dance, and stunt short-form videos, and game action trailers.
To read the start and end of a move, you have to see the body from head to toe. Among the principles Jackie Chan picks out, 'clear shots' and 'attack and reaction in the same frame' are exactly this.
To recreate it: Always include 'both fighters fully visible head to toe'.
Keep the left and right of the attacker and the blocker consistent to the end, and it stays clear who is who even in fast exchanges.
To recreate it: In every shot prompt, write that character A is always on the left and B on the right.
Jackie Chan films join one good hit twice from different angles to turn it into a bigger blow.
To recreate it: Generate the same motion from two angles and join them, leaving 3 to 4 overlapping frames.
If you cut mid-motion and let the next shot pick up the same motion, the cut disappears and only the rhythm of the exchange remains.
To recreate it: Write the last motion of the previous shot as the first sentence of the next shot's prompt, as is.
The wuxia of King Hu and Shaw Brothers mixed wire work and trampoline acrobatics with footage sped up by changing the camera speed.
To recreate it: AI clips usually come out slow, so speed them up 1.2 to 1.5 times in editing.
The rooftop chase in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon shows the whole body of the character climbing a wall and soaring up in a wide shot, and the computer was used only to erase wires. Wire action adds a magical realism to wuxia.
To recreate it: Describe aerial motion as 'weightless wire-assisted leap'.
If you exaggerate the whoosh of a blade cutting the air and the hit at the moment of impact, you can count the beat of the exchange by ear too.
To recreate it: Attach the sound effects exactly at the cut-on-action points.
Cinematic multi-shot sequence, 14 seconds total. Shot 1 (3s): static wide shot of a moonlit stone courtyard, a swordswoman in dark blue robes on the left facing a masked thief in black on the right. Shot 2 (4s): slow truck right in full shot as both trade rapid sword strikes and blocks, fully visible head to toe. Shot 3 (2s): static medium shot of her spinning kick knocking his blade aside. Shot 4 (3s): low-angle tilt up as the thief leaps weightlessly up a white wall onto the rooftop in slow motion. Shot 5 (2s): static medium close-up of her landing on the tiles in a fighting stance. Consistent fighters, robes and sword, lantern light, cool moonlight.
Wuxia action strings together moves from real Chinese martial arts in a set order. So instead of chopping it into tiny cuts to hide things, it puts the attack and the reaction together in a wide shot where the full body is visible. In Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the actors did most of the stunts themselves, and by director Ang Lee's account, the computer was used 'only to erase the safety wires holding up the actors'. In the wuxia of director King Hu and Shaw Brothers, wire work and trampoline acrobatics were mixed with sped-up footage to create the flying feats of qinggong.
Wide shot of a moonlit stone courtyard in an old Chinese mansion, a swordswoman in dark blue robes on the left facing a masked thief in black holding a long sword on the right, paper lanterns glowing. Static camera, full bodies in frame, warm lantern light.
Full shot, both fighters fully visible head to toe, the swordswoman on the left and the masked thief on the right trading a rapid sequence of sword strikes and blocks across the courtyard, robes swirling. Slow truck right keeping both in frame, lantern light, 35mm film look.
Medium shot of the swordswoman spinning and landing a sweeping kick that knocks the masked thief's blade aside, sparks flying from the steel. Static camera, warm lantern light, cool moonlit shadows, crisp 35mm film look.
Low-angle shot as the masked thief leaps weightlessly up a whitewashed wall and onto a tiled rooftop, black robes trailing, the swordswoman springing after him. Tilt up following them, slow motion, moonlit sky, warm lantern glow below.
Medium close-up of the swordswoman landing on the rooftop tiles in a low fighting stance, sword raised, eyes locked on her opponent off-screen right. Static camera, cool moonlight rim, warm lantern glow below, crisp film grain.
Set up where the two fighters stand with a wide shot, show the exchange in a full shot for a long time, and show the finishing blow twice with a repeat cut that joins the end of Shot 2 and Shot 3 on the same motion. Cut the leap on action from the frame where the feet leave the ground, and return the slow motion to normal speed on the landing shot.
AI can't accurately make motion where many blows are traded quickly, so ask for only one or two exchanges per clip, and join consecutive exchanges in editing with cuts on action. Weapons often vanish from the hand or turn into two, so add a weapon reference image and check the hands and the sword first in a 480p draft. Write the left and right positions of the two characters in every prompt, so they don't swap places when the shot changes.
Wikipedia — Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon · Wikipedia — Wire fu · Wikipedia — Wuxia