Back in February when I officially started Film Combat Syndicate’s official blog, I had the distinct honor of sharing a dialogue with martial arts actor and stuntman, tokusatsu action performer and hero to the tokusatsu fan community, Mark Musashi. In my interview with him, he explained some of his views about his own strides in becoming a filmmaker, saying the following:
Honestly, I think I’m pretty terrible behind the camera. The main reason I started shooting my own stuff was that I just wanted to know how some people can make mediocre performances look amazing. When I was learning how to do stunts, I was always told to be aware of how I look from head to toe. But in the modern way of shooting action, we can mask a lot of the subpar movements with cinematic techniques. I feel that if I do want to work more as a stunt coordinator/choreographer, it is my responsibility to learn all of these tricks to amping up the action. Still, for my own projects I do want to try and strike a balance between keeping things exciting, but still showcasing performances that are worth watching.
Today, Mark turns 36 years young, and he is looking for some honest critiques for his latest independent experimental shortfilm venture, Chrono Shock: Lost Angels, which resembles a cross between the 2008 sci-fi film, Jumper, and the Biting Elbows musical short action short, Bad Mothersomething-or-another (of course that isn’t the name, but you get it.).
The shortfilm presents a great concept for an even bigger story, starring Alex Kingi, Solomon Brende and Jason Sweat about two rivals who share a bitter past. Only thing is they end up transporting each other everytime they make physical contact, which is what happens when they start throwing down, spanning a beach, a parking lot, Hollywood boulevard and any place where traffic occurs.
The shortfilm was based on a concept Mark started working on a year ago. And in the past month, he rigourously worked on shooting and editing the film, in addition to writing and directing it. So, a year later, we finally get to have a look at what appears to be a shortfilm slightly ahead of its time.
Very impressive work in my opinion; Though it wasn’t littered with a lot of visuals, Chronos Shock certainly does what it intended, which is to take on something new and bold. And you know what? Me likes!
Happy Birthday Mark!
To read my interview with Mark Musashi, click HERE. It is one of my biggest interviews with someone for my blog, and it is an honor to share space with him here.
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