No More Heroes isn't a dystopia, so running from law enforcement isn't as much a thing as it is in Mirror's Edge, but the thrill of the chase, and the intersecting of flow and fighting is something I can draw inspiration from for sure.
Writing Inspiration – 'Mirror's Edge Catalyst - Real Life Time Trial' (dir. Claudiu Voicu)28/8/2016 I like to come back and watch this one every now and again – it's probably one of my favourite uses of first-person perspective in a parkour video. The lines are nice and long, the editing is slick, and it's got a good vibe to it. A pretty cool piece of work from both a parkour and filmmaking perspective, all in all. No More Heroes isn't a dystopia, so running from law enforcement isn't as much a thing as it is in Mirror's Edge, but the thrill of the chase, and the intersecting of flow and fighting is something I can draw inspiration from for sure.
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A yet-to-be introduced character in the universe of No More Heroes is an adrenaline-loving Vigilante who has a disability in common with 5% of the world's (that is, our world's) population. He's a big music junkie who loves post-rock and electronica the most., I imagine this would be one of his jams for when he's out on his nightly runs, looking for some action. Official Site | Amazon | KoboThe peaceful nights are kept under the clandestine and watchful eye of young, gifted vigilantes the world over. But a sudden rash of vigilante deaths heralds the arrival of a new and unfamiliar enemy - one whose motive is as unclear as their identity. Someone or something seems determined to disturb the peace, and they're going straight for the watchmen to do it. In a city where those who are gifted make up their own rules, who will step forward when the threat of a swift end is real and there stands so little to gain? Soundtrack: 'CELESTIAL BODIES (feat. Jovani Occomy)' – GHOST DATA
Audio samples from Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven's Door (2001), Chocolate (2008), Righting Wrongs (1986), Dissidia: Final Fantasy (2008), Devil May Cry 3 (2005), Final Fantasy X-2: International + Last Mission (2003) At one stage I could very vividly picture an incredibly dynamic cinematic film trailer for No More Heroes every time I listened to this song. Talk about powerful music.
As someone within the local parkour/freerunning community, I never have to look very far for inspiration when it comes to movement. Even just within our local scene we have so much talent and diversity in style – it makes for a wellspring of creative stimuli, whatever you're doing. My repeated yet-unsuccessful attempts to do B-kicks and Aerials aside, I'm definitely more a parkour than freerunner practitioner, but if it's one thing I am pretty practiced at, it's observing others. Though my (currently) limited skillset probably begs to differ, watching others train at jams or gatherings has been both really helpful on a technical level, and extremely interesting from a creative standpoint. It's natural then with my love of dynamic action in fiction that I incorporated parkour and freerunning elements into No More Heroes... specifically, in writing characters who practice the discipline in their nightly escapades.
The characters I speak of make up the secondary team of Vigilantes in the novel, and within their group they encompass some of the 'types' of practitioners you'll often find within the parkour and freerunning community. One is primarily a parkour practitioner; another is well-versed in both practices, but tends to incorporate more tricks into their movements; the third is learned in aspects of both, but is more casual in their approach and their use of either discipline. These three incorporate their practices into their Vigilante duties not just in terms of urban exploration and chase sequences, but also into their fighting styles, which – even in having three 'parkour superheroes' – made for some nice diversity within the team and their dynamics with each other.
I drew from many different sources (both real and fictional) when it came to writing the action scenes and moments in No More Heroes, but one of these aforementioned secondary Vigilantes I largely modelled after a practitioner I know, who regularly amazes and inspires me with their skill and approach to training. Their style of movement in particular is one I really love to watch – it's a strong, clean and confident way of moving, purposeful and steadfast. While there's a pretty clear distinction between their personalities, this practitioner was definitely a pretty strong influence on the way I ended up shaping and writing the Vigilante in question, just through their style of movement. But that's enough of that for now! Below is a short playlist I created with some parkour and freerunning videos I like – in particular, I aimed to include ones that had some good examples of flow. If your parkour terminology is a little lacking, that's okay – you'll probably have a pretty good idea of what I mean after watching some of these. After you've had your fill of sweet moves, don't forget to check out the link to the excerpt of Chapter 3 of No More Heroes at the end of this post!
Thanks for reading, folks. If you're interested in seeing some of the parkour and freerunning action in No More Heroes for yourself, don't forget you can get it in print and digital editions either on this website, or from Amazon or Kobo. Enjoy the rest of your weekends!
READ IT NOWNo More Heroes – Book Excerpt
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AuthorMichelle Kan is an independent filmmaker/videographer, writer and artist based in Wellington, New Zealand. Archives
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