Some goods points Loki, but some things to add:
I think its dangerous to think of every scene as a fight scene. The techniques which work in a fight may not translate exactly to another type of scene, and vice versa. There are some elements of writing that are universal across all scenes (use of conflict, for instance, as well as building sympathy and anticipation in your audience) these are more general rules than you have in a fight scene.
Specifically do not confuse social conflict with fighting. Social conflict is more delicate than fighting and should not be treated as such. The point, in social conflict, is not to DEFEAT the opponent. It is to CHANGE the opponent. That is a subtle but profound difference. In particular, you must walk a thin line when developing the conflict between two characters an identify which type of resolution they are going to want.
Because while you can thwart your audiences expecatations, you must NEVER thwart their desires. If they want the villian DEAD, kill him. Don't give him an eleventh hour redemption because the hero said pretty words.
Also action scenes and fight scenes share a lot in terms of visual flourishes and descriptive pacing but have a lot of differences as well. Particualry is the fact that in most action scenes the hero is not fighting a villian, he is fighting the environment. Nobody cares about the environment. The audience does not want to see a typhoon defeated, they want to see the hero survive the typhoon. They don't want to see a collapsing factory defeated, they want to see the hero escape the collapsing factory.
In this effect, faceless mook are just another part of the environment. A natural (or unnatural) disaster that must be avoided or overcome but not an actual thing to be defeated. Faceless mooks (no matter their form) are Random Monsters. Random Monsters are an excuse for the hero to show off, but we don't really care about them. They ARE a good excuse to build heat for the villian however. Anything the Legion of Terror does will be transfered (in blame) to the Archvillian without any cognitive dissonance. In this manner a good horde of faceless minions (or a disaster he caused) is a good way to build some villian heat for the badguy.
Fight Scenes are a hybrid of social conflict and action scenes, and the best ones use the most important parts of each.
------------------
Epsilon
I think its dangerous to think of every scene as a fight scene. The techniques which work in a fight may not translate exactly to another type of scene, and vice versa. There are some elements of writing that are universal across all scenes (use of conflict, for instance, as well as building sympathy and anticipation in your audience) these are more general rules than you have in a fight scene.
Specifically do not confuse social conflict with fighting. Social conflict is more delicate than fighting and should not be treated as such. The point, in social conflict, is not to DEFEAT the opponent. It is to CHANGE the opponent. That is a subtle but profound difference. In particular, you must walk a thin line when developing the conflict between two characters an identify which type of resolution they are going to want.
Because while you can thwart your audiences expecatations, you must NEVER thwart their desires. If they want the villian DEAD, kill him. Don't give him an eleventh hour redemption because the hero said pretty words.
Also action scenes and fight scenes share a lot in terms of visual flourishes and descriptive pacing but have a lot of differences as well. Particualry is the fact that in most action scenes the hero is not fighting a villian, he is fighting the environment. Nobody cares about the environment. The audience does not want to see a typhoon defeated, they want to see the hero survive the typhoon. They don't want to see a collapsing factory defeated, they want to see the hero escape the collapsing factory.
In this effect, faceless mook are just another part of the environment. A natural (or unnatural) disaster that must be avoided or overcome but not an actual thing to be defeated. Faceless mooks (no matter their form) are Random Monsters. Random Monsters are an excuse for the hero to show off, but we don't really care about them. They ARE a good excuse to build heat for the villian however. Anything the Legion of Terror does will be transfered (in blame) to the Archvillian without any cognitive dissonance. In this manner a good horde of faceless minions (or a disaster he caused) is a good way to build some villian heat for the badguy.
Fight Scenes are a hybrid of social conflict and action scenes, and the best ones use the most important parts of each.
------------------
Epsilon