Chase Sequences

Our target from the last meeting was to find and analyse a chase sequence from a film for inspiration.

Alix - The Shining
The best chase scene in the shining is right at the end through the hotel's eerie maze, and it is the father (Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance) chasing his son on a murderous rampage.

Camerawork
The camera spends nearly the whole time tracking, either reverse or forward as the 2 characters run through the maze, and it does it so smoothly it seems almost graceful and elegant and it seems to slow the time down and dramatize it further. The smooth movements also make it seems very disorientating as the large snowy bushes just become a blur. The camera spends most of it's time on a low level but not on a low angle which makes the maze walls seem even bigger and more menacing.

Mise-en-Scene
The Mise-en-Scene in this is brilliant, as it's very early morning around 3/4am it is very dark and there is an eerie mist hovering quite high above the ground 1 or 2 feet, which creates a very creepy atmosphere. The high maze walls also make it seem very sinister and isolated, there is also snow on the ground which is very white and i think it symbolises the little boy's innocence, it also increases suspense as the audience worries that the father is just following the boy's foot prints - so he won't be able to hide.

Editing
It is not quite cross-cutting as they aren't in 2 different spaces but the father and son are never in the same shot. I think this heightens to suspense as you don't really know how far apart they are. I think the sequence may have also been slowed down a little as all the movements seem very graceful and dramatic (and generally just slower) - although this is mainly due to the camera work. They are all straight cuts, and mainly long takes - i.e. they show the father for a while and then the little boy for a while which increases suspense again by the mystery of how far apart they really are.

Sound
There is a lot of diegetic sound mainly panting and footsteps which increase suspense, at the end as well, over the top of a show of Jack Nicholson falling over from blood loss you can here the engine starting of the truck in which his son and wife escape in - so it is incredibly important as it sets the viewers midn to rest.
The non-diegtic changes with the movement of the characters, when they are still (with the camera) the music is mainly horns and trumpets - possibly to symbolises tiredness from their running. When they are running though suspense is further heightened by scratchy/shreiky strings - this is also the films motif and is used through and also quite famous.

Matt - Halloween (2007 film)

Plot summary:

The Devil's Rejects director Rob Zombie resurrects one of the most notorious slashers in screen history with this re-imagining of the 1978 John Carpenter classic that spawned numerous sequels and countless imitators. As a child, young Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) committed one of the most unspeakable crimes imaginable. Subsequently locked in an asylum and placed under the care of Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell), the hollow-eyed boy grew into an emotionless man determined to escape back to his hometown of Haddonfield and complete the murderous mission that he began so many years back. These days, the long-abandoned Myers house sits decrepit and overgrown on a peaceful suburban street, its boarded windows and rotting wood a silent testament to the slaughter that has haunted Haddonfield for decades. Now Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) is back, and as the children of this typical Midwestern town fill the sidewalks for a fun-filled night of tricks and treats, Haddonfield is about to find out that there is no escape from pure evil.

http://www.starpulse.com/

Camera work:

• Use of tilted angles to show disorientation
• Whip pans to show immediacy
• Shaky movement when more involved as if audience is experiencing the event.
• Steady camera work when onlooker so we can take the action codes in
• A big range from big close ups to very long shots, showing close emotions to the surrounding environment
• Victims eye level to show enormity of villain
• Some shots use a stationary camera to restrict the audiences flow in their involvement, making it more enigmatic as they want to be there to help the victim escape.
  

Mise-en-scene:

• Mask hides the identity of the villain and makes him seem supernatural and excluded from society
• Villain wears dark clothes to hide identity and is a signifier of evil
• Rural street implies a greater sense of isolation, i.e. victim is more on her own and implies this is out of the ordinary rural life
• Domestic setting involves the audience when expressing fears on society so is more suspenseful and plausible
• Night time and low level lighting gives a sense of creepiness, and is typical of thriller chases
• The struggle through doors and windows shows entrapment and heightens suspense. Is she going to get inside in time?
  

Editing:

• Fast pace editing and fast shots are used in places to show that this is actually a chase- it maintains realism and audience’s pace
• Slow paced editing and longer shots are purposefully used to hold the audience in suspense and this lingering puts the audience on the edge of their seats- e.g. ‘quickly, get in the house!!’
• Slight blue colouring connotes a theme of isolation
• Straight cuts maintain pace of the chase
  

Sound:

• Use of diegetic sound such as screaming, crying, grabbing, smashing of objects, smashing glass, banging on the door, locking the door, smashing the door down. Brings chase to life.
• Non-diegetic sounds such as ...a piano drone, heightens suspense and enigma.

Angelie - I Know What You Did Last Summer
This chase sequence is the chase leading up to Helen (played by Sarah Michelle Geller)'s death. It starts with Helen in the police car with the policeman who is meant to be protecting her. He then goes to try and see why there is a car parked in the middle of the road. The policeman is then murdered by the villain in all black who uses a hook as his/her weapon, while Helen is locked in the car.

Camera work
The chase sequence starts with her kicking the window and smashing it. There is then a floor level shot of her climbing out of the window. Then there's a long shot of her climbing out of the window, giving the audience an overview of what's happening around her. then it goes back to the floor level shot, she gets up from the ground and starts to run away. The audience can only see her feet, then her feet run out of frame and the audience can see the killer's feet walking behind her. Then there's an very/extreme long shot with silhouettes of trees acting as frames within a frame, then Helen's silhouette runs from behind one of the trees and runs towards the camera. Then she runs out of frame and the killer's silhouette walks into frame, following the same path that Helen took. Then comes a medium shot of Helen running and as she passes the camera, the camera pans to follow her. Then there's a long shot which then goes to medium close up of a shop that Helen appears to be running towards. We see Helen run past the camera again and the camera pans as she runs past. Then there's a shot from inside the shop, of a woman putting some sort of plastic sheeting over a mannequin. Then there's a tracking shot of the villain, which is a close up low level shot of the killer holding a hook. Then there's a reverse track close up of Helen as she runs. Then there's a shaky (probably handheld), point of view shot of the shop she's running towards. Then it goes back to tracking the killer, but this time with a medium long shot. Then back to the reverse track close up of Helen running. Then there is a long shot of the shop, and Helen runs into frame and towards the shop. Then there's a shot from inside the shop (through the window in the shop door) which zooms in as Helen gets closer and closer to the door. Helen bangs on the window to get the character in the shop's attention.
[That's basically the end of the actual chase sequence and afterwards Helen gets into the shop]

Editing
The takes of Helen are generally quite short, to convey her panic. The takes of the killer are usually longer, to show how slowly he's coming after her, but this also shows that he's really in control of the situation. Some cross-cutting takes place between Helen and the killer, and the female character in the shop. There also appears to be some parallel editing, since there are some shots of a girl, researching a murder, on the computer. But, this may instead be cross cutting because their paths may cross later on, but at the moment we can't really tell whether or not that will happen. Straight cuts are used throughout to creat a sense of urgency.

Mise-en-scene
The chase takes place at night, which is typical of a thriller film. The area of the chase also seems to be quite deserted, which is also typical of a thriller film. Helen is wearing a dress and high heels, which make her more vulnerable since neither item of clothing is particularly practical when trying to escape from a murderer. The villain is wearing all black which is a signifier of evil/evil characters. The audience can't tell who the villain is, since his/her face is covered. This creates enigma. The villain is using a hook as his/her weapon, which is perhaps an indication of who the killer really is.

Sound
Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound are used in the chase sequence. The music used adds to the tension of the scene. Some of the diegetic sound (for example, footsteps) is used for realism. Other diegetic sound (e.g. panting, gasping, a bit of dialogue at the end when Helen is shouting Elsa's name) is used to make the scene more tense and scary.

Liam -