Chase scenes in the Action genre

Chase Scenes

In our film opening the main thing in it is going to be a chase scene so I have decided to research how they are used in the Action genre as a whole. A chase scene is when the protagonist is being chased by the antagonist (normally it's the antagonists henchmen as it shows the antagonist as being powerful as he has control over his minions). The reasons for they are pursing the protagonist is usually because he has an item that is key to the plot of the film. For example in the film National Treasures Book of secrets (2007) the protagonist is being chased because he has stolen the Book of secrets from a museum. While in the scene it's a car chase it shows lots of conventions that are found in foot chases.

(Skip to 0:31 for the chase)

As seen in the clip, Chase scenes use lots of fast paced editing with lots of cuts being used very quickly which shows the protagonist and then the antagonists immediately after to show the distant between them. This is used to create suspense as it makes the audience fear that the protagonist is going to be caught. Another example of a on foot chase scene can be seen in the film The Matrix (1999) in the climax of the film the protagonist is being chased by the main antagonist which makes the scene much more intense as the antagonist is personally chasing him instead of making his henchmen chase them. 

What makes this chase scene good is that we see a wide range of camera shots which are used to create suspense in scenes. For example when the protagonist is sprinting a hand held camera is used to follower but when it follows him it is very shaky this imitates the the we are trying to catch up to him by running to him. Also the position of the camera is at times is closed in on his face or its following him from behind. This is used to show his facial expressions so that we can see his emotions which helps convey the tension within the scene as he looks scared throughout which makes the audience nervous as it shows the protagonist in a weaker state than usual. And when the camera is behind him it shows that the protagonist is being chased and that the antagonist is catching up to them which makes it more suspenseful as while the protagonist doesn't know how close the antagonist is the audience does which makes it more suspenseful for the audience 

Another good thing in this clip is that one part of the chase is set in a building which is useful for my group as we are going to film our chase scene in a building so it will be useful to my group as we can see how shots are filmed and edited filming chase on stairs normally has the camera at the top the stairs its or it's follows right behind them.