Chase scene evaluation

Intro- As a group, we created a chase scene on a horror/slasher genre called ‘The Lesson’. It was about a teacher doing a one-to-one tutorial lesson with a student who goes to get a book from her office and gets killed by the villain with scissors. She then gets chased by the killer and is tries to lock herself in a classroom, however the killer manages to open the door. We planned this through storyboarding on large cardboard. We had then added the essential ideas such as the camera shot/angles, sound/music, mise-en-scene onto the storyboard to add to our understanding, which was very effective. The overall chase scene was effective as everything was set as planned. There were a few parts of the scene that were manipulated to suit the theme or if something had clashed we had changed that to blend in with the trailer. Camera- The choice of camera choices was very open as we had a variety of shots at different camera angles. We did this to ensure that we had numerous ideas to help us when it comes to editing. If we were not sure about one clip, we would always have others as a backup.

Sound- We were very fortunate to find a piece of music and download it from YouTube, which fit in perfectly into parts of our chase scene. We also used our initiative to produce sounds such as the killer’s footsteps. One of us had stood up on the table and created the sounds of footsteps and recorded it through using a Microphone. The use of non-diegetic sounds makes the scene feel more alive. We had found a gaping scream of the internet which we had edited and used to

Mise-en- Scene- We used a variety of iconography and props such a pens, scissors, paint for blood, and an emotionless mask. A pen used to write on the board sets the scene as an educational environment where it’s expected to be seen as a safe place. The use of scissors was used to symbolize school equipment as a sharp weapon that murders which also fits in to the slasher/horror genre. We used red paint for blood, as it was the closest prop to it. The red paint was used effectively as it was the danger of the scene, the scissors were bloody with the blood spillage next to the victim create the sense of shock with blood smudged over her arms. The killer, played by myself, decided that it would be ideal to use a mask, an emotionless mask in particular. I made this decision, as I believed it would create tension to the audience. A face with no emotion keeps you confused and gets the audience to think why is the killer doing this? Are they angry or upset, we don’t know! This makes the audience feel worried and frustrated. Add examples i.e. scream

Editing- When it came to editing, we used software called ‘Final cut pro’, which I personally think took skill to use. We gained the skills to use new software called ‘Final Cut Pro’. This helped us to learn new things through editing such as adding fadeouts, credits, titles, removing/adding sound, cutting and pasting clips etc. We learnt how to use fadeout effects, which we had used at the scene of the door closing after the teacher leaves the student and also at the time of the student waiting for the teacher. This also demonstrations to the audience how long the student has been waiting because the fadeouts make the scene feel longer and creates tension, realistically us as editors are saving time. As we didn’t need to use tone cards in a chase scene, we learnt how to add titles and credits, which was a key skills developed. Para3- we used a variety of media technologies in this task. At the planning stage, we used computers to research for ideas that could help us with our clip. We had researched horror trailers and chase scenes on you tube such as ‘Halloween’ add more examples. This expanded our knowledge, which allowed us to think broadly about our task. We had used a storyboard to plan our chase-scene. This was very effective as it structured our task. We used the Internet for non-diegetic sound/music, which we had then downloaded. We also used a microphone and a recorder to record diegetic sound such as footsteps. Whilst recording the chase scene we used professional cameras with tripods, which helped us stay in line and record perfectly. It also helped us to record from different angles and movements. We also filmed without the tripod for a point of view shot, which made it more realistic. Conclusion- Overall I believe I have accomplished a wide set of skills and gained my knowledge in film and research.