The Action Genre, Getting with the Chase
The Action Genre, Getting with the Chase
by mdf. escarcha
Chase is an action dynamic essential in delivering excitement for the audience. Without it, the action machine breaks down. In any case, the need to understand what makes a "chase" exciting is essential in making the lean mean action machine engaging for the viewing public.
Strip away the gimmicks and what is left is the real deal. Meaning, Chase is a dynamic that has structure and principles. Structurally, it has three vital parts namely 1. the hunter, 2. the hunted and 3. the range. The hunter refers to the entity that is pursuing the hunted. Considering that it is an entity, the hunter may take the form of a character or an event. For example, a police officer pursuing a convict is a character that serves as the hunter in the chase. On the other hand, a gruesome event like a murder that is pursuing an ex-convict serves as the hunter in the chase.
The hunted is the entity being pursued by the hunter. Again, the hunted may take the form of a character or an event. For example, a wife who is running away from her husband serves as the hunted in the chase. On the other hand, a wedding that is running away from a bride serves as an event being hunted.
Distance and time define the physical range between the hunter and the hunted. On the other hand, relationship determines the emotional range between the hunter and the hunted. This emotional range may pertain to age gap, social status differences, and level of maturity or types of attitudes. For example, a retiring Kentucky cop is pursuing a teenage convict who escaped from the local prison. The cop is on his way to Las Vegas to look for the said convict with the hopes that the latter went to visit his dying mother. In the example, the physical range of the hunter and the hunted is determined by the present location of the cop and his intended destination. The initial escape and the impending capture define the time in the equation. Age, profession and social status set the emotional range.
These three parts creates the "Chase Triangle". In turn, the triangle is governed by two principles namely 1. the ambiance and 2. the environment. Both principles define the arena from which "the chase" will occur. Ambiance refers to the emotional dimension of the arena like culture or subcultures, period or socio-political condition. On the other hand, environment refers to the physical dimension of the arena like civil works, buildings or transportation system.
When we are confronted with an action movie, we often witness a chase on the screen. The French Connection is one of those iconic chases that caught and still catching the imagination of viewers. As the hunter chased the hunted, the range was well defined. In terms of arena, we felt the interaction between the ambiance and the environment as the said principles affected the chase triangle. But when the same chase was copied by a Bong Revilla movie, it did not work at all.
Again, chase is only one of the needed dynamics of an action genre. If you do not connect the chase with the bigger picture, the tendency is that you are missing the point. An action movie is not just about the chase, it is much more than that. What "chase" does is to help make the bigger picture interesting and exciting. I always remind my students to never interchange the word innovation from outright plagiarism.
A good chase is only possible when it fits the bigger picture. If it sticks out like a sore thumb, then, something is wrong with the development and management of a material. One of the most enchanting chase ever made was concocted in a sci/fi-action movie called E.T. The way it was crafted depended on how the other dynamics operated. There was a pattern on when the chase would begin and when the chase will end. Local versions of the said movie, again, failed to understand why E.T. worked.
E.T. is not just about the alien or the boy who takes care of the said alien. It is about an experience that we all crave to go through. And this experience is defined partly by a qualified genre called sci/fi-action. Thus, we can not just copy E.T. by creating another second rate alien who looks like a talk show host or casting a cute kid. Or perhaps, putting everyone behind a green or blue screen.
A chase has a short shelf life. In a nutshell, a chase is all about originality or perhaps about innovations. When it is done, the next step is to come up with another out of the box chase. Copying a done thing is stupid and immature if you are dealing with action. A famous american action director once said that " a great action movie never repeats itself, that is why I do not like remakes".
by mdf. escarcha
Chase is an action dynamic essential in delivering excitement for the audience. Without it, the action machine breaks down. In any case, the need to understand what makes a "chase" exciting is essential in making the lean mean action machine engaging for the viewing public.
Strip away the gimmicks and what is left is the real deal. Meaning, Chase is a dynamic that has structure and principles. Structurally, it has three vital parts namely 1. the hunter, 2. the hunted and 3. the range. The hunter refers to the entity that is pursuing the hunted. Considering that it is an entity, the hunter may take the form of a character or an event. For example, a police officer pursuing a convict is a character that serves as the hunter in the chase. On the other hand, a gruesome event like a murder that is pursuing an ex-convict serves as the hunter in the chase.
The hunted is the entity being pursued by the hunter. Again, the hunted may take the form of a character or an event. For example, a wife who is running away from her husband serves as the hunted in the chase. On the other hand, a wedding that is running away from a bride serves as an event being hunted.
Distance and time define the physical range between the hunter and the hunted. On the other hand, relationship determines the emotional range between the hunter and the hunted. This emotional range may pertain to age gap, social status differences, and level of maturity or types of attitudes. For example, a retiring Kentucky cop is pursuing a teenage convict who escaped from the local prison. The cop is on his way to Las Vegas to look for the said convict with the hopes that the latter went to visit his dying mother. In the example, the physical range of the hunter and the hunted is determined by the present location of the cop and his intended destination. The initial escape and the impending capture define the time in the equation. Age, profession and social status set the emotional range.
These three parts creates the "Chase Triangle". In turn, the triangle is governed by two principles namely 1. the ambiance and 2. the environment. Both principles define the arena from which "the chase" will occur. Ambiance refers to the emotional dimension of the arena like culture or subcultures, period or socio-political condition. On the other hand, environment refers to the physical dimension of the arena like civil works, buildings or transportation system.
When we are confronted with an action movie, we often witness a chase on the screen. The French Connection is one of those iconic chases that caught and still catching the imagination of viewers. As the hunter chased the hunted, the range was well defined. In terms of arena, we felt the interaction between the ambiance and the environment as the said principles affected the chase triangle. But when the same chase was copied by a Bong Revilla movie, it did not work at all.
Again, chase is only one of the needed dynamics of an action genre. If you do not connect the chase with the bigger picture, the tendency is that you are missing the point. An action movie is not just about the chase, it is much more than that. What "chase" does is to help make the bigger picture interesting and exciting. I always remind my students to never interchange the word innovation from outright plagiarism.
A good chase is only possible when it fits the bigger picture. If it sticks out like a sore thumb, then, something is wrong with the development and management of a material. One of the most enchanting chase ever made was concocted in a sci/fi-action movie called E.T. The way it was crafted depended on how the other dynamics operated. There was a pattern on when the chase would begin and when the chase will end. Local versions of the said movie, again, failed to understand why E.T. worked.
E.T. is not just about the alien or the boy who takes care of the said alien. It is about an experience that we all crave to go through. And this experience is defined partly by a qualified genre called sci/fi-action. Thus, we can not just copy E.T. by creating another second rate alien who looks like a talk show host or casting a cute kid. Or perhaps, putting everyone behind a green or blue screen.
A chase has a short shelf life. In a nutshell, a chase is all about originality or perhaps about innovations. When it is done, the next step is to come up with another out of the box chase. Copying a done thing is stupid and immature if you are dealing with action. A famous american action director once said that " a great action movie never repeats itself, that is why I do not like remakes".
posted by akira's nightmare at
1:32 AM
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