Chase Scene Storyboard

I knew that when creating a structuralist theory chase sequence, it would have to include the expected paradigms to convey the horror genre. The establishing shot the scene starts with follows the convention of a horror setting. The white picket fence and pastel coloured house depicts a serene environment, however the isolated house and woodland surroundings make the audience subconsciously aware that a murder or killing is probably going to happen there. The 'killer' in the next medium shot is dressed in all black and is seen turning a door handle, at this moment the pitch of the music rises. This is a common technique used as it creates tension which emphasises the terrifying atmosphere the image and sound collectively make. In addition the audience are aware he is a threat as his face is not shown, implying a mystery and the connotations of the colour black mean the audience should feel intimidated by him. The two female 'victims' in the scene are the stereotypical characters in a horror. One of the girls (Janey) is the blonde, promiscuous friend and in a structuralsit horror would be likely to be killed in comparison to the virginal, reserved girl (Rachel) who survives as she's the 'better' person. I chose to use a high angle shot when Janey is killed as it makes her seem more vulnerable. Janey's vulnerability is further enhanced by the fast paced music which builds to the crescendo at this point. Using iconography also makes the chase scene a structuralist horror; I wanted to have some shinning cutlery to be on the side as Rachel is killed. This effect was used in Scream, and it made the audience more aware of the killing about to commence therefore build the suspense. As Rachel is now being chased out of the house there is an extreme close up of the knife, which has Janey's blood on it. The audience should fear the knife as it has already been used to kill, as well as this a knife is a object which the audience will have at home making the scene more realistic and therefore scarier. I chose to use a knife as a weapon over anything else because it needs close proximity between the killer and the victim in order to inflict injury, also being stabbed in comparison to being shit is a more painful death. All this accumulates into the audience becoming more frightened of the unknown killer.

The final over the shoulder shot creates a visual of the murderer stalking after Rachel, whilst the audience can see her scrambling away into the woodlands. The music at this point calms, reflecting the characters escape from the killer. However the audience knows, as a common convention of structuralist horror, a young girl running into a isolated woods with a unknown killer behind her may not end happily.