This video essay is about the construction of a car chase scene from a filmmaker’s perspective, breaking down the points that the best car chases share and warning against the common pitfalls that can ruin a car chase. If you’re a fan of the car chase – this video is a tribute to the best car chases throughout cinema history.
In an attempt to be as comprehensive on this subject as possible, this became what is likely the highest number of individual films covered in a single video essay.
Eight Key Elements to Shooting A Car Chase
POV: When looking at the best car chases that cinema has to offer, one key commonality is the use of a grounded pov whether that be through the literal point of view of the driver or the car itself or getting the camera in motion with the characters, often editing back and forth between the two cutting outside the car to occasional wides and maintaining a sense of clear geometry for the viewer is important but pov shots can convey a sense of speed better than a static shot from a camera positioned off in the distance.
The best car chases get the camera in motion and integrate the audience’s perspective making the viewer a part of the chase itself rather than just a bystander.
2. Clarity: Even though the film industry seemed to forget this for a while in the post-bourne era, clarity is of utmost importance in action scenes whether it be a fight scene a shootout, or a car chase clear visuals and steady rhythmic editing benefit in action sequence while shaky cam in quick cutting can flat out ruin an action sequence.
3. Grounded Action: As CGI and digital filmmaking technologies continue to advance great car chases become fewer and farther between. Even the best CGI that is practically indistinguishable from the real thing still usually lacks that tangible edge, that sense of heft and weight of a real car on a real road going 90 miles an hour. When cars start defying the laws of physics, in theory a sports car jumping from one skyscraper to another should be the most impressive car gag, but in practice, it feels more like a kid playing with hot wheels cars. There’s a reason why a much smaller jump is infinitely cooler and that’s realism.
4. A Sense of Danger: going hand in hand with a sense of realism, is a sense of danger. Part of what makes good stunt work in general so exciting and what adds an extra layer of exhilaration to people like Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise, and especially Jackie Chan, is they do their own action.
5. A Consistent and Believable Threat: Every great car chase needs a consistent and believable threat to our heroes throughout its entire duration. You don’t want a car chase to be too short because if it’s over too quickly then it won’t give the audience the thrills and adrenaline rush that you’re hoping to create. It might seem logical that the opposite would be true as well, that you don’t want your car chase to go on for too long either. But this isn’t exactly the case with films like mad max fury road and duel proving that an entire film can essentially be one long car chase. The answer to the question how long should a car chase be is however long it needs and deserves to be. Keeping a car chase compelling for an extended period of time is reliant on two key factors, one a steady flow of exciting moments and two a consistent and believable threat to the protagonist at all times.
6. A Satisfying Balance of Moments and Connectors: A car chase might be a single overall experience but it is comprised of individual moments also called gags. Every great action sequence consists of memorable moments tethered together with connectors. In between each moment is the connector. The gags are the big moments that stick in your mind and make you tense up or give you that rush of dopamine and the connectors are the less flashy beads necessary to link the gags together.
7. External Action: An element that isn’t necessary to making a great car chase but it can often heighten the action and elevate a chase scene and that is external action. Vehicle-centric action happening concurrently with a chase in addition to the driving itself.
8. X-factor: Every great car chase needs a little dash of originality some X factor that sets it apart from other chases using similar vehicles in similar locations or similar gags. The X factor could be a novel integration of music. It could be making use of a unique type of vehicle. It might mean shooting the chase in a new presentation style. It might mean leaning into excess for over-the-top thrills and humor. It might mean slowing things down and getting weird or quieting things down and getting clever. Or it might mean giving the viewers something they’ve never seen before.
If you can nail these eight points then you’ve got a great car chase on your hands.
In an attempt to be as comprehensive on this subject as possible, this became what is likely the highest number of individual films covered in a single video essay. This essay includes footage from
This Essay Includes Footage From:
- The Seven-Ups
- Vanishing Point
- Dirty Mary Crazy Larry
- Shadows in an Empty Room
- Bullitt
- Gone in 60 Seconds
- Mad Max
- The Road Warrior
- Fury Road
- The Bourne Supremacy
- Quantum of Solace
- Furious 7
- The Blues Brothers
- Short Time
- Smokey and the Bandit
- To Live and Die in LA
- A Good Day to Die Hard
- The French Connection
- Ronin
- Death Proof
- Hardcore Henry
- Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
- John Wick Chapter 2
- John Wick Chapter 3
- The Villainess
- The Raid 2
- Legend of the Drunken Master
- Flash Point
- Escape From LA
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- The Driver
- Drive
- Sherlock Jr.
- The Italian Job
- Hard Target
- The Hidden
- Hooper
- Project A
- Police Story
- Armour of God AKA Operation Condor II
- Silent Night Deadly Night Part 2
- Paper Moon
- Baby Driver
- The Matrix Reloaded
- Duel
- Terminator 2: Judgement Day
- Operation Avalanche
- The Master Touch
- Ong Bak,
- The Way of the Gun.