I was in the Netherlands to work with Erik Stok, composer for Chase (and almost all my films, except Forecast). We worked on the last and longest scene, the train scene. Erik made a chunk of music for the train and I thought it needed something extra. So I added the sound of a train horn on top of Erik’s trombone. He is not always happy with my extra’s. But flexible as he is, he took it up and made it much better then it was. Normally sound effects are added at the end of the animation process. But because Chase is almost abstract I need a lot of sounds in an earlier stage. Without them I am not able to judge if a specific movement works out. Without the sounds you sometimes don’t know what you’re looking at. In this case it was even more important to work with the horn effect, because I wanted it on top of Erik’s trombone integrating it in his composition.

The use of simple geometric shapes combined with a strong use of light and shadow will give Chase a graphical identity. Constant change of color will play an important role in display of emotions not only by the different ‘characters’, but in their background as well.

Slow change of colours and shape will give Chase, despite its graphical look, an organic feel. A sudden change into stronger colors and motion can stir the ambiance into a completely opposite, more hostile and aggressive environment. These continuously changing colors and shapes could be seen as a kind of respiration that will be perceptible throughout the film.

One of the main issues will be to establish the best way to have the spectator identify himself with an abstract world. The lack of means to identify oneself with this abstract world will be balanced by the emphasis on camera movement, montage and music. To ease the identification, scenes or shots from well known ‘pursuit’ movies can be translated into an abstract version of the original.

The dramatic effect of music and soundscape will be essential in amplifying the emotional power of the film. This also includes research into the use of soundscape in pursuit scenes. For example: squeaking doors, squealing tires, rattling chains etc. It could be interesting to look for abstract translations in music for these somewhat cliché soundeffects.