http://youtu.be/ecpQ_WUqKUM?t=12m20s
What's Happened Before?
The player has completed a tutorial level, playing as Sarah, the main character's daughter. During these 'scenes' we see their how close relationship is and how happy they are together... But quite quickly there is a turn in the story and they are being chased by very sick people (they seem to be similar to what zombies are like in other forms of media - but what they really are isn't clear yet). There is then a car accident and the two characters - along with Sarah's uncle Tommy - have to continue on foot. At this point, the playable character switches to Joel - Sarah's father (and the main character in the game). Joel picks up his daughter and is lead by Tommy through the streets of their nearest town. As Tommy fights off some of the sick people, Joel and Sarah go on... This is where my focus scene really begins.
Of course, camerawork and editing isn't a massive part of gaming, due to the player controlling the camera movement a lot of the time - the exceptions to this are 'in-game cutscenes' (which is what I will be looking at in a moment), 'quick-time events' (which involve the player pressing the correct buttons to perform tasks), and 'Interactive Movies' (which are video games that feature highly cinematic sequences and the player simply presses buttons to advance the story [much like a quicktime event] a recent example of these would be the video game 'Heavy Rain' which was a film noir thriller, released in 2010).
However sound, mise-en-scene and almost everything else involved in other forms of media are crucial for video games - these keep the player entertained throughout the experience. Throughout this scene, there is a sense of a handheld camera being used, due to the frame shaking slightly. This keeps the uneasy feeling throughout the scene. When making the game, the developers most likely used motion capture software to film the scene - so the camera may well be handheld and shaking.
Example of Motion capture in this game (not the same scene): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TxJWy19xxk
Breakdown of Scene
1. Just before the cutscene starts, Joel and Sarah are running down a dirt track, closely followed by the sick people. They pass an upturned ambulance and more people crawl out from underneath to follow them. This makes us feel panic and terror as we feel as if we are in charge of these character's lives and if we get caught by the people, they will die. The graphics of the game are extremely realistic and the people are covered in blood and their clothes are ripped - similar to Joel and Sarah towards the end of the level. The people are also making horrid retching noises with their throats and there is a fast paced music soundtrack playing that adds to the feeling of panic. The lighting in the game is also key to creating this feeling in the player, as there are many instances where the light is situated behind the camera is meant to be, and so all you see of the people are their shadows sprinting after the characters. This is much scarier than actually just seeing the people for what they are, as humans fear the unknown - this way, we don't know how big or small the people are, or even how close they are to Joel and Sarah.
2. The cutscene starts and it begins with gunshots being fired and the people running after Joel and Sarah falling to the ground. This is done with a mid shot of Joel and Sarah as they run up an embankment and the people being shot in the background. This way, we cannot see the shooter, only the aftermath - will they shoot Joel and Sarah too? The music soundtrack stops as this scene begins and this snaps our attention back to the characters in the scene. Joel comforts Sarah as she is scared about what is happening, then he calls out to the shooter. There is a low angle shot, looking up the embankment, showing Joel's legs and the shooter in the distance - there is low-key lighting used extensively throughout this scene so we only see the essential parts and keep focused on the story (it is also a shock when higher key lighting is used, this can be good or bad for the characters).
3. The shooter shouts to Joel as he starts to move forward telling him to stop immediately - he sounds as if he is wearing a mask of sorts... Is the disease airborne based? Joel starts to explain that Sarah's leg may be broken from the crash, but the shooter stops him mid-sentence and forcefully shouts at him to not come any closer. This keeps the feeling of panic at the center of the scene, as the shooter is getting more and more agitated and could just as easily shoot Joel and Sarah, like he did to the people a few seconds ago.
4. There is a medium close up of Joel (and Sarah) as the shooter shines the light from his gun in their faces. This puts them right in the firing line and we fear for their lives. The shooter then talks to someone on a radio asking what he should do - we assume he is some kind of soldier as we now see his bulletproof vest and other gear that a soldier would normally carry. We then return to the medium close up of Joel and Sarah, as Sarah asks "Daddy, what about Uncle Tommy?". Joel explains that they will go back for him after getting her to safety. We do not hear what is said on the radio, but the soldier sounds sad as he replies "Sir, there's a little girl". This makes us fear for their safety as he may have just been told to do something that will cause harm - maybe shoot them? We see an over the shoulder shot looking at the soldier as he says "yes sir" into the radio. Joel tries to plead their case a little by saying they have "been through hell", but he stops as the soldier raises his weapon to aim at Joel.
5. The soldier open fires and a tracking shot follows Joel as he tumbles down the hill - we hear a grunt from him and a scream from Sarah. The lights from the shots are startlingly bright and jolts our senses a little - we are terrified that Joel or Sarah may be hurt. There is an over the shoulder shot as we 'follow' the soldier over to aim directly at Joel's face. Joel pleads for his life, but we hear a shot - however, this shot comes from the right of the soldier and it is in fact Tommy shooting the soldier in the head. Blood spatters out of the side of his head and he falls to the ground - very shocking at how realistic the violence is.
6. We hear a slight whimpering and Tommy looks up and exclaims "Oh, no." The camera tracks Joel as he quickly crawls over to Sarah, who is lying on her back with a blood patch on her stomach - she has been shot. This is where a soft music score begins to come in - slow violins play out a very sad tune. the camera tilts down to show her trying to cover the wound - Joel then takes her hands away and replaced them with his, telling her that he knows that it hurts, but everything will be alright. We are so scared that Sarah will die soon, but it looks like the most likely outcome - this realisation (along with the music) makes us feel extremely sad for her and Joel. The blood stained shirt and the talent of all the actors makes the injury seem all the more real.
7. Joel tries to pick her up and as he does this, the camera pans to the left so we see Tommy - frozen in shock and at a loss of what to do. The camera pans back and Sarah's whimpering silences. She has died. As she dies, a deeper sound in the music is heard - a slow guitar strum of a low sounding chord... This reinforces the fact that she has passed. Joel begins to grieve for her and pleading for her to come back.
8. Joel starts crying (and maybe we do a little too) and he pulls Sarah up to hug her. He sobs into her and rocks back and forth slightly as he is trying to cope with the loss of his only child. This is an extremely emotional part of the scene, as anyone who has lost a relative or someone close to them will relate to it and even if they haven't, they can still understand the devastating effect this will have on Joel's life.
9. There is a harsh cut to the title screen - keeping the game feeling realistic. If the title was to use a fancy 'Hollywood style' slide, the game would feel a little fake, and the player would not be drawn into the fictional world as easily. Therefore keeping the emotional attachments at the heart of the game - even though it is "just an action/adventure video game". The music score ends here, and the next piece of music begins to play as the scene moves onto a montage of bacteria spreading across the screen and news feeds informing us of what happens in the months/years to follow.
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