Film Studies

During this task, we chose to create a horror film about a college student who becomes so overwhelmed with work and life in general, he goes on a killing spree. We showed this by having the first minute of the short film full of repetitive shots, such as the card being scanned to get into the college, the work piling up as the film progresses to show how much work he has to do and a shot of a tree blowing in the wind with the grey sky in the background. We thought this would be evident to the audience that life has become repetitive and boring for the main character, and thus he wants a dramatic change.  We then showed the 'snap' of the main character by the use of a firework clip. This emphasises the idea that something inside his mind has 'snapped' and therefore both relates to the song perfectly and the title of the short film, 'Before You Snap'. The rest of the short film was dedicated to showing the killing spree that the main character went on. We inc

(Note: the scene where the main character 'snaps' has been replaced from a plate smashing to a firework going off - along with non diegetic sound of the firework and screaming. The scene which featured the shot of the arm covered in blood has also been replaced with just blood on the wall, or paper since we couldn't put the blood on the wall itself, so we improvised.)

Create a list of cinematic ideas for a key sequence: this must include extreme close up, medium shot, two shot, zoom-in, high angles, low angles, low-key lighting, editing, sound, etc. Beginning:  The short film will start off with a repetitive montage of shots. These shots will be of: walking into college, scanning the card, walking to class, getting notes and books out, taking notes, packing away, walking out of college (?); regular things that happen on a day to day basis within the college. These will then be repeated through the use of editing to emphasise the repetition of a day-to-day life. The shots will slowly get faster and faster, until the character 'snaps'.  Middle:  The main character, Michael, will then go on a murderous killing spree, much in the style of Michael Myers in terms of the weapon, but Jason Voorhees in terms of the mask. There will a use of middle shots from behind, not showing the main character's face but will show him going into rooms

(Before You Snap) Michael lives a seemingly normal life, he's a college student who has high hopes of becoming a successful businessman in the future. His parents are kind and generous, always wanting to help their son in whichever ways they can. However, when work starts to pile up and Michael falls behind on all his deadlines, something snaps inside of him. The overwhelming feeling has been kept inside for too long, and now it wants out. Using an old hockey mask he used to use when he was a child, he begins his murderous killing spree, killing anyone and everyone near him. His anger, his rage and his anxieties have all been waiting and building up to this very moment, the moment where he strikes.