For the Zenith Project, students were assigned to explore something they were interested in. This can range from crafting screenplays to producing short advertisements to creating films. For my Zenith Project, I decided to tackle the challenge of practical and special effects. The reason being is that I was inspired by Quentin Tarantino and his use of such effects in his movies such as Reservoir Dogs and Django Unchained. I wanted to explore the use of digital gunshot muzzle flashes when firearms are fired and practical effects of blood squibs.
This was a challenge for me because this was completely new territory for me. I didn’t know where to start so researching was going to be the most important part. Another thing is that I decided to join a group with Sky, Hector, and Tyler where we create a short film, showcasing our different Zeniths. Many things could have gone wrong with our Zenith from one person not doing as much work or simply my blood squibs would just not work. There was definitely much fear in all of us that working together was risky. At the end, we were very collaborative and managed to create a short film that we are all proud of.
Because this is the last project for Freestyle Film, I have much experience and knowledge with the camera so the main focus was when we should cut to different shots because we were very limited. To use blood squibs, I had to attach tubing to my actor and fill it with fake blood mixed with water and blow it with a bike pump from the bottom end. This would make the blood flow through the tubing and squirt everywhere.
I had a lot of fun doing this project with my friends for one last time before ending my Freestyle career.