After some two years of planning I’m happy to present my first short film inspired by the song Panic Switch by the Silversun Pickups.

 

Taglines: When you panic where does your mind take you?

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Drama

Trivia:

Filmed on two separate days, the final weekend of the three main members before their graduation.

A misunderstanding with an ill-tempered professor lead to the inability to use the rented classroom one day before shooting. An hour of frantic searching later and Cameron had found a replacement classroom to shoot in thanks to a kind science professor whom Cameron had previously had. Her name was later put into the special thanks section of the credits.

The classroom was initially supposed to be filled with more students in it. Cameron had put up 3 fliers in his theatre building advertising a need for extras as well as several on Facebook. No one responded.
While this initially worried Cameron as it didn’t support the song lyric “When you see yourself in a crowded room” he initially grew to like it. “Wouldn’t you be much more panicked knowing you’re one of the last people taking a test in a classroom that held many more students?”

For the shot when Cory looks down at his pocket while leaving the classroom Cory had to stand on a stool to achieve the right angle.

Filmed in one building.
Nearly all of the hallway shots were filmed on the third floor. The only ones that weren’t were the shots of Cory running up the short flight of steps to the crossroads. These were shot on the first floor, same as the classroom.

Cameron decided to add in additional close ups weeks after shooting was over: the knife’s bloody tip, the knife being gripped in both hands, and the test being turned in. He had to recreate these shots using his own hands and completely different locations. His skin is noticeably pinker and his arms more hairy than Cory’s.

Excluding the aforementioned close-up shots, the shots of Cory running up the short flight of steps to the crossroads were the last shots to be filmed.

The shirt Austin Aschbrenner and Drew Fontenot wore were provided by Cameron respectively to avoid use of logos and to give Drew a more “professor” look. Cameron had previously bought this shirt for his own performance as a professor in Kyser Hall Massacre a short film directed by Panic’s co-director, Alex Cobb.

The name on the scantron sheet says “Cory Cobb” a combination Cory Germany and Alex Cobb

Panic

After some two years of planning I’m happy to present my first short film inspired by the song Panic Switch by the Silversun Pickups.

 

Taglines: When you panic where does your mind take you?

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Drama

Trivia

Filmed on two separate days, a Friday and Saturday, in May, the final weekend of the three main members, Cameron Metrejean, Alexandra Cobb, and Cory Germany, before their graduation a week later.

Writer/Director, Cameron Metrejean, first came up with the idea after hearing the film’s song, Panic Switch by the Silversun Pickups, in the trailer for the movie Sucker Punch (2011). Cameron sights Sucker Punch as an inspiration as well as Black Swan (2010) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).

Cameron got the idea for the shot of the test bubble becoming blank in an eye-blink from scenes involving the Weeping Angels from Doctor Who.

A misunderstanding with an ill-tempered professor lead to the inability to use the classroom (that had been previously reserved) one day before shooting. An hour of frantic searching later and Cameron had found a replacement classroom to shoot in thanks to a kind science professor whom Cameron had previously had. Her name was later put into the Special Thanks To section of the credits.

The classroom was originally supposed to have much more students in it. Cameron had put up 3 fliers in NSU’s theatre building as well as several on Facebook advertising a need for extras. No one responded.

While this initially worried Cameron as it didn’t support the song’s lyric When you see yourself in a crowded room, he eventually grew to like it. “Wouldn’t you be much more panicked knowing you’re one of the last people taking a test in a classroom that held many more students?”

For the shot when Cory looks down at his pocket while leaving the classroom Cory had to stand on a stool to achieve the right angle.

Filmed in one building, Kyser Hall in Northwestern State University. Nearly all of the hallway shots were filmed on the third floor. The only ones that weren’t were the shots of Cory running up the short flight of steps to the crossroads. These were shot on the first floor, same as the classroom.

Cameron decided to add in three additional close-ups weeks after shooting was over: the knife’s bloody tip, the knife being gripped in both hands, and the test being turned in. He had to recreate these shots using his own hands and completely different locations. His skin is noticeably pinker and his arms hairier than Cory’s.

Excluding the aforementioned close-up shots, the shots of Cory running up the short flight of steps to the crossroads were the last shots to be filmed.

The shirt Austin Aschbrenner and Drew Fontenot wore were provided by Cameron to respectively avoid use of logos and to give Drew a more “professor” look. Cameron had previously bought this shirt for his own performance as a professor in Kyser Hall Massacre a short film directed by Panic’s co-director Alex Cobb

The name on the scantron sheet says “Cory Cobb” a combination of Cory Germany and Alex Cobb.