Clayton George Wickham - final thesis

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style which is replicated later in the series, but largely unused to this point. By using
concentrated forms of perspective in establishment in all quarters of the film’s
aesthetic, A New Beginning not only stands out as unique within the series, but also,
in some ways, becomes a template for future instalments.
Pete’s death uses a snap zoom as an alternative to editing to indicate his
perspective. He is seen in profile facing left trying to start the car, and once the
engine starts, as indicated by the soundtrack, a hand reaches between him and the
viewer, grabs his forehead, pulls it back and places a knife in front of his throat.
This cuts to a medium shot of Pete from the front, the knife in position, and as the
arm begins to drag the knife across his throat, there is a snap zoom 12 to an extreme
close up of his eyes, occurring while the score plays a sustained high note, and there
is a slicing and squirting sound heard. Although the precise event has been
foreshadowed by the score and the visual appearance of the knife placed at his
throat, the actual mutilation remains unseen, the sound acting in lieu of the visual.
There is then a cut back to the profile shot of Pete, as the knife moves away from his
now bloody throat and the hand lets go of his forehead. Despite the steady pace of
the editing of this sequence, the snap zoom is an unexpected visual occurrence that
moves contrary to the steady pace of the editing. This is designed to create a shock
in the spectator which reflects Pete’s surprise at this sudden attack, in addition to the
MPAA requirements for removing graphic bodily mutilation, as the zoom masks the
graphic violence.
12 This shot is technically not a snap zoom, but an image freeze and frame enlargement created to
resemble a snap zoom, much like the closing shot of The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959;
dir. Truffaut). However, the enlargement begins at the moment the frame freezes in order to cover the
fact that it is a freeze frame, giving the sensation of consistent motion. As this is done to create the
illusion of a snap zoom, I will refer to it as such.