Budding Peter Jacksons from Whangarei Boys' High School have made it to the finals of a short film competition run by Waikato polytech Wintec.
The Cut! National Secondary Schools Short Video competition has been running for seven years and aims to encourage young filmmakers nationwide and showcase their talent.
Director Kenny Ruddell, 17, and his three Year 13 classmates James Cheng, 17, Alex Gilbert, 18, and James Southorn, 18, created a six-minute film called Breathe about a fallen New Zealand soldier caught in ambush in a post-apocalyptic setting. Kenny and James acted in the film along with two drama students from Kamo High School. Kenny says the non-speaking film focuses on a moment where the soldier reflects on his survival and finishes with a "brain twist".
It was shot on a service lane on Port Rd which provided a war-torn industrial setting and the boys edited it on Adobe Premiere.
"It's about the inevitability of humans not getting on."
This isn't the group's first film - they have produced two others for school competitions and are preparing to screen an eight-minute documentary about the extreme sport known as drift triking (pedal-propelled three-wheel bikes) in conjunction with the Whangarei Film Society in November.
Kenny says the challenge with short filmmaking is to attract the audience quickly. "You've only got six minutes to convey something that will be entertaining and memorable."
Competition guidelines say films should have a beginning, middle and end with a sense of unity and wholeness. Judges were looking for the fundamentals of good visual storytelling like focus, framing, control of light, creative use of location or wardrobe, and sound recording and editing to tell the story and create the mood.
Of 70 groups in the competition, the team from Whangarei Boys' High was one of 12 selected to go on to the finals at an awards screening - tomorrow, 11am, at Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub, Wintec City Campus, Tristram St, Hamilton.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from Northern Advocate
Former boyfriend jailed for 8 years after attacking ex's partner at campsite
Michael Bracey texted his ex saying her new partner should 'sleep with one eye open'.