Pupils’ apocalyptic film is commended by top school
A SHORT film produced by eight filmmaking pupils in Woodcote has been highly commended by the One Day Film School.
The sixth form pupils at The Oratory produced the oneminute and 15-second film called Apocalypse during a workshop in September. It is one of seven films in the best sequel film category.
George Cannon, 17, Riley Herbert, 16, Romilly McMahon, 17, George Muckalt, 16, and Tommy Madoc-Jones, 16, appeared in the film, which was scripted and directed by Sophia Thompson, 16, filmed by Jess Reid, 16, and edited by Isabella Teodorani Fabbri, 16.
During the two-hour workshop, they learnt all aspects of the filmmaking process to try to capture the film in 10 shots, including three close-ups with dialogue.
They were given tips on screenwriting, fight choreography, film history, camerawork and editing.
The film school and the awards are part of the Young Film Academy, the UK’s leading provider of film education for young people ages six to 19, recognised for filmmaking excelling in more than 150 UK and international schools.
The film produced by the Year 11 pupils follows the group discovering that their school friend is infected. The core moral dilemma is whether to stay with him and risk everyone's lives or kill their friend.
The film ends with a gun pointed at their friend’s head but another character’s hand intervenes, leaving his fate unresolved.
The group settled on their theme having acted out their ideas and it was a prompt of “moral decision”, which inspired them to produce the apocalyptic-themed film.
George, who played the central infected character and hopes to become an actor one day, said: “You find out I’m infected because I cough at the start of the film.
“In line with the theme, we had an idea of using a gun with the camera pointing down at my face at the same angle.
“As the trigger was pulled, someone’s hand came in and grabbed it to move it away, cutting the film there. It was hard to take it seriously because it was so rushed and there was another group filming in our location at the same time but we moved it inside and used it to our advantage, having fun and doing close-ups of people walking.”
Sophia drew inspiration from The Last of Us film, which revolved around people hiding from society due to an outbreak subtly linked to the covid pandemic.
She said: “We were going for the zombie theme because I had been inspired after watching The Last of Us. I thought it was quite an interesting concept, having to hide away from society because of an outbreak because it obviously links to covid.
“But we realised we couldn’t have actual zombies because we didn’t have any props or costume but we found a Nerf gun prop so we went for the apocalyptic theme.”
Jess began filming in one area but moved to the cricket pavilion, whose remote, wooded surroundings enhanced the apocalyptic aesthetic, reminiscent of the film 28 Days Later.
She said: “Because it was so empty outside, we thought it gave an abandoned vibe, which is why we went with the theme. We decided who wanted to be in, so we allocated roles but Sophia and I said we wanted to be behind the camera.”
They had difficulty with sound when producing the final edit. Jess said: “Normally, when you put music over the dialogue, the music goes away but when the talking happened at the end, it didn’t.
“When they showed our film, we couldn’t hear the dialogue which we worked really hard on in the end scene. You can’t hear the words but you can understand from the body language that it’s an argument but I think it builds up tension and makes it more atmospheric.”
They said they were surprised to receive a glass trophy for their commendation, which is on display in the Oratory trophy cabinet.
Jess said: “I was very surprised because we were watching other people's films and ours looked so bad in comparison. I think when you make something yourself with people you know, you see all the flaws in it, so it’s quite hard to judge how good it is because you never see it as perfect.”
The group have been invited to visit The Walt Disney Company in Hammersmith, London, on January 31 where they will screen the 14 award-winning films and watch a special preview of a forthcoming Disney film.