Film
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Siena Bonnici
Our Lady of Sion College, Box Hill
‘Serotonin’ – Lafferty Daniel
Music video, 4 min
Seven teenagers make the most of their final summer holidays before embarking on their post-high school journey. A compilation of their time is filmed by a member of the group on a Super 8 film camera.
When creating this music video, I aimed to accurately recreate Australia in the 1970s, capturing real and candid connections between friends. Along with this, I wanted to give more attention to the Australian artist who created the music, Lafferty Daniel.
Hugo Di Mattina
Xavier College, Kew
Tamagotchi
Fantasy, 6 min
Tamron Gotchi is an animator struggling to keep up with the copious amount of work required of him. Collapsing at his desk and falling asleep, a dream sequence begins where his animation comes to life.
In making this film, I hoped to create a fantastical and satirical glimpse into the work life of a typical millennial – in this case, an animator. I wanted to elicit tension from the audience and call viewers to reflect on times they have rushed towards a deadline.
Jared Halden-Cornish
Norwood Secondary College, Ringwood
‘Call You Up’ – Viola Beach
Music video, 5 min
River walks across Melbourne in search of forgiveness from his girlfriend, Reeves. He remembers both the happy times and the dark times from their relationship, longing to be with her one last time.
Viola Beach were an upcoming indie-rock group, who all tragically died in a car accident in 2016. As a tribute to their lives, I decided to produce a music video to their song Call You Up.
Henry Johnston
Scotch College, Hawthorn
Sallie Jones: An Australian Farmer
Documentary, 7 min
Australian farmer, Sallie Jones, shares her inspiring story about overcoming hardship.
This documentary covers issues such as mental health, country living, starting a small business and gender stereotypes of women in rural Australia. Inspired by the ABC program Australian Story, I had the intention of presenting a moving story in a way that was both informative and engaging.
Kate Keenan
Our Lady of Mercy College, Heidelberg
Wing Man
Animation, 2 min
A father struggles with his embarrassment and doubt when asked to complete a personal errand for his daughter.
This film is a commentary on the trivial stigma associated with menstruation, illustrated through a dad’s first time buying pads for his daughter at the chemist. With the intention of challenging this irrational taboo, I decided to poke fun at it.
Jasper Margaritis
Templestowe College, Templestowe Lower
Kobold
Animation, 6 min
Ida is given the chance to move away from the dull city to her grandparent’s old, uninhabited house in the countryside. However, when she arrives, she discovers the house is not as empty as it seems. My intention was to create a short 2D-animated film that presents a traditional comedic type of cartoon for young audiences. I drew on the exaggerated animation seen in conventional children’s fantasy and comedic cartoons as a key reference to make the film entertaining.
Angus Molden
St Kevin’s College, Toorak
The Hitchhiker
Thriller, 10 min
A young man finds himself on winding country roads, desperately seeking a lift to take him as far away as possible. Salvation arrives in the form of an enigmatic stranger who says very little. Inspired by the likes of David Fincher and M Night Shyamalan, I chose to create a short film within the thriller genre. This film is intended to inspire suspense and terror within the audience, asking them to question who they trust and the consequences of deceit.
Owen Morfitt
Lakeview Senior College, Caroline Springs
Where Are You Going?
Drama, 10 min
A young girl grapples with conflicting emotions after she runs away from home. Inspired by the work of Lynne Ramsey and François Truffaut, I aimed to create a sense of intimacy through naturalism and to realistically portray the themes of childhood innocence, parental relationships, rebelliousness and conflicting emotions.
Jeremy Njegac
St Bernard’s College, Essendon
One Plan(et)
Science fiction, 3 min
Surrounded by the consequences of climate change and environmental negligence, a young man living in 2031 observes and comments on the declining world around him. In creating One Plan(et), I wanted to construct a believable point of view from the near future that addressed the consequences of neglecting our environment. I aimed to enhance the setting of the narrative through various editing techniques and hope to affect younger audiences through a relatable protagonist’s depiction of his declining planet.
Griffin O’Neill
Woodleigh School, Langwarrin South
Time Well Spent
Comedy, 5 min
Henrik the Dog tells a tale about time travelling and socks. Time Well Spent explores a collection of quirky characters, each with their own fixations.
I made this film to explore what it means to waste time from an existential viewpoint. Is it really time wasted if something that seems pointless to others does indeed brighten up your day? I hoped to create a joyful film, inspired by the quirky flair of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Wes Anderson and Monty Python.
William Penfold
St Kevin’s College, Toorak
Memento Mori
Science fiction, 9 min
Set in a dystopic future in which humankind is rid of nature, a man travels to a distant and long-deserted planet for an ‘alien’ asset. However, what he finds is a connection to a missing part of himself and the potential for change.
Emulating the escapism forged in the realm of 1970s sci-fi, Memento Mori was designed to follow the reflective principle of film, offering little humanity for the viewer to grasp. I hope to stimulate internal reflection about connection with the world around us.
Callum Pritchard
Beaconhills College, Berwick Campus, Berwick
‘Deja Vu’ – Lastlings
Music video, 5 min
A teenage girl reflects on the memories in her life that evoke the strongest emotions, including happiness, sadness and fear. She looks at a box of photographs, leading her to relive those influential moments.
In this music video, I aimed to create a dramatised story that reflects some of the emotional highs and lows experienced during life. I aimed to do so through an experimental, abstract style similar to that used by director Spike Jonze, which amazes the audience with cinematic, engaging and professional shots.
Max Straume-Tsai
St Leonard’s College, Brighton East
Organic Food
Stop motion, 4 min
This is not your typical cooking tutorial. This stop-motion film was made using everyday objects to look like the preparation of a fast food meal.
Inspired by online producers PES and Omozoc, Organic Food was created in a surreal visual style designed to make the viewer feel hungry using completely inedible objects. Animated frame by frame, at 24 frames per second, over 10,000 individual frames were captured to make the end product as lifelike as possible.
Ivy Windred-Wornes
Fitzroy High School, Fitzroy North
‘Lies’ – Charm of Finches
Music video, 4 min
A young, innocent girl is invited into a large mansion where she is dressed by two maids. While the girl is being prepared for an occasion, two mysterious, regal women are ready for an extravagant feast.
My intention was to create a music video for my band Charm of Finches. The song Lies is about how social media can be toxic and psychologically ‘eat you alive’. I wanted to evoke unease and mystery in the audience within a Victorian-styled set inspired by the work of Peter Greenaway and the Pre-Raphaelites.
Joshua Wong
Lavalla Catholic College, Traralgon
Three in the Night
Horror, 10 min
Three teenage boys – oddball Art, bully Lee and coward Charlie – gather around a camp fire in an isolated setting just after twilight. To overcome their boredom, they each tell a scary story.
My intention for this film was to scare audiences. I developed a storyline involving sub-stories that intertwine to keep the audience engaged in a complex narrative. It was also an opportunity to explore new filmmaking techniques, inspired by the works of David Fincher and Paul Thomas Anderson.