The Connection

How many people does one teenager's negligence affect in the time of COVID? Annandale High School's short film, "Connections," explored the chain of events that could lead to a massive spread of the Coronavirus, just because of a single individual. This piece is extremely relevant and informative for the modern teenager.

The story followed a series of teenagers interacting with each other without masks and depicted how their health is threatened by their careless actions. It focused on small human connections, like petting a dog or picking up a piece of litter, and how those interactions could be dangerous without proper caution and safety measures.

The writers of this film, Hunter Duggan, Kayla Osipchak, Clara Billows, Mariam Sesay, Isaac Nebyu, Haleluya Worku, Hang Minh Nguyen, Nhi Nguyen, Sammar Saini, did a phenomenal job. While there was not much dialogue, the narrative focused on physical interactions and movement in order to tell the story and convey their message.

The film featured an ensemble cast who each contracted COVID from another character and passed it on to someone else. The continuity between these scenes was impeccable. There was no noticeable lighting shift or continuity errors even though the film was not all recorded at the same time or at the same location.

Another notable filming technique was the use of zooms and the composition of the shots. The scenes were filmed in multiple angles, which gave the viewer multiple perspectives. When the characters had an interaction that spread the virus, the camera zoomed in to emphasize that interaction and the spread of COVID.

Hunter Duggan stood out as an actor in the film as the person who initiated the chain reaction at the beginning of the film, and ultimately infected eight other teenagers. Hunter stood out most during the video collage in which all of the characters get sick. Their emotion and gut-wrenching coughs were both believable and horrifying in a time when getting sick is a large fear for most people.

The editing of the film was well thought out, and the editors, Hunter Duggan, Clara Billows, Mariam Sesay, used cuts as another medium to convey the message of the film. The most successful editing was the video collage in which all of the characters became sick. It started with the original character coughing, and they slowly added more characters showing symptoms until the screen was completely full. Showing the full impact of these small connections in the montage was a really smart way of conveying the importance of wearing masks.

Overall, the film was a fast and thoughtful warning to wear masks and stay safe. Although it was only nine minutes long, the message was very important, as it called attention to the fact that even a small interaction could put ourselves or others in danger.