Homeschoolers' Hit
Published on http://www.hsconnexion.com/zine/article.php?a=349
It opens with a ringing telephone. Loudly, insistently, it buzzes through the credits. Finally, the screen brightens to show a dark car, and a man answering the cell phone.
“Yes, I understand. When would you like it done?”
The camera follows the dark figure into a parking lot, up the stairs, and into the bedroom. He menacingly pulls out a gun, aimed at the unsuspecting victim, but doesn’t get to pull the trigger.
No, it’s not the latest TV drama. It’s actually written, directed, filmed and acted by college freshman Daniel Noa, along with his classmates; all homeschool graduates. Working between class and study schedules at Patrick Henry College, the “homeschool” college in Purcellville, VA, the students have produced the increasingly popular on-campus series.
The idea started with a birthday gift to “Hitman” director Daniel Noa: a BB gun and a ski mask. “It all just happened,” said Matt Roche, the director of photography. The producers, along with Paul Shippy and Jeremiah Lorrig, went out to dinner on October 4, Noa’s birthday and during the evening decided to get some footage of “the hit,” Noa said. After shooting the first episode, the group emailed it to their fellow students at Patrick Henry College.
“The response was overwhelmingly positive,” said Jeremiah Lorrig, a main actor in the series. Noa received about 20 emails in response to the initial episode and continues to receive a “mostly positive” response.
“Hitman” is a drama based around the cunning lives of Counter Terrorism Unit agents and the hitman. Some students are concerned about the excessive violence of the series: “I was a bit sorry [the episodes] were so violent. I showed them to my mom and she was a little bit horrified,” PHC freshman Shelley Boyd said.
“We’re not glorifying the bad guy,” Noa said. Most violent TV shows today portray the bad guy as redeemable, but in “Hitman” the bad guy is the protagonist and villain, not the antagonist. “Good is the opposing force,” he said.
“Hitman was actually really good considering the limited time and resources,” said Clarice Mace, a PHC freshman, “I like that I know all the actors.”
Six PHC freshmen make up the current group of “Hitman” regulars, with more students appearing regularly.
The student-producers spend approximately seven hours preparing each six minute episode. While taking time to do it, they do not allow “Hitman” to interfere with schoolwork, Noa said.
Noa has been interested in film production and acting since the seventh grade when he had to do a science project and produce a short film, which is not his favorite production. During his sophomore and junior years of high school, he and a friend worked on another project – spending 10 months on a 30 minute film. He did a sequel to that this past summer, and then started “Hitman.”
Just wait a few years and see what happens. “Noa is for sure going to be a great director someday, if he pursues it,” freshman Kyle Murray said. “He’s done a good job.”