Rachel Rosen
Staff Writer
In between the film industry and a normal high school life, Mira Costa junior Cooper Roth works on a short film, “The In Between.”
“The In Between” is a short film directed, filmed, edited and written by Roth that portrays what it is like to be a teenager, and shows how people often experience the same struggles. The film brings up topics including academic pressures, relationships and sexuality.
“Teens, and even adults, are so prone to only feel the highs and the lows of life that they some- times forget that it is actually okay to feel ‘okay’ every once in a while,” Roth said. “You don’t have to be perfect or having a mental breakdown at every moment. That was the main thing I wanted to transmit when making the film.”
The film was made over the span of two weeks, according to Roth. He shot in The Manhattan Beach Village and in his house. The cast include seven Costa students including Roth himself: junior Carson Billingsley, Will Bond, Emma Krikorian and Charlotte Samuels and senior Christian Cavallo.
“I had no clue what was going on when we originally filmed, but when I watched it for the first time, it hit home,” Bond said. “Roth touched on sensitive topics every teenager goes through that people are scared to express. I think that because he is spreading this message he is bringing to light the struggles of high school.”
Roth began by writing the script for a couple hours every weekend. He then made a shot list so he knew what was needed for each line of the script and then proceeded to shoot everything he could with his camera. After shooting for about 12 hours over the course of one week, Roth went straight to editing the clips. The editing process took about five hours, he said.
“[The film is] called ‘The In Between’ for a reason,” Roth said. “There are in-betweens not only in the teenage years but throughout people’s lives. Because of this, I hope everyone can take something from this video.”
Roth said that he was trying to focus on messages that can be taken in all different ways, so anyone can relate to it on some level.
“I think what makes this video unique is that it was done by a high schooler,” Bond said. “It wasn’t done by some film company that isn’t a part of our generation. He also uses kids from our school in the video, so it was awesome to see everyone come together. Whether someone needs motivation, is in a downward spiral or just want to see something that is entertaining, this video checks all those boxes.”
Roth is currently working on a poem-inspired video that will come out March 14th. He is hoping to continue to study filmmaking in college and beyond, and this video will be a part of his portfolio for film school. He has posted all of his videos, including “The In Between,” on his YouTube channel, Cooper Roth Cinema.
“There are so many exciting films that are coming in the future that I can’t wait to share with everyone,” Roth said. “I do this be- cause I love it and to think other people are enjoying it only pushes me to do better work.”
Leave a Reply