The submission date for the YOOFTube short film competition is looming, and Lucca Paijmans is putting the final touches on his work.
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The Tathra based filmmaker is somewhat of a YOOFTube veteran. He has been entering his work to the competition since he was 14 years old.
Now at the age of 20, Mr Paijmans has reached the cut off age of the competition. This year is his sixth and final chance to take part in the youth film festival.
"It is a shame that this is my last one," he said. "But at the same time I'm glad to hand the baton over to new filmmakers."
He said YOOFTube has given him a way to track his film making progress and see how he has improved and developed.
"I think my films have matured as I've gotten older," he said.
"At the beginning, I was going a lot of comedy and parody films, now I'm doing drama with more serious story lines."
His final film for YOOFTube is set in a post-apocalyptic world. He described it as his riskiest film yet.
"It's very visual and ambient," he said.
"It has much less dialogue or explanation on my part, so it’s left up to the audience to interpret it."
Mr Paijmans writes, shoots and often acts in all of his films. He shared some advice for new filmmakers working their way up the ranks.
"The ability to visualise your finished product is the most important skill, much more so than technical camera or editing skills," he said.
"You can be using a really expensive camera, but if you have a weak story the whole thing can fall apart really quickly."
He said the best way to make a film is to get a bunch of friends together and start filming.
"I always recruit my friends for films," he said. "When we were younger we used to plan and shoot a whole film in one afternoon."
Hiromi Matsuoka is a local filmmaker who ran workshops for YOOFTube contestants in Bega and Cooma. She said young regional filmmakers had to work under tough restrictions.
"Collaboration is crucial in film making," She said. "But getting everyone together in one place on the same day is hard if you all live far away from each other."
Ms Matsuoka said that although they’re often a hindrance, time restrictions could also be a blessing.
"I'm not surprised that Lucca and his friends put a whole film together in one afternoon, they probably had to," she said.
"Working within a tight time frame like that, under pressure, can really push you to create something fantastic."
She said the YOOFTube's submission deadline provided the same motivation for other young filmmakers.
"Having a date to work to is really drives young kids to make something," she said. "And of course the chance to have their film showcased and win prizes."
After this year's YOOFTube, Mr Paijmans has his sights set on moving to Sydney to attend film school.
"I'm looking forward to the change of environment, I'm hoping it will stimulate some new ideas for me," he said.
But he concedes his heart is still in Tathra, and hopes to come back one day to mentor the next wave of local filmmakers.
YOOFTube is hosted by South East Arts and open to kids aged 12-20 in the Eurobodalla, Bega Valley and Snowy Monaro shires. Entries close August 1.