STYLE RULE: First-person POV throughout, shot like a 2000 home camcorder (MiniDV): soft focus, slight color bleed, warm grain, 4:3 feel, orange timestamp "OCT 21 2000" in the corner. Our hands are always visible: a kid's hands, baggy hoodie sleeves, a cheap digital watch. Same hands and clothes in every shot. No celebrities, no logos, no brand names.
[0-5s] SHOT 1, MORNING AT HOME: POV waking up in a small bedroom with posters on the wall and a CRT TV in the corner. Hand slaps a wind-up alarm clock. Walk down the hallway past a wall-mounted landline phone with a curly cord. Sit at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal while cartoons play on a small TV. Dad reads a newspaper, Mom calls "Hurry up, the bus is coming!" Camera: handheld, slightly shaky, warm morning window light.
[5-10s] SHOT 2, WALK AND SCHOOL BUS: POV grabbing a heavy backpack and running out the door. A friend waves from across the street and joins the walk. Board a yellow school bus, sit by the window, friends trade stickers and a folded note. Outside: quiet suburban street, soft sun flare. Camera: handheld, glancing between friend and window.
[10-15s] SHOT 3, CLASSROOM: POV at a wooden desk with gel pens and a pencil case. Teacher writes on a green chalkboard, an overhead projector hums. Secretly pass a note folded into a triangle to a friend, who passes one back. Beige computer in the corner of the room. Camera: slow pan across the class, then close on the note.
[15-20s] SHOT 4, LUNCH AND PLAYGROUND: POV in the loud cafeteria with a tray, pizza and chocolate milk, friends laughing. Cut to the playground: trade cards and stickers on the ground, chase friends, hopscotch and tag. Camera: wide, turning left and right, bright overcast daylight.
[20-25s] SHOT 5, AFTER SCHOOL: POV riding a bike down the street with friends, scooters and rollerblades beside us, golden hour light. Stop at a corner shop, buy candy with coins. Later at a friend's house: sit on carpet in front of a CRT TV playing a 90s console game, controllers in hand, snacks everywhere, friends shouting and bumping shoulders. Camera: handheld, intimate, tilting to the screen.
[25-30s] SHOT 6, EVENING: POV at the family dinner table, parents and siblings passing plates. Sit on the couch, family sitcom on the one living-room TV. Then at the shared family computer: dial-up screeches, a chat window pops up with a friend. Mom calls "Time for bed!" Fade to a dark room lit only by the monitor glow. Camera: slow push-in to the screen.
CAMERA RULE: Handheld first-person only, no third-person angles, shallow depth, warm lens flare, subtle VHS tracking glitch at each cut.
SOUND RULE: Layered ambient audio: alarm bell, cartoon TV, bus chatter, chalkboard scratch, cafeteria roar, bike wheels, console sounds, dial-up modem screech. Soft nostalgic instrumental music in the background. Only short kid voices and parents calling, no narration.