The video opens on a dark room where a single bright light illuminates a young man crouched over a letter.

“It’s been about three months since I’ve killed Sam,” the letter reads. “Sector 69 has taken the headphones, and we’re keeping them in storage until we learn how to use them against God.”

Suddenly, the phone rings.  The young man picks it up and mutters hurriedly into the receiver, “Mom, this really isn’t a good time right now…No, I’m trying to end the world right now!”

What the video doesn’t show is the man behind the camera — freshman Ryan Bennett.

Bennett began making videos in sixth grade, and posted his first video, “Lego Man Peeing,” on YouTube when he was only 13-years-old.  Since then, it’s attracted over 35,000 views.

His first video remains the most popular on his YouTube channel, but his style and techniques have evolved since then.

“As I became older, I started taking filmmaking more seriously and began making videos that had structure and a story line,” Bennett said.

His latest work, the “Headphones Trilogy,” is a comedy thriller written by freshman Sam Ross.  The plot centers around a man who orders a pair of headphones online but finds that they hold a special power — through them, he can talk to God. But his nemesis, Corporal Matthews, is also desperately pursuing the headphones, creating the conflict of the film.

His other videos vary from “The Montgomery County Witch Project” to “Connect Four Commercial Spoof.” Bennett said he doesn’t have a rigid process for creating his movies, instead focusing on just having fun with the ideas that come to him.

“I get my inspiration from other ‘YouTubers’ and my own imagination,” he said. “Sometimes I’ll be sitting at home eating lunch when I’ll think of a great idea for a video. Then I get some friends together and we shoot it.”

Although Bennett typically produces and films  the videos, Ross writes many of the scripts.  He and freshman Max Koneff often star in Bennett’s movies as well.

“I get to mess around with my friends, but at the same time, I feel like I’m accomplishing something much bigger,” Ross said.

Some students said the videos are popular in part because they enjoy seeing their fellow classmates on YouTube.

“They’re pretty well done considering he’s just a freshman boy filming a movie with his friends,” junior Elizabeth Puglisi said. “I know a lot of kids who watch them.”

But Bennett said he hopes his films will eventually entertain a wider audience.

“I hope to pursue a career in the film industry,” he said. “I know you can’t start off in Hollywood, but I really hope that my hobby pays off later in life.”

For now, Bennett and his friends plan to begin filming a four-part video, but he won’t disclose the plot or release date.

No matter how many views the videos get, Ross said the ultimate satisfaction comes from seeing the finished product.

“I love sitting back with Ryan after he’s finished editing and simply watching it,” he said. “It’s a great feeling to see how smoothly all of our hard work has played out.”