Lovestruck - Short Film - 2024 - ID# 331

South Elgin
Dramatic Narrative
Entry Description

Imagination becomes reality in this cute love story about a boy and a girl. Director: Rebecca Kasuba

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/23 11:39 am - Nice work with the color grade making the world more saturated when seeing the main character's point of view. This works well. Excellent use of the sound effect at :57. In general, the sound design did a good job of engaging me with the world of the story. There were occasional issues with focus and camera shake, but overall the camerawork was thoughtful and well executed. In many scenes, the excellent exposure and lighting stood out as especially well executed. Not sure why you included the jump cut at 1:54. I think it would have been better to cut right to the next scene or hold that shot so as to avoid this visible error. I really enjoyed the retro look of the dream sequence via aspect ratio and color. The editing overall was well done. Very nice job – you should be proud!
  • 3/19 10:19 am - Cute love story! Great touch showing his crush on the girl with the filter. You included a variety of shots and creative transitions that enhanced your story here. Your audio was executed well and your sound effects were spot on. Overall, very well done.
  • 2/21 4:14 pm - Your camera work in his bedroom is spectacular. I wish the entire film looked like this. The blue lighting works for your story and mood. The magic hour in the dream sequence (before you run out of it) - lighting is spectacular and kudos to you for thinking about that. You have a decent variety of shots which makes your editing smooth and keeps the audience interested. Sound editing needs some work. You do use sound effects in key moments (tearing up the letter in the bathroom) and it definitely helps your story. Your sound design on the dream sequence is a good example of sound at its best - the wake-up sequence.
Judge 1

Positives: I very much liked the little dance moment that happened before the kiss in the dream sequence - although just a few seconds, I thought it added a nice surreal touch and honestly wanted more in that direction! I also very much liked the tongue-in-cheek 'record scratch' moment in the parking lot - fun, self-aware, and effective in putting us in the characters shoes.

Improvements: Trust your audience more with the acting and editing - the opening sequence telegraphs much more than the audience needs. Let us have fun asking questions, and wondering what both characters are thinking. Contrary to the note above, the physical note he attempted to give her at the top of the film also felt a bit out of context. Because that is the first thing he does, we aren't sure why that 'failure' was so difficult for the lead to digest. What was his expectation? Did he know her in any way before that? Was he nervous? Without a few more ingredients, it's hard to put as much weight on that moment as the filmmaker intended.

Judge 2

Positives: I think the story itself was thought out and had a lot of potential. The framing in some of the shots was really well done.

Improvements: Make sure not to do match cuts, there were many throughout the film. Some of the coloring was very exaggerated and while I understand the thought behind it, it didn't need to be so saturated.

Judge 3

Positives: awwwwwww. u guys slayed this. actually made me feel something! At first, it’s clear the team has a strong understanding of cinematography and color grade. You can see the difference between the coloring and effects on the shots between the romantic interests. Really nice touch. Also a strong understanding of comedic timing, pacing, and emotional cues. The dream scene is giving la la land in all the best ways. I love the staging of the gazebo scene. My jaw dropped when we got an on-screen kiss!! The match cut on the walking and the record scratch moments are so strong and worked really well for me. Also the aspect ratio change for the dream scene is a great touch and really works. Overall, there was a point to this short film. We saw the main character struggle, try, and fail, multiple times, then have a realization in his dream that he just had to do it on his own, and when he tries that, it works. And we’re so invested because of this that this character choice hits hard. It does so much in just 3.5 minutes. And without dialogue. Really really well done!! All it was missing was an ending circle wipe ;)

Improvements: In terms of writing, I think the story could benefit from a bit more specificity. What is it about the love interest that he’s interested in? Right now it works as a general love story, but adding in the small specifics really allows for a viewer who knows nothing about the story to fully immerse themselves in it, since the world feels so real and built out and relatable. I don’t want to distract too much from the feedback with technical stuff, but the camera shakiness did take me out of it a bit. I also think sound effects would really amp this up. A few hits/risers/whooshes to help emphasize certain moments. But the music in this has really great timing and depth. The desaturation effect was so good in the first scene, but we don’t keep up with it throughout the piece. Keeping a desaturated look could have helped keep the tone and make the viewer feel more happy and impacted whenever he’s with her or she’s on screen and the saturation returns.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements:

Judge 5

Positives:

Improvements: