The Princess Gambit - ID# 493
Lyons Township
Seven Day Challenge
Entry Description
The Princess Gambit follows a young barber who falls for an obvious scam, which drives a wedge between he and his sister.
Copyright Info
Recent Teacher Comments
Judge 1
Positives: But did he get his wolf cut?! I need to know! This was hilarious. Comedy is so hard to do, and you pulled it off perfectly. The comic timing on some of these jokes are better than a lot of what is on TV right now. You should be very happy with how this turned out. I'm going to be laughing about Princess Quebeca for a long time. This is well shot, too, and any small technical issues present take a back seat to just how funny this really is. Case in point, a good film starts with the writing.
Improvements: Really take the time to examine your scene and clean it up. Things like fingerprints on the refrigerator are distracting at times. You have a great diversity of shots and framing that are thoughtful and well-executed. For example, your dirty shot at the salon in the beginning is framed very well. For a comedy, pacing is everything down to the last frame. If a scene lingers or cuts too early, you've stepped on your joke. Also, for our argument in the kitchen, closeups are your friend. You stay on a two-shot for too long and I really wanted to see some reactions. Don't just cut when an actor delivers a line, show us their face when they are reacting to a line as well. That will add more texture. Also, in a professional production, real money can't be shown on screen. For a student film you are probably fine, but invest in some "picture money" if you want to show that on screen.
Judge 2
Positives: Great work! Lots of amazing elements to call out - but I only get two (dang!) 1) Really great directing and performances!! Pulling funny out of arguments, lot's of silly moments while still carrying the story forward. 1) Really well shot! and lit!
Improvements: 1) Cut it down! This is a great story, and I think it could be even better if the pacing was increased at times. 2) Audio stuff!! This is nitpicky, but the capture quality of some of the dialogue could be improved.
Judge 3
Positives: The story was creative and witty and held the viewer's attention from start to finish. The variety in camera angles supported the dialogue and the story overall.
Improvements: Some of the shots were a little bit long and the editing could have been cut quicker at these points. I would have liked to see more use of music to support the story. The audio sounded distant at times, as though the microphone was not close enough to the subject.
Judge 4
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Judge 5
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