Portfolio Project Submission

 After a long 9 weeks, here's my final submission for the Portfolio Project:

How to Dump Your Boyfriend - Short Film

Instagram: @dumpyourbf.shortfilm

Postcard:

Front (below)

Back (below)

Critical Reflection

The student-made short film How to Dump Your Boyfriend is a comedic, character-driven piece on how teenage girls use humor and performance to cope with the messiness of young relationships. It follows two best friends, Mia and Rebecca, who rehearse increasingly theatrical and ridiculous “breakup skits” in preparation for Rebecca to finally end things with her boyfriend, Liam. While the film isn’t designed to be emotionally deep or serious, it’s a lighthearted, fun story that celebrates the chaotic energy of female friendships. The tone is playful and exaggerated, inspired by my own friendship with my best friend, where comedy becomes a way of processing life’s awkward or difficult moments.

In contrast to the media stereotypes that frequently paint the picture that young girls are just over-emotional or boy-obsessed, this film presents them as intelligent and humorous, taking a fun approach to help get over the nerves of a breakup. Mia and Rebecca’s friendship is the heart of the story; their willingness to stage elaborate, over-the-top skits to support Rebecca during her breakup process demonstrates their loyalty to one another and their shared creativity. 

Though the story doesn’t tackle major social issues head-on, it does subtly reflect the emotional labor girls are often expected to carry in relationships. Rebecca’s hesitation to break up with Liam stems from worrying about hurting his feelings, which is a dynamic many young girls will recognize. By highlighting this through a comedic lens, the film gently comments on how young women are often taught to prioritize politeness over self-advocacy. 

The branding of my project came through in the overall visual style and the social media presence. I used a bright, saturated color palette throughout the marketing, including yellows, pinks, greens, blues, and some orange to reflect the playfulness and energetic tone of the story. These colors were consistent throughout the social media, helping the film develop a cohesive and recognizable visual identity.

On Instagram, my chosen platform for marketing, I used story Q&As to interact with audiences and build engagement around the project. Prompts like “Ask the director about the project!” or “What’s the worst way to get dumped?” allowed for playful audience participation while teasing the film’s plot. These interactions weren’t extensive, but they added a personal and conversational element to the branding, which fit the tone of the project well.

The film connects with its audience primarily through humor and relatability. The exaggerated breakup rehearsals are rooted in real emotional experiences, and the way the characters use drama to avoid direct confrontation will likely resonate with many teens and young adults navigating their (first) relationships. The comedy is intentionally awkward at times, which keeps viewers entertained while also reflecting truths about facing reality in unique ways. 

The target audience, teenagers and young adults, especially girls, is reflected in both the characters and the dialogue. Mia and Rebecca's dramatic "all or nothing" approach to the breakup creates an authentic feel, reflective of actual friendships, even when the scenarios are absurd.

I used close-up shots and expressive performances to emphasize the girls' connection while still leaning into the exaggerated acting required for comedic moments. The comedic plot within the friendship also allowed for a more casual viewing experience, making the story feel like a dramatized slice of life, like a look in on the mischief Rebecca and Mia must usually be up to.

My research drew from several comedy films, including Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Crazy Stupid Love, Booksmart, and Derry Girls. These films and series offered samples on character dynamics, tone, and how to balance awkwardness with sincerity. Booksmart, in particular, had a strong influence on how I framed female friendship, a key part of the project. The film portrays it as loud, messy, and deeply loving without making it overly sappy, which manifested in Mia and Rebecca's interactions.

From Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Crazy Stupid Love, I learned how breakups could be funny and painful all at once. In my film, I leaned into that energy by having Rebecca prepare for a breakup in increasingly elaborate ways, avoiding the real conversation until she was finally forced to face it in her final interaction with Liam.

So, rather than challenging genre conventions, I chose to embrace them and exaggerate them for comedic effect. This allowed the film to poke fun at the over-dramatized way teenagers often deal with relationships and how they sometimes see an issue as larger than it is, which, of course, I too am guilty of.

This project came with many challenges. Balancing the production process with my very demanding wrestling schedule and other academic responsibilities made time management difficult and overwhelming at times. I also faced technical setbacks, including losing audio in a key scene. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to reshoot, so I had to cut that track scene entirely. While disappointing, it taught me to adapt quickly and make editing decisions under pressure. Other editing aspects, like sound leveling or getting proper cuts, were more difficult than I expected and didn't result as cleanly as I would have wished. 

I’m especially grateful for the people who helped me bring the project to life. Gio, who played Mia, threw herself into the role, especially when she pretended to be 'Liam'. Mateo served as the technical lead, handling camera and audio equipment very well. He was a big support when I was lost in this area. Alex stepped in to play Liam and brought just the right balance of charm and awkwardness to the role. He delivered his ~4 lines just great and was a good sport about having to pick his nose over and over until we got the right shots.

Though the final product isn’t exactly what I envisioned, I’m proud of what it taught me about filmmaking and resilience. I learned how to lead a project from start to finish, work collaboratively, and adjust when plans fall through, all of which are skills I’ll carry into future endeavors. 

Final Goodbye

Before I post my final submissions for my Portfolio Project, I wanted to come on here and give a last goodbye. In the past 2 years, this course has taught me a lot about the media sphere in general and has arguably been my favorite class to date. I've been very lucky to sit in a classroom full of bright, like-minded, curious individuals. Participating in our class discussions has been an incredible opportunity. This project didn't go as I expected, but I made it through nonetheless. Thank you to Mrs. Stokloas for guiding our class with as much passion as you do. 

                                                                                        - Gabriela Kerber (2025)

Oh gosh

I lost most of the audio for the track scene, and I can’t lie—I’m pretty bummed about it. I had rewritten that segment to be much longer and more intricate, and filming actually went really well. It seems like something glitched with the microphone because there’s no audio at all for the first clip where Mia introduces the concepts of the skit. 

On the bright side, I did manage to shoot the “maybe something more confrontational” transition line in the poetry scene. I can use that to cut into the part where Mia pretends to be Liam, which helps a lot.

Despite the hiccup, the project is wrapping up this week, and I can’t refilm due to other scheduling commitments. While it’s not the ideal situation and definitely a letdown, I believe the short film will still work contextually without this scene.

It's crunch time baby.

This weekend was time to film the two remaining scenes. We kicked things off around 4 PM, starting with the customer service scene in my house. We transformed my sister's old room into a makeshift office by setting up laptops, books, and carefully crafting the shot composition. 

However, we faced a little hiccup. Mateo had returned the microphone and camera we had been sharing, so I had to pivot and use a Canon T8i instead. I’m hopeful the footage will still look good, but I can’t help but worry it might not match the earlier shots perfectly. Fingers crossed!

After that, we made our way to Tequesta Trace to film at the track. I had assumed we would be faking sweat with water for the running scenes, but it turned out to be unnecessary since IT WAS SO HOT.  We ended up looking much sweatier than I anticipated. To combat the harsh lighting, we had to use a reflector to brighten our faces on camera. Let’s just say, I look a bit rough, but that’s part of the process, right? This is me making it work! Look how happy the team was to be there :) (sarcasm.)

On the editing front, I’ve tackled a few scenes that I had footage for previously. Now, it’s just a matter of wrapping up my critical reflection, continuing the editing, creating the postcard, and enhancing our social media presence. I’ve been enjoying sharing updates online—it’s actually quite fun!

As we near the finish line, I’m excited to see how everything comes together. Just a little more to go, and then this journey will finally be over. Stay tuned!

q & a posts!

I made significant strides in our social media marketing efforts today. I brainstormed more ideas for future content, jotting down several engaging concepts to connect with our audience. Here are some of the exciting posts and stories I’m planning:

Audience Engagement Questions:

"How would you dump your significant other?"

"What is the silliest reason someone could be dumped for?"

Meet the Cast & Crew: A post introducing the talented individuals behind our project (Me, Gio, Alex, Mateo)

Screenplay Sneak Peek: Sharing an image of the screenplay just waiting to be brought to life (to increase excitement for the project)

Creative Doodles: Fun illustrations that represent key scenes, such as a stopwatch for the track scene.

Editing Insights: Posts showcasing the editing process 

Video Snippets: Showcasing the cast having a fun time on shoots and our favorite silly behind-the-scenes moments.

Cast Confessionals: A more personal side of the cast:

"What was your favorite scene?"

"How are you similar or different to your character?"

Final Post Series: The last three posts will feature a split post of our title graphic, creating a cohesive visual finale.

I also worked on some Q&A graphics today, created a highlight for our stories, and crafted a post to encourage audience participation through questions and answers. Exciting times are ahead as we engage our audience with fresh, creative content! Here's a look at the start of the q&a highlight! (which of course, fits the brand theme colors and vibe)

Scene Re-writes

 Though I loved the original founding father scene... planning fell through and it just wasn't looking possible to execute under the circumstances. So, I brainstormed ideas of alternative silly "bits" the girls can rehearse while keeping a similar structure to the original scene. Some examples of ideas were: Golden Girls parody, News Anchor report, Reality TV confessional, and so on. Ultimately, I landed on a Boyfriend customer service skit because it is practical to film, and unlike some of the other ideas, could be written in the same structure as the original scene. Here's how it turned out:

Though I don't like it as much as I liked the founding father scene, it had to be done. I'm already uncomfortable with the fact that I haven't filmed this yet. Honestly, I contemplated cutting this scene for these reasons. Ultimately, though, I decided that a goofy scene was necessary to kick off the montage, and there wouldn't be enough without this scene. 

The next scene I rewrote, which very minimally changed, was the Boxing scene. I changed it to a "speed" training scene that will take place on a track. This change was necessary because I was unable to secure a visually "adequate" location to film... I didn't want to settle for a crowded garage. I ended up liking the brevity of this one more, though, and I like how Mia is taking control of the rehearsals. It really expresses her personality. 

Baby steps are being made! Now I need to secure filming dates with Gio and Mateo and finish that off!