From formulating the story idea to ensuring that the camera angle is on point, film teacher Thomas McCluskey’s film group strives to follow junior Kerra Bae’s vision of a heartfelt short film. 

As McCluskey’s fourth-period Video Production 1 group works on “Sincerely Lost,” they aim to inspire the school community.

In her first year of taking the film class, Bae expressed her interest in discovering the work needed to produce an entertaining and relatable film. 

“I chose the class because I wanted to be able to understand more about cinematography specifically,” Bae said. “I really enjoyed seeing great compositions in movies and shows and wanted to learn how to create them myself. My brother also recommended the class to me as he said it was enjoyable and informative.”

Working around the clock, the “Sincerely Lost” film crew aims to make Bae’s dream a reality. 

With Bae as the director and writer, her group includes producer and actor Sam Eusebio, director of photography Lakith Jayathilaka, camerawoman Faith Perez and editors Andrea Hernandez and Gavin Vargas. 

“Sincerely Lost” is a story that revolves around Peter Davis, a 17-year-old teenage boy, and Charles Wilson, an elderly man. A handwritten letter meant for Peter’s mother ends up in the hands of Charles. This unexpected encounter brings Charles and Peter together, and they navigate through the challenges that Peter is going through, some of which Charles has experienced in the past.

According to former professional screenwriter and current film teacher Mr. McCluskey, the highly anticipated film can captivate the audience due to its authenticity, which many students can relate to. Because of this fact, the film has been highly regarded by Mr. McCluskey. 

“It is a very nice and relatable film,” he said. “I think a lot of young people have difficulty finding people to talk to whom they could get good advice from and the film covers that.”

With the guidance of Mr. McCluskey, Bae’s crew is working diligently to finish the short film in time for the annual Van Nuys High School Digital Showcase on May 30 and June 1.

Bae says that although she has a vision as to what the film should look like, it is difficult to emulate her ideas in reality.

“I have a vision for what I want the film to look like and putting it into real life is challenging,” Bae said. “There are a lot of things I can miss and I need to take into account which makes it harder. If we don’t consider everything, we have to go back and film again.” 

As all the people participating in the making of this film are high school students with other extracurricular activities and social lives, the crew has to work around scheduling issues.

“One of the challenges that our group faces is scheduling because not all of us have free time,” Bae said. 

Mr. McCluskey also faces difficulties as the teacher leading this production. He’s faced with the challenge of ensuring that all students have a viable role in the production of the film and that all are working together towards the same goal. 

“It is challenging for everyone to have a worthwhile job because it is like juggling,” Mr. McCluskey said. “That’s when it gets really tricky because there is a lot to this class, teaching, checking out the equipment and reviewing films.”

In addition to the scheduling issues, casting the characters presented another challenging aspect of the project especially working with those who are inexperienced.

Eusebio explained that acting is not normally his forte, but he was open to trying something new.

“I signed up as an actor because I wanted to try new things,” Eusebio said. “Usually, I focus on playing sports, but I wanted to go out and try something that I’ve never had any experience in.”

With Mr. McCluskey and the crew being actively involved in the production, they support each other no matter the challenges they encounter.

“I help them develop their scripts and I go through this process where each class has a studio and every class divides up into four projects every week,” Mr. McCluskey said. “We all look at the footage that was shot by all the projects, and we give feedback on it. I give them feedback through the whole process and try to help them by giving them ideas and technical help.”

Mr. McCluskey explains that many life skills are acquired through engaging in these projects. Skills of which are highly beneficial and will be useful in the film and media industry but also in many other fields. 

“The purpose is just to learn how to work with other people, different skills, and other personalities,” he said. “They need to learn to communicate with people, to set a deadline, to hold each other responsible, and to inspire each other. During this, I would say students inspire each other 90% of the time, and I do the other 10%, and maybe they won’t work in the media. They will still use these skills wherever they go.”

Through the process of working together on the film, the students have created a bond that wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration of the film. 

“I really enjoy collaborating with my crew mates and getting closer with them!” Bae said. “I also enjoy being able to be creative with designing the shots and seeing how they turn out in the end.”

Students in the film class have forged bonds through working together to ultimately produce a successful film. 

“When the film is done, it will definitely be something that will stay in my memories,” Bae said. “It’s a project that has taken up a lot of our time, but has been a really enjoyable and memorable experience. I feel like it will be something that will pop up in my mind when I reminisce about my high school years in the future.”

Bae expresses her gratitude for the class, as she was able to make great connections with her crew members. 

“I didn’t know any of them before the year and it was definitely awkward at first, but being in this group we got to know each other and now we look forward to filming,” Bae said.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2024 print edition.