First reactions.

The initial test audience reactions, suffice it to say, were generally favorable in terms of what I was trying to accomplish. The film is funny in a genuine way. And I couldn't be happier.

The first screening was at Film Club, whose members represent a pretty broad range of tastes in film. There were reactions from people I hadn't expected. One of which was in regards to the music - one viewer felt that it didn't work, perhaps because he recognized it (the music has been commonly used in cartoons on Nickelodeon). That was a note that stuck with me. Another noticed a spot where you could see a boom mic in the shot, too. I had spent months looking at the footage of the film and I was really surprised that I hadn't even noticed! Some scenes meandered for too long, some also said, which I more or less agreed with, and changed what I thought needed changing..

The next screening was a bit more intense for me in preparation. This time it was for my fellow Capstone students, where we're allowed to be a bit more hypercritical. I had made changes and refined things a bit since the Film Club screening. And the response was generally the same, if not even more enthusiastically positive! Some said not to mess with it further but watching it in class made me think of a couple things I could try, especially in the montage sequence. And I asked them all what they thought of the music - and it was unanimously in favor of keeping it in.

In both screenings, I kept special attention to audience reactions, as opposed to any technical glitches that occurred while screening. One thing I noticed was that the laughter was not as consistent in class as the Film Club screening. That makes me wonder - perhaps the few changes I made didn't help much? Was it the climate - because we're there to critique, perhaps they were distracted by searching for flaws? Or perhaps they were awestruck, because they hadn't expected that kind of output from me (I'm getting a sense lately among my peers that I have a reputation that precedes me)? Hard to say exactly, but I think the answer will come from more test screenings from people who are more detached from the process.

One consistent criticism from both screenings concerned the ending. Responses to the end were very mixed and some even negative. Finding a solution will be a challenge. But I think it's safe to assume a picture lock is in the near future!

Rough cut.

I've gotten to the point where nothing about my movie is funny anymore because it's all old news. Every time I look into a cut, I think of new material I should have put in as a writer, or an emotional thing I could have changed as a director. The weird thing about editing your own movie, at least for me, is that nothing is really good enough - every time I open the timeline, something gets changed depending on my frame of mind.

That said, the rough cut is coming along nicely. I'm going to be refining it before the big screening with my instructors as best as I can. But I'm not sure if I will have time to show it to anyone else before then.

Definitely for the second pass, though.

One of the things I am curious about is how the montage sequence will play out. I think there's a nice logical structure for the most part, but right now, it's really just an experiment. The musical rhythm idea that I originally planned for isn't working out, because I simply don't have enough people getting slapped in the face. I don't have any music that I can *officially* use yet, so I don't want to restrict myself to one if I can't use it for any reason. But for now I have music laid in for tone:



It's dark enough without being too serious, and has a mechanical rhythm. Perfect(?). We'll see what my illustrious professors say, I am really looking forward to hearing and receiving their input.

Complaints aside, what material I do have is enough to make a funny montage. I won't be doing a reshoot, so that is also good news.

Music Potential.

Happy New Year!

I'm currently still working on the rough cut. The holiday season's left me lazy, and easily distracted.

I'm taking a moment to research some music to use for my film. I remember some cartoons I watched as a kid having some particularly notable music, so I did a quick google search and found exactly what I was looking for. Here's a sample:



Fun instrumentals, with a hint of creepy cleanliness. I'm going to look through the APM catalogue over to see what else is out there. I definitely need something catchy for the montage sequence. But for now, let's get a rough cut together.