No matter how awesome your movie is, there are always ways to improve. Having spent most of my career in film distribution, I find most rough cuts are ten minutes too long. But if you are like most filmmakers, you’re too close to the material to know what to cut and what to keep.
This is when throwing a rough-cut screening party can help you.
5 Tips For Throwing A Rough Cut Screening Party
- Find a spacious location to fit at least six people, plus the filmmak r. You will need a BIG television.
- Invite friends with a passion for movis. Explain that the screening will be a rough cut – and the goal is to provide constructive feedback.
- Make sure you have snacks and drinks. And if you’re getting pizza, make sure you get the delivery before starting the movie.
- Make sure everybody has a pen and notep d. The goal is to take notes.
- After the screening, people will tend to be overly polite. While this is very nice, it isn’t helpful to the film. So it is your responsibility to ask some very tough questions.
Once you share some constructive (but not always ideal feedback), the ball will start rolling. From there, other audience members will develop great feedback. While some of the feedback might suck, as a filmmaker, you need to write these ideas down and keep an open mind.
The objective is NOT to settle for a good movie. The goal is to settle for a GREAT movie!
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