Rough Cut Screening NYWIFT
I watched the audience watch the film and no one appeared bored or looked around. I can honestly say that it seems that the film held their attention until the very end. I was really upset going into the screening because I could not output my latest cut to DVD and I had to actually show an earlier cut that Linda and I worked on in March.
I am not exactly sure how it went. I would say that most people thought it should be a feature length film. I could not assess exactly to what degree Can's story held their interest. A few said that it was powerful and gripping. Alison, the moderator, has a particular way of holding the post-screening discussion. I, the filmmaker, was not allowed to talk or ask questions until the end, by which time I had forgotten all the questions that ran through my head during the discussion. I am still not sure how many liked the film.
There was some consensus about too much Can talking, and not enough verite. Mixed reviews on the experts again; mixed reviews on many things. Some of this was rather predictable. Casper said that there were two films in this film, one about Can's journey and the other about Asian American mental health. I think I sort of agree because the latter film is what I had initially started out making.
One woman who didn't seem to like the film said that she wanted Can to try to get a job or try to date. She got the sense that he didn't take risks and did more talking than doing. Getting verite footage with Can was next to impossible at times because he would often talk directly to the camera as if it was a person. And sometimes when I would be shooting good verite footage, he or members of his family would tell me that I was shooting nothing. Aagh the frustrations of shooting. Because of many of these factors, I kept shooting for 3 and a half years and still felt that I didn't get the deeper truths. I do know one thing and that is that no one can be a fly on the wall. The Hawthorne effect, a psychological phenomenon, is how people behave differently and more self-consciously when they know they are being watched. So no action in front of the camera is pure.
I am not exactly sure how it went. I would say that most people thought it should be a feature length film. I could not assess exactly to what degree Can's story held their interest. A few said that it was powerful and gripping. Alison, the moderator, has a particular way of holding the post-screening discussion. I, the filmmaker, was not allowed to talk or ask questions until the end, by which time I had forgotten all the questions that ran through my head during the discussion. I am still not sure how many liked the film.
There was some consensus about too much Can talking, and not enough verite. Mixed reviews on the experts again; mixed reviews on many things. Some of this was rather predictable. Casper said that there were two films in this film, one about Can's journey and the other about Asian American mental health. I think I sort of agree because the latter film is what I had initially started out making.
One woman who didn't seem to like the film said that she wanted Can to try to get a job or try to date. She got the sense that he didn't take risks and did more talking than doing. Getting verite footage with Can was next to impossible at times because he would often talk directly to the camera as if it was a person. And sometimes when I would be shooting good verite footage, he or members of his family would tell me that I was shooting nothing. Aagh the frustrations of shooting. Because of many of these factors, I kept shooting for 3 and a half years and still felt that I didn't get the deeper truths. I do know one thing and that is that no one can be a fly on the wall. The Hawthorne effect, a psychological phenomenon, is how people behave differently and more self-consciously when they know they are being watched. So no action in front of the camera is pure.
posted by Pearl Park at
12:57 AM
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