Producer Rob Fletcher at the A&J test screening
In our last update, we told you we had finally finished the editing on Alfred & Jakobine. We're now in the midst of working on the film's score with Nick Urata, then we move into the final final colour grading and sound mix.
Finishing the edit was a huge accomplishment for us, of course, and we believed we had something special, but we needed to see how a 'typical' audience would respond to it. That would be the true test.
So we arranged a test screeing at the BFI (British Film Institute) and had a full audience in attendance. The group was made up of strangers, not friends. We didn't want the biased feedback of friends, but rather the frank feedback from people that weren't afraid to tell us what they really thought - good or bad.
In attendance was Producer Rob Fletcher, Executive Producer/Co-Director Tom Roberts, and Director Jonathan Howells. You can imagine our slight trepidation as the group got settled, the lights went down, and then, for the first time, we saw our film glowing on the big screen. This was the point of no return.
The group sat very still as the story unfolded before them. They reacted at the right moments, and laughed where we hoped they would, and 73 minutes later, the lights came back up. They were all asked fill out a questionaire, exploring different aspects of their experience watching the film, and also provide a one-liner summing up their overall reaction to the film. We left them alone to complete the questionnaires.
Twenty minutes later we returned to the theatre, and began a discussion. Their reactions? They loved it! Truly. We were completely overjoyed and rather relieved! The discussion was lively and nuanced, with great comments and insights coming from the group.
Here are some excerpts from their questionnaires:
"Absolutely beautiful"
"Heartbreakingly romantic"
"Inspiring"
"Amazing - a beautiful journey physically and emotionally on many levels"
"Very moving - the way the story played out, weaving in and out of the past and the present. I loved it"
" Really good mix of drama, humour, archive, through time and places"
" A wonderful blend of Amelie and Easy Rider"
" Bittersweet"
" Sadly reflective of how love can be lost"
" A real life love story road movie"
Not bad eh! We hope that gets you excited. It certainly had us excited. We can't wait to show the film to all of you and a wider audience. Hopefully first at some film festivals.
So, that's it for now. Tune in next time when we'll tell about the the film's score by Nick Urata, and even give you a sneak peak listen at one of the his tracks. Bye for now.