Yvonne and Avery in “Skunked”
After making some final tweaks on “Skunked” this past week, and getting it remotely reviewed by Laura and Merri, the Marfa, TX team has locked down a final cut for the film. Next up, a professional sound mix in NY, and some color work here in Boston. While we’ve been working on the final edits, we’ve gotten some early feedback from a few people who’ve had a chance to see the film.
First off, this past week, Chandler Griffin, our Barefoot Workshops instructor, kicked off another 2 week workshop in the Mississippi Delta, where he screened our film for his new batch of filmmakers. Word has it they loved the film and the response was very positive.
And before leaving Marfa, Laura had a chance to screen the film for Avery, one of the shuffleboard competitors, and her mom Yvonne, who works at Padre’s. Here’s what Laura had to share about that screening…
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I went into Padre’s around 5:30pm and Yvonne wanted to show the film up on the big screen, but then remembered someone had broken the cable for the projector. Yvonne announced she was taking a break, turned off the jukebox and demanded that everyone be quiet so she could watch it on my computer. She declined the headphones so that a few patrons could watch & listen over her shoulder. She loved the opening shot of Marfa so she was immediately riveted. She also loved the establishing shots of Padre’s. Whenever she was on screen, she cringed & put her hand up to the screen to hide her image. She explained to everyone that she can’t stand to see herself on screen and everyone commiserated. She had a huge smile on her face whenever Avery was on screen.
When she finished watching, she said she loved it. I asked her if she thought it was truthful. She said definitely. She called Avery and told her to come to the bar right away to see the movie.
In the meantime, the other folks at the bar started talking about the film. One was a local who commented on how precisely Jacob and Vita (Jacob’s mother) were portrayed. The others were visitors who commented on how well we’d portrayed Marfa.
Avery showed up. She asked to sit in a specific corner of the bar and she used headphones. She told me not to worry; she knew how to adjust the volume and how to stop & start the player. She smiled most of the way through the film. When David Beebe (Padre’s owner) appeared, she hit pause and remarked he looked “so different” on video. She laughed a few times. At the end, I asked her if she thought it was truthful. She said it was. I asked her if there’s anything she would change and she said no. She said she thought it was a great movie.
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Talk to you soon,
Laura
