Test screenings have become a relatively common buzzword.
The purpose of a test screening is to appraise a film before releasing it to the public. The last thing a studio wants is to receive a negative score from test audiences that forces them to change expensive VFX.
Better to test the film before the special effects are complete. When test audiences watched Beauty and the Beast, only 5 per cent of the film was animated. The test footage consisted primarily of black-and- white sketches.
And yet, the film received one of the highest scores ever from test audiences because the music, characters, and story were impeccable. However, it is just as common for studios to present fully finished films in test screenings.
The objective is to gauge the response the final product will receive from the public. Keep in mind that, for the most part, test audiences don’t know what film they are going to watch until it starts.
This allows them to give the most authentic feedback possible. Take Shaun of the Dead. Test audiences were unaware that it was a zombie film, which excited Edgar Wright (the director). With La La Land, the studio had edited the freeway sequence out of the film, but feedback from test audiences compelled them to reinstate it.
The sequence improved test scores because it immediately told test audiences that La La Land was a musical. Field of Dreams tested poorly because it was initially called Shoeless Joe, which test audiences hated.
Changing the title made a world of difference. Test audiences could not get enough of Little Shop of Horrors, at least until the end, when Rick Moranis and his love interest died. They had enjoyed the movie’s love story too much to appreciate a finale in which the protagonists died, so the studio rewrote the climax, giving Little Shop of Horrors a happy ending.
Test screenings get more attention today because studios use them as marketing tools. Entertainment outlets reported a few days ago that Masters of the Universe by Travis Knight (the director of Bumblebee) had received rave reviews from test audiences. And the movie has already dominated headlines without releasing a single second of footage.
However, that narrative only matters to casual viewers. Critics, on the other hand, think that test screenings dilute the artistic integrity of filmmakers. They compel directors and producers to alter their vision to appeal to the masses.
Take A Fish Called Wanda, which ends with Jamie Lee Curtis’s thieving character revealing that her love for the John Cleese character is genuine. The film’s original cut wanted viewers to think that she was still scamming him, but test audiences disliked the darker ending.
Many a critic has argued that filmmakers are essentially selling out by using test audiences to polish their films. They believe that mainstream audiences don’t know what they want, and filmmakers should endeavor to challenge them with complex stories as opposed to capitulating to the unsophisticated tastes of the individuals who routinely sign up for test screenings.
However, you can’t blame studios for relying on test screenings. Modern movies are too expensive. You can’t expect producers to inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the films you love without taking steps to ensure that the final product will appeal to the widest possible market.
Fortunately, the film industry is quite broad. It has something for everyone. If Hollywood’s test-screened blockbusters are off-putting to you, the market has plenty of lesser-known indie films made by storytellers who can afford to stay true to their original vision.
The question is whether or not you will enjoy them. You might be surprised to learn that every film you love was heavily test-screened, which would mean that test screenings are not the obstacle you think they are. Instead, they prevent filmmakers from getting caught up in their own hype and becoming too pretentious.
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