Week 15 – Interim Crit II

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the interim crit due to external matters and I was really looking forward to seeing everyone’s work. Instead, I emailed some friends from the third year and asked them what they thought. The feedback was generally positive, most of them agreeing that we had set ourselves professional standards and the choice of actors to portray the script alive was an excellent addition. Because of the personal email, they didn’t really give much detail on the negatives or improvements to be made. As a result, I checked Alam’s blog and it seemed that the negatives were the timing of the cuts and sound levels. Of course, the timing of the cuts are a mild factor and can be easily fixed. It is always unclear to whoever is editing it as they have been ‘living’ with the material and know all the scenes inside out. When someone else watches it for the first time, it’s easier for them to pick out the basic mistakes. However, I expected there to be some sound problems – as I haven’t actually been updated on the process of the edit, I assume that the sound problems were due to the rain and construction sounds from the exterior shots as well as not recording the atmos and wildtrack. I’m not sure if this was recorded but I did remind the group on the second day of the shoot. It is one of those tasks that seem meaningless but it actually becomes a big thing. Having watched the rough cut from last month, I anticipated this problem and only an atmos sound can fix this for a flow/continuity. Also on Alam’s blog was that people were questioning the ending where our male actor smiles and walks away; this takes place after the wife finds out that he’s been seeing someone. At first when the group came up with this ending, I thought it was a good choice as it shows that the stronger character is the female, which is the opposite when referencing Asian arranged marriages (the idea is that men are in charge and take care of their women). Naveen’s character is weak and fearful despite having a good life and freedom in contrast to Lalita’s closed door life. But she ends up being the stronger person as she has ambitions but is willing to sacrfice them in the name of her family and tradition. Since she’s already got to know her man and that he’s already admitted such a mistake (or affair), she’s quick to forgive him and is willing to start fresh. After all they just got married and JUST got to know each other. This is how I saw it but I can that I put too much thinking into it and that most people watching this for the first time will be confused. When I showed my family, they instantly thought that Naveen’s smile showed that he could still do anything he wanted, that is to have an affair and enjoy his new wife. This was totally the wrong idea and I hope the rest of the third year didn’t think the same. It’s important for the future that the group literally go through each scene in detail and come up with questions that audiences might ask. Unlike the sound and cut errors, this ending is unfixable so it will have to stay like this.

I am looking forward to the final day this week, submitting the group work and hopefully ending on a high note. I’m more excited to see other people’s films as I enjoy reviewing them with a fair perspective in mind. Good luck to us and everyone else!