Editing Test screening (section)

{{Short description|Film or television previews for feedback}}
{{distinguish|Screen test}}
A '''test screening''', or '''test audience''', is a preview screening of a [[film]] or [[television series]] before its general release to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population and are usually asked to complete a [[questionnaire]] or provide feedback in some form. [[Harold Lloyd]] is credited with inventing the concept, having used it as early as 1928. Test screenings evolved from these early examples into a systematic practice. According to research from [[Kevin Goetz]]'s book "Audience-ology: How Moviegoers Shape the Films We Love" (2021), by the 1970s, studios formalized the process as they invested more heavily in [[marketing]] and distribution strategies. Today, approximately 90 percent of widely released studio films undergo test screenings, with the average movie being tested three times.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220124-the-iconic-hollywood-films-transformed-by-test-audiences |title=The iconic Hollywood films transformed by test audiences |last=Barber |first=Nicholas |date=25 January 2022 |website=BBC Culture}}</ref> Test screenings have been recommended for starting filmmakers "even if a [[film festival]] is fast approaching".<ref name="Jones">{{cite book |title=The guerilla film makers handbook |first1=Chris |last1=Jones |first2=Genevieve |last2=Jolliffe |page=359 |publisher=Continuum |edition=3rd |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8264-7988-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pap7NL-Y1SgC&q=screening&pg=PA359}}</ref>