Audience Feedback

After having finished editing our opening sequence, we created a focus group and questionnaire to get audience feedback to help us evaluate the success and failures of the final product.

THE FOCUS GROUP
We got a group of people to watch our thriller and give us feedback. It was interesting to see how people responded to our opening sequence and whether they agreed or disagreed with the feedback from others in the room. Some gave us feedback by telling us what they liked/ didn't like, however, everyone score what they saw out of 10.

QUESTIONNAIRE
To get further feedback on our opening sequence, I asked people over websites such as Facebook and through email to tell me what they did and didn't like about the sequence and score it out of 10 just like in the focus group. I did this because I wanted to see individual reactions of people to make sure people were not just agreeing or disagreeing with each other because they wanted to be the same or different.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF MY THRILLER
All the feedback that I have received has allowed me to asses the strengths and weaknesses of my opening sequence.

Strengths 

The cross-cutting was very successful in creating the desired effect of showing 2 pieces of parallel action and the audience all seemed to understand the reasons for us having chosen to edit our opening sequence like this. It seems as though

The tension created in the opening sequence was also good and was something that was picked up on by the audience as many commented saying that this was effective and the way that the music at times contributed to creating this tension was good. I believe that this shows we created tension well and effectively as the audience could feel this as they were watching it.

The concept of the opening sequence was easy to understand as no-one questioned what was going on. This suggests that we put across what we wanted to show effectively, making the audience understand what was happening.

Weaknesses

Many people stated that they were not fond of the ending, thinking it was too abrupt and an anticlimax. It seems as though they didn't understand where the film would go from this point as the girl was dead and her body had been found within the first 2 minutes of the film. I think that this feedback shows that our ending was not as effective as we had hoped as it didn't make the audience ask the questions we wanted them to.

From the feedback we received, it appears that some of the shots we took were not as effective as we had hoped. Although we wanted the audience to question why the girl was running and what she was running from, we didn't want it to initially look like she was just going for a jog around her local area.

Despite the fact that we thought we had chosen a good cast, the audience didn't seem to agree, particularly for the person who played Hannah. The feedback suggested that although she was trying to show emotions such as fear and panic, she didn't do this well enough and make it believable enough.

MY OVERALL OPINION ON OUR OPENING SEQUENCE

Overall, I am happy with the way our opening sequence turned out as I think that it looks good and while it isn't effective in some aspects it is in others. Additionally the majority of the people who gave us feedback scored the opening sequence 7/10 which suggests that it was fairly successful and implies that people would watch it if it was made into a full film.

I think that we created a good piece of work when it came to putting the idea across to the audience and the way we presented this was really effective and understandable. However, if I were to re-do this task, there are things that I have learnt from the audience feedback that would help me improve the product and make it better because it is clear that there are still many things that could be done that would make the thriller more enticing for our target audience.

Evaluation Task 7

Evaluation Task 6

Evaluation Task 5

In our opening sequence, we used many different things to help attract our target audience. This included using certain characters and cast as well as non-diegetic music and the location.
      We used the location to attract our target audience. By basing the film in a residential area, we are making it relatable as it is the kind of environment that many people live in, including our target audience. Additionally, using a residential area attracts our target audience as our target audience is unlikely to live in a big city or expensive area. This makes our target audience want to watch our thriller as the same thing could happen or have happened already  in their area.
     We chose to have both female and male characters in our thriller because this will attract our target audience as well as others to our film. We decided to feature a girl in the opening sequence and in the film because this will make our target audience of males aged 18-24 want to watch the film. The use of male characters will attract women to our film as well.
     In our film, the character Hannah is played by a young, pretty girl which would entice our target audience because they will  be watching an attractive girl on the screen. They would be less likely to watch our film if the girl was not played by someone attractive.
     The music we selected would also attract our target audience because when doing research into what our target audience likes, we found that they liked more up-beat music and genres like rap as well. We couldn't use this in our opening sequence, as it would not fit the concept and what was shown on screen, so instead, we found a piece of non-diegetic which reflects this in a different way. It would still attract our target audience because it still is fast-paced and almost like house music, but there are still elements of tension in it which help create the right atmosphere.

Evaluation Task 4

Evaluation Task 3

I am a first time filmmaker, so my film would not include any recognisable actors (they would not want to appear in a film that isn’t a guaranteed success and I wouldn’t have the money to hire them). My film doesn’t have any presold elements that have already built up a fan base and therefore a group of people who would want to see the film, as well as this, there would be no use of CGI, 3D or IMAX in my film as this is also expensive and I do not have the money to fund this. This means that my film would attract a niche audience rather than a mainstream global one as without these features, my film would not be able to be distributed globally. Worldwide cinemas would not want to book my film as the chances of it being a success are slim and therefore, showing my film would not make them any profit.

    Moreover, the money to fund the production of the film would be my own as being a first time filmmaker, no company would want to risk putting money into the production of a film that is not a guaranteed success. They would also not want to spend money on trying to distribute it on a global scale as this will not benefit them. For them, my film would be too much of a gamble. This would mean that my film will not be distributed globally because I would not have sufficient money to do this.

    The audience for my film would not be the worldwide, mainstream audience, like it would be for some other films made by big film companies. My film would be targeted at a niche UK audience because the film is set in London and therefore, the audience will be able to relate to it. The plot revolves around the specific story of solving the case of a kidnapping and murder, which are fairly cliché ideas; therefore, people in the UK are likely to want to see my film. The audience of my film is limited due to the budget and so my film would appeal to the small group of people who visit independent cinemas (such as the Curzon) to watch films other than the ones shown at the multiplex as well as distributed online using sites like YouTube, Vimeo and iTunes. On YouTube and iTunes, my film could be made available free or for a small fee and therefore would enable me to make money. My film may also be shown on TV by some low budget TV companies. 

       Low budget companies such as Vertigo and Warp Films may distribute my film. Vertigo made and distributed the film ‘London to Brighton’ which is similar to my film and so they may be likely to distribute. Similarly, Warp Films distributed the film ‘Sight Seers’ which is also similar to my film and so they may be inclined to distribute it. Additionally, a TV channel such as Channel 5 may distribute my film on TV as they often show other low budget films. To raise awareness for the film’s distribution, posters could be made. Additionally, because the film would be aimed at a teenage audience, sneak peeks could be released onto a Facebook or Twitter page for followers to access. Pop up adverts could also appear in the side of these sites as these may attract the audience and they could click on the link to find out more if they were interested. A small creative agency may be able to help create adverts that will attract the desired target audience. By using social media to create awareness, those who look at the marketing efforts can easily pass it on to their friends by sharing the Facebook or Twitter page which would help to create even more awareness and possibly demand for the film.

 

If I could not get funding from Vertigo or other low-budget film companies, I would have to fund my film myself, making it ultra low budget and I would try to get funding from the BFI to help produce and distribute the film, To promote my film, I would go to several film festivals were I would hopefully attracted the desired target audience. I would also self-distribute my film by putting it on YouTube for free, with the aim to create awareness and build a wider audience for my film. I could also set up free screenings in local community halls to further promote my film to my target audience.

Evaluation Task 2

Evaluation Task 1

Editing our Opening Sequence

After having filmed everything we needed for our opening sequence, we had to capture the footage on the tape so that it would be on the computer and so that we could then use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit it.

   Once everything was uploaded, we split the single long video into several sub-clips based on when the shots started and finished, and we labelled them according to what shot the clip was and what happened in it. This was very time consuming, however, it made it a lot easier for us to be able to see what shots we had and therefore to locate them when we wanted to use them. This also meant that it was easier to manipulate our timeline.

   We then began to put the individual clips into the main timeline in the order that we wanted, using our storyboard for guidance, but we found it very difficult to stick to this strictly as we found that some shots we had wanted to use didn't work as we had hoped or were not good enough to use, and so we had to find alternative shots to use. 

    After we had put all the shots in an order that we were happy with, we started to add transitions and effects to the shots. This included slowing down footage to make the character of Hannah run in slow motion and make her struggle more evident to the audience. This also included editing the colouring in certain shots as well.

   Next, we decided on what credits to include and worked out appropriate places for them to go and used the order we had found during our research to ensure that the credits we were included we sequenced in the correct order. 

   Finally, we put the music on our timeline which I had edited on a different software (Audacity) as it was much easier to use. We put this into our opening sequence and edited it along with the diegetic sounds to make a more tense atmosphere. 

   We produced two rough cuts for our opening sequence, the first was just of the footage and the second included the non-diegetic music and credits. We used feedback from this when we went back to edit each session to help make what we were producing as effective as possible.

    Overall, I feel that our editing process was successful and we created a product that we are very happy with.

Rough Cut 2

After receiving the feedback for our opening sequence from our first rough cut, we made many changes and produced a second rough cut.
    Since our original rough cut, we added in the titles and credits to the opening sequence as this is one of the things that needs to be included in an opening sequence. We also added non-diegetic music to our opening sequence as many people wanted this after watching the original rough cut.
    We changed the images shown on screen as we decided it would be better to focus on the girl running away at the beginning, rather than the constant changing between her and the detective. However, we got some feedback on this version of our opening sequence, with some people saying that they were now confused as to who the man is and where he came from, so as a result, this is something that we will change next time we edit.
    We added in extra footage that we took on our extra filming day, including some different angles of Hannah as she runs down the road. We did this to make the focus more on her as well as show the audience more of her face as this is something else we concluded that we needed from the feedback we received on our last opening sequence.

Music for the Opening Sequence

We decided that we wanted to use some non-diegetic music in our opening sequence to help set the mood as well as possibly using the diegetic sounds of Hannah's heavy breathing and fast foot steps. We cannot use music from YouTube or iTunes as these are not royalty free, so instead, we looked on Google for sites that have royalty free music that can be downloaded for free.
    We searched on Sound-cloud and found a piece of music that we liked called 'Corruptionk' We wanted to  use this piece of music because it has a strong beat to it which can be used to mimic Hannah's fast heart beat, symbolising her panic as she tries to run. The music also becomes a faster pace nearer then end which can be used to represent the idea that Hannah is getting closer to her final destination. The drawn out sounds at the beginning of the piece would be heard when the credits are shown, however, the atmosphere this creates adds tension and suspense.
    We have decided that we will fade the music in at the start so that it can get louder later in the sequence and when Hannah is running, getting closer to the park.

Feedback on the Rough Cut

To help us make sure we would get the best out of our extra filming day, I sent this questionnaire (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1LszPTVTa6O8KfdZmdj4Wp0ju5Lp0boLviRaqwjq51z4/viewform to a few friends and family to get feedback on our roughcut. This is because by understanding what people want, particularly our target audience, we can create an opening sequence that would make them want to watch the film as well as allowing there to be other opinions than just ours.
    A lot of the feedback we got was very similar, including stating the need to for close-ups, saying that they wanted to see the characters faces. Another thing that was mentioned was the need for music as there isn't much dialogue. However, they all said that they would watch this if given the chance.