Audience feedback - results

I have collected and analysed my audience feedback and here are my results:

This graph shows the age and gender of the people I questioned. This shows that when chosing who should complete my audience feedback I chose people in my target audience.The most popular age of people questioned was 17.

u Question 1. Do you feel the shot at the beginning of the opening sequence sets the scene well for the genre of film it is? Why?

Graph:

Analysis:

Out of the seven people asked all of them said that the first shot set the scene well for the genre. This was great feedback considering I decided to add in the shot at last minute to give the film clarity that it was a horror film and not a social realism. This will help me with question one of my evaluation. 

Explain: (question part 2)

This was the second part of the question where people got to explain why they said either yes or no. Here are the comments I got back:

Katy: The first shot really shows its horror! The movement of the trees leading down to the blacked out house really shows its horror.

Gabriel: The establishing shot really goes well with the rainsound effects. It creates tension for the audience and makes them want to watch on.

Alice: The black silhoette of the house really puts you on the edge of your seat. I could tell it was going tobe a horror as a dark house and rain are typical of horror films.

Sam: The first shot clearly shows its horror.

Lara: As a media student myself I really loved the establishing shot right at the beginning of the sequence. It sets the scene nicely and introduces the genre from the start! It creates a lot of tension and gets your ready for what might happen next.

Scott: It's blatantly horror! I hate to say this, but your house looks really creepy! I don't think you have to worry about this shot - it's great, everything from the rain to the creepy sillhouette of the house. 

Analysis: 

From my audience comments I can see that the first shot really did work due to the sound effects and the lighting of the house. I am happy I did add this in and is is creating the right effect by causing tension for the audience.

Question 2.   How do you feel the opening suggests it’s a horror film? 

 Graph

Analysis
From this I can tell that a mixture of lighting, shot types, props, sound effects and actors made my films genre stand out and become clear. The use of shots came up top as what the audience thought was the most effective in showing the genre. The lighting and sound effects were close behind which is good news and the lighting and sound effects were important to me as I wanted them to convey horror the most. 


Comments

Katy: The blood! The fact that when you see it for the first time you and the character doesnt know how or why it happened. It's the unknown which makes me feel like 'yes this is a horror!'
 


Gabriel: I liked the sound effects. They really made it seem like a typical horror film. The lighting was good and gave a nice effect especially rom the candles. The actor was quite typically a horror film character too which was nice.



Alice: I liked the shot of the mirror at the end of the scene. The writing just appeared which made it really effective and quite scary!



Sam: The opening suggests its a horror film as effects are used to generate a more negative mood to the shot, ie. rain, dark lighting, all pointing towards a genre such as horror.

Lara: Except for the opening shot, the use of sound effects (rain and thunder), the lighting from the candle and match and also the use of blood against the purity of a white wedding dress suggests the worst is yet to come.

Scott: Horror films are often set in dark places or at night. Bad weather is also a sign of horrific things to come - thunder is extra effective. The way the camera slowly moves down to show the house is quite eerie too.

Question 3.  Do you think the main character represents a typical horror film character? Please explain your awnser.

Katy: Yes, she seems to be nervous about most of the events in the opening.She also looks like the typical character.

Gabriel: I like how naive she seems to be and how unaware of any bad incidents she really is. The way she calls to Matt makes her seem like she relies on him which shows how she lacks independance. 

Alice: I think how she was dressed shows how innocent she was. Also the way she acts and the fact she gets up to see a wedding dress (which is white) screams innocence and naivety. 

Sam: The main character is representative of horror as many films use young females as characters in their films.

Lara: The actor shows clear naivety and innocence which is very typical of horror film characters. The fact she is scared easily at sudden sounds is also typical.

Scott: Horror films often involve vulnerable, young, female characters - something which you have found exactly here! The fact that she seems quite tense and easily scared makes her typical of horror characters too.

Analysis:

So from this questions I can take that I chose the right actor to play the main character. I wanted her to come across as innocent and pure which she clearly has to the audience. Nearly everyone asked said she seems innocent which is good. I took inspiration from 'Scream' and their choice of main character and I think I did well.

Question 4a. Who do you think the target audience for the film is? Why?

4b. Also, which gender do you feel this is aimed at?

Graph 4a:

 

  Graph 4b.

Analysis: 

Most of the people asked said that they thought the film would be aimed at 16 year olds if it was to be brought into production. My target audience was 16/17 year olds so I am happy with the responce I got frommy audience. Also, Only on eperson thought the film would be aimed at a male audience meaning 6 other people disagreed and said it should be for a female audience. This is good as I was intitially aiming it at females as they can relate with the main character more.

Question 5. Do you feel the sound effects and music choices are conventional of a horror film?

Graph:

Analysis:

Everyone asked said that my chosen sound effects and music choices are typically associated with a horror film. This is really great news as I added sound effects right at last minute. Im very happy I did and I'm also happy that my audience can pick up on how the sound effects and music create the tension. 

Question 6. What aspects of the opening make you want to continue watching the film?

 

Graph:

Analysis:

From this chart I can see that the cliffhanger at the end of my film makes people want to keep watching to find out what is going to happen. The one person who said the writing on the mirror links into the cliffhanger as they want to know whats going to happen next due to the writing. Only one person said the blood on the dress and how suddenly it appeared. I think this in a way is also a small cliffhanger as you want to know why it happened.

Question 7.   Do you feel the titles, camera angles, lighting and sound effects etc. are typical of a horror film?

Comments:

Katy: The sound effects at the beginning were really effective. The close ups of the candle and blood really created tension and linked in well with a horror film.

Gabriel: I think the titles were good as the black and white contrast well. I liked the font used too. The lighting was particuallrly good from the candle and match and gave it a horror feel. 

Alice: The sound effects were really good!

Sam: Yes, all aspects were clear to be appropriate for a horror film. The build up of sound was very good.

Lara: I like the camera angles when we see the candle and match. Also the titles were really good and seem typical of a horror film. The lighting from the candle was beautiful and actually worked well with creating tension. 

Scott: I'd say titles and camera shots are the most typical. The titles are in an appropriate font, with a good transition. Most of the camera shots are wide shots, so we can see action, and close ups on things such as the lighting match and blood ... very creepy...

Analysis:

From this I can see that the good points in my opening were:

• The lighting from the candle and match
• The close ups of the candle, match and blood
• The titles are in an appropriate font and colour
• The sound effects
• The build up of sounds.

This is a good finish to my final edit. The main and important aspects of my filming I seem to have inderstood and used well.

Question 8. Which do you feel are not typical of a horror film?

Comments:

Katy: I think the lighting could have been consistant throughout to make it more dark and scary.

Gabriel: I think you could have kept up with the lighting from the candle to make it more spooky and eerie instead of going to a bright light right after. 

Alice: I think the music can be to intense sometimes and it stops really suddenly.

Sam: The lighting and camera angles needed more depth and perhaps a grey filter to give a more black and white picture.

Lara: Keep up the lighting from the candle shot. It was good and deep which created suspence. Also the mirror shot needs to be longer. It's very hard to read.

Scott: I'd say probably the sound. Whilst it's appropriate, it can get a bit repetitive and ends suddenly a couple of times. Sound is key in horror films for inducing fear.

Analysis:

I can take form this question advice on if I did this again which I should improve and keep in mind. 
What I need to keep in mind:

• Make the sound blend more. Also don't make it to continuous.
• Keep up a dark lighting as it was effective and made it more horror like.
• Make some shots longer so its easier for the audience.

This is very useful feedback and will help me next time and in my next project.

Audience feedback questionnaire

For my audience feedback I decided to construct a proper questionnaire in which people had to watch my video then answer questions about it which I feel will help me with my evaluation. This will be filled out by three girls and three boys (the same people as before) so that my results will be a mixture and still relevant to my target audience.

Request:

Hello all! I have just finished my final edit of my media coursework in which I created a horror film opening sequence. Before I created my sequence I took inspiration from horror films such as 'IT' and 'Scream.' Now I need to acquire audience feedback from my target audience. In the post below this is my final video. I would be very grateful if you would watch it and then proceed to fill out my questionnaire. Afterwards, would you please either email it to me at hollyfarrell93@gmail.com or mail it to me via Facebook. Thank you for taking time to do this.

The questionnaire:
Audience Feedback Media Questionnaire

Final edit of my opening sequence

Here is my final edit of my opening sequence. I am very pleased with the final outcome!
It's quite sad to come to an end of our coursework as I have really enjoyed the whole process.

Please feel free to take a look.


I will be constructing a questionnaire to get audience feedback on my final edit. I aim to ask the same people as before to ensure my target audience has been recognised and so they understand and can see the changes made and compare it to the first edit. I have also chosen the people before as they know and understand my genre choice and will be able to make precise and constructive comments which will help me later in my evaluation. I plan to email the people the link to my blog where they will read the post, watch my video and then email my my questionnaire.

Final improvements

Right at the start of my film I wanted to add in what the location was like to make it more clear that this film is a horror film, so, I added in an establishing shot. I think it adds to the genre well and I am glad I added it in. Also, there is water droplets on the camera to make it noticeable that it's raining, which become very useful for sound effects.

I took out the first song in my final edit. I decided to do this because it was far to social realism and upbeat. I wanted to include sound effects especially as it was raining. I took advantage of the establishing shot and added in rain and thunder sound effects to increase the suspense in the film. I layered two clips, one of heavy rain and one of thunder. I allowed it to carry on through the match box being picked up and the first title. This hopefully created tension for the viewer. 

Again, taking in consideration my audience feedback, I decided to add the match sound effect when it is lit. Seeing as the rest of the shot is silent it makes it more horror-like which is a nice effect.

Following the teachers feedback, I decided to cut out the child laughing as the main focal point and added in a slamming door which I feel creates more tension and seems more realistic. It wasn't fully clear who Matt was when she asked if it was him, but now the door is slammed shut it becomes more clear it is either he husband or boyfriend. 

I have now also added a fade into beginning and the end of my music which makes it more subtle for the viewer and introduces the music to the viewer in a nicer way.

I have added a child laugh when the main film title appears because it fits in better and makes it more chilling and tense. The music also fades out here to allow the viewer to hear the child laughter.

I have added back in all the natural sound from when I filmed so it seems more life-like and realistic. It also breaks up the music which can be a bit to full on and intense. It sounds better and makes you feel part of the film.

Finally at the end, when the actor turns around, I have added the door being closed again and then a direct child laughter which links in again with the title of the film. It makes it more chilling. Also, I have taken out the scream as it made it ore trailer-like and a dip to colour (which is black in this case) to finish off the opening sequence.