Final edit feedback

For my final set of feedback i got together a focus group on my target audience and asked them a few questions about my film opening.

Audience feedback - first edit - Question 6

15 out of 20 people said that yes they would definitely continue watching, this is a fantastic result! It means that I have successfully created an engaging, intriguing opening sequence. Some comments given were:

"I want to know what Heidi saw..."
"Want to see what was outside the door"
and
"Yes! The suspense would kill me!"


Still there was a minority of people who would only maybe continue watching, and one that would definitely not watch any more. But, when you look at the comment it soon becomes apparent why:

"I don't really watch horror films, they scare me"
and
"Because don't like horrors but the tension is gripping enough and makes me curious"


Looking back to improve my feedback I probably have only asked people who actually enjoy watching horror films. But overall I am very, very pleased with the feedback given and I don't need make any noticeable changes. 

Audience feedback - first edit - Question 4 & 5

I was incredibly happy to see that the feedback was so positive as me and Arabella spent so long on it, perfecting it and really thinking about how it matches and enhances the action. From the comments given it is clear that I don't need to change the music.

"It was suitable and dramatic"
"It enhances the film"
and
"Build up the tension"


Are the characters what you would expect from a horror film?


Every single member of the audience I asked answered 'yes' to this question. This shows that I have managed to identify and follow the conventions of horror regarding characters. No changes needed to be made here.

Comments included:
"Yes - the girl suggests vulnerability"
"Pretty much - dim teen who backs themselves into the corner"

Audience feedback - first edit - Question 3

How could the titles be improved?

75% of people commented that they did not have any suggestions on how the titles could be improved, only 5 people had suggestions on how they could be improved. These were:

Make them Darker
Make them spookier
Continue using the typewriter
More stop motion
Make them larger

Seeing as the majority were happy with the titles Im not going to make any changes. Here is how I have justified the decisions.

Darker - I need them to stand out, if they were darker they may not show up
Spookier - I'm afraid this was a bit vague, I'm not sure how to make them 'spookier'. Also I like the subtlety, I don't want them to be to over the top.
Use the type writer/more stop motion - As these were part of my production cards and not the film I want to keep it separate rather than to continue these techniques through out. I am a big fan of stop motion and plan to use it more in future projects but due to its comic nature it isn't really appropriate for the horror genre.
Larger - The title of the film ('Bloody Nightmare') is larger than the names and it needs to be to show its importance and that it is different.


Comments included:
"I like them how they are"
"They were already good"
and
"Very good, I like the flashing of them"

Audience feedback - first edit - Question 2

     Analysis of audience feedback of my first edit.
         
      What is your opinion of the sound effects?

I asked this as the sound effects are something that would be relatively easy for me to change and could make a big difference. So I thought it is a very relevant and worthwhile question to ask.

I was incredibly happy to see that the majority of my audience liked the sound effects! Comments I received included:

“The birds, although ordinary, make it even more sinister”

“Brilliant”

And

“High quality, build suspense”

Quite a few people commented on the phone ringing being too loud.  But, I have decided to keep it as it is because whilst watching it I saw it made them jump, which is exactly the effect I am trying to create. It abruptly interrupts the silence, as this is unexpected it catches the audience by surprise.

So I'm not going to change any of the sound effects because I am really happy with them and the feedback received. 

Audience feedback - first edit - Question 1

Analysis of audience feedback of my first edit.

I showed my first edit of the opening sequence to 20 people in the target audience to see what they thought of it, would they watch it and how could I improve it.  Here are the results to my questionnaire.

1.       What genre do you think this film belongs to?

I asked this very general question to see straight off if my sequence is clearly belonging to the horror genre, as this was the affect I was trying to achieve. Here are the results:

Luckily the majority of my audience could tell easily that my opening sequence belongs to the horror genre, with 9% thinking it was horror or thriller and only 5% getting the genre wrong with thriller. I can see where the confusion might lie, the sequence could be mistaken for a thriller but as only minute sample of people thought it was (1 person out of 2 questioned) I do not think It matters too much. And thriller is a similar genre to horror, is say 30% thought it would be a romantic comedy, then I would have a problem and changes would need to be made.

I also asked them why they thought this so I could identify what mainly contributed to the tone of the film:

I was very pleased to see that the build-up of tension was so effective. I was worried that it wouldn’t come through but it is a vital part of setting the tone and I am thrilled that so many people appreciated it. Other important things my audience said contributed to the genre were costume, props, characters and storyline. This was reassuring to see that I correctly identified conventions of the horror genre and portrayed them effectively.

Quite a few people gave comments such as “It was scary”. These comments were not very helpful as they didn’t tell me what made it scary but still, they were positive and nice to hear.