QUESTION 3 - WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT FROM YOUR AUDIENCE FEEDBACK?
Throughout the development of our trailer, we found that audience feedback was extremely valuable. In order to show what we have learned from our audience feedback, we decided to compare and reflect on the feedback we had previously obtained before the creation of the full trailer. To reach a range of different demographics, we used various methods to collect our feedback concerning our poster, magazine cover and poster.
our survey
We decided to repeat the use of a multiple choice survey with the intention to assess how successful our audience found elements of our trailer, poster and magazine cover. Here are questions we put to our audience with their answers.
our audience's response before we began our project
Response -
When reflecting on our feedback from another student we found that using a voice over is more effective than our first idea of having scripted dialogue between characters, as when using conversation our trailer lacked atmosphere and tension, making our trailer forced and awkward. We furthered this idea by using a voice over to suggest that the audience were hearing things from the perspective of the killers mind and therefore this fits with our chosen genre of a phycological horror. |
Response -
Due to our previous research on the conventions of horror, we found the audience reacted better to female victims. However this feedback has taught us that it makes it more unpredictable for the killer to have a varied victim type. In reaction to this we have now chosen to challenge the conventions and also used male victims in our trailer. We felt this unpredictable element gave our trailer an edge and therefore may appeal to a larger audience range. |
Response -
When tackling the choice of how the killer would go about his murders we considered using a different method for each of the victims. After gaining this feedback we decided to merge the students fear of suffocation and explored all the ways this could be carried out, for example; drowning, hanging and strangling. This idea appealed to us the most as it doesn't involve a weapon and again challenges previous horror conventions. The fact that he uses his own body gives the idea that he is the weapon and creates a more realistic terror for the audience. |
trailer
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our results
These are the results and reactions we gained from 10 members of our audience.
/ = 1 vote
/ = 1 vote
How did you find our trailer?
Did the music along with the voice over build the atmosphere of the trailer?
What locations were most memorable and effective?
Did you find the titles easy to follow?
What age rage do you think our trailer is suitable for?
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After seeing the trailer to you want to see the film?
Were the non-diegetic sounds noticeable?
If yes, what effect did they have on the trailer?
Was our genre clear? Which do you think our trailer fits?
Did you like the use of male and female victims?
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reaction videos
After creating our final trailer, we asked a few other media students to give us some feedback and to see their reactions to our work. We then analysed the feedback.
After completing our interviews,we found there to be a common trend in what people enjoyed about our trailer and would have liked to see.
What these clips showed us...
What these clips showed us...
- Favorite parts of the trailer were the scenes located in the bathroom and during the alley way. An interesting fact about this was that these shots both showed female victims, and so this conforms to horror stereotypes that females are the prefered victims.
- We found that our audience liked the voiceover as it contributed towards building up tension and creating suspense. It also gave insight into the killers character and inner thoughts. However we also found that some of our audience felt that the drone was a little repetitive, and may have taken away from the atmosphere in parts.
- When considering improvements, it was common that our audience wanted to see a more brutal killer along with blood and gore. Despite this feedback, I feel this is something we wouldn't be looking to change through fear of making the trailer less realistic, as well as straying from our genre. It was also stated that we had given too much away in the trailer, however we felt using a variety of killing shots helped to vary our shots and locations.
more reACTIONS TO OUR TRAILER
'The casting was spot on, the main killer could easily been seen as an iconic killer in future projects'
- Leanne Wisbey, one of our media teachers
- Leanne Wisbey, one of our media teachers
When considering the casting of our trailer we chose to look outside of the group and ask one of the drama students from our 6th form. We decided to do this to make our trailer more professional. It was also mentioned before casting Nathan as the killer, that we wanted someone who looked older and someone that was fairly tall to make them more daunting to the audience. Hearing this feedback from our media teacher meant a lot to us as a lot of though had gone into our casting process.
'The variety of locations and victims gave the trailer an ora of authenticity'
- Dan John, another media student
- Dan John, another media student
We were pleased when receiving this feedback particularly regarding the locations as this was one of our main concerns during the planning of our project. We used a variety of over 10 different locations across the trailer, a few of the favoured being the bathroom, town and an alleyway.
Something that I think worked well in our trailer was that the locations accompanied each of the victims and the fact that the locations themselves didn't link together or follow any pattern as this eliminated the predictability of the trailer.
Something that I think worked well in our trailer was that the locations accompanied each of the victims and the fact that the locations themselves didn't link together or follow any pattern as this eliminated the predictability of the trailer.
'The chosen genre and the way you explored the killers schizophrenic state by using a figured person was something I haven't seen captured before.'
- Emily Poole, a friend with no media studies experience
- Emily Poole, a friend with no media studies experience
After finishing our trailer, we had a worry that our genre may have been perceived as supernatural. However we were pleased when receiving the feedback that the killer was successfully represented with a mental 'disorder'. During planning we discussed a variety of ideas of how to put the killers mental state across to the audience, and felt using a figured person would both personify the voices in his head and be effective visually.
social media comments
Due to technological changes in our society, and the constant dependence of smartphones and social media, we felt this would be the best way to put our trailer out to our audience and to gain feedback on platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.
From the feedback it's clear that many people enjoyed our trailer. In addition to this, our target audience was made clear as all of our comments were from males aged 18-25 which matches Wes Craven's theory.
From the feedback it's clear that many people enjoyed our trailer. In addition to this, our target audience was made clear as all of our comments were from males aged 18-25 which matches Wes Craven's theory.
POSTER
WHY DO WE NEED AN APPEALING POSTER?
We wanted to make a poster that was realistic and appealing, to match the realism we focused on in our trailer. Our poster would be apart of our advertising campaign, which is vital when considering profits.
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what could be improved?
- Something we could have added to the poster could have been the films cinema release date.
- In order to build on our advertising campaign, we could have created a series of different posters targeted at various demographics of our target market.
- We could have considered the locations and positionings of our poster and created a wider range of posters suited to billboard and bus stops for example.
magazine
why do we need an appealing magazine?
It is important to have an appealing magazine cover for the reasoning that is our cover is eye-catching, there's a higher chance of people wanting to buy the magazine to read deeper into our film. After taking the time to read the articles inside related to our film, the chances of them wanting to view the film in the cinema is increased and therefore a magazine cover is a method of advertising.
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