Audience Feedback

After the screening of my horror film opening scene, I gave 10 audience members a questionnaire in order for me to get feedback and honest opinions on it. The audience was a group of 16 and 17 year olds who are my target audience. Audience feedback is really important in order to find out what the audience liked and disliked and to get their opinion about the film.

Here are the questionnaires and responses that I received:

The results show that 90% of the audience said that they enjoyed the film and would watch the rest of the film after seeing the opening scene.

I filmed my opening scene in the day time and 50% said that they thought this was the wrong decision. I agree with them, however if I filmed it in the dark, the finished quality wouldn't be as good because I did not have any professional lighting to use for filming in darkness therefore you wouldn't be able to see the characters on screen.

60% said that they understood the story which is quite a low percentage. To help the audience understand the storyline, I could have maybe added another character for the main character (Emma) to talk to and express what was happening to make it clearer to the audience.

100% of the audience said that the locations were realistic enough, which is good because I spent quite a while thinking about possible locations to film in that would support the story and characters in the film.

90% said that they liked the variety and use of camera angles which i'm pleased with because I tried to include as many various camera angles as I could to make the film more interesting and to keep the audience watching, especially because the storyline was quite simple. However, 50% said that the editing interfered with their enjoyment of the film but the other 50% said that it enhanced it. I could have asked why they thought this in order to help me improve for next time.

Finally, 100% of the audience recognised it as a horror genre film, which is good because my task was to create a horror film opening and the audience recognise it as a horror film, therefore I feel I have succeeded.

Evaluation Q7- Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Through completing my opening scene, I feel like I have learnt quite a lot since doing my preliminary task. However, I feel as though I learnt most of what I know and put into this project before doing my preliminary task because I completed a lot of research before the preliminary task- about camera shots and angles. Since doing the preliminary task, I feel like I have improved my editing/ continuity editing because I watched some demonstration videos on YouTube about the shortcuts and techniques to help improve continuity editing and the general finish quality.

I think that the preliminary task prepared me very well for when I created my opening scene because it provided me with a step by step guide of what to do in the film making process. From doing the preliminary task, I learnt about how much preparation I needed to do before filming began. Preparation such as creating a storyboard, figuring out which camera angles are going to be used when and where and creating a storyline were all key things that needed to be planned ahead of filming. This made me realise how important preparation was because without it, my film wouldn't have been as good or fluid because if filming happened straight away I would have had to make things (such as the storyline) up on the spot and it would not have been as good because it wouldn't have given me anytime to properly research and think about it ahead of filming. If I didn't do any preparation, then I may have just used the first idea that I thought of which may not have been my best idea for the film opening. By doing no preparation ahead of filming, you may forget where you are going with the storyline and the next things you film may not coincide with the previous thing you filmed, meaning that the film wouldn't be fluid or make any sense at all.

I learnt a lot about different technologies from doing the preliminary task. I experimented with programmes including iMovie and Garage Band which gave me an idea of how to use it for when I created my horror film opening scene. After the preliminary task, I realised that I may need to know a bit more about how to use these programmes in order to create an effective film that is edited as professionally as I could. Therefore, I watched many demonstration videos on YouTube to find out about various shortcuts, tools and techniques you can use when editing video footage and sound for the film opening.

Overall, I think the preliminary task was very beneficial when I was preparing to make my film, as it gave me a starting point to work forward from. This meant that I could have a good idea of what I wanted to film and the angles at which I was going to film each shot from and also the storyline of the film and without creating a storyboard, my film wouldn't have looked as professional. Another task I had to carry out was to set a date for filming. Here, the preliminary task was helpful because it means that I could be completely prepared on a day which made the filming process quick and professional as it meant that nothing was missed which may have happened if I didn't set a day to film.

Evaluation Q6- What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I learnt many things about technologies from constructing my horror film opening, such as editing techniques, camera work and sounds.

Camera.

From creating my film, I researched and learnt about various camera angles and shots which I then put into practise during the filming process. The camera was the most important piece of technology I was using because it was capturing my project. I had never created a film before (apart from my 30 second preliminary one) so the process of taking multiple takes to capture multiple angles was new to me, however I think I managed it quite well. I used the camera on my iPhone to do it because I had experience of using it previously and I knew that it would work well for me. Before filming, I learnt how to capture various shots including: high angle, panning, tracking, low angle, close up, long shot and medium shot. By the end of the filming process, I could confidently shoot any shot type I was
aiming for.

Blogger.

Before doing this project, I had never create my own blog before, even though it was something I had previously thought about doing. At the start of this project I did not know how to use it but now after using this website for a longer time, I know about how to use it and how you can use various methods of presenting your writing on here. Blogger was where I posted all of my work and because it is online, it meant that I could access it anywhere- at home or at school, therefore it was so easy to keep all of my work in one place and not lose anything! All of my planning and research is located on here.





Editing.

I used my MacBook Pro to do all the ending and effects for my horror film opening scene. I used the software 'iMovie'. This enabled me to crop and cut the unneeded frames making my film opening scene flow as smoothly as it could, just like a professional film. I practised using this software before beginning to edit my film, so I knew exactly how to use it in order to get a the best quality finish I could.YouTube helped me a large amount in the editing process. I watched a few demonstration videos on how to use iMovie and to find out some of the shortcuts and techniques you can do to speed up the editing process without losing the quality, otherwise this would have been a very long process as editing can take several hours to get each cut precise. YouTube was especially good for my research as I was able to access and view a large selection of different horror films, to help me get ideas for my own.


Sounds.
Another programme I used was 'Garage Band' which was also on my MacBook. I used Garage Band to make my own, original soundtrack . It offered a wide variety of sound effects that I needed, however I did have to find some sound effects on YouTube and import them to Garage Band to mix with other sounds to create my soundtrack. I wanted to create a very fast paced soundtrack, for effect and suspense and Garage Band allowed me to do this as I could edit the volume of each separate sound effect to get my soundtrack just how I wanted it. This was effective because it allowed my music to be scary and therefore, helped enhance the horror theme of my film opening scene.

Evaluation Q5- How did you attract/address your audience?

In my media product (horror film opening scene) I tried to appeal to  to a certain target audience which is really important to do in the opening scene. To attract the audience, I had to make sure the key features were met. I aimed to create a film (opening) targeted at teenage girls with a rating of 15 so the audience is not too restricted and I wanted to keep the category of 15-19 year olds. Once I had figured out my target audience, I had to think of the different aspects that would attract this audience and how these would help to maintain the interest of the consumer.

Sound:

- Use of sound effects including footsteps, door creaking and breathing.
- Music sets the atmosphere and comes across as creepy and creates elements of suspense.
- Silence- is seen as one of the most effective tools in horror films. I used silence in the form of having no dialogue. This meant that not much was given away in the opening and kept the viewers wanting to see more but also shows the creepy atmosphere.

Key moments that would attract/ keep the audience  the audience include:

- The dark figure that appears and then is not there when the camera changes angle.
- The figure that reappears further on- faintly in the distance and then disappears again. It is not seen in the audiences' point of view shot but is visible in the character's point of view which makes the audience wonder whether this mysterious character following the girl is really actually there.

Evaluation Q4- What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The film company that I would like to produce my film is ‘Paramount’ because they have previously produced some successful horror films, such as Friday The 13th, World War Z and Psycho.

I carried out  some research on the history of this institution, in order to find out more about them and whether they would be the right type of company to produce my horror film.

Paramount Pictures Corporation (known as Paramount) is an American film studio based in Hollywood, California and is the fifth oldest surviving film studio in the world and second oldest surviving in the United States. It is the last major film studio still headquartered in Hollywood. 

It was founded over 100 years ago in 1912 by Adolph Zukor, who had been an early investor in Nickelodeon, saw that movies appealed mainly to working-class immigrants.He partnered with Daniel and Charles Frohman and they planned to offer feature-length films that would appeal to the middle class by featuring the leading theatrical players of the time. They began successfully and by mid 1913 they had completed five films. Paramount's first film was Les Amours de la reine Elisabeth.

Eventually, Zukor let most of his early partners go- the Frohman brothers, Hodkinson and Goldwyn were out by 1917 while Lasky remained until 1932, when, blamed for the near-collapse of Paramount in the depression years, he too was let go. Zukor's over-expansion and use of overvalued Paramount stock for purchases led the company into receivership in 1933. 

Paramount's successful run of pictures extended into the 1980s and 1990s, generating hits like Footloose, Friday The 13th and Ghost.

In 2009, CBS stopped using the Paramount name in its series and changed the name of the production arm to CBS Television Studios, eliminating the Paramount name from television.

Evaluation Q3- Who would be the audience for your media product?

I surveyed 20 people who watch horror films in order to find out about my target audience. This survey helped me decide what I needed to include in my horror film opening scene to make it appeal to my target audience. My target audience are 16-19 year olds, however this is just a guide and anyone can watch and enjoy it. Horror films are not suitable for/ aimed at under 12 year olds, so this excludes them. From the survey, I found out that ghosts scare people the most when watching horror films, therefore I included a ghosts character in my opening scene. When questioned about jump scares, 35% said hidden attacks are their favourite and scare them the most. This was the highest answer so therefore I used a hidden attack. When questioned about sounds, 40% said that diegetic sounds make a horror film scary and 60% said non- diegetic sounds, so I used non-diegetic sounds. When asked what makes a good horror film, no one said dialogue, which supported my decision to use non-diegetic sounds rather than dialogue. Gender- my film is aimed at girls, however boys would still like watching it. It’s aimed more towards girls because the main character is a teenage girl and I feel as though girls would be able to relate to the character more than boys. Age- 16-19. However, this is a guide and many people over this age would enjoy watching it as well. I feel as though the storyline is more aimed at 16-19 year olds rather than 19+, but this doesn’t mean 19+ year olds can’t watch it. This excludes under 12 year olds as horror films are un-suitable for them. 

Evaluation Q2- How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In my film, the main character is a teenage girl who is dressed in a plain black outfit (top, jacket, jeans and shoes). This outfit is casual and plain and is typically what many girls this age would wear. In the opening scene, she is seen walking through the woods, behaving in a ‘normal’ manner for a teenage girl, however she thinks she is constantly hearing things and someone is always with her/ following her, which is unusual for a teenage girl to think. The props she uses are a phone and a bag which is what a teenage girl would typically be carrying around with her, especially if she is going somewhere, for example to school or out to see a friend or to the shops. I chose a teenage girl for the main character because my target audience are teenagers, so when they watch it they may feel as though they can relate to her.

Firstly, the social groups represented in my film can be identified by the age presented. For example, the main character is fifteen and represents the social group 'teenagers in society'. This is shown by the use of costume, such as fashionable clothing for everyday use- dress and a jacket, as teenagers are the largest consumer as they have more money to spend on clothing. Another example is that the other character (protagonist, who briefly appears three times) represents the social group on the boarder of adult-hood because she is older than the teenage girl and she is eighteen.

Secondly, the social groups represented in my film can be identified by the gender presented. For example, the main character is female which narrows the social group of 'teenagers' down to 'female teenagers' so, creating a niche group.

Another way the social groups represented in my film can be identified is by the race/ ethnicity presented. For example, the protagonist falls into the social group of 'white British' due to her location of birth which is in Britain. The film is set in Britain and 87% of the population fall into this social group. The social groups represented in my film can also be identified by the location of residence presented. For example, the narrative of my film is set in Britain and the characters are of British nationality.

In conclusion, the social groups represented in my film are: teenagers, adults, female, white British, British nationality.