'What have you learnt from your audience feedback?'
Audience feedback is very important in the media industry. Results can be very different than predicted. The film makers might think that certain aspects of the movie will attract their viewers, when actually it isn't nearly as successful. Therefore it's important that they test what does and doesn't work in the eyes of their target market. Getting their opinions on what they do and don't like, will help the producers to improve their product and make it more appealing to the fans. They can take out bits which are offensive or ineffective and add in bits to give a better result.
There are many ways that a producer can go about collecting audience feedback. Here are some of the ways that they encourage people to express their responses;
- Questionnaires: Getting viewers to fill out some surveys on their viewing experience (or their opinions on the movie idea) is a good way to find answers to specific questions.
- Interviews: For a more in depth answer, they can ask questions face to face, which will result in more open ended, detailed responses.
- Test screenings: The majority of movies are test screened, which means a preview of the film is shown to a select audience, in order to gage their reaction before its release. The audience is asked to provide their feedback, which is then analysed and then the film is re-edited accordingly. These types of screenings are generally shown to the target market of the film, or to general viewers to see how they react.
- Critic screenings: These are screenings for national and major critics, so the film makers can see if the movie is to receive favourable or bad reviews.
- Comments: Nowadays, movie trailers are mostly seen on the internet, via YouTube and social networks, like Facebook. The clips generate millions and views and comments which show how people receive the trailer and what they think the film will be like.
- Q and A's at film festivals: This is where viewers can ask questions relating to the film and its release.
https://fairuza1.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/why-is-audience-feedback-important-in-the-media/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_screening
My target audience
Here is an overview of typical members in my target audience (according to my market research).
The majority of my audience are males aged between 18 and 25. When it comes to horror films (their favourite genre), they prefer disturbing ones with plot-twists as opposed to gory slashers and mainstream clichés. They want something unpredictable which leaves a lasting impression and topics to think about. Watching films is more a hobby; they don't usually put on one with the intention of passing the time in a fun but forgettable way.
Their likes include;
- Watching films (at home or at the cinema)
- Playing videogames
- The internet
- Going to pubs and clubs
- Music
- Nature
- Science
- Boxing and some other sports
- And doing crossword puzzles.
Apparently the majority of males (young and young adults) spend an incredible amount of time watching gaming videos.
This fits in with my research, which shows that young men like to play lots of video games - some of the genres (like racing and fighting) fit in with their other hobbies too.
I looked at some videos on YouTube to represent the subculture of my target group. Here is a channel which I think offers content that my audience would watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGwermHQwkU
Audience feedback during production
My final product was quite different from what I originally had planned. After showing it to my brother (who is in my target group) he pointed out some of the flaws in my idea and suggested how I could make the production process more practical.
Here are the some of the pointers that I received;
1. To use a high quality DSLR (Digital single lens reflex camera) instead of my camcorder. He lent me his camera (which was newer and more reliable than my one) so that my footage would be better quality. I noticed that the DSLR was more sturdy and had more settings which made filming easier. As a result, my scenes look clear, crisp and less shaky than they would have done.
2. To use After Effects instead of Premiere Pro for my editing software. I had no experience when it came to editing video footage. My brother told me that with After Effects, I can add in more effects which would better suit my trailer needs (like adding the creatures).
3. After filming the 'alley scene' someone recommended that I put a dark filter over the footage. I was against it because I had spent a couple of hours on the bloody shirt and makeup and it was already hard to see the creature. But in the end, I'm glad I took that advice because the makeup was rushed and the shirt was too yellow to be creepy.
It made the blood and bruises harder to see, but the dark filter ultimately made this scene better.
4. During filming, I learned that blurring the background in a shot, made it look more professional.
The background is blurred here because it attracts more attention to the foreground and makes it look more focused in comparison.
5. Some other advice I received was regarding the angles and camera movement.
In this scene, the camera moves upward. My brother helped me position this shot (with the therapist's foot visible in the foreground for continuity).
6. I wanted to use another soundtrack: Prodigy - Deathray, at the end of the trailer. But during editing, someone told me that this would take some of the tension away and that I should stick with sound effects. Since the scenes turned out differently than I imagined, I agreed to this.
7. I was prepared to make a number of props for the creature scenes. But after discussing this with my brother, he said that creating them on Photoshop would not only look effective, but would be more practical. He actually thought that using an actor was the best option, but I didn't like the thought of applying all that FX makeup.
8. In the planning stages, I had a lot more scenes which I wanted to film. For example, the main character was meant to be addicted to the drug. It was originally going have awesome effects before things started to go wrong. The idea behind this was that the character would lose his mind after repeated use of substance...that all of those awesome hallucinations(?) were making him slowly lose his mind so the creature could take over his life. But I had no way of re-creating these so called effects, so I re-drafted the idea so that the pill just turned his life sour right away. There were also some more scenes, like how the character would fall asleep, have a nightmare and then wake up in an unknown place. But some people thought this didn't really make sense, so I took it out. I'm glad I took out a lot of scenes because the remaining scenes were actually longer than I had anticipated.
Finished product feedback
My trailer was quite well received among friends and family. People thought it turned out better than they thought it would.
I created this questionnaire and surveyed a sample of 10 people in my target market.
Positive feedback
I was pleased to get positive feedback on; the acting, the creatures, the sounds, the voiceovers and some of the other effects (like the out of body experience scene).
Negative feedback
One of the suggestions that I got, was that the party scene was a bit dark and it was hard to see what was happening.
Someone else thought that the therapist should have been seen taking notes.
My poster was perceived as a bit simplistic to some people; it didn't really have a wow factor. But they said it had all the right conventions.
As I thought, I got comments on the weird placement of the barcode on my magazine cover. Someone also pointed out that mag covers don't usually have page numbers on and some of the colours weren't completely unified.
Conclusion
Overall, my products received generally favourable reviews. I am pleased at how it turned out and at how people received some aspects, especially the bits which I thought were a bit flawed (like some of the sound effects).
The critical comments during production have made the final cut of 'Sleepwalker' more successful than it would have been if I had not received this advice.
In light of the recent feedback, if I were to make some improvements, I would;
-Make the party scene lighter so that it's clearer to see
-Maybe give the therapist a bigger role or some more screen time.
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