Evaluation question 3

Evaluation question 3: What have you learnt from your

audience feedback?

Leah Watts

Feedback for initial choice of genre and research:

Initial feedback on storyline:After writing our first draft of our synopsis and treatment, we got some general feedback on it. In this feedback we learnt that our storyline did not completely make sense and needed adjusting in order for it to fit the thriller/mystery genre. When looking back at what we had written we realised this too, so this feedback that we got was very useful in making us see this. Because of this feedback we decided to go back and change our storyline, we kept parts but changed the majority of it to make it a lot better and make more sense and also fit with the genre that we had chosen. This feedback right at the start helped as if we had not had this then we probably would not have changed anything and it would not have been as successful due to the very start being not quite right. If the storyline does not make sense then the rest of the process would not have gone as smoothly. The initial ideas of the storyline are very important as everything carries on from this, so our feedback helped a lot and helped make our trailer, magazine and poster more successful.

Feedback from blogger that we received from our peers.

This feedback that we received right at the very start of the whole process of making our trailer, poster and magazine, helped us to see whether we were starting off right and if we had to change anything before we got into the main process of planning. This feedback helped us as they thought that the rating of 12A was appropriate for our film as they had read the storyline and agree that people under 12 should not be abled to watch it as it wouldn’t be appropriate for this age. The people we asked were between 17-18, and they said they would enjoy this film at their age so we thought the rating of 15 would be too high as then a younger audience would not be able to watch it so making it 12A would allow a wide range of ages and people to be able to see the film. We also got feedback on the way we had been presenting our blog with our findings, research and planning. Most people liked it as it was laid out in a creative but simple way that was easy to look at and read and was continuous. This helped us, as we then carried on to use a variety of presentation skills so that the whole blog had some continuity, and was easy to look back at when making our final products, as we looked back at everything we had done for inspiration on our final pieces.

“I would go and see a thriller film if it was rating 12A as I know that it wouldn’t be really scary but would still be a good watch.”-Harriet

“I love thriller films as well as mystery and I think the story line sounds like something I would go and see!”-Leanne

“I like films that are scary but not too scary and this sounds like one of them!”-Shannon

“Looking at your storyline, it sounds like a film that you wouldn’t get bored in, so I would definitely go and see it and I think the age rating of 12A fits the storyline well.”-Laura

“I really like how you’ve thought of a storyline that’s unique and it seems like something that any one of any age could go and watch and enjoy. I like your chosen genre of thriller/mystery as that genre is getting more and more popular and is also my favourite genre of film.”-Donna

“I love the sound of the story line and I really like the fact that it is a 12A as this means more of a variety of people can go and see the film!”-Anna

How the initial feedback helped me:All of this feedback that we received right at the very start of the whole process, when all we had thought of this the storyline, the genre of the film and the rating etc, was very useful in aiding us in whether to slightly change our idea or not. After our initial feedback we received feedback from our audience (previous page) and this meant that after a few changes to our storyline our audience then liked our plot a lot and they said they would go and see this film. The fact that a lot of people said the 12A age rating was appropriate helped us in the making of the trailer as it aided us in knowing what to include if 12 year olds would be watching the film. People liking our storyline helped us as we then knew that it fitted our audiences needs and would be a success when it came out.

Feedback on planning stages:

What we received feedback on:We received feedback also after we had completed the planning stages of the whole process, this included feedback on our hand drawn and digital mock ups, our story board (what shots we were going to include), costumes, font ideas, transcript and what we reveal through our trailer. This feedback helped a lot as it helped us see if the main body of planning was successful and if it wasn’t what we could change before making the final magazine, poster and trailer.

We got some feedback from our peers and other young people on our hand drawn mock ups and digital mock ups to see what they thought of our basic ideas on what we wanted our poster and magazine to look like. This feedback was very useful in terms of knowing whether to change anything before starting work on Photoshop making the actual final products.

Feedback:

Most people that we asked for some brief feedback off said that they liked the mock ups that we had made and said that when they are made into digital magazines it would look really effective and real due to the layout fitting conventions of magazines. They thought that how it fitted to conventions was a good thing as this would show to the audience what kind of magazine it was (film). The people we asked also said they liked the small things we added to the magazine like the flash we added with extra information in, as they thought that this would draw the audience in even more. They also liked the colour scheme as they thought it matched the genre. The people that we asked also said that they think the choice of camera shots will work well on a magazine as they will also draw you in.

What I learnt from this feedback:From this feedback, before making our final magazine and poster it told me that our basic ideas worked so we could then develop these and add more things to them to make them even more successful and professional. It also helped us to make decisions on whether to keep things like the colour scheme, text and images the same or change them slightly to adapt to what our target audience like as they will be the ones who it is aimed as, so they will need to like it. So this feedback was very useful in aiding us to make some more decisions about what we wanted our final magazine and poster to look like.

We also got some feedback from our peers who are also part of our audience on our story board and transcript for the trailer. We got a few people to give us some feedback on our storyboard and most people agreed that there was enough shots on there to make a full trailer and to make it not to long. However some people suggested some shots we could add to make the transitions between the shots more effective so it would make more sense. We also got some feedback from our teachers on our transcript, which meant we had to re draft a couple of times in order to make it the best it could be. They said that it did not really make sense and would not make sense in the trailer with the shots we had chosen to use. They said that it had to tell a story in a way but not the full story of the film. So this feedback helped a lot as it helped us to see what we need to take out and what we needed to put in.

What I learnt from this feedback:

I learnt from this feedback that we had planned our storyboard for our trailer well, meaning we could go ahead and make it. We asked some people from our target audience (12 years old and up wards) and because they thought the shots would be effective we kept them all as we want to appeal to our target audience as that is the aim as well as to sell the film. The feedback we got about our transcript helped as if we had not got this feedback then our trailer as a whole would not be as effective as the transcript/intertitles are the main aspect of the trailer that explains what is happening to the audience.

Feedback on first drafts of poster and magazine:

After making our first drafts of our magazine and poster, we decided to gather some feedback and improvements that we could make on them in order to make them as professional as we could and also make them look like real marketing products to advertise our film.

Feedback on magazine and poster:

What I learnt from this feedback:I learnt from this feedback that after our first attempt at making the poster and magazine there was still a few minor things that could be changed to make it better as a whole. We decided to make these changes as if we didn’t it may affect the trailer or the other advertisement as they come in a three. We learnt that some of the colours could be changed as there was too much of the same colour, so we decided to change that but still stick with the colour scheme. We also resized a few things on our magazine to make it look more like a real magazine, so this feedback was helpful.

Feedback for first draft of trailer:

We had a verbal discussion about our first draft of our trailer we this rest of our peers after showing to everyone. It wasn’t quite finished when we showed it as we did not have a soundtrack. So our peers advised us to put a soundtrack on that created an atmosphere as this is a big part of what makes the trailer effective. Our peers also said that we should shorten it as it was 3:30 which was too long for a trailer.

So overall we learnt from this feedback that we needed to complete our trailer and add sound as that is a key factor of trailers and making them fit conventions and look professional. We also learnt from this that we need to shorten it a lot so that people stay engaged throughout the whole trailer to find out the release date and the title of the film, two of the most important aspects of advertising a film.

Feedback for final film poster, trailer and magazine:

Feedback I received on Twitter direct message

This feedback I received after we had finished making our poster, magazine and trailer, helped me too see what my target audience liked about them and what could be improved if I was to do it again. Harriet said that the colours and the acting were some of the best points and both of these run throughout all three of the advertisements, so this tells me that as a whole they were effective and that we achieved our aim of making them all link and look like they are all linking to a film of a thriller/mystery genre.

Feedback from an email - Gmail

This detailed feedback that I received on our magazine, poster and trailer helped me a lot to see and reflect on how our final pieces turned out. This feedback tells me that our magazine, trailer and poster fit our genre of thriller/mystery well which was out main aim throughout. I have also learnt from this feedback that our main images worked even though to an extent we challenged conventions as on a poster there is normally one image and on a magazine it is usually a medium shot, so this shows to me that challenging the conventions worked well according to my audience. Overall from this feedback I can see that all three of our advertisements were successful according to the audience which is the main aim.

From this feedback I can see to improve, if I was to make it again I would make the text sizes smaller as another person who gave me feedback has a similar opinion showing a few people noticed the font size and thought it should be smaller. I have learnt from this that I should make everything smaller so the main image, title of film and masthead are the main point and I could have done this by looking at sizing of text in my research a bit more. I have also learnt from this feedback that all three advertisements fit the genre which again is a common comment among all of my audience feedback which tells me we fitted the genre successfully.

Feedback from GmailThis feedback from a peer tells me that we were successful in making our magazine, poster and trailer look professional and like it is an actually advertisement for a film. It also tells me that they all combine together well which was the main aim throughout. I have learnt from this feedback that according to this individual from my target audience (12 and upwards) they have all been successful with all the elements I involved.

Feedback from GmailI can see from this feedback some positive and not so positive comments, which helps me to see what I could have done better to make it more successful. I have learnt from this that we have been successful in fitting our chosen genre of mystery/thriller which was our aim from the very start. From this feedback we also learnt some things that could help us improve our skills in the future. This involves the colouring of the image and the layout within the picture. This has helped me to see that we should plan our images in more depth next time and think about how every little thing looks in the image.

Focus group feedback:(see underneath this post for videos for focus group)Questions asked for both magazine and poster:What do you like about the poster/magazine?What could be improved if I was to make it again?Feedback overview:Poster: • Colour scheme goes well with genre.• Statement at the top sums up the film in one sentence- effective.• Writing at the bottom makes it look real• Main image is effective• Black background works well with genre.• Blurred names work well with genreImprovements:• Could add more pictures.Magazine:• Image on he front draws you in• Colour scheme works well • Straplines fit conventions• Pictures of other films works wellImprovements:• Text could me a little smaller• Could make the images at the bottom look like a film reel

What I learnt from my focus group feedback:

I learnt that my poster and magazine generally work well as the colour scheme we chose to use compliments them both and the layout fits what a magazine and poster should look like. I also learnt that we could have made the bottom section of the magazine look like a film reel, rather than just a yellow box, and this could have made it more effective so our feedback has shown me some minor things that could be changed to make it slightly better if I was to make it again. This feedback also showed me the view from different genders so helped me to see more of a variety of opinions.

OverallOverall, from all of my feedback and especially my final feedback, I can see that our film magazine, poster and trailer have been successful in fulfilling our aim of fitting them all together through linking aspects fo them together (colour scheme, main actor etc). I can also see that we have beedn successful in fitting them to the genre of mystery/thriller which is very important as otherwise the audience would not know what they would be going to see at the cinema if these three advertisements didn’t give a clear overview, by working together, of the genre of the film and what kind of storyline it involves. I can see this as the majority of the people I asked for feedback said the same kind of things about layout, colour, main image, fitting the genre, and good editing techniques. This shows to use that all of the things that we put into each of them was affective and created a good overall advertisement according to our audience feedback.