Audience feedback questionnaire

In order to get accurate feedback from our audience, our group created the following questionnaire featuring questions which we feel are appropriate to our film:

Name:
Age:
Nationality:

What was your overall reaction to the opening film sequence?

What do you think will happen in the rest of the film?

What did you think of the sound effects?

Did you think the text was legible? Y / N

What do you think of the actors' performances?

What genre would you classify it as?

Would you go and see the film at the cinema? Y / N

Audience feedback

Anyone who has viewed our opening title sequence is encouraged to post a comment giving their opinion, criticisms or improvements. The comments posted on our Youtube video are as follows:

perfect :D

mehranclassic

love the underwater slow motion bits! so jealous!! :D

IAmGracesFace

Some really cool shots here, quite intelligent title placement and a great deal of suspence. Well done.

vkolzeev

TASK SEVEN: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Obviously the preliminary task was a much simpler task than designing, planning, filming and editing our own opening title sequences, as it was done at such an early stage in the year.

A great difference between the preliminary task and our real thriller was how much preparation we put into the real thing compared to the preliminary task. For the prelim task, we arrived at the media lesson one day aware of what we were going to do, but not sure of how we were going to film it e.g. what order we would film which shots. We realised that even with such a simple script there are still complications and so we decided that we should spend much more time planning the real task, and so for the real thing, we spent weeks planning our storyboards and discussing the order of sequences as a group so that everything could be as perfect as possible.


Of course the designing of our task was very different as all of our ideas were original and scripted by ourselves, whereas for the preliminary task, we used a simple script which the teachers had given to us. The location of the task was also an important factor which needed to be considered. For the prelim task we were given a location on the school grounds, however for our real thrillers, we were able to shoot off-campus. We chose to use Courtney's (a girl in our class' house) however we lacked organisation here as we were not sure what to expect and had only pictures to rely on.

There is a noticeable development from our prelim task to our final project. We used the prelim task as a practice to use the equipment, see how we worked as a team and to test our basic skills. From this we managed to use our practice with the equipment to make sure that  that every shot was perfect when shooting the actual sequence . We also used our increased knowledge in camera work to try out new ways of filming different shots. The best example of this is the tracking shot which was a completely new experience to the group.

There is also a noticeable development in the variation and complexity of camera shots we chose to use in the real task. Here we experimented with slow motion, underwater and the tracking shot, whereas before, most of our shots were filmed as a wide or medium shot with not many close ups or movement of camera. Our development in camera skills definitely helped us to create a more interesting piece the second time round which can be seen when the two videos are shown in succession. 

Although our camera skills noticeably developed, some aspects which worked well from our prelim task we chose to use again in the real task. This can be seen from the two pictures above which both use ECUs to bring the audience's attention to certain aspects of each film.

The preliminary task included some very simple dialogue which, for our thriller, we chose not to include as it can interrupt the suspense in certain moments and we found it hard with the echo of the pool room to get good quality sound. However improvements in the sound used can be seen as we used Soundtrack Pro to include soundtracks and sound effects into our work.

The editing involved in the real opening sequence was also much complex. This was due to the much larger sequence which needed to be edited and also due to the importance of this task over the prelim task, so a lot more time was spent on the accuracy of each edit. The preliminary task was very useful at this stage as it gave us a basic understanding of Final Cut Pro (the editing software) which therefore allowed us to work quicker with what we were doing.

Overall, the preliminary task proved to be very useful in preparing us for the camerawork, sound and editing involved in the real task. However it is definitely evident to see that a lot more care and consideration was put into the real task than the preliminary task.

The above images compared shows how our composition has improved from the prelim task to the real thing. The prelim task shows that a wide shot has been used which does not indicate the urgency that should be associated with a thriller. Through the close up in the real thing, we add suspense as we are not able to see the man's face. 

TASK SIX: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

TASK FIVE: How did you attract/address your audience?

This screen shot taken from the very beginning of our title sequence shows a sophisticated font advertising the production company of our film. If this were a real and well-known production company which had previously made successful films, then the audience may be attracted to the film to see if it is as good as the previous films.

Again, if Karen Martin were a real director who had produced successful films in the past, then her fans would be encouraged to come and see this new film. This screen shot also shows the main character in a swimming costume which advertises the sporty side of the film.

This shot shows our main girl who was, at this point, filmed in slow motion. The slow motion is an indication of the tension of the film and would attract thriller fans who enjoy being put in suspense when watching films. Slow motion is also very impressive, especially when in HD as every detail of the action can be seen clearly.

 This tracking shot, combined with the non-diegetic drums, adds tension to this particular part of the sequence as well. This attracts the thriller fans as the lack of identity of the man is scary and the build up is intense, and so the audience would be willing to know what is going to happen.

TASK FOUR: Who would be the audience for your media project?

Our film fits into the genre of thriller. The main audience for thriller films would be from 15 to 22 years old. Obviously, other age groups would also come and see it but the rating would be a '15' due to its scary nature. It is specifically targeted for thrill seekers who come to the cinema to be scared.

The film may also attract sports fans who are interested in the girl's dream to reach the Olympic Games or who are interested in the swimming aspect of the film. The film won't specifically target rich or poor people, however if it was released in the cinema, then only those who can afford to get to a cinema and pay for a cinema ticket would be able to see it.

The Olympic games is obviously a worldwide event and so, even if our film was distributed by an independent film company (like Vertigo) then the target audience could stretch beyond the UK and on to other countries too.

TASK THREE: What kind of media institution might distribute your media project and why?

My media project's aim was to produce a successful and adrenaline pumping opening sequence to a thriller. I think that we have successfully achieved this through the build up of suspense through our tracking shot, in which only the feet of the suspected enemy of the story can be seen.

Out of the film companies that we have studied (Warner Bros Pictures, Warp Films and Vertigo) I think that Vertigo is the most likely to distribute my media project. Vertigo is a British independent film company which creates a wide variety of films. Our group decided that our thriller would be a 'CSI' type of film which had a number of murders linked together (possibly by the idea of The Olympics). Vertigo has, in the past, created 'CSI thrillers' (an example being ‘WAZ’) and so my film would fit into a genre of film which has previously been a success for this media institution, meaning that they would possibly be interested in another. 

Vertigo also aims to balance social realism with films of a mainstream intention which is perfect for my thriller. The storyline which would follow on from our opening sequence would be of an aspiring Olympic swimmer whose dream is to win a gold medal, but she is kidnapped by her competition (either another swimmer or another swimmer’s trainer).