Ashlea Hickin
Media Studies
AUDIENCE RESEARCH
In order to collect our audience feedback ,we created a questionnaire for our target audience to complete. We handed this questionnaire out to people within a study area at our Sixth Form. This allowed us to ask people who do not study media about a variety of aspects within our opening and get a general impression on how effective our opening is. To the right is a photo of the questionnaire which they completed:
Q1 - How did the opening make you feel?
The overall response to this question was positive as all of the responses said that they felt on edge or concerned for the girls. One response also commented on the score and said that this added to the overall uneasy feeling given off by the opening. This is reassuring to us as it suggests that we have successfully made our audience feel the way we intended. It also tells us that we have successfully appealed to our target audience.
Q2 - Do you think that aspects such as costumes, colours, and setting fitted the conventions of the horror genre?
All of the responses to this question approved of the costumes and make up worn by the characters. They especially commented on the fact that they were all wearing casual costumes, making their characters more relatable to the audience. In relation to costumes and setting, the responses also appreciated the use of dark colours, saying that it made the film feel more creepy. The only criticism we received on this question was that it wasn't clear what the girls were doing in the woods. They suggested that we need to make it clearer that they are filming themselves.
Q3 - Did you find the score and sound effects effective? Why?
Generally, the response was positive as they thought that the score fitted the genre well because of its ability to build suspense and make you feel uneasy. They also said that they were intrigued by the score as it gave a sense of anticipation. There was also some appreciation of sound effects, as they said that they helped to build drama and suspense. One response also commented on the voiceover of Lucy screaming at the end. They said that they found it to be very effective. We were very happy with these responses because it was important to us that the quality of our sound was good.
Q4 - Did the combined use of varied camera shots and editing techniques fit with the genre?
All the responses felt that they were effective as they said that the variation made them feel uneasy and tense. They commented on the combined use of close ups and long shots, making you feel closer and more distant from the characters. They thought that this was effective as it created an eerie feeling. A few shots in particular that were picked out were the POV shot of the zombie walking towards the girls, the close up shots of the zombie girl and Jess's faces and the shot of the building and birds from the montage. They felt that the shots from the woods were effective as they allowed you to get closer to the characters. The response which commented on the shot of the building and the birds liked this shot in particular because they felt that the addition of the birds made it feel more creepy and also the fact that they were actually there and not added post production made it more realistic and natural.
Q5 - Do you think the fonts used in the credits fit the genre?
The overall feeling was that the fonts were simple and effective. They commented on the fact that it was block capitals and that they thought this was more effective as it makes it bolder and more important. They also liked the colours used within the fonts as they feel it connoted danger and mystery. One response said that they like the simplistic style of the font in the credits because it is juxtaposed with the shot in the shot which shows abnormality. We found this particularly interesting as it is not something that we had considered before. With regards to the film title, the overall impression was that they liked it but in order to make it more effective, they suggested that we could add more blood splatters around it to make it bigger and more dramatic so this is something we will consider when we edit our final cut.
Q6 - How did the montage make you feel? What did you think about the order in which the shots were shown?
We received good feedback for our montage as everyone said that the order flowed nicely and that it was interesting and engaging. They also said that it made them feel on edge and tense which we were particularly happy with because this was the main reason we created a montage. They liked the way that the montage shows change as it suggests the change without actually telling you anything, making it feel more spooky. The only criticism we received was that the transitions made the montage feel quite long and boring as they were not varied. They suggested that we add a varied mix of fast and slow cuts as well as effects such as flashes which we will consider when we edit our final cut.
Q7 - What did you like about the opening? Why?
The people that we surveyed seemed to enjoy our opening. Then feedback said that they liked the suspense that they felt from the scenes and also the varied shots and colour. They also said that they could clearly tell that it was a horror/ apocalyptic film, suggesting that we have successfully followed the conventions of the genre. One response said that it reminded them of World War Z. We took lots of inspiration from this film so we were extremely happy with this response. The fact that they compared it to a successful film within our genre also shows that we have successfully met the conventions of our genre.
Q8 - What did you dislike about the opening? Why?
The main comment here was that it feels like too much of a trailer. They felt that the first section of our opening progressed too quickly and didn't allow you to get a connection with the characters. They also thought that our opening would benefit from more sound effect in order to make it look and sound more professional and realistic. When we edit our final cut, we will add in more sound effects and experiment with the order of the first half and focus mainly on making it look less like a trailer.
Focus Group - We also conducted audience research by holding a focus group of media students. We wanted to have the opinions of other media students because we thought that they would be able to have more of an opinion on editing techniques and camera shots as they are more aware of them than someone who doesn't study media. The focus group is shown below:
By asking them similar questions to those in the questionnaire, we got similar feedback, therefore backing up the information. We found it extremely useful to do a focus group because it meant that we could get people's immediate reactions to our opening. Doing it in this way also gives them more freedom to elaborate their answers, therefore giving us more information.
They gave the overall impression of liking the opening however their main dislike was the same as the result in the questionnaire. For this reason, our main focus when we edit our final cut will be experimenting with the order of shots to make it feel more like a film opening than a trailer. We will also be adding in more sound effects to create more of a sense of realism. Another main focus will be adding more varied transitions between shots. Based on the feedback we received, all of these factors will aid us in creating an opening with greater appeal to our target audience and also one that looks more professional.