3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?

A key section of the entire A2 Media Studies project was the feedback which we received from our target demographic. We knew from the start, that it was them we had to cater for, and their needs would have to have been met to create successful ancillary tasks. To find out their needs, we had to gather both quantitative and qualitative data, and it strongly helped us to develop an understanding of our target demographic. This aided us into improving our products to ensure that our final result would attain the professional quality that both we and our audience wished for.

In the early research stage of my project, I sought some quantitative data that would aid me in finding out some statistical data of my target demographic, which would end up affecting many decisions, such as the content we put into the film which determines the BBFC’s age rating, as well as your more simple decisions, such as what they like to see in a slasher movie narrative. In order to find this out, I used a survey website named QuestionPro, which helped us a lot, as we could send the URL to potential respondents over social networking platforms in order for the survey to reach a large quantity of people. After analysing the 50 responses we received we made our choices which supported our data. We decided to work towards a 15 age rating, as this would allow a larger demand for our film. As well as carrying out primary research, we discovered in our secondary research that according to the UK Film Council, 29% of people who go to the cinema in the UK are aged 18-24, which is the highest percentage. By making our film a 15, this allows everybody within this age barrier the chance to see our film. As well as deciding on our age rating, our primary quantitative research allowed us to discover that our killer should be masked and that he uses a knife as his choice of weapon. Both of these, as well as the respondents finding the woods the scariest location were implemented into our final narrative. These questions and answers allowed me to create an audience profile that acted as a guideline when I considered our target audience.

I felt that the research into my poster and magazine front cover would be suited to qualitative data rather than quantitative data, so I approached members of our target demographic who put forward their own opinions on a number of templates I created for each of the two ancillary tasks. They seemed to like the magazine Little White Lies, so I decided to use that as my chosen magazine as they found it interesting and different as it challenged the usual codes and conventions of film magazines. The black and white colour scheme regarding the poster was popular amongst respondents, as well as having the killer masked, looking directly at the reader, as it will strike a sense of fear into them. They were also a fan of the typography we developed as it was reminiscent of other horror films they enjoyed, as well as the dripping blood acting to the gore element of the genre.

Once we had implemented our feedback into our trailer and completed it, we got together a focus group which consisted of members of our target audience, and had a screening of our trailer. As well as them viewing the trailer, they were also asked to complete five questions regarding what they were to see on screen. We created the five questions beforehand, and each one would help us to evaluate our work. Part of brainstorming the questions we used involved us deciding on giving them open questions, as we felt that if they responded with detail it will give us more meticulous answers.

The five questions we asked were;
-What did you like/dislike about the trailer?
-From the trailer, what did you understand about the narrative?
-What elements could we improve (please be specific)?
-How does the sound impact the effectiveness of the trailer?
-What aspects of the trailer would you say is typical of other slasher trailers?

The first question we wanted to find out was a very simple one – what did you like/dislike about the trailer as a whole? Almost all of our respondents mentioned that they loved the soundtrack that we used. They mentioned how the music “builds up tension” and that the sound “made it more daunting due to the high pitched sounds used”. The aim of the soundtrack was to build up tension, and I feel that after reading the feedback we successfully did so. Another element of the trailer that a lot of our respondents enjoyed was the use of the gas mask on the killer. We were first inspired to use the gas mask through the use of it in other films, including My Bloody Valentine and Dead Man’s Shoes. Other elements that they liked included the lighting and the use of point of view shots. However, when it came to the dislikes, the majority of it mentioned the acting, and how it wasn’t very professional. This was an obstacle that we knew we would face, as we didn’t have the sufficient budget for real actors.

The second question asked was what the audience understood of the narrative after watching the trailer. A number of these answers were brief, which suggested that they did not understand an awful lot of it, however just over half of the respondents understood it. They mentioned the “obsession” of the boy over the final girl, and the fact that the rebellious group of friends were celebrating the end of term. All of the respondents believed even from only watching the trailer that the character Ben was behind the mask, however had no idea of the twist in our plot which shows that it in fact wasn't Ben. These answers were our desired responses, as we didn't want our audience to expect the twist when watching the full film. We wanted the audience to have a shock that they were not expecting, so therefore we didn’t reveal too much of the narrative within the actual trailer.

The third question that we asked was what elements could be improved. The motive behind asking this was because we wanted some constructive criticism. A lot of the responses mentioned that more blood and gore was needed, especially in the shot of Jack. They said that the idea to use the blood on his face was good, however a lot more was needed if it was to be effective. This is a simple change we could have used during the filming stage, and one that we should have spent more time on. Another one of the responses mentioned that there could have been a “clearer understanding of the plot”. Compared to other trailers, we didn’t have an awful lot of dialogue, which is something we could have changed if we were to do it again.

The fourth question was asking how the sound impacted the effectiveness of the trailer, and this was asked to see whether we successfully incorporated the sound into the trailer, as along with camera work, mise en scene and editing, it is one of the four technical codes. There was a lot of praise for the sound, and our respondents described it as “intense”, “adding tension” and that it “improves the effectiveness”. This pleased us, as we had some minor issues during the sound processing stage.

Lastly, the final question asked our focus group what aspects of the trailer would they say is typical of other slasher trailers. The majority of responses mentioned the rise in tension leading up to the climax of the trailer, which was done through the order of the shots as well as the music. Many also mentioned that the mask and the setting of the film in the woods was “typical of slasher films”, which pleased us as we aimed to create a conventional film of the genre.

Although the screening was a success, we wanted a larger sample of people. Due to this, we posted our trailer and the questions onto a number of social networking sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. The responses were positive, with many of the people enjoying the trailer, and picking up on common conventions. However, a lot of the respondents were our friends, so it makes me question whether if we gave our trailer and questions to people we didn’t actually know, the responses may have been more critical.