What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Our target audience for Triquetra is males and females, between the ages of fifteen and twenty five, although we agreed that our film would appeal to the majority of age groups. The majority of feedback that we received for our trailer was from fellow classmates, between the ages of seventeen and twenty, reaching our acquired target audience. The only other written feedback that we got were two comments from YouTube through our Facebook link and from our teacher. We asked our family and friends who were impressed with our finished product, but we only got verbal feedback. We asked everyone to watch our trailer and to analysis what they liked about the trailer, disliked and what we could improve. The positive feedback has hugely outnumbered the negative, allowing us to feel that our overall finished trailer has been a success. However both compliments and criticism has to be taken on board, as if we had more time and were proper distributors then we could use the criticism to improve our finished product to make it even more successful.

Positives +

There were several aspects of our trailer that our classmates liked, both visually and on the soundtrack. We got complimented on the amount of horror conventions that we used within our trailer, for example: the ghost, woods and the moon lit night. These really helped to establish the genre of our trailer and make it more visually pleasing to watch. Other areas of positive feedback that we received were:

*The glitching on the film, when I was walking through a field- This was an effective shot as it is common within horror films that when the monster is around then the technology will glitch or go fuzzy. It makes it appear as if I have jumped for different positions in the field, creating an eerie effect.

*Establishes the relationship between the protagonist/monster and the main male character well- We achieved this by portraying that he was the main victim that the monster went after, and also with a sequence near the end of the trailer where I am walking towards him and he is pleading with me saying that he loves me. It was also said that the protagonist is set up well as it is obvious from the beginning that the protagonist is going to be.

*good locations-Our audience liked the fact that all of our locations symbolise isolation, which is a common signifier of the horror genre. The isolation factor also fits in with the witchcraft element that our trailer is set upon, as witchcraft is stereotypically known to be performed in private.

*Camera work- The audience thought that we used a good variety of camerawork within our trailer, by using shots like pan and tilt. The close up of the eye was liked as its a typical horror shot, and the fact that it’s a close up fits in with the expectations that are created when thinking about the horror genre. Our focus pull shot was liked as it showed that we used the camcorders to the best of our abilities. Our editing was also liked, which fits in with camera work as our fade from the arch of me to the moon, was seen as an effective shot. Both the monster and

the moon are seen as typical horror signifiers. They also fit together well as the monster typically comes out at night.

*The sound and visuals worked well together-We were told that our soundtrack compliments our visuals well, as at times the soundtrack empathises what is being seen on screen, like a loud bang, which makes what is being seen on screen more effective to watch.

Negatives -

Compared to the positive feedback that we received, we had very little negative feedback. We took on board all of the criticism that we received, but unfortunately run out of time to improve our product before the deadline. Some of the criticism we received were:

*The mirror scene- We were told that this scene was liked but had the potential to be better. We could have fastened the pace as this would have had a better effect on the audience and made the scene seem scarier. This scene was quite difficult to create as we had to have the camera at a certain angle from the mirror as to not have a reflection of the camera within the shot!

*We were told that some of our shots lasted too long and became slightly repetitive- We could have shortened some of our shots to create a more snappy effect which may have had a larger effect on the audience. I think the only scene that may be slightly repetitive is where, I am walking through a field and the glitch happens, may be a bit similar to when the man is hiding behind the green building and I suddenly jump and appear almost next to him. To improve on this comment I would have maybe deleted the scene with the green building, as I think the other scene was more effective, although the green building scene did show the fear and chase between the monster and the male protagonist, which I think is an important aspect.

*The overall pace was too slow- According to our audience the pace of our shots were too slow, and didn’t quite achieve the reaction that they could have done if they were sped up and had a bigger impact.  Because of this it was hard for the audience to stay focused on our trailer while watching it and concentration was slightly lost, but this could be easily prevented. However the audience agreed this wasn’t a big problem as it was easy enough to follow, but was just something that could have been improved if we had more time.

*Intertitles- The intertitles got across the right information but were a bit boring. They had standard text and could have been enlarged and a more interesting font, to achieve a bigger impact. However they still got across the important plot information and fitted well into the visuals.

I found this feedback very useful, as after you have been working on one project for a while, you almost become blind to your work as you know what you want it to look and sound like, so don’t necessarily notice when something isn’t quite up to scratch. By having feedback these imperfections are pointed out by people who haven’t seen it before and can allow you to be able to make the overall product better. Overall our trailer received a lot more positive feedback then negative, and therefore was successful. Our audience said that they would go and see it at the cinema and look out for advertising with a release date. We reached our target audience successfully and we are all happy with our finished product.