LO4 Evaluating Feedback

After finishing our film, we premiered the film in a screen test and sent the audience a Survey created using Surveymonkey.co.uk. The feedback that was given back to us was precise and informative, each question asked in the survey was made with the purpose of showing us how we can improve our product, if we were to re-shoot scenes again. 

Q1. How was the acting?

The strengths of the acting in our product, that was stated in the survey, proved to us that Ellis was able to convey an aggressive, complicated person. The chemistry between Ellis and Toby also elevated each scene as their deliver was able to convey their relationship without needing to directly tell the audience. This proved to us that our choice of casting was exceptional for the film. However personally I do believe that it isn't perfect, as there were many times where the actors broke character within a scene. To combat this when filming, we filmed multiple takes off shots and used the best take from each scene. However, even with this there was still some scenes that had characters moving or talking when they shouldn't have been. 

Q2. What did you think of the narrative?

A lot of people in the survey stated that the narrative of the film was unpredictable, and hard to follow. Our product was the longest at 11 minutes. To help with this we could have spent more time trimming the fat off which would fix most of the pacing issues seen within the product. Also, when writing our script, we should include less improvisation and instead write character conversations that will pace well within the film. However, compared to our peers products. Our product was stated as being different and more interesting, due to the inclusion of different genre, and narratives. The choice of including multiple different genre types within our film proved to be a strength as this is most people liked about our story. 

Q3. What did you think of the special effects within the film?

Viewers stated that the special effects seen within the project were engaging and fun, adding a lot to the narrative. We used simple sfx that highlighted what the character was feeling and their motivations throughout the film which helped the audience understand the narrative more easier.

Q4. What do you think of the genre of the film?

most viewers enjoyed how we made a parody of certain genres that we portrayed in our product and stated that it was good for its target audience, this shows how our use of film theories, miss-en-scene, and writing were able to create a product that engaged our target audience.

Q5. Was there anything you didn't understand about the film?

In the survey many people were confused with certain scenes in the film. This may be because of the lack of planning for certain scenes which may have caused it to be hard for some users to understand the narrative. Recording more establishing and exposition scenes to explain the narrative and character motivation would allow the audience to understand the film better. Even with this, many people understood our narrative and how Ellis's character became corrupted and dangerous after suffering the injury. Scenes that we included, such as the mirror scene, showed the audience how Ellis was slowly losing his mind which explained to the audience why he was becoming more angry at Toby; their last conversation was normal and mutual so the scene in which he gets angry at Toby further proved that he had changed. 

Q6. Is there anything about the film you would change?

Some viewers stated that they would change the audio within the film. This was because some sounds were too quiet or were covered by background audio that was picked up when filming. This was mainly because when filming, we struggled with recording audio and used a multiple different microphones when filming different scenes and shots. This made the audio inconsistent and also allowed unwanted audio from the wind and cast to be picked up on the audio file. In the future we will ensure to plan out our endeavours to the fullest extent so that we do not struggle when deciding what equipment would serve best for our product.

Q7. What did you think of the audio?

This is similar to the last question in which most of the viewers answered tat we should take more care when recording audio. When conducting research for future products we will ensure to look at how we can use some equipment, and which equipment would be best for use when working on a certain project. However, when planning this film we did look at multiple different audio devices so that we could use the best one. This made the audio in some scenes really good as it was clear and understandable. Plus, using the adobe audition we were able to negate some background audio that plagued the other scenes. In future we will just make the audio quality more consistent throughout the whole product.

Q8. Is there anything that needs improving?

Over then the audio, many viewers also stated that the transitions from certain scenes could have been better. This could have been fixed with more planning as we could have easily taken some establishing shots that showed the audience what was happening, rather than telling them via the fade to black screen texts we included. For the narrative we were telling however, we believe that the transitions ,while over used, were well implemented into the product, and were used to tell the audience the time that had passed so Ellis's changes and transformation into an antagonist was well paced and wasn't rushed. 

Q9. Do you think the mise-en-scene methods were effective?

All of the viewers replied to this question stating that they were effective and added to the genre and narrative of the product. Our use of props, acting, lighting and costume were able to convey to the audience that our film is a parody of other gangster and drama films. 

Q10. Did you enjoy the film?

All the viewers answered that they enjoyed the film. Personally I also enjoyed it, but I believe that is is way too long and that 

After reviewing the feedback from our survey, we saw that our product had some areas that could have been improved through spending more time planning and writing a story. We could have improved our script to know more about how the characters would interact. Plus, we could have made a more effective storyboard that would have explained more about the camera work and shot type seen within the product. Using low angle and high angle shots could have elevated the power dynamic between Ellis and Toby's character, and would've shown a lot more of their friendship within the film. We should have also shot more establishing shots when filming, this would've helped direct the audience  and help them understand the narrative more easier; scenes like this would've helped expand that narrative and character drama seen within the film. Furthermore, by trimming the product of unwanted shots and scenes, we would have shortened the length of the product, and help pace it more consistently so that viewers would be more engaged with the product.