Target audience: feedback and comments

As part of our evaluation, feedback was needed from members of our target audience. It was decided that Facebook was the most effective place to get the responses we needed.

Our group can be found on this link: AS Media Coursework - 'Reflections'

Here is some other feedback received from members of the target audience:

'The first main point that stuck out to me was at the 38th second, where you seen the eye after the shot of the door. The blood effects of the boy washing his hands and how he is dressed and with his hood up etc, are also very effective. I also like the part where the camera is in the fridge, and when you see he gets a glass out and it finishes there, it leaves you on a bit of a cliff hanger.'

'It's very good. The editing is effective and the music works well with all the camera work.'

‘I think overall it was excellent! The music was great, really made the atmosphere, it built up the tension. The running bit with Abbie was great, the second time you see her with the double smear effect was very good, really added to the atmosphere. The bit with Jonny in the bathroom could maybe have been tenser.’

‘As the scene opens I find that the water running is a very effective way to engage the audience, it immediately makes the audience want to watch more. When the camera flashes onto a close up of the eye, it gives you a sense of fright; this lets you know that the opening will be alarming and shocking. As the scene progresses and you get flash backs from the bathroom to a girl running in a forest, it immediately tells you that the two are connected. The dark lighting and music also symbolizes the eeriness of the film.’

From the feedback received from members of the target audience, it can be established that our opening was effective in creating a good impact and engaging the audience, but it is clear that there are some areas we could have improved. Such as, creating more tension and paying more attention to the mise-en-scene; it has been said that clothing of the characters could have been put into more consideration. For example, the protagonist is wearing white when he removes his hoodie, and white symbolises purity and innocence, which contrasts greatly to the character himself. Nevertheless, the majority of the feedback received has been positive towards our opening, and even though there are improvements that could be made, I believe the finished piece had an effective impact and was engaging.

Final

This is the final copy of our opening.

Many changes have been made, thus being:

- The titles have all been moved to the beginning of the opening, giving us more time for more footage.
- The style of the titles have been changed; adding a 'flickering' effect and, also adding a 'watery' effect.
- We increased the shots of Jonny. We showed more of his environment, which allows the audience to engage with the character.
- Jonny is seen again looking into a mirror, so there is more of a link to the title. Also, a photograph of Abbie is seen to show that there is a past between the two characters. There is a low angle shot of Jonny walking down the stairs and a long shot of him walking into the kitchen. Then finished with a close up from inside the fridge of Jonny.

By adding these shots, this allowed the audience to engage with the protagonist more. In our rough cut, the number of shots on both characters were similar, which meant that there was a lack of engagement between the protagonist and the audience. Therefore, this has had a good effect on the audience; it is now clear who the main character is.

The title's being moved to the beginning are quite effective in our opening, as they enabled us to have more shots of Jonny. Furthermore, the effects used on the titles linked in well with the title.

One of the main changes of our opening was the change in music. In comparison to our rough cut and with feedback, the change in music fitted in much better with the narrative and created a suspense/ tense tone.

Feedback from the class:

- Running water v.effective at the start
- Music builds up well, mystery and intriguing
- You can clearly see where title came from - reflections used
- Having no dialogue worked well with the psychological thriller
- Jonny's costume could connote his characters role more
- Camera work is good and steady where required
- Music is good
- Good variety of shots/ music matches action well e.g. looking in mirror
- Excellent titles. Effective without drawing focus away from narrative
- Jonny's costume, in particular wearing white at the end connotes purity/ innocence.
- Great camera angles
- Confusing narrative - going to the fridge
- Great juxtaposition of shots.

Feedback from teacher

Provisional grade from teacher - Grade A

- Demonstrates excellence across all technical aspects
- Dual narrative structure is very effective with controlled choice of shots.
- Match on action is particularly effective with well exectued soundtrack that adds polish to the piece.

- Costume could have been better considered - not entirely convincing for this style of thriller
- Some shots could have been re-shot/held for longer

Filming session

29th April

We completed our final shots for our final piece. What we filmed were new shots for our opening - putting more focus on the antagonist, which was suggested to us by our feedback from our teacher. We decided to focus on the title of our thriller, Reflections, by adding a shot of Jonny looking into the mirror, with an image of Abbie lying against the mirror.

Other shots:

- Low angle of Jonny walking down the stairs
- Jonny walking into the kitchen and panning as he goes to the fridge
- The camera inside the fridge, giving a close up as Jonny looks for something

We chose these shots because they add normality, and juxtapose the narrative and the character himself. He has murdered someone, but is acting as if nothing has happened, which allows the audience to connect with the character and evoke an emotional response.

We worked and communicated well with the filming and we each agree that our new shots are very effective for our opening.