Question 3

'What have you learnt from your audience feedback?'


My Audience Demograph - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires;


 SURVEY: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/3CZS828

Audience feedback is essential for a successful product. It is important because it allows me to find out whether the product was as I predicted or it was different. By gathering data, I can find out about my audience for this particular film and this information could be used for future similar products as target audience to predict the success of the future product. Not to mention, using the audience feedback gives the product more opportunities to improve and become more appealing to the fans. There are various methods to obtain audience feedback. These include:

•  'One on One' Interviews: collecting a large amount of data using interviews costs more money and time, however the feedback is more detailed resulting in a more open ended response. 
• Comments: As we live in the modern age of the Internet, trailers can obtain a lot of feedback from the comment section on popular video platforms such as 'YouTube' and 'Facebook'. Not to mention, using a video platform can reach a lot of audience increasing the profit of the product as the clips can generate millions of views. Additionally, uploading a clip on youtube advertises the product and the producer could receive additional money for adds placed before the video from the social network.
• Questionnaires: Internet surveys are a popular tool to evaluate a product. Many organizations obtain a large about of audience feedback. The reason why internet questionnaires are popular is because the data is automatically shown after a person fills out the questionnaire. Moreover, producing an internet questionnaire is easy to make, cheap and/or free resulting in no money or time wasted. Online tests, for example, are useful because the audience are anonymous which means they are more likely give an honest answer.
• Test Screenings: The majority of produced film products 'test screen' before making their film available for the majority of the public. This means that a preview of the film is shown to a selection of people to record their reactions and feedback. The feedback is then analysed and edited according to the suggestions/complaints. However, test screenings sample a small amount of audience meaning that more than one platform of feedback is needed to obtain accurate results. 
• Questions & Answers: These usually apply in film conventions and film festivals, a place where people with the same interest of films gather. The viewers could ask questions and obtain answers from the producers in these particular places.

I created an online questionnaire made up from 10 distinct questions in order to gather information for my trailer using a well known website called the 'SurveyMonkey'. The reason being is because it is free easy to spread around through social media, gather a larger amount of people and gathers information through graphs instantaneously. The answers are more likely going to turn out honest because the questionnaire reserves the anonymity of the person answering the questions. I will be sampling at least 10 people for my questionnaire. 

Results

Question 1: The majority of my audience is aged from 18 to 24 years old. This means that my prediction was not wrong as I thought that the majority of my audience will be young adults. Additionally, it turns out that some of my audience are older, there are more 45 to 54 year old audience than there are 25 to 34. This means that the psychological genre appeals also to an older audience which confirms the results from the target audience of films such as Jacob's Ladder on the 'YouGov' website. This suggests that the plot is clearly psychological and can be appealing to a more mature audience. What is interesting, is that all of my mature audience are male, whilst most audience that are in the 18 to 24 years category are female, this might be because the main character is also a young female, which might be relatable to other women of that age group influencing them to watch the film/ trailer. 

 Question 2: As I thought, my audience turned out equally male and female. This suggests that my advertising appealed to both genders. This is a good thing because I can gain more audience by appealing to a larger group of people instead of limiting myself to a specific gender. 

Question 3: 70% of people liked the soundtrack the most, which makes sense as it took up most of my time and effort, it also fitted nicely with the visuals (such as the piano scene). The second most liked things about the trailer is the plot and the visuals meaning that my cinematography and narrative work was not bad. After that, people liked the character and the genre. The 'other' option had a response of: "Love the 1960's feel at the start "hammer house" effect." 

Question 4: Thankfully, most people didn't think there was anything unlikable about the trailer, the other respondents that stated "yes" said "When the main character says "the voices", I think it cuts off slightly too soon." I agree with this statement, that scene caused me some difficulties because of the camera errors as it kept turning off before I wanted to finish the scene. Another person says that "Basic story line was not understandable"  I could've made some things more obvious in my trailer if I had thought of the audience more. 

Question 5: However, most people did understand the plot perfectly or understood most things. I did not want to give away everything in terms of story in my trailer as it wouldn't make the film desirable to watch. To improve the understanding of the plot, I could've included more dialogue, maybe scattered throughout the trailer, since I did not include a scene with the 'therapist' as I intended in the beginning as that would mean obtaining another cast member and planning another shoot which would be time consuming whilst trying to meet the deadline.

Question 6: Luckily, most people thought that the monster was scary, and no one said that the monster wasn't scary, this means that the prop was used successfully making the trailer more interesting. This also suggests that the quality of the mask was quite good as it appears realistic, as if it is a real person with his face peeled off.

Question 7: My poster appears to be successful as most people agree that they would be more influenced to watch the trailer if they saw the "Mortal Harrowing" poster in a public area. This suggest that the poster itself tells some of the story making it more intriguing. 

Question 8: Just as my poster, the magazine turned out to be successful as well.  Out of 10 people questioned, 0% answered "No".  This means that most people will consider reading a story about "The Mortal Harrowing" if they saw it on a front cover of a film magazine.

Question 9: 8 out of 10 people thought that the magazine cover and the film poster looked similar. This confirms that my products appear to be done for the same marketing campaign - which is the trailer. When I questioned what they liked about both of these products (magazine and poster) people replied with different opinions. The most common thing that was liked about these products was the "Colour Scheme" as stated, it was "Consistent".  The most positive comment was "They have good synergy, especially in terms of colour scheme, so you can tell they're from the same campaign. The main across' glare into the camera grabs the readers attention"This comment was exactly what I wanted my product to show, the technical skills that helped me produce a colour palette and other synergy. Another positive comment states "The main images were consistent (same face for the campaign) and the actress looks attractive, haunting and intriguing. I also like the professional layout and smooth graphics. The tagline and articles are intriguing" which further indicates that my technical skills in Photoshop produced a successful outcome.  However, there is a comment that isn't so positive stating "Didn't like the second, too processed. The first would be easy to use on both advertising, DVD/BRD cover and book covers"  this means that I could make the actress appear more natural (without the bright eye glow) to avoid a 'too processed' look. 

Facebook:

I've also obtained some feedback from Facebook by sending the link of "The Mortal Harrowing" trailer that is located in YouTube to private messages. The feedback was positive and got shared throughout friends and family. 

Finished Trailer

Evaluation Question 2

'How effective is the combination of your main product, the trailer and your magazine cover?

Additional Props and Outfits:

Since wearing a dress wasn't always possible, due to cold conditions and difficulties with time, I made sure that if the cast isn't wearing a dress, she is wearing something dark or something 'depressing' as seen in the outfits below;

 Outfit 1

The coat was worn over the dress because the conditions were too cold and we were located in that area for a while, due to health and safety, the coat would need to be on as it would also make more sense in the film. However, this coat does match with the character and the outfit because of its colour. holding onto the 'innocent stereotype'.

Outfit 2

 In this shot, the main character is wearing black clothes which connotes to danger, mystery and darkness. This outfit is matching with her true character which fits well with her 'crazy' dialogue with the 'friend'. I wanted the other character to dress casually, but keep the 'depressing' theme of the film, which is why she is wearing black and white.

Outfit 3

This outfit is interesting as it has patterns but it is still matching with the theme, limiting the colours mostly to black and white. Since she is located inside, this scene suggests that she came from somewhere, perhaps from a psychiatrist since she has a prescription that was thrown in the trash. This outfit is slightly rebellious - showing her fight between the voices and the people from the 'outside'.

Props

 Pills

This prop was used to suggest to the audience that she might not be mentally stable, this is a 'powerful' close up shot of the pills being held while the hands are shaking. I did not end up using the initial pills as I thought the other type would make more sense, these pills are for stress management.

 Rusty Knife

I wanted the trailer to have a knife, luckily the location had a rusty 'disgusting' knife laying on the ground which fitted perfectly to what I envisioned. The reason why I wanted the knife to be disgusting is because I want to portray this location as 'imaginary', the location speaks for the character's mental state. The blood dripping off the rusty knife made it look even more discomforting, which is exactly what I wanted.

 Blood

The blood (on the floor) was used as a transition effect from the knife when the blood drops, suggesting she has harmed someone or something.

 Abandoned Objects (Dishes)

Another tool to  portray this location as 'imaginary', speaking for the character's mental state. Giving a rusty, abandoned look.

 Face Peel Mask

The face peel mask was used as if she is peeling off her face giving attention to problems such as skin picking which links to appearance dysphoria and insecurity. The close up shot makes it feel more disturbing and discomforting.

 Black Wool

Since this is an 'imaginary' location, I wanted to make it slightly more obvious by placing black wool around the character so it appears the main character is following it.

Monster Mask

The monster mask is used as a 'Cliff Hanger' in order to make the audience want to watch the 'full film' and find out why it exists and what it is. It is only (fully) shown at the end of the trailer as a 'reveal' as I didn't want to overuse this prop, otherwise it would become boring.

Evaluation Question 1

'In what ways do your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?'

•  TRAILER CONVENTIONS 
• Psychological Thriller, Horror themed.
• Advertising for trailer - magazine and poster. 
• Costumes and Props - Monster, black rope, white dress.
• Makeup - unhealthy makeup, symbolising mental health but from the outside.
• Cinematography - Over the shoulder shots, close ups.
• Editing, Fast cut scenes mood lighting.
• Location, 'dangerous & Isolated' places abandoned building and forest.
• The main character is a Countertype, not innocent, not nice. 
• Pills, shaky hands, face peel - Insanity and Anxiety.
• Calm music, piano paying to give the character more 'personality' and set a particular mood which is deceiving the truth behind the character's true nature. 
• Night Sky and old TV Effects.
• The font is joined, matching the theme as the title has a word "Mortal" I've made the text look as if it does not end by joining each word together.
• Tackles the issues of loneliness and distrust as the main character states that her friend doesn't care about her, the main character is also mostly alone symbolising solitude.
• Makes audience question what is real and what isn't (Fight Club, Jacob's Ladder). The way the main character acts is questionable, the surroundings the character is located at is also strange to go to in a plain white dress alone. 
• Twitch and overlapping effects, distort reality. These types of shots suggest that the things that take place may or may not be real. The twitches, blood and knife props and a terryfying monster symbolise a fight against oneself.
• Narration - has a slight delay effect to the voice: distorts reality. The narrator is the main character talking to herself about herself. She states "Why am I still here? Just to suffer? I can feel every atom of my body. The body I've lost, the people I've lost - it won't stop hurting." This sentence makes the audience sympathise with the 'protagonist' in one level or another, yet feel completely alienated from her. 
• Calm piano music: synchronised with piano shot and the trailer. Gives audience impression that throughout the first part of the trailer, the main character is playing the piano.
• Piano notes - the melody gives the audience a disturbed and uneasy feeling. 
• The title is shown at the end. This gives the trailer more suspense keeping the audience interested in the name of the film. 
• The best parts of the 'film' are shown to attract the viewers (scary monster, blood and insanity.) 
• Actor's emotions of fear, disconnection and anger - addition to the story of the character. These intense emotions give er more personality.
• The trailer doesn't show the whole plot, making the audience question the story. Thus, getting intrigued.
• Associated with companies: New Line Cinema and Warner Bro's Studio. I wanted to feature New Line Cinema on it's own initially, but after more research I found out that New Line Cinema films are distributed by Warner Bro's. Which is why I included both of them. I wanted to include a smaller distributing company but changed my mind into something more recognised. New Line Cinema seems like a better option for my type of genre. 

• COUNTERTYPE
• The trailer mostly focuses on one character creating a sense of loneliness showing things in the trailer that aren't supposedly real from the point of view of the main character. The film title "Mortal Harrowing" defines internal sadness, giving the audience ideas about the plot. 
• The 'villain' is the main character. The main character is also not a villain, the protagonist is fighting against herself. 
• The monster is not real, it is portrayed as a 'hallucination'. 

• PLOT STEREOTYPES
• Many Psychological films stereotype mental illnesses which wasn't my intent but in order to tell an interesting story, I had to follow some misconceptions about people with mental problems. To avoid much conflict, I restrained from revealing what type of mental illness the character has in any product's I've produced for my audience to avoid offending people who actually live with a particular type of mental illness.
• Women stereotype - cannot control their emotions. This plot stereotype was also not in my intentions since I wanted a female character to portray other stereotypes such as innocence. 
• 

• POSTER CONVENTIONS
• Main colour palette is blue, symbolising sadness.
• The main image is of the main character.
• The main character has various faces and different emotions (unpleasant) relating to the film title. The main face is emotionless.
• The main character is wearing a white dress, symbolizing innocence and purity.
• "Innocence is Destructive" Tagline. The sentence is an oxymoron. 
• The title is not in capital letters similarly to "The Silence of The Lambs" film. Lowercase words sound quieter and calmer than uppercase words. 
• The Tagline is all in capital letters, sounds harsh and aggressive.
• Extremely blue eyes to match with the colour palette and capture audience's attention.

• COUNTERTYPE (POSTER)
• The poster is a portrait of the main character from different angles showing extreme emotion (mental illness portrayed through an image).
• The protagonist fighting against herself is captured in that image.
• The positive 'emotion' in the center of an image, shows her fighting against herself around her normal expression - out of focus and lowered opacity. 

• MAGAZINE CONVENTIONS
• The style of the Masthead is established in big, bold, large red capital letters with a gradient from a light red to a darker shade of red. 
• The combination of 'Film' and 'Mix' - Filmix. Catchy, short and easy to remember. This name hints to the audience that there are different film related discussions in the magazine, a variety of topics. 
• The overall colour palette is blue, red and yellow/orange - interesting combination that works. The orange contrasts well with blue making the text stand out even more, I highlighted more important topics in yellow without overusing this colour. 
• Glowing Text Effect - captures attention and gives the magazine a more personal style which sets this magazine apart from other film magazines in the market.
• The image is the main character from "The Mortal Harrowing" - advertising the film.
• The magazine advertises the actor  "Behind the scenes, new actor: Reannah McNee" to build a fanbase and increase audience for the film.
• The magazine offers access to three films which are shown on at the bottom of the magazine (Sub-images) offering rewards to the audience in return for buying the magazine. 
• Advertising the "The Mortal Harrowing" on "Cover Line" on the left hand side.
• The 'model' matches the colour palette, is illuminated using blue light in the studio. 
• The magazine has good contrasts, everything is easy to read.
• Overall, the text is thin but capital letters are used to sound louder and more exciting.
• The Masthead is placed under the 'model' creating a better composition as there are more layerings on the magazine. This gives the audience an illusion that the subject is interacting with the environment.
• My Magazine features: a bar code, cover lines, masthead, dateline, top line, main cover line (Reannah McNee), secondary images, features, the main image, banner, and a buzzword "PLUS". This magazine also includes text font variation with additional effects such as "drop shadow" and "glow".

• COUNTERTYPE (MAGAZINE)
• The barcode is placed above the sub-images going against the typical magazine conventions.
• There is eye contact from the subject in the photograph. It engages with the reader and draws them in making it feel more personal.
• The sub images are slightly tilted upwards on the right hand side. Less symmetry makes the magazine look a lot more interesting.
• The background is extremely dark, unlike most magazines with light or a mid-tone for the background. 
• The magazine is a Halloween Edition, matching with the dark mood of the magazine. 
• Black and yellow bar on the left side making the magazine look more eye catching. 
• The cover line is located on the left hand side because an average person looks from left to right first. 
• The 'model' is expressionless, giving her a mysterious personality which matches well with the 'film'. 
• The glow around 'Sub-Images' appear to illuminate the 'model' from the bottom. The glow was edited in whilst the pink light on a 'model' was achieved through a studio light.