Audience Feedback

After telling several people the idea of our film and showing them the script, we asked them a series of questions:

Audience Research - Survey 2

What is your favourite genre of film?
"Horror, especially gory ones."


What do you like about that genre?
"The good ones get you on the edge of your sit. They can be exciting and make you laugh a bit too."

What is your favourite film?
"I like The Grudge and its sequels. I like the Saw films as well."



What genres do you dislike?
"Probably Romantic ones like 'One Day' or something like that. They're really boring and pathetic."

-After telling them the film idea-
What are your opinions on our film idea?
"It sounds interesting. After watching it, I think I'd admire the unexpected twist."

What do you like about our film idea?
"It sounds like it would keep your attention the whole time you're watching it. Instead of it having parts which are boring."


What do you think we could change about our film idea?
"Maybe come up with some music ideas. The film itself sounds good."


What genre do you think our film will be?
"I'm not sure. A Thriller maybe?"

What certificate do you think our film will be?
"15 or something a bit lower. "





Where do you think our film will be shown?
"I think it's good enough to be made into a longer film so it could get into cinema. Or at a festival."

Are there any films you think are similar to ours?
"There's one with Christian 'Somebody' (Bale) where you find out the story as it goes on. I can't think what it's called. (The Machinist). It's good anyway. It's not similar but it has a similar element in it.

Where do you usually watch films?
"Either on TV or DVD."


Who do you watch films with?
"Usually with my Husband."

Audience Research - Survey 1

I asked my Dad,  George Hutchinson, aged 51 - a regular film-watcher - a series of questions:

Where do you usually watch films?
"On TV or DVD"

Who do you watch films with?
"Whoever's in the room with me, usually my wife."

What is your favourite genre of film?
"Westerns."



What do you like about that genre?
"I like old-style films and it interests me how they were made. They're not made like that anymore."

What is your favourite film?
"Anything with Clint Eastwood. Probably 'Fistful of Dollars'.



What genres do you dislike?
"I'm not too keen on Thrillers"

-After telling them the film idea-
What are your opinions on our film idea?
"I'd give it a watch if it was on TV. The idea is quite unique and it would be interesting watching it for the first time without knowing the story or the twist."

What do you like about our film idea?
"It sounds quite unique. I've seen a lot of films but none that I've seen have a twist like yours."

What do you think we could change about our film idea?
"I don't know really. It's your film so I think you should make it how you think it will look best."

What genre do you think our film will be?
"Probably a psychological one. It's one that'll make you think about the story and you'll be figuring it out as it goes on."

What certificate do you think our film will be?
"A 12A or something like that."




Where do you think our film will be shown?
"It seems like one of those internet ones you get in emails. I don't think a short film would make money so it'll be free to watch."

Are there any films you think are similar to ours?
"None that I can think of."

Practice Shots

This is a compilation of practice shots which were mainly for experimenting purposes. We wanted to test out the camera as well as test what shots we would use in our film. The video contains mainly humorous clips of the crew.



We used extreme close-ups on the mock diary entry which had out of focus shots which may be used in the  5-minute film in order to indicate something is out of place or unusual. We also used extreme close-ups on the male's (Jordan C's) eyes which will be used in the film. We used Jordan C's room to film practice shots as we admired the dim lighting which gave a distinct atmosphere which also allowed shadows to be cast on Jordan C's face. We will use this room as the male's bedroom as it this effect is misleading and would cause the audience to make negative assumptions about the male's character, when the female is the one to wary of. In contrast, we will use Jordan H's room to film the female's bedroom scene as the room is a lot brighter.

Slow panning shots were also used, similar to the short film, 'Hello Again'. We also used a zoom shot of the female (Jordan H) in this clip to signify that this is an important character. The clip where the image fades out and the sound continues was used to give an example of the voiceover which will be recorded then attached to the film as non-diegetic sound. The titles used in the practice montage are very simple and won't be like the ones we'll use for the finished film. They were simply used just to give an example of titles within the compilation.

The POV shots of the female character in the library will be used in the film. We will also use over the shoulder shots of the male looking through the bookshelf. This makes it clear that this is a POV shot from the male's perspective. Placing the camera almost inside the bookshelf gives a slightly claustrophobic effect which relates to the uncomfortable feeling someone gets when they feel they are being followed. In addition to this, it causes the audience to focus solely on the female - which the male is doing.

Audience Research

As our film is a twelve certificate, the age of our audience can vary greatly from ages 12 and above. In terms of genre and audience, our target audience is people interested in psychological drama - the genre of our film. Looking at other films in the same/similar genre such as Single White Female, it is possible to determine whther audiences who enjoyed that film, would enjoy ours too.

Mainly audiences who enjoy the genre of our film would enjoy our film, also, audiences who like films with a good story rather than action scenes and special effects would like our film. Films which focus on story and character development, such as SWF, The Machinist directed by Brad Anderson and American Psycho directed by Mary Harron, are watched by a varied audience and mainly those interested in the plot and twists within the plot - which our film has.

Rather than judging our target audience on age or what other films they may or may not like, we plan to research an audience using a short survey to determine what they like about our film, what they don't like and other key information about our target audience. This will help to determine who our target audience is and what's good about our film. Though our certificate is a 12, we plan to ask a range of age groups.

Shooting Plan: Library Scene

This is the shooting plan for the library scene, it details what shots we will use and other important details.

Lauren's Costume

Lauren's costume is very casual. We originally planned on dressing this character in quite feminine clothing such as skirts and dresses but we felt this would look more perverted and ill-suited to the genre

Worn during one of the park scenes (titles)

Worn during the library scene which has already been filmed

Lauren's bag. This has already been filmed

Worn during the library scene which has already been filmed

These will be Lauren's main shoes

This will be used one of the park scenes

This will be used when Lauren is writing in the diary in order to show it's a different person writing as the shot will be used twice.

Independent Audience Research

GENRE:

With our film being a psychological drama it would be more sensible to aim at audiences over 15 years of age because of the more mature themes such as obsession which younger audience would struggle to relate to.
Our film could be shown as a short before the exposure of a feature film in the cinema, this would be obviously featured before a film of a similar genre and of appropriate age. Also the film is aimed at teenagers and early twenties people but it could also be watched by a wider audience because the plot line and themes of the film could relate to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Other films that come under the psychological-drama genre such as the social network and fight club have been particularly popular among the teenage community and have become greatly successful and respected in the film industry, it is for this reason we should market our film at the teenage part of the audience.

AGE:

Although our film is aimed at 15 years and above, I believe our film could be suitable to be certified as 12 because although there are mature themes they are not as predominant as other films that would be in the 15 age classification.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/

12: Mature themes are acceptable but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagers.

15: No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is suitable for 15 year olds.

Title design for Synergy blog

I decided to design a new title for our blog as I felt that the simple 'Synergy' text was boring and didn't portray what I wanted it to.

This image is a .png file created in Photoshop CS3 with no background, so it can be used with any background and still blend in effectively.

It was designed to be simple yet aesthetically pleasing

Click the image to expand it, or simply see it at the top of our blog page.