P4 / M3: Audience feedback

The feedback to my original short film was very constructive and helpful and we got together to work on the feedback given and decided to reshoot our short film with a new and improved narrative and better audio and visuals. One of our biggest feedback mentions was how loud the wind was in some shots so this became our priority to ensure the audio was clear and all lines were heard. Also, we wanted to make sure we had a better script and a better narrative. 

After we made our new short film, this is the feedback we received.

After working on the feedback we ensured we had better audio, improved acting, more lighting and included a wider range of camera shots. We also recognised the improvement feeback on our survey as a group and have made sure to improve on them in other future projects. 

Isaac did a lot of editing to ensure the colours matched the autumn/winter theme as it around Halloween, which we learnt about in unit 1 when studying mise-en-scene. Also, we added sound effects, dubbing, and a credit end roll. Furthermore, we ensured our audio tracks made sense and helped the narrative, which paid off as the audience really enjoyed our second film. Having a clear narrative is important when considering Todorov's narrative theory, where characters will go through 5 stages: equilibrium, disequilibrium, Recognition, repair the damage, and equilibrium again. However, we only had a few minutes to fit these in, so we ended October 31st on a cliffhanger, so the audience don't know what happened to Noah at the end. We received many positive comments on the narrative as well as the audio choices which shows that we have followed the narrative structure well and included great audio, which was a key strength of the film as we worked hard to make sure the room wasn't echoing by using soft furniture that would dissipate the sound. 

Also, we had feedback to our film which we agreed were weaknesses that we could work on in the future. We had multiple comments stating that the editing wasn't as scary as expected and it doesn't fully achieve the genre and theme because there aren't any special effects or fast camera shots. We have read this feedback and are going to work to ensure we are achieving the genre fully in future by gathering more feedback and researching.

Short film screening:

On the November 7th, I screened my short film to Ewan Neale and Billy Roe of Keyhole Creative, where they gave me positive feedbacks and improvements.

They told me that the intro sequence was very strong, and the camera shots were very high/ industry level. They enjoyed the pace on the intro as it really helps set the genre. The use of music and sound effects in our film was very well received as we used footsteps and incidental music during the intro action sequence. The use of foley tracks and diegetic such as running and screaming felt like it was really part of the scene. However, in the main body of the film there is an empty gap where there is a lack of sound. The effects such as warping were also liked by Keyhole creative with the use of a fisheye lens because it made the audience feel uneasy and intimately close the character. 

I asked Keyhole Creative if they felt like the film successfully fits into the horror/comedy genre and Ewan and Billy agreed and also commented it was almost like a 'slapstick comedy'. 

I agreed with comments from both Ewan and Billy as they gave very strong feedback on the film.

Also, they gave me some improvements to make my film more successful. I will take their comments and implement them into my next projects to make sure my film is correct and effective.

 Don't zoom in then cut back to the same shot as it can be 'jarring'. I will ensure I take this feedback to make sure I don't upset or disturb any spectators because I want as many people to watch as possible. 

Use smaller rooms for more soundproof as using the auditorium was echoey and was projecting the sound into the camera. I have started to plan my short film for Film Studies, and I am going to make sure I use foley tracks and add audio in post-production because I don't want the sound quality to be bad as it might put off the audience.

The feedback will help to retain audience attention and bring better feedback and comments on my short film, which will mean more people will want to watch it. My goal is to keep the feedback in mind when producing another piece of content to make sure it is the best and most comfortable for the audience to watch.