What have you learnt for your audience feedback?

Audience feedback is key at any stage of the production process. From small independent films to massive Hollywood blockbusters , feedback is used to make improvements and to gain opinions on different aspects. It was important that with he had consistent feedback at both the pre and post production stages. Without it we only had the views of the filmmakers themselves (us) , which would always be biast as it is our film.
The first piece of feedback we gained came from when we performed our pitches to our fellow pupils. The aim of the pitch was to explain what our idea was , why it was different , and how we planed on achieving it. Our first pitch consisted of a role play with the two and only characters in the film , an activity which saw the audience get involved and play the lottery with the prize of a sweet up for grabs , and an overall explanation of what our idea was. After the pitch was completed we conducted a question and answer session, this is where we noticed a few minor details had been missed out. We kept getting questions asking what our idea was again , and what was the meaning behind the idea. What this told us was that we had to make our narrative more clear when explaining it to an audience. It also raised the point of if the audience can not understand it now , then what makes us think that they will when watching it. After the session was over , we asked for general feedback from the first pitch in which we gained vital information what would help us shape our production. The audience said they found the activity really enjoyable as it got them involved, and at the same time they were placed in the shoes of the characters, helping them to understand their motives and feelings. Although from our feedback we had learnt that the audience thought the two characters had become enemy's toward the end of the film , which was the total opposite of what we had hoped for. This is why at the end of our short film we have the scene at the stairs, where the two characters share a comical moment of them coming to terms that they have lost the lottery ticket. This leaves the audience laughing at the end of the film and shows that there are no hard feelings between the two. This all developed from the feedback we gained at the pitch. Another piece of feedback we gained at the end of the pitch was that our audience were concerned about the practicality of our idea. Even though they thought the initial idea was good they didn't believe we had the time or the resources to accomplish this. They suggested keeping the initial idea but reallocating the scenes. This at first was both shocking and worrying as it meant that we would have to storyboard again and find new locations within a week , but after a review of our idea we had to agree. Our first idea was located within a park and on the streets. Shooting outside would have meant we would have trouble with sound,weather and lighting as the sun would only be up for a limited amount of time. This is why our production is now set in a house and within a school , it meant that we didn't have to travel far when changing locations and that we had control of the lighting. Looking back now I believe it was the right choice as the week we filmed we had terrible weather which meant we wouldn't of even been able to film outside anyway , just going to show how vital feedback is. Another part of the pitch which the audience really enjoyed was the hot seating with the characters , which gave the audience a chance to learn the characters names and there background. We made it very comical as it linked with our genre , and from the feedback we gained after, we learnt that the audience knew straight away what our genre was without having to be told , which is what we had hoped for. One problem we learnt from our audience feedback was that the characters didn't seemed balanced , and that one was too quiet and the other too loud. For me this was what I wanted the audience to see as we had created the characters so that one would lead and the other would follow , but I did not want it so that it became annoying for the audience when watching . So we went back to our character profile sheets , we changed the quieter character so that she had more of an attitude about her and was not scared to stick up for her self , but at the same time keeping that innocence which glows from her due to her being so stupid. Going back to the questions we were asked at the start , we knew that we had to make the narrative clear and easy to follow. As our genre was a comedy we had to make sure that we did not over complicate things so that our target audience (young teenagers -young adults) would find it funny. This is why we decided to make the different scenes themed ,making them easier to recognize. From cowboy scene to the scooby doo scene , each had their own features which made them funny , the transition between scenes was also made clear with a change of music. We believe that by creating themes for each scene will mean that the audience can follow the film and remember old scenes and identify new ones while understanding each.
Once we had shot and digitized we started to create our assemble edit. It is at this period which we asked a fellow media student for their opinion on different decisions. When editing the shots for the opening sequence a fellow student said they found it too long and boring. Once the assemble edit was completed we timed the opening sequence and it came to 2 minutes and 47 seconds. This was way too long for an opening sequence so we decided to create a montage and cut shots down so that it didn't drag out. It was from the feedback about the opening sequence being too long that we took the decision to cut it down. After we had edited it we showed it to the student again and they said they found it much more interesting due to the montage and the quick cut edits. This pleased us as we did not want to loose the attention of our audience within the opening sequence. After that we finished editing the rest of the film and created a rough draft to show an audience of year 9 students. It was important for us to show it to a younger audience as they were our target audience, and so it crucial to get feedback from them. Seeing their reactions while watching the film was brilliant as they were laughing and smiling through out. This alone put a smile on my face as I wanted to create something that made people really laugh and allow them to enjoy them selves while watching it. After they had seen it we asked they write their views on a piece of paper and pass them to me as they leave the room. From the pieces of paper we gained a great amount of feedback , both negative and positive. The cowboys and scooby doo scenes seemed to be the most popular , but a number of reviews said they wished the music was more suited to the scenes. After I went back and searched for both a western soundtrack and a quick upbeat soundtrack. Once I did I placed them onto the timeline and reviewed it again. The difference was noticeable straight away , and the scenes soon came to life and looked and sounded like the scenes they were suppose to be resembling. Most of the negative feedback came from the opening sequence which was disappointing as we had already taken feedback from it. What the audience said they did not like was the lack of comical material in it. When I looked back at it I agreed that it could have done with more funny moments , but our aim was not to be funny straight away but to introduce the characters slowly to the audience. I have to admit that I was stuck on what I had to do as I had not expected this type of feedback from the opening sequence , but I could not just keep it the same and run the risk of ruining our film within the opening minutes. After brain storming we decided as a group that the soundtrack may be key to making the scene more interesting. This is why now when the girls place their ipods into the dock a loud funny rap song is played. This juxtapositions next to the slow calm morning soundtrack is what we hope will make that scene funny.
Some of the last pieces of feedback in which helped me during the post production was during the creation of my posters. The posters were important as they would be the face of the film and what the public would first see. I brainstormed many ideas and drafted over 5 different posters. For feedback i placed each poster on a separate window and asked a group of 5 students to place a tick on the one they liked best. From the 5 the poster which was based on the city of god theme got the most ticks with the two independent posters coming 2nd and 3rd. This was perfect feedback as I was hoping that it would be them 3 which got the most ticks. This was because they all covered a range of character development and narrative description. Although I did not gain verbal feedback , to know which ones was the most popular was enough for me to have faith in the three which were chosen.