evaluation task 3

Evaluation task 3 – what have you learnt from your audience feedback?
We had a lot of feedback for our trailer in its many different stages , most of it was positive but there was always ways we could improve and when the feedback was negative it only pushed us to create the best product we could and make the needed adjustments . I had feedback from teachers, parents, friends, family friends and work colleges.
Trailer
Positive feedback
Great variety of locations – we were complimented on the use of many different locations, this made it look more authentic because it isn’t just based in one location ,Instead we have many locations making it look like a real story line.
Voice over – we used a voice over of the antagonist in the beginning of the trailer and many people liked it because they found it to be very menacing and creepy and it was a great addition for the trailer.
Camera shots and angles- many people mainly students and teachers liked the variety of shoots and angles we used in our production to really capture the atmosphere and emotions. The reason this feedback was teachers and other student is because they know to look out for it where as general public don’t look out for those sorts of things because they don’t know how they affect the scene.
Background music- we used a fast paced back track in the second half of the trailer which worked perfectly with the pacing and the mood of the trailer.
Editing – Most people appreciated the two stages of the trailer and liked the way the switched pace and almost shocked them with the sudden change . They also liked the use of effects such as black and white.
The ending of the trailer – a lot of positive feedback was given to our last scene in the trailer when Rosie is dragged back and then it goes black and silent, hey said it is very suspenseful and really grabbed their full attention


Negative feedback
Too much of a story- our first draft was criticized on being too much like a story and felt more like a short film then a trailer
Lack of visual effects- our first draft was very lacking in any effects therefore it looked very plain and boring and didn't fit the tone for a thriller trailer
Lack of sound- In the first draft there was very little range of sounds both digetic and non , so we added more sound types.
Poor editing- our first draft was very basic and lacked suspense and had very little impact on the audience
Addition of voice over- we used a voice over from one of the characters to help develop the backstory and main plot line .
change of titles- The titles were to long winded and didn't have the snap effect we wanted them to have.

stage 1
The first thing the teachers told us after watching our first draft was the lack of effects and poor flow of the trailer in general, therefore we went back and looked at how we could add effects to make it look more like a thriller , this included playing with different colour effects to make clips darker and more sinister looking ,fades to black to make it more fluent and other transitions to also helps it flow and make it look more professional. An example was in our first draft the opening shot was of a church in day light the shot was shaky, therefore we changed the colours to make it a lot darker and cropped down the frame so it was focused on one point, this gave it a much more better looking shot and even gave it more meaning because the shot showed the clock tower so it was almost hinting that the time is up. We also added a clip with the antagonist inside the church after and to add more insight to the characters life and backstory.

The second thing the teachers picked up on is the age of one of the actors. Aaron played the detective on the case that goes to Rosie's house and informs her family of her kidnap. He looked too young to be a detective even with  good costume and if we had kept him it would have bought down the realism of our production. Therefore we swapped him with a older man, George, This meant all the character looked more realistic and made sure it didn't just look like a a bunch of young lads pretending to be detectives and villains


The titles in our production we also a point that needed to be changed as some were too long winded and and were slightly confusing .For example the titles that said  “Some are not destined to be” and “For others there is no choice” to “Love may be for some…” and “But not for all”"  and changed them to shorter titles that captivate the audiences attention more , because they can read them clearly in the time they appear for and they are short and snappy so you remember them. These titles were easier to understand as well therefore people understood the trailer much more and gave more of an insight into the story because it is clear what they are referring to.


The ending of our trailer also had some criticisms. Our teachers said it ended to suddenly and it lacked any suspense which meant it was a very poor ending because it didn't grab the audiences attention like the ending should , it is usually the main thing they remember because it is so significant . Therefore we had a choice to add more layers to the current ending such as sound of effects or make a new one , we went for  mix of both by using our current one but switching it slightly. We made a voice over of the antagonist saying "love me " and we used a effect to deepen the voice
to make it sound very chilling and almost send goosebumps up the audiences neck, and then shortly after we used a scream from the protagonist to add the final chilling moment in the trailer and really set the audience on edge , this can also be interpreted as a conversation between the characters as well because of the demand and the response , which gives an insight to the on going battle in the film of the struggle of both the protagonist and the antagonist. The scream also provided a final point in the trailer and captivated the audiences attention and gave it the dramatic ending it needed while also building the suspense before hand with the correct effects and music .


The final changes made to our trailer was the addition of discontinuity . Our first draft was said to be very short film like and told too much of a story. in addition it revealed a lot of key plots points already so spoil the film .Therefore we added more scenes such as establish shots , close ups and mid shots . the introduction of these shots gave the audience more to focus on and also gave more  of back story into the lives of the characters therefore the use of these flash backs and views on their lives, this meant the trailer was full of discontinuity and no longer made the trailer look like a short film. These flashbacks also give a view of the detective trying to solve the previous crimes and shows how the plot will expand into the main film .

Film poster

Positive feedback

Good use of space- there is no blank space being wasted and the photos compensate each other well

good use of colour- the contrast of colour is a good representation of the progression of the story

good layout- the layout of the pictures and font compensates each other well and nothing is too big or small

Criticisms

first draft was too bright- the colour on the first draft was too bright

lack of content- the first draft was very basic and laced much content on it

Reviews- the reviews were too big and took up too much space

The first change I made was layout and the content of my poster. At first all I had was one picture at the bottom and a small title with a review at the top , therefore I chose to add two different pictures and bend them together so it flowed through the whole poster and didn't have any sharp edges that look unprofessional. I then made the review smaller and placed it in a better place so it didn't disrupt the flow as much as it did .

My second change was to change the brightness of the colours in my poster , however I opted to change two of the three bright ones instead , because the three stages of brightness represent the stages in the film ,the first picture is colourfull and represents the equilibrium in the beginning of the film and the balance. and then the pictures get progressively darker to represent how the films balance is disrupted and becomes in disequilibrium .

My final change was the colurs on the poster , after I changed my pictures I also changed the other colurs such as the colour of the font , I changed it to the colour that is in the sunset because it is red which is the colour of love , Then it contradicts with all the dark grey and black in the poster because black is associated with death and pain which is similar to the films plot.

Magazine cover

Nice layout - everything is well laid out and in proportions

Good use of fonts-  A good variety of fonts used

Creative background- the background is very unique

Criticisms
DVD cover - at first it looked like a DVD cover

very basic- it was very basic at first

image- the image was too small and didn't look right


Firstly on my first draft i was very inexperienced and my product came out very poorly with small titles and very poor layout . it looked more like a DVD cover so I had to completely re think my design and make a new one , I made the titles a lot bigger and changed the fonts to make it look more like a magazine and added more magazine aspects like a header and bar code.

The main picture was very small and didn't fit the style of a magazine cover therefore I went for a more central image that would captivate audiences and that was easier tow work around , this meant I had more space to use creative fonts and to show off more of my background I created .

Lastly I used effects on some of the fonts to make them more professional looking and not just plain and boring , this gave my cover a more overall professional look and it fit in with the background and everything else .