Evaluation Q2

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback is a significantly important part of post production and the evaluative stage of producing media texts. It enables you to reflect and evaluative on the products developed with the more objective views of others and also to see the way in which the intended target audience respond to the texts.

From my audience feedback I was able to evaluate further the final products and evaluate their appropriateness for genre and especially the target audience. Firstly I asked for positive points about my products, and overall the responses were good. Many people seemed to respond well to the photographs used on the ancillary products particularly the dark woods picture which received many positive comments including ‘mysterious’ and ‘sinister’ which were both effects we were hoping for with the use of that particular photo. People also seemed to like the tempo and sense of speed we had integrated into the trailer with the use of both fast edits and music. Positively, some people also commented on the effective ‘tone’ we had created which is one of the most important points for a teaser trailer in establishing the desired atmosphere, so this was a particularly positive response for us.

However, we must also consider the negative points from audience feedback, as although not as positive, it is the useful response in helping us to make improvement to future work and if we were continuing with the production of this trailer to become a film, it would be invaluable in adjusting the content accordingly to appeal further to the target audience. Unfortunately, four out of the six people all commented in some way that a few of the trailer shots were a little dark and so had a lower picture quality in comparison to the rest of the trailer. ‘One or two of the shots were a bit too dark’ Although this is a negative point, it is not too damaging and some also said the overall quality was good. In addition, I can take this criticism and use it constructively, to be aware in future media work that I should film when it is slightly lighter. However, in this case I personally feel the effectiveness of the night time setting justifies the very small amount of shots with slightly lower resolution, but if I was to develop this product further, I would take this into account and try and prevent it by filming earlier, with a better camera or trying to enhance it with more sophisticated technology.

However, although we did receive some negative points the response to the continuity between the products and suitability for the target audience and genre, was all generally positive, especially for the continuity, in particular between the two ancillary texts. ‘There is a strong brand identity’ this continuity between products is very important in building an iconic and recognizable identity for the film. Several of the people commented on the use of similar colours, images, content and theme running through the three products which creates a strong sense of cohesion and continuity across the campaign, which builds the important identity of the product. Just as importantly, is the products appeal to the desired target audience, which the audience seemed in agreement was positive. ‘I think people my age would like the exciting themes and storyline’ The inclusion of fast and exciting shots and transitions as well as the darker, exciting content seemed to be popular among the target audience we asked. The older people also seemed to think it would appeal to the younger audience, but they did not mention whether it would appeal to their age range, which was our proposed secondary audience, which may suggest it might be limited in its span and appeal may mainly stay within the direct target audience. The fact we included fast action shots and tempo also seemed to convince people of its compliance with the conventions of the action/thriller genre.

So although the audience had some apprehension regarding some picture quality, the response to the content, style, music, themes and images seemed almost unanimously positive, which is a very good audience response to our marketing campaign products. And the most important thing I’ve learned is if I film night time shots in future, that I need to make adjustments with either the camera technology, time of filming or editing to try and produce a higher quality visual.