(18/2/17) Focus group feedback on rough-cut:
Can you clearly understand what is going on in the opening and infer what may happen next?
Katie: yes, its clear to see that this is a teenaget struggling with an ex that seems to be stalking her.
Madison: yes and we can see that she is afraid of him because of his actions whilst they were in a relationship.
Ella: yes the young girl has ended her relationship due to her boyfriend being aggressive and he’s now stalking and threatening her.
What genre would you say our opening is?
Joe: horror or thriller
Emily: an action thriller
Liam: a thriller
Penny: a horror film
Do you think it is appropriate for our target audience which is teens above 15?
?
Rohan: yes I think this is the perfect age as they’re able to connect with the actors as they’re a similar age and it tackles an issue that they may have been taught in school or by others about.
Helen: yes however I do think it could be targeted at a slightly younger audience, maybe 13 and above because it tackles an important issue that they could learn from and may help them in later life. I also think they’d connect with the characters as they’re a similar age and have an every day school life as teens this age do.
Katie: no I think that you should target this film at a younger audience because the action and threats throughout the opening are not too intense for a 12 rating film.
What works well and why?
Madison: I like the use of the upbeat music as it made me feel like nothing was going to happen to the main character so when the threat appeared it had a bigger impact on me.
Ella: I like the use of the montage as the girl is getting ready for school because it shows time passing in an interesting way.
Joe: I like the first shot of the house that gradually gets closer like someone walking towards the house because it left me thinking and trying to work out whom that could have been.
Emily: I like the fact that as the tension in the film builds the lighting gets gloomier and colder. It made me feel slightly more uncomfortable adding to the effect.
Liam: I like the use of the flashback. It was an effective way of telling the audience how and why she has got to the situation that she is in quickly and interestingly.
What are aspects of our opening we could improve?
Penny: I feel it’s just a case of polishing it.
Rohan: the only thing I would criticise is that when the girl is walking towards the house and she sees him behind her it sees impossible that he could be standing there as she would have just walked past him
Helen: unless she’s imagining that he was there in which case I feel as though you could make that more clear.
Katie: I feel like you could use a few more shots of the male character watching the girl walk home to make him seem scarier or creepier.
(28/2/17) focus group feedback on final cut:
Can you clearly understand what is going on in the opening and infer what may happen next?
Helen: yes I can see that she’s a girl in a situation where her ex boyfriend is stalking her and although she has found a short term solution by getting home safely she will now have to figure a way in which to fix the problem for good.
Rohan: this is a relationship where the male turned abusive and now he’s not happy that she’s left him so he won’t leave her alone. She’s not going to have to figure out a way to get rid of him without getting herself into and trouble.
Penny: yeah this girl is just trying to get on with her everyday life at school and get her studies done but she’s constantly reminded of her ex as he wont leave her alone and he then become aggressive by following her as he did during the time they were together.
What genre would you say our opening is?
Liam: thriller
Emily: thriller
Joe: action thriller
Ella: thriller
Do you think it is appropriate for our target audience which is teens above 15?
Madison: yes I feel like its more suited now as with the extra shots you build tension in the scene more meaning it may be a little intense for someone below the age of 15.
Katie: I also think that for someone below the age of 15 it may be hard to appreciate what it happening and therefore hard for them to understand the storyline.
Helen: I agree the story has much more power now so id agree that it is appropriate for people of 15 or above.
What works well and why?
Rohan: I like the clips of the male character from the different angles. It makes him seem more threatening than he already was as it creates the effect that he has her trapped.
Penny: I like these shots too. It creates a montage effect which did make me feel slightly confused and overwhelmed but I think this had a good effect as it made me as an individual more fearful of the male character.
Liam: I like the fact that she is imagining that he is there. It makes her seem crazy because of him which is probably how he makes her feel and at the same time it makes me feel paranoid for her.
Emily: I like that the there is a huge cliff-hanger at the end of the opening it makes me desperate to find out what happens next.
Joe: I like that the credits fade in and out instead of just appearing on the screen as it sticks with the thriller genre by making them slightly creepy.
What aspects of our opening could we improve?
Ella: the only criticism I have is that in a traditional film opening you would have the credits run throughout the while duration of the opening however I know this is difficult as you only has a small cast and group.
Can you clearly understand what is going on in the opening and infer what may happen next?
Katie: yes, its clear to see that this is a teenaget struggling with an ex that seems to be stalking her.
Madison: yes and we can see that she is afraid of him because of his actions whilst they were in a relationship.
Ella: yes the young girl has ended her relationship due to her boyfriend being aggressive and he’s now stalking and threatening her.
What genre would you say our opening is?
Joe: horror or thriller
Emily: an action thriller
Liam: a thriller
Penny: a horror film
Do you think it is appropriate for our target audience which is teens above 15?
?
Rohan: yes I think this is the perfect age as they’re able to connect with the actors as they’re a similar age and it tackles an issue that they may have been taught in school or by others about.
Helen: yes however I do think it could be targeted at a slightly younger audience, maybe 13 and above because it tackles an important issue that they could learn from and may help them in later life. I also think they’d connect with the characters as they’re a similar age and have an every day school life as teens this age do.
Katie: no I think that you should target this film at a younger audience because the action and threats throughout the opening are not too intense for a 12 rating film.
What works well and why?
Madison: I like the use of the upbeat music as it made me feel like nothing was going to happen to the main character so when the threat appeared it had a bigger impact on me.
Ella: I like the use of the montage as the girl is getting ready for school because it shows time passing in an interesting way.
Joe: I like the first shot of the house that gradually gets closer like someone walking towards the house because it left me thinking and trying to work out whom that could have been.
Emily: I like the fact that as the tension in the film builds the lighting gets gloomier and colder. It made me feel slightly more uncomfortable adding to the effect.
Liam: I like the use of the flashback. It was an effective way of telling the audience how and why she has got to the situation that she is in quickly and interestingly.
What are aspects of our opening we could improve?
Penny: I feel it’s just a case of polishing it.
Rohan: the only thing I would criticise is that when the girl is walking towards the house and she sees him behind her it sees impossible that he could be standing there as she would have just walked past him
Helen: unless she’s imagining that he was there in which case I feel as though you could make that more clear.
Katie: I feel like you could use a few more shots of the male character watching the girl walk home to make him seem scarier or creepier.
(28/2/17) focus group feedback on final cut:
Can you clearly understand what is going on in the opening and infer what may happen next?
Helen: yes I can see that she’s a girl in a situation where her ex boyfriend is stalking her and although she has found a short term solution by getting home safely she will now have to figure a way in which to fix the problem for good.
Rohan: this is a relationship where the male turned abusive and now he’s not happy that she’s left him so he won’t leave her alone. She’s not going to have to figure out a way to get rid of him without getting herself into and trouble.
Penny: yeah this girl is just trying to get on with her everyday life at school and get her studies done but she’s constantly reminded of her ex as he wont leave her alone and he then become aggressive by following her as he did during the time they were together.
What genre would you say our opening is?
Liam: thriller
Emily: thriller
Joe: action thriller
Ella: thriller
Do you think it is appropriate for our target audience which is teens above 15?
Madison: yes I feel like its more suited now as with the extra shots you build tension in the scene more meaning it may be a little intense for someone below the age of 15.
Katie: I also think that for someone below the age of 15 it may be hard to appreciate what it happening and therefore hard for them to understand the storyline.
Helen: I agree the story has much more power now so id agree that it is appropriate for people of 15 or above.
What works well and why?
Rohan: I like the clips of the male character from the different angles. It makes him seem more threatening than he already was as it creates the effect that he has her trapped.
Penny: I like these shots too. It creates a montage effect which did make me feel slightly confused and overwhelmed but I think this had a good effect as it made me as an individual more fearful of the male character.
Liam: I like the fact that she is imagining that he is there. It makes her seem crazy because of him which is probably how he makes her feel and at the same time it makes me feel paranoid for her.
Emily: I like that the there is a huge cliff-hanger at the end of the opening it makes me desperate to find out what happens next.
Joe: I like that the credits fade in and out instead of just appearing on the screen as it sticks with the thriller genre by making them slightly creepy.
What aspects of our opening could we improve?
Ella: the only criticism I have is that in a traditional film opening you would have the credits run throughout the while duration of the opening however I know this is difficult as you only has a small cast and group.