What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Some of the responses we received

In order to receive audience feedback for our main product, we screened our trailer to our Media Studies class,consisting of people who all fall within our target audience (15-25 year olds). We asked the group what they liked about our trailer, and what they felt could have been improved on. Some of the comments we received can be seen below.


Camerawork/Editing
We received mostly positive feedback related to our camerawork and editing on the trailer. The group felt there was a good range of shots, and liked some of the interesting angles we incorporated. Some shots in particular were repeatedly mentioned as being effective, these included the pan shot of the house (Example), the slow zoom of the door, the swings close-up, and the girl on top of the stairs.

The editing was also generally praised. Most people felt the pace of the trailer worked quite well, in particular how the tension was built up towards the end. Our use of special effects on the face morph at the end was complimented as it showed we were willing to take the risk and learn new skills on different software.

However we received some comments from people who felt that not enough narrative information was given away, but luckily they also said that there was still enough to make them interested. As a group we decided not to include much narrative in our trailer as our audience research suggested that our target audience didn't want too much of the story to be revealed in a trailer.


Mise-en-scene
The audience felt that use of CCTV was very unique and effective in our trailer as it allowed for a change in pace. They also felt that the use of a normal house being the setting of our trailer to be effective as it allowed the story to seem more realistic and closer to home (the horror is within the family).


Sound
Praise was generally given about our use of sound in the trailer. The most common comments made were about how the trailers sound was mixed well, with the voice overs being clear over the music. The crackling sound used with the static tv effect was praised as it made it seem more realistic (Example). The audience felt that the music worked well with the video to help build pace and tension particularly towards the end. Another good point made about the soundtrack was talking about how there were no bad transitions between different pieces of music.
However despite the mostly positive feedback about our use of sound, some people felt that we should have included more voice overs to explain the story better. The audience understood that the girl was changing and strange things were happening, but they had no idea why these things were happening. Also, someone criticised one voice over in particular which is supposed to be a doctor saying that the girl needs to be watched day and night.They said that the voice sounded quite funny, which detracted from the tension and horror of the rest of the trailer.


Overall
Overall, I feel that all the comments made about my groups trailer are fair, and provide some interesting thoughts on how we could have improved it. Looking back on our main product now, I can agree with the  constructive criticism made, and if were to make the trailer again, we would take these views on board.
All in all, I believe that my group and I have succeeded in making a good horror trailer based on the feedback we received.