Audience Response

I showed a rough cut of my film to a group of parents and others last night. They completed feedback sheets and there have been a variety of interesting responses.

• 'Nice music and use of camera angles etc. Not sure about it being in black and white.'
• 'Intro didn't fit title.'
• 'Not an obvious link, black and white intro, and title = not hooked, but good filming.'
• 'Good use of music to create atmosphere. Not sure if phone call to door knock creates sufficient suspense and the impact that you are after. Perhaps lengthen the phone call and door shots.'
• 'Didn't understand what the topic was.'
• 'Good planning to think of the places for shots and the use of lighting was really well done.'
• 'Very good intro.'
• 'Nice shot of Forum. Too long.'
• 'Very atmospheric.'
• 'Really liked this one, very well shot, beautifully filmed.'
• 'Good shots but did not draw me into the story.'
• 'Feeling of sadness. Black and white effective. Artistic use of shots. Not sure what the film was going to be about.'
• 'Like use of lighting for street lamps in city. Good background sound. Very good opening shot, love flames ideas. Sharp and grabbed attention.'
• 'Lots of mystery.'
• 'Good shots of Norwich.'
• 'Too many bright backings. Only problem however.'

It seems the music has come off well and that people liked the images. Given that people of that age were never really my target audience, I should probably take their comments with a pinch of salt.

Most people seem to like the music and images and appreciated the mood I was trying to create, but for many people, this wasn't particularly enjoyable or interesting for them. People seemed to be split on the choice of a black and white. I would guess that many thought it fitted the mood well, which was the effect i was going for, but I could imagine that for some it was too unconventional.

Some people didn't really understand what the film was about. For some, my choice of cutting, and cutting again, and giving as little away as possible may have left the overall effect too subtle. I would argue that the subtlety suits to style well. People in my audience research were generally split as to whether they preferred action or a gentle start.