Reflections on Audience Screening

I am really pleased with the feedback we received and the majority of people seemed to enjoy watching it.

Music, plot and title of the film were amongst the favourite aspects of the opening sequence. I agree with these points as I think the title really ties in with the plot and the music really fits the tone of the film. The plot is also something new and therefore offers something different to the audience.

Out of the 34 respondents, only 3 wouldn’t have liked to watch the film, but this was generally down to those specific people not liking this genre of film. Features that were suggested to be improved on included the location, building more tension, the nightmare sequence not realistic enough and the knife in the back pocket made it slightly comical (people suggested he should have put it in his coat pocket.) I agree with these points; however we wanted to make the house seem as normal as possible to reflect the main characters initial fake persona of being normal. Therefore we chose a house that would be realistic and believable for a young male living home alone.

The genre of the film was easily picked up on as most people classified it as a horror or thriller. Overall I am really happy with the feedback and with the majority of ratings between an 8 or a 9 out of ten it makes me feel more confident about our project.

Audience Screening and Feedback

Today we had our audience screening which was really useful and gave us some good feedback on how our opening film sequence was received. A total of 34 people responded to our questionnaire; giving us a very useful insight into audience tastes and reactions.

The group of people ranged from 15-17 years of age; this was helpful because they were a mixture of our core and secondary audiences.We split the data into two categories, based on gender. We then divided this up further, looking at the different ages in each specific gender. Here is what we found:

FEMALES:

15 years old (4 participated):

• The average rating given was 8/10
• 3 classified it as Thriller, 1 as Horror
• Majority commented on good music, plot, character and title
• They all understood the sequence and picked up the name of the film
• Main areas for improvement were location & building tension throughout the scene
• 3/4 wanted to watch the rest of the film, saying they were interested to find out what happens next

16 years old (11 participated):

• Average score of 8.5/10
• All classified it as either Horror or Thriller (some even put both)
• Again, they most liked the music, plot and also liked the news broadcast
• 10 wanted to watch the rest of the film because "it would be interesting to see the plot develop", "it's creepy" and it "holds in the viewer". The other 1 person didn't want to watch the rest of the film because they are simply "not a big fan of Horror/Thriller"

17 years old (9 participated):

• Average rating of 8/10
• 1 girl didn't understand the significance of the poppy, the rest did
• Again, it was classified as either a Thriller or a Horror
• Music, plot and title were amongst the favourite things in the sequence
• Several commented on the knife in the back pocket; saying it was a little comical and could've been placed inside a jacket pocket instead. Also someone mentioned that the music could have been a bit scarier, and that the pace of the sequence could've been faster, to create more suspense
• 8 of the girls said they would be interested in watching the rest of the film, because of its enigmatic qualities, with an "interesting and intriguing plot". The other girl did not want to watch the rest of the film because she said that she is not interested in the particular genre.

MALES:

16 years old (4 participated)

• Average score 9/10
• 3 classified it as a Thriller, 1 as a Horror
• They mainly like the music and plot
• They would all like to watch the rest of the film
• One area of improvement - acting in the nightmare sequence (not realistic enough)

17 years old (5 participated)

• Rated 9/10
• 4 classified as Thriller, 1 as Horror
• Liked music, character, title and plot
• All 5 want to watch the rest of the film
• Lighting and location are amongst the things to be improved.

Questionnaire for Audience Screening

Age:
Gender:

Please list your 3 favourite films:
1.
2.
3.
What is your favourite genre of film?

Did the sequence make sense? YES / NO If ‘No’ what didn’t make sense? Why?

What was the title of this film?

Which genre would you classify this film as?
Comedy / Horror / Rom-com / Thriller / Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi

What did you like about the film?
Music / Character / Title / Plot / Location / Other (Please specify) __________

Does it remind you of any other films you have watched?

What do you think we can improve on?

Would you be interested in watching the rest of this film? YES / NO Please specify your reason(s):

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the sequence? (Please circle):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10