Tasha's Audience Feedback

Connor's Audience Feedback- Age18

After watching our thriller opening what’s your opinion and suggestions of the following-

Editing:

• Use of filters – they were well varied to show the variation of emotions and disposition experienced by the character. However the opening filter seemed to be overdone, although it did well to show her confusion of waking up the way she did.
• Different transitions e.g. cut, fade, dissolve – It was a good way to transition between the flashbacks and the forest scenes, and it allowed for an interesting transition between her in the present and her remembering parts of how she got there.
• The montage of flashbacks (overlapping editing) – this was also a useful way to tie her remembering whilst keeping the main focus on her in the present.
• The style of our production company logo and title – the logo gave a strong sense of professionalism to the production. The title gave more to the sense of mystery that had been developed due to the variation of the almost casualness of the, title compared to the panic of the film.

Sound:

• The whispering at the beginning – They added to the feeling of confusion that the character must have been feeling in the opening scene.
• The music during the running and flashback scenes – Heightened the sense of drama as well as giving more of a clear sense to the panic the character felt.
• The music at the end when the title appears – It helped with the sense of mystery that was lefty by the final few scenes.
• The dialogue – It was useful to emphasise the fear felt by the character though it seemed to be fairly clunky in delivery of the last line. It also gave the sense of apathy by the killer.
• The foley sound effects used (sounds edited in after filming to make certain things sound more realistic e.g. the water running and when the female character falls to the ground)- While I wouldn’t say these added that much to the opening they did make the film seem more natural and relatable.

Camera:

• Did we use enough camera shot/angles? Yes the variation given between third and first person amounted present scenes and flashbacks added the sense of drama and panic to the film.

Mise en Scene:

• Were the characters convincing and relatable? – The victim was very convincing in the roll as the panic displayed really played out. It showed the understandable sense of fear for the given situation.
• What did you think of the costumes/settings/props used? – The use of waking up in the forest gave a good sense of confusion and having the flashbacks putting the character back in a house added to this.

Overall:

• What did you like/dislike about the thriller opening? – I enjoyed the immediate suspense that was set up with the panic of the main character and the mystery of who the true murderer was. I disliked the fact that the mystery of the murderer was revealed in the opening so it removed that possible mystery.
• Did you know it was a thriller? – Yes the genre was made quite clear by the opening mystery of the main character waking up beside the body.
• What do you think we should have done differently? – The final shot didn’t seem particularly necessary and could have been left as more of an audience imagination scene.
• Does this type of thriller appeal to you? If so why? – It does due to the opening mystery (who is the true murderer) presented, however with that quickly it wouldn’t necessarily leave me wanting to continue.
• What thriller films do you like? The Forest, Inception, The Departed. Movies that have a continued sense of suspense or mystery throughout.
• Did this remind you of a thriller film in particular? If so why?
• What type of characters would normally appeal to you? – Relatability. A seemingly ordinary character thrown into the scenarios of the film.
• Does the storyline appeal to you? – It does to a degree due to the opening suspense and the unanswered questions given during the course. However, with the key mystery of the murderer being revealed early on it leaves me curious as to how it would continue.

Audience feeback on our thriller opening

 Emily's feedback of our thriller opening:

She suggested that we play the background music throughout the sequence up to the dialogue and that we quieten it down gradually.

She also said that in one part of the opening when it fades to black that we shouldn't have it as black for so long to keep it short and dramatic.

Joshua's Feedback

An interview between Melissa and her 20 year old brother, Joshua:

M: So now that you've watched the final piece, was it clear that the flashbacks as the main character was running were flashbacks?

J: Yes, it was clear. The effects you used really separated it from the running scene.

M: And the music we used while she was running, was it too dramatic?

J: No, I don't think so. In films like this, you need it to be dramatic to get the audience feeling tense too.

M: At the end of the film, we wanted to use soft piano music and the titles as a sort of wedding invitation as ironic, did that come across okay?

J: Yeah, it was fine. 

M: And after he lifted up the knife, there was a fade to black and you could hear her fall to the floor. When we started this, we found it rather comical, did you think so?

J: No, I didn't think so.

M: Is there anything you would improve on?

J: The last shot when it tracks up her arm, I wouldn't have moved the camera with the zoom. I would have started with the wound, then revealed her face to create a shock on the audience. I would have also had her entire hand out flat on the floor, even though it's not a very realistic position for a dead body to be in, just to make it really clear to the audience that it was a wedding ring. Films usually tend to give the audience the information straight away instead of having to give them a moment to figure it out for themselves.

Also, at the beginning, instead of having her keep looking back and forth from the knife, I'd have done it once then had shots from the knife and the dead body.

M: So a bit more match on action and a bigger shock at the end, then? Thank you, I think we'll take that on board for next time. Is there anything else you would like to add?

J: I think that maybe you tried to fit a lot of action into 2 minutes. I think if you were to do this again, I would keep it to its most basic elements to give you more chance of fitting in more shots (like establishing shots) instead of having to worry about making sure that you fit in each thing a character does. 

M: Perfect! Thank you so much for your help.