Audience Focus Groups

I have just completed a first draft of my trailer and I'm still not completely satisfied with the actual product as a whole as there are things missing i feel that me personally cant see whereas others can, this is why i asked some of my classmates to have a look at and i received a lot of good feedback that i will implement. I got them to all write down some things that are maybe wrong or could be improved upon and this is what they had to say.

Joe 

"The video starts off well with a lot of black and white scenes that represent the past but i think you could probably shorten it by a couple of seconds as all you need it for is to give you an idea on the narrative. The parts of me talking could benefit by also being in black and white as they aren't really explained to be told in the past or present or whatever so putting it in black and white might be a good way of giving you an idea that this is my sub conscious talking. Other than that the use of quick cuts at the start and the various scenes where there is a lot of action is really good and i cant see any other changes other than to make sure that the sound is properly edited so it doesn't sound stupid as the song just randomly changes without the use of an editing technique."

Joe has given me a lot to consider as i do want to create a certain atmosphere with my work and maybe having the monologue scenes in black and white could help me create a mystery about my work that could make my audience come up with their own interpretation of what it is and why he's talking straight to them. The main focus of my trailer is how Joe is in the present and he is right where my past scenes are too long so shortening it will make it a lot better. The sound also needs to change as it just quickly changes and your left thinking whats just happened so i will try using different techniques to help me out. 

Mark 

"The Heist trailer is overall pretty well put together and i enjoyed the unpredictability of it however you could improve a couple of things, for starters you could maybe have more editing technique instead of fade to black you could maybe use fade to white and things like that. The camera we used when filming this isn't a very good quality you could maybe alter it to make it fit the theme of your trailer more." 

Mark enjoyed he predictability of my work but he mentions that i could maybe have used fade to white as i maybe use fade to black too much which in turn is actually a very good idea as after Joe's monologue to the audience i could maybe have a fade to white transition that will take you into the next scene which will keep up with the aura that Joe's monologues create. Changing the brightness levels and maybe the contrast on the scenes could maybe make my work look a lot more British and a lot more gritty so i am definitely going to do that. 

Chris

"The trailer is really good id see the actual film, couple of things could be used to improve it though is maybe shorten a couple of the scenes that involve Joe talking directly to the audience as it can kind of get repetitive, other than that i love the mix of multiple genres used it almost has a dark humour side to it like Bronson but at the same time a thriller element that you would see in films like Shutter Island, Joe's character is really interesting as well he seems unhinged and could lead to some very unpredictable events caused by him."

Chris mentions that i should shorten a couple of the scenes that involve Joe's monologue which i sort of agree with as there is sometimes a space of silence that could be shortened or involve another scene. Chris also mentions that he likes the fact that my work features elements of other genres and the personality of Joe which is great as my ideas are rubbing onto other people. 

Rachel

"Its violent thats for sure haha, erm if i was to make a couple of improvements for you id say to maybe make it a lot more solid in terms of the editing as the song could be implemented better especially when you change to a later part of the song almost instantly, other than that id say maybe play around with a couple of different techniques as you could maybe use it to your advantage and give off a different feel other than that i like it."

Rachel is the only girl that gave me feedback for my work which was a nice change of pace as i get a perspective from a female that maybe doesn't share the same ideas that men maybe have especially when my trailer is quite violent and wouldn't seem to be liked by females but she actually liked it. Like Joe Rachel says that the sound could be edited better so that it sounds a lot clearer which i will definitely change. 

Everyone has given me a lot to think about and i think i can defiantly improve the presentation of my work thanks to my peers.