Evaluation: Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

My audience feedback allowed me to learn my strengths and weaknesses in the production, direct from the audience. This would help me to improve any products that I may develop in the future.

To understand these strengths and weaknesses more, I made sure that I used a wide range of techniques to gain feedback; showing the film to friends and family, showing the film to a class of Media Studies students in the year below, sharing the video online through social media, using a questionnaire and conducting a video interview with two members of my target audience. 
The feedback I received was extremely positive and gave me a great insight into what I could improve in the future.

Showing the film to an AS Media Studies Class

To start my Audience Feedback, I decided to show the film to a group of 20 AS Media Studies students; being in the year below, not only would they fully understand the codes and conventions that I challenge, but also it will also help them in developing their products next year.

I asked the students to write down their opinion of the film on to post-it notes (see left), giving their honest opinion of the film anonymously. These post-it notes were then collected and each and every comment was read thoroughly. 

I found these comments very useful, all having constructive criticism and praise about my work. The majority of the class mentioned a "good use of camera shots and angles", "brilliant music" and even comments that it looked "professional"; all of the class strongly admired the film, especially the emotional connection created with the narration. However, in almost every one of these post-its, they mentioned that my documentary became "too dark" at the end and this meant that the audience couldn't see much on what was going on. If I were to recreate this film or I were to create another film in the future, I would use this advice to ensure that I don't make the same mistake.

Audience Questionnaire

To start my Audience Feedback, I created a questionnaire using Google Docs (which can be viewed here), sharing the link using social media and through e-mail in hope of responses. 

Although the response was fairly limited and I only received 9 responses, overall the comments were very useful and could be used as a way to represent the rest of the audience; although the majority of the people questioned were 16-21, 1 person was 60+ and this can be used as an estimate for the entire audience.
To start the questionnaire, I asked about the ancillary products, beginning with The Poster. I simply began by asking what would they rate it out of 10, with 100% of the answers being between 8-10, a staggering response.

I then asked if they found the poster's typography attractive; deliberately created to ensure the reader sees the poster advertising a documentary (due to helvetica being widely used in documentaries). The response for this question was also extremely positive with 100% of the people questioned giving a score of 9, proving that I have successfully challenged the conventions of a documentary poster's typography. To finish  my questions on the Poster, I decided to ask the audience whether or not they would watch the film from purely seeing the poster beforehand, once again 100% of the audience saying "Yes". I was really pleased with this score as I knew that I had successfully managed to attract the audience with the poster, I now know that this style is suitable and professional  if I were to make another film poster.

I then moved on to questioning about my other ancillary product; the magazine review, with all candidates rating the product between 8-10 another really positive response which proved I had created a professional and attractive review for my film. I then asked the audience what they felt they were mainly attracted to when looking at the review, providing a range of responses. Most of the people questioned said they felt they were drawn to the image, as well as the typography at the top of the page, in particular the bold blue text "inspiring" and "uplifting". I was very pleased with these responses in particular, as this is what I intended the audience to see first, along with the blue colour theme. To finish my questions on the review, I asked the same question at the end of the poster questions, asking whether they'd want to see the film after reading the review. Once again 100% of the people questioned said "Yes" and I was extremely pleased with this result, knowing that I had successfully attracted my audience through the codes and conventions that I have followed

To finish the questionnaire, I asked questions about the film itself, starting with what they would rate the film out of 10, with all people questioned giving a score between 9-10, and an impressive 89% of those questioned giving a 9 out of 10. I was extremely pleased with this score and I was happy that the entire audience enjoyed the film. I then asked whether they felt I had met the codes and conventions of a short film (did it look like a professional film?) with all those questionned stating "Yes", proving that I have in fact created a very professional product for the audience. After this, I asked whether they found Tom's voiceover effective and yet again all of the people questioned stated "Yes"; I was particularly pleased with this result because my aim was for the voiceover to emotionally connect with the reader and it is clear that I have successfully achieved this. I then moved on to ask about the documentary's music with 8 out of the 9 people saying "Yes", however 1 person said "No". I have managed to entertain the majority of the audience here but it clear that not everyone felt the music was appropriate, perhaps I would address this in the future by testing different songs against the film before release.

After asking more "style" based questions on the film, I decided to ask about the film's deeper meanings and connotations, seeing if I had managed to portray the message across to the audience successfully. I asked the audience whether or not the film had increased their awareness of Autism and I was very pleased with the response, with 100% of those asked stating "Yes" and proving that the connotations I had intended to portray, successfully attracted the audience, managing to increase the awareness at the same time. To finish I simply asked if they would reccommend the film to others, with all of the audience saying "Yes", more evidence that I had successfully attracted the audience.

Target Audience Feedback Video Interview

 

To learn more specifically about my film's effect on the viewer, I decided to interview two people from my target audience using similar questions to the online questionnaire. I felt if I interviewed two people in more depth, I would greater understand any issues with my products.

I started this interview by talking about my poster, it's style and the meanings portrayed. The audience noticed that the font used was Helvetica, a font widely used in media texts and noticeable as a documentary font. They also understood my reasons behind using a blurred image in the background and it's connotation of autistic traits and behaviours, as well as enticing the viewer to know more. Both my interviewees say they would watch the film based on purely seeing the poster, proving it a success. 

I then moved on to talking about the magazine review, starting by asking what instantly drew their attention on the cover. Similarly to the questionnaire, both stated they were immediately drawn to the blue font and colour scheme. One thing that wasn't mentioned in the questionnaire but was in the video, was the fading of the image which is used to create a visually aesthetic effect that leads the viewer's eye across the page. I was also pleased that someone mentioned the fact my article was in columns as I created this to fit the codes and conventions of a music magazine article, as well as being written persuasively. If I were to make any improvements, I would perhaps maintain a smaller range of fonts to keep a more stylish appearance.

Finally I moved onto my film, asking firstly asking if they thought the film followed the codes and conventions of a short film or documentary. They replied noticing the connection between the voice-over and the imagery shown, creating an aesthetic effect. More importantly, my interviewees discussed the topic itself, stating how it may be a new area of knowledge and therefore it would appeal to a much wider audience (which could explain it's success online, seen below and in the end of the video above). I then moved on into asking about the music in the documentary, the response was very positive with the audience noticing my intended connotations; the solemn music at the start and the uplifting music at the end. Finally I asked about the camera and editing style, followed by an overall response to the film. Both the interviewees stated it looked very professional and then saying that they really enjoyed the film and the story told.

Reddit

When I completed my film, I decided to share it on the social news and viral site "Reddit", I recieved an overwhelming response - click here to see the comments or watch the video above.

The comments I received were extremely positive and gave praise to both Tom and myself on the film.