Evaluation Question 3
MAIN PRODUCTION FEEDBACK
Matt Emsley - Male - 31
· “Love the use of sound – very subtle and atmospheric, particularly the old song that’s played over the top.” – I’m pleased that Matt was a fan of the subtle, atmospheric sound that we used in the background of our trailer. We made it subtle and continuous to create an eerie effect as opposed to being ‘in your face’ like some horror trailers are. The atmospheric ambient sounds also complimented the diegetic sounds we had in place, such as my dialogue and the crowing sounds towards the start of the trailer. Our target audience in general should know that these sounds are conventional, which is why some who give feedback on our production won’t pick up on it, which is good because it proves that it doesn’t distract too much from the narrative and other shots. I’m glad he picked up on the song we used to play throughout a large section of the trailer, as it stood out from the other background sounds that we used, and the high-pitched voice within the song (which we edited in Garageband) emphasises the psychological breakdown in our character, sounding rather ‘loopy’.
· “Very slickly edited with action in the shots matching the sound (the eye blinking near the start matched with a bassy thud).” – From this, I realise that my editing was attractive to my target audience, which was described here as ‘slick’. I made sure to match sounds to the actions on screen when editing my trailer, including the blinking & cinematic boom. Without smooth editing the trailer appears unfinished and unprofessional which will turn away any audience members who watch it.
“The desaturated colours and limited colour palate helps to convey a sense of ghostliness and the seriousness of the horror genre.” – We added a ‘Cool Tones’ effect to our production as a whole in order to create a darker, more eerie atmosphere, as we had little choice but to film in the daytime due to Lucy’s time constraints in regards to acting, therefore we had to just go with it at the time, and this effect allowed us to get around that, whilst still looking realistic.
· “My one criticism is that I think the trailer overall needs to have a little more direction – what I mean is, I understand who Delilah is and what she is doing, but I feel it needs to give some indication as to what triggers her to act like this (i.e. in The Ring, it’s watching a video tape – is it answering the phone to her call? If so, I think that needs to be clearer, perhaps with some character dialogue or text)” – After reflecting upon our trailer, we decided that if we were to go back and change some things about it, we would improve the lack of dialogue, as adding some in may have given more of an insight into Delilah’s mindset. We don’t think it’s too much of an issue however, as leaving her silent throughout is mysterious to the audience and will entice them into seeing the film to learn more about her. It also balances her personality and keeps her neutral, signifying her status as an anti-hero. Matt stated that he did understand who Delilah was and what she’s doing however, therefore it is clear that we did have a fairly solid narrative to build on.
· “I think it’s extremely good – well done indeed!” – Ultimately, he really liked our trailer, which overall is some very positive feedback and gives us confidence that it reflects our capabilities as Media students.
Alice Barradale - Female - 17
· “I really like the use of non-diegetic sound at the beginning, especially the static effect” – We used a lot of non-diegetic sounds in our production and are glad they were popular with our audience. Alice pointed out the static effect that we added to our ‘Changan Pictures’ ident, which aimed to convey a sense of disruption before the trailer even starts, which is conventional of the horror genre.
· “I also like the variety of camera angles and the use of the antagonist’s costume as it diverts from conventions slightly due to wearing white” – We used a variety of camera angles in our trailer in order to hold the audience’s attention, which can quickly be lost if switching between just a couple of bland shots back-and-forth. Furthermore, our choice of costume as previously mentioned aimed to emphasise Delilah as an anti-hero rather than making her explicitly evil, helping to make the audience feel more a part of the film themselves, forming their own opinions etc rather than following a narrative that directly instructs them to like and dislike certain characters.
· “The only criticism I would have is the pace, maybe it could be slightly faster as it’s a trailer, but apart from that I can’t see anything that could be changed” – We acknowledge that our trailer is at a fairly slower pace than some upon reflection, however we are ultimately satisfied with it. We aimed to develop an eerie atmosphere through the slow pace, with the song ‘Maybe’ complimenting the steady pace of it. The speed did increase towards the end of the trailer however, which is conventional of the horror genre, and we did add some punch at the end of it with our jump-scare, which gave our trailer the final touch it needed to really be classed as a horror.
Ian Burton - Male - 40
·
“Excellent sound editing, it’s
genre-appropriate” – We were careful when choosing the
sounds to use in our trailer, in order to carefully address our specific genre.
This feedback shows that our use of sound was effective and conventional of the
horror genre, therefore proving we utilised it well.
·
“Creative, intelligent framing and use of
mise-en-scene” – The mise-en-scene we used aimed to
convey a realistic, old fashioned home environment. We chose the location
carefully, as Megan’s Nan’s house was a perfectly creepy setting, and featured
many vintage framed pictures on the walls which added to the eerie atmosphere
of the trailers.
·
“Fantastic idents and use of conventional horror
trailer jump-scare” – Our idents are conventional of
the horror genre, with the ‘Changan Pictures’ ident featuring a nights sky, as
well as two skulls either side of our title. This aimed to make it clear to our
audience that we specialise in horror films. Our ‘Grey Moon Pictures’ ident is
also conventional of the horror genre, as it includes a howling wolf and a moon
which turn red, connoting blood/danger which the large majority of audience
members would pick up on, with it being a very conventional colour. Furthermore, the jump-scare was the final hard-hitting punch of our trailer, with the distorted picture of Delilah shown shaking before her face is seen right up to the camera with a piercing glare alongside a loud, harrowing scream.
·
“The occasional fixed camera shot is a touch
wobbly” – We looked back on our production after
hearing this and realised that our shot of the bloody taps did wobble a bit.
However it isn’t too noticeable and most of the time it would go unnoticed. If
we were to go back and film again we would make sure each fixed shot is
completely still, in order to maximise the effect of the shot and ensure our
production runs smoothly, however Ian only described the shot as a ‘touch’
wobbly, highlighting that it isn’t a significant flaw, but instead a minor
mistake.
Lydia Shepherd: - Female - 18
·
“I like the use of contrapuntal sound with the
record playing and the shot of the knife falling into the grass” – It’s interesting that Lydia thought the song ‘Maybe’ was
contrapuntal to the horror genre, as we believed it was exceptionally creepy.
However understandably does not fit in as a conventional horror sound, but
doesn’t stray too far from the genre to seem out of place and a bit awkward.
Furthermore, Lydia liked our shot of the knife falling into the grass, which we
slowed down in our production in order to extend the length of the shot so that
our banging sounds were an equal distance apart. It also demonstrated that we
are able to manipulate moving images and varies the types of shots used in our
production which we did to keep our audience interested, which evidently works
when taking into account Lydia’s feedback.
“ "To improve you could have added more dialogue
to give an insight into Delilah’s mind” – The same
point that Matt made earlier on, and would definitely be the primary part of
our production that we would alter if we could go back. However once again I
don’t believe our decision to leave out any of Delilah’s dialogue was a
particularly bad one, as it shrouded her in mystery and left the audience to
come up with endless theories as to why she’s doing what she is.
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