Feedback for Final Print Products + Short Film [Video]

We also collected more feedback along with our SurveyMonkey feedback for our Final Print Products and Short Film from three of our peers through Video. We asked them about what they liked about all the packages, what they think we could have improved on and how it compared to existing products.


Feedback 1:

SHORT FILM

What they liked:

• The use of music - when the music gets louder the audience was able to tell that something was going to happen which shows good build up.
• The action shot of when the photographer enters the house going to the computer is shot very well.
• The editing technique which showed the reaction shot of the photographer while he was on the laptop showing good editing skills.

Improvements we could make:

• Beginning was too long considering it was a short film - we had this as feedback from our rough cut already, we already shortened it however it appears that it was still too long so in future productions we should make sure that we try relate the story to the narrative as much as possible.

How well they think it compares with other Short Films:

• Compares well with existing products as we have used the same conventions as in other horror/thriller films.
• Also the ending creates shock (a typical of horrors) which is done very well.

FILM POSTER

What they liked:

• Stands out well as the red colour suits the monochrome image
• The font colours add a horror effect to the poster.
• The film name Shutter relates to the iconography of the camera and suits the genre also as it seems 'sudden'.
• The tagline is catchy.
• The reflection of slender in the camera is used to great effect.
• House style set out very well.

Improvements we could make:

• As said by this member of our audience, we could keep the top section where it says "From the producers of Eventide" more bold to keep consistency throughout the poster.

How well they think it compares with other Film Posters:

• Uses the same conventions and house styles a normal film poster would have such as iconography (which we have used in the camera) which represents the film well.
• Also the colour red represents the genre very well.

FILM REVIEW

What they liked:

• The layout and conventions are similar to other film reviews
• Colour scheme has been consistent throughout both print products
• The main image conveys an 'worried victim' and the still images show the film whilst not giving much away.
• Pull quote "When fiction becomes reality" is good as it would attract the audience into reading more.

Improvements we could make:

• Make the fonts consistent through the film review. I agreed with this because on the bit where it says 'Unmissable' and on the article, Comic Sans MS is used which does not flow with the rest of the font in the film review. 

How well they think it compares with other Film Reviews:

• As it uses the typical conventions that a normal film review would have, it compares very well to the other film reviews he has seen.

Feedback 2:

SHORT FILM

What they liked:

• Camera shots - there were a lot of well taken camera shots throughout the film.
• Editing technique such as when he was on the computer and his reaction shot was shown along with the screen. It made the scene seem more realistic.
• When he encounters the Slender Man, a lot of fast paced cuts were used which helped to create suspense.

Improvements we could make:

• Sound such as when he is walking through the woods, the sound of leaves was not in sync with his walking. We understood this as we had to use non-diagetic sound for this scene as the sound of leaves were not picked up well on our sound recording device. Next time we should either sync it better or test the recording properly before moving forward.
• When the actor is taking camera shots, it could have flowed with the film better.

How well they think it compares to other Short Films:

• One of the best films this respondent has watched in terms of quality and camera shots which allowed us to edit the film better. The use of cutaway shots also made the film more realistic according to the respondent.

FILM POSTER

What they liked:

• Masthead is bold which stands out
• The colour scheme is simple and effective

Improvements we could make:

• The actual actor in the image could have presented himself better in the photoshoot. For example in the picture the audience could see a hairy chest which was not appealing. Next time we should take into ethical issues into consideration when doing a photoshoot.
• Also more colour grading instead of using black and white. 
• The letters at the top should be changed to a different colour as the top fades to white which makes the white text hard to see. Next time we should change this to another colour that would stand out from the white.

How well they think it compares to other Film Posters:

• Compared to other film posters he has seen it is good but can be improved.

FILM REVIEW:

What they liked:

• The way the film review has been laid out which makes it easy to read and presentable.
• The masthead is big - this is a common convention in all print products as it allows us to promote the actual short film.
• The colour scheme has been stuck to as with the other print product which shows we have though about house style and convention.
• The column format has been set out well - this was an aim of mine as it allowed the article to be presentable and easy to read.

Improvements we could make:

• The font used seems childish and unprofessional so we should change it.
• Add more pictures - I disagreed with this as we already had three images on the film review and if I were to add more, it would mean there would have to be less text on the article.
• The star rating stars should be changed as they do not suit the film review.

How well they think it compares to other Film Reviews:

• This respondent has not seen many film reviews however insists it is good however there are still things to improve, which have been mentioned above.

Feedback 3:

This feedback was much more brief than the other feedbacks we have received however I will be evaluating it anyway.

SHORT FILM
What they liked:

• The film got straight to the point.
• Understood the plot of the film immediately.

Improvements we could make:

• Dialogue would have made it better as it could give the audience a better understanding.
• Character development so that the audience can know more about the character.

How well they think it compares to other Short Films:

• Some short films only stay in one location however this used more than one location which they find good.

FILM POSTER

What they liked:

• The title is bold and red which stands out which allows the audience to immediately know the name of the film.
• The use of iconography (of the camera) gives a hint on what the film is about.

Improvements we could make:

• More information on the film poster as it doesn't tell too much about the film. To include more information we could maybe use more conventions however we wanted to keep it simple and let the image stand out.

How well they think it compares to other Film Posters:

• It stands out well compared to other film posters as the colours have been used effectively.

FILM REVIEW
What they liked:

• There was a lot of information and images on the film review. This was an aim of mine as I wanted the film review to promote the actual film so I have included a lot of text, images and conventions such as star images, masthead, taglines etc.

Improvements we could make:

• The font used, Comic Sans MS, did not seem professional. I could change the font to make it more professional.

How well they think it compares to other Film Reviews:

• Compared to other Film Reviews, they did not really like it as they did not like the font used.

Overall, the feedback received from these three respondents have been very useful as it will allow me to know what I could improve if I were to make any other future productions. They gave good points and bad points which shows they were not biased and allows me to know how I could make the products better for the audience.