Post Production Questionnaire Results

 Post Production Questionnaire Results

Nearly 100% agree that after looking at our final film, it belongs in the horror genre, with only one saying that our film is a thriller. This shows we portrayed our genre correctly, meaning that our film's narrative and mise-en-scene was used correctly in order for the audience to get a grasp of the atmosphere we are wanting to create. We discussed at the start we wanted this film to be a a psychological thriller/horror, and by these results it was a success. 

This has been consistent throughout the film process, as we had a 100% tally that our film deserves the 15 age rating. This was probably due to amount of gore and harsh language our film has, but no sexual gestures to make it 18. We wanted it to be 15 and it shows that everyone agrees with it.

What type of people do you think will want to watch?

Our audience described that our target audience would be people who are adventurous, want to take risks. Basically, they said that it is for people who want some intensity in their lives. Linking it to Richard Dyer's theory, they feel likes it's for an audience who follow a daily routine, and would want to break that routine and do something different. They also said that it is aimed for people who want to see something unique and exciting, due to the mystery and movement our film has. This is also for people who feel exhausted with their lives and the pressure that comes with it, wanting a film that has a vast amount of action.

This chart is more divisive than the others. We had a 50% vote that says our film will more likely to be watched on YouTube than the other platforms. I believe that this was the majority because our film was mostly made in order to make the viewer uncomfortable and make them think is the story just happening in his head, than to tell them a detailed and logical story. Why 40% of people say they would watch it in a cinema or festival is that we have used correct music and sound effects to show that this is indeed a horror film, and or use of effects easily shows what scenes real and what's just in a dream

 

While the results isn't 100%, it was better than the mid production results. This was probably due to the voice over dialogue we added for our antagonist as the participants got an understanding the of the type of creature he's supposed to be, Freddy Krueger based, and the type of mind games he likes to play on. The 1 "No" votes was probably due to the lack of reasoning of why the villain is tormenting this particular person as it was never explained in the film.

All of the participants agreed that the film's title, credits and music were all appropriate for the horror genre. We used free music websites to try and find circus themed and and suspenseful music for each scene, in order to give the auditorium a party-type atmosphere, and to create suspense when the protagonist is in peril. We chose the music perfectly as everyone said it was appropriate.

 

From these results, it shows that our film was a success as 90% of our participants said they enjoyed watching it. In my opinion, this was due to our film's visual style, unique premise, vast amount of movement, gore and suspense, and enjoyable antagonist. I believe that the 1 vote for not enjoying the film was our lack of narrative as that could have been developed more, giving a premise on why these events are happening.

What do you like most about our film?

After watching our final film, the viewers gave a warm reception to it saying it is better improved from our rough edit and know what the story line is. This is tanks to the voice-over we have put in, as it clearly states why our protagonist is doing these heinous actions, just for fun. He is essentially character who just likes to torment people in a dark manner. What the audience also liked was our antagonist. This was again due to the voice over we added in, as it added that dark humour that made him both charming yet disturbing, which is what we have been aiming for with this character. It made him enjoyable to watch, even when they didn't fully get a grasp of the story.

What do you think we could improve on if we had the chance to do it again?

There was some critique that the audience said could've been better. The biggest reason was the story itself, as they had trouble wondering the backstory of these characters, the personality our protagonist has, and except for the torment process, not fully understanding why our antagonist is torturing this boy. If would do it again, we would write better character descriptions and dialogue so the audience will be fully aware why these events are happening.

Post Production Questionnaire

What genre do you think our film is?

·         Action

·         Adventure

·         Comedy

·         Drama

·         Fantasy

·         Horror

·         Musical

·         Sci-Fi

·         Thriller

What certificate do you think our film is?

·         U

·         PG

·         12

·         15

·         18

What type of people do you think will want to watch?

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Where would you watch it?

·         Cinema

·         Short Film Festival

·         YouTube

·         TV

Do you understand the story?

·         Yes

·         No

Are the titles/music appropriate for the film?

·         Yes

·         No

Do you like our film?

·         Yes

·         No

What do you like most about our film?

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What do you think we could improve on if we had the chance to do it again?

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Mid-Production Questionnaire Results

Mid-Production Questionnaire Results

We asked 10 people at random about what they thought of the rough edit of our film, by watching the film online and giving us feedback about what was both good and bad about it, what could be improved on, and if we managed to attract our target audience. The results below are a accumulation of every input given, showing an overall view of audience and preference.

Due to the small amount of participants in questionnaire, the results may not be 100% accurate of the overall opinion of the public, however it does give a small view in to opinions.

Question 1 - What genre do you think our film is? 

The results from this show that nearly the full majority believe that our film belongs in the horror genre with only one person thinking it's a thriller. Either way, these were the genres want to come across to the viewer, and it shows that we have as that is what the audience voted for.

Question 2 - What rating do you think our film is? 

One person answered twice, hence the extra vote, and despite that 12 age rating, everyone agreed that it deserves a 15 rating, which we thought our film was when it was being developed. Meaning that our rating came across to the audience clearly as they all answered the same.


Question 3 - Do you understand the storyline? 

The results here were more mixed as 20% of the people not understanding the plot at all while 10% was more unsure what the storyline was about. 70% of our results however do say that they understand the storyline and the events that have happened. But it does show that our storyline needs to be fleshed out more for more people to understand.

Question 4 - What aspects of the film did you like? 
Some of the comments that people gave us was that they liked the music as they thought it matched the scene and created tension within the story. They also said that they liked the main characters, as they aligned with the protagonist and wanted him to succeed, and also the filters we gave the clips as it establishes that our victim is in a dream.

Question 5 - What do you think could be improved on? 
The people have suggested that we need to work on our editing as it is not smooth enough and note easy to follow. They also said that some scenes should be edited down as they are a bit too long, and that the narrative is not really clear so it makes it hard to get a grasp on what is happening.

Question 6 - Do you think our music is appropriate? 

This shows unanimous results as everyone personally answered that all our music perfectly fits with our film. This is a success as it shows we picked our music carefully and sensibly, and that all of it fits in with the horror genre.

Question 7 - What is your overall impression of the film? 
People have said the film was good as they liked the characters, lighting and the filters we used as it all helped to define the genre, but also critiqued is by saying the narrative needs be more clear, the ending needs to be better explained, and the editing must be smoother.

Radio Trailer (Script)

SFX: *graduating footsteps + eerie music*

 

N: From the genius minds at Dream Catcher Productions

N: Comes a master-class of modern horror

N: Critics are calling it the most frightening film of a lifetime

 

SFX: *circus music begins playing*

 

N: “Sam Whittaker’s performance kept me awake for weeks”

FD: We’re so glad you could join us

N: “Jake Barker redefines the meaning of fear”

FD: I’m not afraid of you!

 

N: You can’t wake up...

N: You can’t die…

N: There’s no escaping…

SFX: *door creaks*

SFX: *El Cucuy’s laughter*

FD: night niiiiight

 

N: This is…

FD: Sweet Dreams

N: Coming to a theatre near you

 

N – Narration

FD – Film Dialogue

SFX – Sound Effects

Intertextuality in Horror Films Examples

Examples of Intertextuality in Horror

Stranger Things

Stranger Things manages to divert from the predictability we see so much in horror films that intertextualise. We often rarely see originality in intertextualisation with many parodies often referencing other texts that are famous in pop culture.

This video effectively showcases the many ways in which Stranger Things successfully references other texts without destroying its authenticity of being an original piece. Within the first season in particular, the series is in constant reference to ET in the form of the children finding Eleven and including her in their whimsical adventures. However, it is evident within the text that whenever a reference is in fact made that it is done with character development in mind. This is made evident by the character Eleven and her similarities to the protagonists in iconic films such as Poltergeist and The Sixth Sense. However Eleven is not exclusively powerless as she is innocent but can tap into supernatural powers which make her a target for government officials.

Scream

Intertextuality doesn't necessary have to explicit, some references can be subtly presented only so that true fans of both products being talked about can understand the reference. This is seen evident in 'Scream' as the character Billy Loomis is named indirectly after two side characters featured in the cult hit films "Psycho" and "Halloween" in which both characters share the last name 'Loomis'. Although indirect, fans of all 3 films will notice the link purposely added in by producers.



American writer and director, Wes Craven is responsible for the creation of the 'Scream' and 'Friday The 13th' franchises. He makes cameo appearances in all of the Scream films, usually disguised to not make it explicitly obvious to the audience.

 



 

The clip above showcases Wes Craven's cameo in the first instalment to the Scream franchise. As Scream pays homage to various horror films, it was expected for 'Friday The 13th' to be referenced in some form during 'Scream'. However, audiences were left surprised when 'Freddie Kruger', the main antagonist of the Friday the 13th franchise was portrayed by Wes Craven briefly within Scream.

 

 

Radio Trailer Research

Radio Trailer Research

The preliminary purpose of a radio trailer is to entice listeners to watch the film and represent the film successfully by only using sound. Producers can do this with the use of voice-overs (diegetic sound), special effects (non-diegetic sound) and disclaimers that are presented at the end of the trailer to give details about the film. As our film is a psychological horror, audiences can expect our trailer to include jump scares and sound effects that accord to horror genre iconography (screams, door creaks, footsteps, whispers).

 

 

 

 

Below is a video showcasing radio trailers for a variety of classic slasher films including 'The Texas Chainsaw .Massacre' and 'Zombie'. Although these fall under a different subgenre of horror, we can still take examples from these radio spots as there will be similar iconography to that of psychological horror, such as the diegetic sound of door creaks and other horror related sound effects intended to stimulate fear.

I've taken inspiration from these radio spots when creating mine, for example in my trailer I intend to begin my trailer with narration enticing audiences to watch the short film by outlining the stars of the film and the general plot of the film. I intend

Sweet Dreams - Rough Edit

Genre Iconography - Characters

Characters

 The Jock

The Jock's role in a horror film is to be the assumed saviour of the entourage of characters with the exception of the main character and the goof. Only the audience and a few select characters (usually the main protagonist and his friends) know the true intentions of the jock. The jock seems to have the remainder of characters on screen fooled to believe he is the hero.

 

The Cheerleader

Similar to 'the jock', the cheerleader has the majority of characters within the film fooled to believe she is much more  innocent than she truly is. Her intentions are usually very sinister and carried out by manipulating the jock and other characters she seems to have under her spell. She has a very distinct disdain for the main character and their entourage, despite the protagonist's efforts to create peace and get along. She is one of the first to be killed off by the 'monster' or 'murderer.

The Goof/Nerd/Stoner

The goof is one of the very first characters to die in horror films due to his likeable nature and comedic commentary. By killing the goof off just as audiences begin to warm the character symbolises how horror films are intended to be distressing with no happy ending. However, including the goof is integral to the structure of a good horror film as they make the film more believable to the audience as they are somewhat self-aware of what is going on within the film, often subtly breaking the fourth wall to demonstrate this. They have a strong connection with the main character

 

The Sceptic

The Sceptic often imposes the most threat to the villain as they have extensive knowledge on what is going on (similar to mentor or scroll in traditional cinema.) The Sceptic comes close to unveiling the true identity of the killer and sometimes even killing them. However, like any pivotal character in any horror film the Sceptic is ultimately killed by the villain. They do however start the beginning to the end of the villain/monsters killing spree, leaving clues behind for the authorities to come closer to coming triumphant.

Genre Iconography - Props and Clothing

Props and Clothing

Horror film props generally contain weapons, masks and other objects that hold symbolic meaning...

Weapons

Typically we find that in horror weapons that are used tend to be underpowered and need a lot of output from the 'killer'. If say, a gun was used as weapon of choice there would be no suspense in scenes where characters die as it would be over easy and the death would be certain.

Masks

Masks are a somewhat staple of the horror genre. The symbolism of someone's face being covered by a mask conveys multiple ideas of fear. In horror films masks have a fixed emotion, this often reflects the emotions of the killer or the victim.

An example of this can be seen with the mask worn by 'Ghostface', which pays homage to the famous 'Edvard Munch' painting. The mask in 'Scream' is also reflective of the victims emotions of pure fear when 'Ghostface' attacks them.

 

Radio Trailer (Research)

The purpose of a radio trailer is to advertise a film to an audience just through sound, intriguing them enough to watch the film. By using music, narration, quotes from the film and reviews, radio trailers are able to catch the attention of the audience and inform them on aspects of the film to interest them, often presenting the genre and tone of the film. These are effective methods of advertising to a wide audience of people, as it is cheap to produce and easy to project to stations.

 
Film Radio Spots 2013 - Gravity, Pacific Rim, The Conjuring & The Great Gatsby from Angell Sound Studios on Vimeo.

These examples are use aspects of the popular features stated before, which attributes to the effectiveness they had. The dramatic music underneath all the trailers sets the tone for the trailer, showing genre to the audience. The voice over then informs them on who made the film, and who is staring in it, provoking fans of that company or actor to want to watch the film, to see them. Finally, a voice over for the reviews shows the popularity the film has had, using big reviewer names to draw an audience in with lines such as "The greatest movie of the year", seen in many examples for radio trailers.            

Genre Iconography - Settings

Settings

Often we find in horror that settings are extremely relevant to the plot and set the mood for the pivotal moments in the film. For example, in many 'Slasher' horror films it is common to find that they are usually set in an American neighbourhood where the killer disrupts the peace in the town that has been maintained for many years.

In horrors, the story is often told in an abandoned environment that people would usually associate with crowds of people. For example, prisons, asylums, churches, hospitals, theme parks, mansions, shopping malls, etc. However in many psychological horrors, small confined areas are used to convey ideas of isolation and make the audience feel as though they are living within the world created.

Genre Iconography - Camera Work and Special Effects

Genre Iconography - Camera Work and Special Effects

High Angle

These shots consist of the victim being attack usually from the eyes of the attacker. It is intended for the audience to feel as though we are looking down on the victim to denote ideas that they are powerless and the attacker has no mercy for them.

 

Low Angle

Low camera angles are used in horror to portray the killer as extremely powerful and above the victim both metaphorically and literally. These shots often go back and forth with high angles of the victim to give perspectives of both characters.

 

Close Up

Close ups in cinema are used to outline one's emotions in attempt for the audience to relate to them. In horror they typically are used to show a character's anger or fear during a pivotal part of the plot.

Extreme Close Up

Particularly in horror, extreme close ups are used to give undivided attention to a character's particular body part to connote emotion (usually eyes, the mouth, hands and feet).