(M3) Evaluate feedback from the audience, identifying strengths and weaknesses

From this question, we got responses of varying lengths all with a positive reaction to the visual components and shots from the film. The responses here communicate that our video quality was professional, clear and carefully planned. This is very a positive response group which is great as it shows that everything we planned went successfully and the film looked as professional as intended.

Personally, I think that the light levels and panning could have been improved on some of the shots. For example, some of the shots in the end sequence have shaky tracking or generally abrupt movement. Similarly, some shots in the beginning sequence are overexposed, and some are underexposed. These are very minor adjustments and differences but make an impact on the final film. Luckily these adjustments can be made in post production so we can sort that out with no issues or re-filming.

From this questions, we could determine that the audio quality in terms of speaking and understanding is okay. However, there are some anomalies in foley sound, music and ending credits. One of the responses highlights the use of copyrighted music at the end of our film, whilst also stating that this audio was played too loud. In future, if we were presenting this on a public platform to an audience, we would be obligated to use royalty free music to ensure there are no problems with copyright infringement. Similarly, we would alter the audio levels at the end of the film to make sure that it is not too loud, which may be uncomfortable for an audience if it is too loud.

Personally, I think that audio levels throughout the film were kept level and conservative. Other than the very end credits scene the audio levels were not, at any points, too low or too high.

This question was one of the most important from our list. The question asked about the quality of our final edit, which is a crucial part of the filmmaking process. The response to this question was overall positive, as people enjoyed the flow, pacing and transitions that are used within the film. The style that we were hoping to achieve was a professional editing style, that complimented the shots in our film. Some of the responses sad that our editing was professional, which means we were successful in doing this.

This question was included to gain some personalised feedback from the audience. This also showed us which shots were either the most suitable or the most impressive from the production. The feedback here highlighted that there were many different shots that people liked, rather than just one. This is good as it means that the film is versatile and it has many strong points rather than just one.

This question was based from our location choices. We chose all of our locations carefully, but had to change one of our locations due to unsafe conditions and flooding. The responses here also state that we had chosen strong locations, and that they fit the style, narrative and genre of the film production.

Again, this was an opinionated question to get an overall response from the audience about our film. The question was blunt and simple, asking the audience if they liked the film personally. The feedback was 100% positive, which shows to us that many different types of people liked the film. This is good feedback as it means that the film was generally enjoyable and good quality, which is exactly what we wanted to achieve when creating our film.

Personally, if I was to improve anything, I would make some of the shots in the film more stable. For example, in the initial travel scene at the start of the film, I feel that some of the shots could have been smoother than therefore look more professional. Realistically, for this, the best thing we could use would be a camera gimbal however we didn't -and still don't- have access to a camera gimbal.

So, taking feedback from this, I would go back out and retry each shot until I have it as smooth as I possibly can without using a tripod or a camera gimbal for the movements.

https://youtu.be/EP-eiwIwU4k

In this video, we received feedback from BAFTA Connect Member and Filmmaker Wayne Sables, from Doncaster in South Yorkshire.

He gave us a lot of positive comments about how our film was made, and the quality of our shots swell as the narrative as a whole.

He also gave us some more refined improvements than the forms that we gained responses from. For example, he pointed out some specific shots, such as the montage walking sequence at the start of the film and suggested that some of the shots run for longer in that sequence. He thought that some of the shots were cut too short which made the sequence feel too quick for a simple walking sequence. This would be a great improvement as it would slow down the pace at the start until everything happens.

Furthermore, he thought that one scene specifically needed improving. When the train goes past around 2 minutes into the film, he said that the edit should have cut to black rather than been instant. I agreed with this, as this was our original plan for editing. This would have been moire unexpected and surprising, especially as the screen goes to black as the protagonist turns off the light.

In conclusion, the feedback we received was a large majority positive, which shows that our hard work producing and creating the film did not go unnoticed.