Focus Group

For our focus group we emailed a variety of people who we think would suit our target audience. We got them to fill in a table full of different questions which would require them to make positive or negative feedback. We aimed to get around 10-15 collated responses in order to take this action on and to make improvements. We got a mix results of both positive and negative feedback, where as a group we looked for more criticism to make our final draft the best we can. As a group we will come together and we will discuss sections of the film such as camera work, mise-en-scene, sound and editing and overall we will look to make overall improvements.

POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM FOCUS GROUP

From our focus group we got positive feedback. One of the positives we got from an overall perspective is the editing of the film. Everyone on a general basis though the editing was all put together very well. The sequences linked from one after the other. Also another positive response we got was the camera angles. The interchanging shots between the actor and the young boy reflected the idea of flashbacks.Our focus group liked the focus of the actor, where the use of close ups, eye line matches and establishing shots were very effective. Another positive response from the focus group was the use of casting. One thing which stood out was the similar looks of the young boy and the adult. The similar looks makes this opening sequence more realistic.

NEGATIVE FEEDBACK FROM FOCUS GROUP

Even though we gained positive points from the opening sequences there was a variety of negative feedback. One of the negative points which we collated was the meaning from the focus group. Many of the focus group members were unsure of the meaning of the opening sequence and found it difficult to interpret the situation. However, as a group we want the audience to gain a sense of the meaning of the film but we don't want too give too much away. We want too make sure we limit the amount of information we present to audiences. Another negative we collated from the focus group was the sound. The voice over for the tap was responded as unrealistic, with the dripping of the tap not being played along with the timing. Also another negative was the soundtrack that plays along with the opening sequence. A lot of the focus group thought the music didn't interact with the scenes. Also the scream at the end is another thing we look to take out of the opening sequence, where lot of people felt this was distracting and others felt the heartbeat echoing towards the end would be much more effective. The only problem which was linked to editing is the reoccurring sounds that pop up from the editing software 'Final Cut'. We had to explain the problem to the focus group and as a group we hope to look to deal with this problem. The title of the movie was also questioned. From one of the collated responses we found that the title of the movie is too basic. As a group we will rethink this situation but we think it's an appropriate title.

Group photo

From left to right: Me, Chris Malimela and Steven Lawson

Saul Bass

Saul Bass was an American graphic designer who became famous for his logos. He used simple geometric shapes in his work and their symbolisms. He often hand drew his work to create a casual appearance. His main achievement however was the way in which he revolutionized the way that people view title credit sequences.  

Saul Bass` earliest and arguably his most notorious title sequence was that of the man with the Golden Arm. In this he created an arresting image of a distorted, disjointed arm. As well as being disconnected from a body, the black arm has the appearance of being petrified and transformed into something else. Saul stated that, “The intent of this opening was to create a mood spare, gaunt, with a driving intensity… [that conveyed] the distortion and jaggedness, the disconnectedness and disjointedness of the addict’s life the subject of the film.” The soundtrack for this opening was a jazz-like score, and set against a black background, white bars appear, disappear and form abstract patterns before finally coalescing into the film’s symbol. The contrasts between the black and white heighten the loud and harsh intensity, and the separation encapsulate the mood of the main character, a downbeat drummer with a penchant for gambling and drugs. 

Link to the opening of The Man With The Golden Arm-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS76whmt5Yc

Evaluation of first draft of film

The first draft of our film actually went particularly poor.We shot this opening sequence in Summertown within public space. Our idea was meant to recall one of our actors waking up from a bad hangover and ending up outside one of the shops in Summertown. We then would film him waking up, getting up, then would film him walking off. We also thought it was a rainy and windy day which would fit in with the atmosphere of the opening sequence. The type of shots we wanted to include in our opening sequences included Pans, Close ups, eye line matches, establishing shots etc... However, since it was rainy and windy it made it hard for us to film especially when the camera was placed on a tripod. This made slight jerky movements when filming. The parts of the first draft which I thought was very effective is when our actor was walking off when the old women entered the scene and when we added the slow motion effect I thought this was the most effective part of the opening sequence. Also we used voice overs such as a sports car in the introduction which represented the cars going past. We also used a lightning voice over which represented the bad weather and his gloom when walking off.

However the pan up the characters body didn't work out how we wanted it to. This was because the panning was actually jumpy and wasn't a smooth pan up. Also the pan was slightly longer than we had hoped it would be, which may have taken the viewers attention off the film as they became uninterested. Another part of our film we may change is the music we used in our opening. This is because the soundtrack didn't really match the film we made.

Conclusively in our next draft we hope to either improve the pan we used, or get rid of this camera technique completely. We would also like to change our non diegetic soundtrack to a soundtrack that particularly matches our film opening.

Using film and analysis observations to inform our own planning

1.How many credits there are in a typical opening credit sequence? Around 30 in a typical opening.

 2.List the credits that are usually included in conventional order. Actors Director Producers Film company Production designer Music Executive producer Writer

 3. Aspects of narrative in our opening Our narrative will be a dramatic aspect.

 4. How characters are set up in opening Character will be set up in a location which exposes what kind of personality hes got.


 5.Themes of our film is that of drug and alcholoh abuse and also the fragile nature of teenages.

Target audience for our film

Our primary target audience for our film is generally for teenages at school from the age of 15-19. The reason we have set the target audience on this age is because they find the sorts of plots that we have interesting, and they like feeling the suspense and mystery of our film.  The film is generally targeted for a male audience, but it can also be enjoyed by females. Our film is primary targeted for people who live in the city rather than the countryside. This is because our film is located in a city, and people who live in the countryside may not get what the film is trying to get across, as they haven't had an occurrence like the one that occurs in the film. Our film is for an audience who enjoyed films such as: Adulthood, 21 and over and Superhood. The reason for this is that our film is linked to all these films in different ways, and is sort of based on parts of these films. Our film could also have a contrasting target audience of parents who want to become aware and educated about the kind of things that teenagers get up to in there spare. It will also give parents the chance for them to see what kind of signs there children show for them to know that they are on drugs or dealing with them. It will also give parents the chance to see how they should deal with their child, if they are on drugs or dealing with them. Some parents/adults may not enjoy parts of our film, as the film isn't really suitable for that type of audience. But they may just watch it to become educated rather than to watch it for the pleasure of it.

Focus group

A focus group is a group of people joined together to participate in a discussion about a product before its release. I will be gathering and creating a focus group of around 10 friends and family who can give me feedback on the tasks I complete leading up to the film we make.