Evaluation Question 3 - What Have You Learned from your Audience Feedback?

What Have You Learned from your Audience Feedback?

http://jameswestonisthebeston.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/short-film-bernard-bird-audience.html

In order to gather audience feedback, I used Survey monkey to get opinions and ratings on my products. This consisted of a questionnaire, which was distributed to a few people which cover a wide audience range. The age group that was used is around the 17-19 area, as that is the intended audience for the film. The film was shown to all of these, which then were given the survey to complete. The results shows the two most common groups that these people fell into.

 This is the survey's first question, filled with the two most popular answers. Both of these are very good reflections on my film, as they give good ratings for the film. Given that this is immediately after viewing, this is good, as it leaves an impression upon the viewer. The other questions reflect this, as they will have been answered slightly after seeing the film, and they remain positive results. Using this information, I have learned that my film is popular with my target audience, and that it as therefore been successful.

Overall, the Feedback that I have received from the popular answers to the questionnaire are mostly positive. Within question one, both groups gave good ratings, with one being 4 stars and one being 5. Due to one of these being lower then the other, this shows that there is still room for improvement. Question 2 was similarly well received, with answers relating to the level of detail and effects being the most common. alongside this, comments were also made about the animation quality, as well as the characters and narrative developed.

On Question 3, both groups found that the film was effective in it's narrative and visual style, long with the music. This also leaves room or improvement, but is a good starting point, and shows the film, as being popular with these groups. For Question 4, both groups answered highly, with one giving an 8 and the other giving a 9. However, these ratings could be improved, and therefore the method through which the narrative is explained requires improvement in order to be the best that it can be.

For Question 5, both groups had comments to write about the film, both being good. The first group answered with a shorter answer, mentioning the robot's eyes and faces being more effective due to their mobility, allowing for a greater range of emotions to be expressed, which the group notes allows the audience to empathize better. The second group's responses are far larger and much more detailed, mentioning about how there are small visual cues that help to tell the story, to which they then go on to examples from the short film, such as the day/night modes, the eyes on the robots along with the small device that directs them to the battery. They also go on to mention the cinematography of the film, mentioning that they liked the use of camera shots and angles.

Within Question 6, the question asks for dislikes about the film, but the responses do not list much that they didn't like. The first group mentions the ending, saying that it seemed somewhat sudden, which is a complaint that I agree with. Unfortunately, due to the time constraints of the video, a more elaborate ending was not able to be added, but it should be something that could be tweaked should the beginning be shortened or simplified. As for the second group, they had no dislikes that they commented on in the film.

Overall, with these responses being very positive, The reviews reflect that the audience likes the film. However, this does not mean that it is without flaws. Within the 'What Improvements Would You Recommend?', the common responses were that the scenes earlier on in the film should be shortened down in order to focus more on the ending. Following this advice would allow for more time to focus on the ending, as suggested, and make more of the finale. This could make the ending more satisfying for the viewer, leaving the film with a better and more memorable final scene which is longer and more plot-related.

The other comment on this question is that the sound effects could have been better utilized. They point out specifically the robot's 'voices', saying that they should be used more within the film, as well as that more ambient sounds and noises could have been used. This is something that I agree with, and on reflection more sounds could have been added. From this feedback, I have learnt that the audience would like the pacing of the film to be altered, as well as sound and dialogue effects.