The focus group provided useful feedback on the opening sequence: They found it engaging and mysterious, with many unanswered questions that compelled them to watch more. They enjoyed the mystery of why the protagonist was running and felt tension from the effective music. However, some had trouble distinguishing reality from flashbacks and identifying the supernatural black figure. Going forward, the filmmakers would make the supernatural threat clearer to cement the horror genre. But overall, the focus group reaction validated that the film targeted the right audience.

1. FOCUS GROUP:
I conducted a focus group with 5 people from our primary audience. I decided to hold this focus
group to help me evaluate the production even further as the questionnaire only gave yes or no
answers. The focus group has given me further information, for example why the audience believed
what they said rather than just yes or no.

2. What did the focus group like about our
opening sequence…
 The focus group said that they thought our opening sequence was engaging as it created a
sense of mystery through many unanswered questions, for example, why was the protagonist
running away? As well as this the focus group stated that after watching the opening sequence
they felt compelled to watch the whole film. This was because they were intrigued to find how
the characters drowned alongside many other unanswered questions that arose during the
opening sequence. The focus group also felt that the music was effective as it helped to build
tension. They believed that this was especially significant when the protagonist started to run
away. The music's volume gradually increased which they believed help to connote the increasing
distress in which the protagonist was feeling. The majority of the focus group liked the fact that
the protagonist was female. They liked this because it seemed like a microcosm of society, as
women, in some social groups today are seen to be much weaker and vulnerable when
compared to males and therefore it helped them, as the audience to understand and relate to
the opening sequence further.

3. What did the focus group not like about our
opening sequence
 The focus group thought that some parts of the opening sequence was difficult too understand, for
example it was quite difficult to spot the black figure above the pool and link it to the fact that it could
be an evil supernatural threat. They thought that we should have made it clearer by including the
figure in more of the shots. This point links to the fact and highlights that we didn’t fully commit to the
horror convention of an unknown antagonist as we preferred to place the focus on her mental illness.
This could have also interfered with the identification of the horror genre as some people could have
mistaken it for a social realism film due to the mental illness elements. Therefore if we were to do this
production again we would definitely focus more on the supernatural threat being the antagonist, by
including the black figure in more of the shots. This would cement the fact that the film was a horror in
the audiences head and prevent any confusion.
 As well as this the focus group said that they found it quite difficult to understand which parts of the
opening sequence were flashbacks and which parts were reality. This lead to slight confusion. However
as much as this caused confusion, this is a positive critique as we believe that most psychological
horrors should begin with lots of unanswered questions, intrigue and mystery. This attracts the
audience and grips them from the start which then makes it compelling viewing.

4. Would we change our audience based on
audience feedback?
 No, we wouldn’t change our target audience. This is because the majority would recommend our
film to others, found the opening sequence engaging and would want to watch the whole film.
These facts prove that we targeted the correct audience.
 However as I mentioned on the spider diagram, if we chose our audience again we would think
about maybe slightly changing our secondary audience so that it targeted a mix race and female
audience.