The document discusses methods for filmmakers to receive audience feedback, including test screenings, websites like Rotten Tomatoes, and questionnaires. It then summarizes the feedback received from showing a trailer to friends and classmates. Feedback was mostly positive, though some noted the lack of dialogue and similarities to Kill Bill. Interim feedback from teachers helped improve the trailer by adding more sound effects. Social media feedback was also positive and a good way to reach wider audiences. The importance of feedback throughout the process is discussed.

1. Evaluation Question 3
What have you learned from
audience feedback?
JARKKO TANNINEN

2. Methods
 One effective way for filmmakers to gain feedback is to
organize pre-release showings of their films. Members from
the both the target audience and general audience are
invited and asked to critique the movie. An example of
this comes from Quentin Tarantino who, after a
showing, decided to make the dog attack scene in
Django Unchained less gory as the audience found it too
violent.
 Another helpful way to receive critique is through
websites such as Rotten Tomatoes. The feedback will be
given by a variety of people, including people who are
not in the target audience. The websites often also show
film reviews written by journalists, allowing the filmmakers
to see how professionals have perceived their product.

3. Our process
 In order to gain feedback, our group created a questionnaire
which we asked our friends and other students to fill out after
watching our trailer. The questionnaire includes both open and
closed questions, which helps to produce a variety of
data, including statistical information. Questionnaires are a
reliable source of data as the audience will likely give honest
feedback due to the anonymity.
 We wanted to include a variety of elements on which the
audience could comment, e.g. editing, genre and narrative.
Besides answering “yes” or “no”, they were given the chance to
write down their thoughts and comments. This helped us
produce qualitative data, which gave us a better
understanding of which specific areas could be improved.

4. Target Audience
 It is crucial for filmmakers to identify their target audience. This helps them to choose
specific elements for both the main and the ancillary products which will attract the
audience members to watch the film and therefore increase the box office sales.
 The focus group for the feedback mainly consisted of our target audience
members, i.e. females aged 18+. This helped us to understand whether we had
succeeded in creating a film that would please the target audience and whether we
had understood which elements would attract them.
 We also asked a variety of people outside our target audience to respond to our
trailer in order to gain a wider picture of whether the film would be a success and
how different audiences will react to the genre/narrative/etc.

5. Class Feedback
We asked our focus group to rate our trailer on a scale of 1-10. Gladly we received an
estimated average of 8,3 which shows that the participants really did like our trailer. The
only person who gave a rating of 10 was expectedly female and overall females gave
higher ratings than males (4 females and 3 males gave a rating of 9). This portrays that we
have succeeded in reaching our target audience and that females are indeed more likely
to relate to a female protagonist.
The majority of the people who filled in the
questionnaire said that they would watch our
project as an actual feature film. 10 of the 15
participants were female so there is a bias, however
this further suggests that our target audience is
intrigued and our trailer is successful in reaching this
demographic. The only answer of “No” came from a
male, showing that our female protagonist and the
feminist approach might not excite the male
audience as much as the female audience.

6.  We mainly received positive comments and here are some of the points
that were made:
“Great shots, I especially like the disco light-transition!”
“The trailer doesn‟t reveal too much”
“The music really works with the shots and make the trailer even more
dramatic”
“Nice to see a female protagonist who isn‟t weak”
“Really like the graphics, very Kill Bill!”
“The genre is clearly established with the props and the voiceover”
 Here are some examples of the negative feedback we received:
“There is no dialogue”
“The characters are not introduced well enough, I wanna learn more about
their backstories”
“The story and the graphics are too much like Kill Bill”
“Some of the sound effects don‟t work that well”

7.  Most of the participants labelled the film correctly as an indie film and
recognized the target audience to consist of females.
 The opinions on the film certification were divided as some people
pointed out the violence in the film and thus, assumed the certification
to be 18, whereas others suggested 15. No one chose a classification of
less than 15.
 Many participants mentioned that the crime genre was clearly visible
and the gun was the main clue.
 Our narrative was intriguing, however some mentioned that it wasn‟t
developed fully enough in the trailer, due to lack of dialogue and a
wider range of shots.
 We received many positive comments on our camera shots as
participants said that we had movement and interesting angles.

8. Ancillary products
Instead of creating a questionnaire to gain
feedback on my our ancillary products, I asked
my friends and family members to comment on
them orally. This might have affected the
feedback as the participants are biased and
might not have been completely honest.
 Overall, both of the products received excellent feedback. Many described them as “professional-
looking” and liked the cohesiveness in terms of colours and ideas.
 Some people appreciated the simplicity of the poster whereas others said that it would work better with an
actual background and more colours. Many people said that the brushstrokes work really well and
connote blood. The red light-effect on the film title divided opinions as some people would have preferred
it black.
 The focus group really liked the experimental take on our magazine cover and mentioned that they would
stop if they saw it on a shelf in a shop. Negative comments mainly focused on the font of the issue title as
some people thought it wasn‟t rough enough.

9. Interim Feedback
 One of the most effective and fastest ways to improve our trailer was getting interim
feedback from our teachers and fellow students. As the project progressed, we were
able to show our teachers what we had created and they were able to immediately tell
whether it worked or not.
 For example, our teacher suggested that we include more sound effects than we
originally had. This helped the trailer to look and sound more realistic and created more
tension. Originally we didn‟t have the siren effect when the “There is no escape”-title
appears, but by adding the sound effect the title pops out even more and the effect
works as an excellent sound bridge between the title and the shot of Eirene running. In
addition, the teacher‟s suggestions helped us choose which shots we should use. After
working on a project for a long time, the makers can easily become „blind‟ for the
material so it is important to get opinions from people who are not as biased and can
see the material with new eyes.

10. Social Media Feedback
 Web 2.0 has made it easy to share opinions and give feedback online. We were able to upload
our trailer on social networking sites such as Facebook and Youtube, and receive comments from
both friends and strangers. Web 2.0 allows filmmakers to reach a wider audience as anyone can
access the film material. This makes the feedback process more interactive.
 Web 2.0 is a fast and cost-free method to gain feedback and simultaneously get more publicity
for the products. Therefore it is perfect for low-budget indie films such as ours, which do not have
an excessive budget for marketing.
 The feedback gained from social media was more positive than those gained through surveys.
Giving feedback online is an even more anonymous and more relaxed manner than by sitting in
front of the filmmakers‟ and filling out a questionnaire. Online there are no specific questions
which will make the audience write down their overall thoughts instead of specific criticism.

11. Importance of feedback
 Even though the feedback was mainly positive, reading about how others perceived
our trailer did help to understand that not everything we liked worked for others. In
terms of both the trailer and ancillary products, subtle changes could be made to
please a wider audience and intrigue more people.
 One of the main things I would change in the trailer is the lack of dialogue. The
comments suggest that the narrative would have been more clearly established with
some scenes involving oral interaction between the characters.
 Getting audience feedback throughout the process has been extremely helpful as we
have been able to hear unbiased opinions on our products. We found out that
reaching our target audience has indeed worked and our trailer has succeeded in
creating an intrigue. Making improvements based on the feedback would help to
reach a larger audience if the film came out and thus create a more successful
product.