The document discusses audience feedback for film test screenings. It provides details on different types of test screenings, including intimate screenings with around 100 people and full-scale screenings with up to 400 people. Feedback is used to make final edits to films before wide release. The document also discusses establishing a target audience through research on similar films' demographics and using feedback to further develop marketing materials like posters, trailers, and magazines to effectively engage the target audience.

1. What have you learned
from your audience
feedback?

2. Film Industry and Audience
ResearchBefore a film is released to the public, a test screening allows a select few to preview the
film in order to gauge an audiences reaction to the film. Typically a range of the population
is sampled to get opinions from every age, range, ethnic group.
Organised in association with production companies, distributors and other related
agencies, Post Production Test screening are held to glean feedback for use in the final
edit. Two scales of recruited post production screenings are offered: Intimate Screenings
or Full Scale Test Screenings. For an Intimate Screening, around 100 individuals are
recruited and the film is shown either at a post facility, small preview theatre, or at one of
small screen in a multiplex cinema. Screenings of this scale are usually requested by
production companies looking to lock a film and are tailored to meet their specific needs.
For a full scale post production screening, audiences of up to 400 will be shown the film
and, although feedback has a greater quantitative thrust, standard industry measures are
supplemented by open-minded questions. Focus groups fully investigate production
issues.

3. Our Audience/ Target Market
Exploring and finding films that we are inspired by, is important as were able to start to understand the target audience were
aiming for. Therefore carrying out secondary research is an essential as were able to receive the basic knowledge and
understanding of finding out, what our target audience may want or need. I decided to look at a few teen drama films with the
help from the British cinema advertising company in finding out the statical outcome of the age group that have watched the
film. The first film I looked is called 'If I Stay', starring star Chloë Grace Moretz as the main character facing huge obstacles that
life brings, forced to consider her own mortality after a near-fatal car crash leaves her considering how she should live her life in
this troubled way. With her sub-conscious self trapped inside her own body yet roaming the halls of the hospital her and her
family lay after the accident. We see what it may be like to live knowing what an out of body experience is like, yet also seeing
the ones around you who love you care after they think the worse. The certificate for this film is a 12A, meaning that it had quite
a young audience. When finding the audiences age and gender, the results are what you think. The highest percentage age
group was 15-24 with 33% of the audience being between that age group. We also saw a much higher increase in female to
males who watched the film, which is again not a shock.
Target audience. A target audience is the intended audience or readership of a publication, advertisement, or other
message. In marketing and advertising, it is a particular group of consumers within the predetermined target market,
identified as the targets or recipients for a particular advertisement or message.
We also looked at mean girls and saw the same result. Our target
audience is from the ages 15-24 this was helped by doing
research behind other feature films that are in the same genre of
our film. This was done through the website – ‘Pearl & Dean’. Like
any high production value film they too will have to do mass
research behind the audiences that they are targeting. Audience
feedback from the correct target market was needed because
hearing from the target market about what we could improve/or
what worked well so we can develop everything even further.
If we had not established nor researched the audiences that we
are directing our film towards it could cause issues with the way in
which the poster is layed out, or the magazine and the way in
which the poster is edited together, the target market needs to be
established through the three final products.

4. This is a really effective marketing tactic: taking some of the faults and staples of a distinctive generation and creating a parody
that they can both learn from and laugh at. In the Stephanie Kaplan article, she explains the importance of knowing one’s
audience in the best way possible, in order to come up with nearly fool-proof marketing techniques. The Gretchen Weiners
characters reference is to one of the core members of The Plastics, who seems to be the social guide and code of rules and
regulations in “girl world”. The same way film distributors had to know and understand the ins and outs of their target audience,
Gretchen Weiners knew nearly everything about everyone in North Shore High.
The film surrounds the evolution of protagonist, Cady Heron (played by Lindsay Lohan), a shy foreigner to both America and
teen American social guidelines in high school. Amicably, the film does a great job of poking fun at stereotypical high school
situations that most girls experience. The undercurrent effect is that the film is really raising a mirror to its audience of teenage
females so that they see their own high school experiences. It is important to note that despite the film’s main characters’ race
being white the lessons to take away are applicable to a wide racial demographic, and arguably even to teenage boys!

8. As a class we went through each rough cut of everyone’s group production and were told to fill out the sheet above in which
consisted on giving feedback of the strengthens, weaknesses and improvements for each teaser, poster and magazine. Each group
filled out one sheet for every group, we were then told after finishing watching all of them to give our feedback to the allocated
groups. We also had a question at the bottom of the paper asking, 'How effective is the branding?' - is there a clear connection
between all the products.
The photos above showing our audience feedback, all had similar answers.
Positive Feedback - We got told that we had good ranges of shots and smooth editing with the shots and the music matching. We
also were told the genre and the sensitive vibe of the trailer were expressed in a both professional and respectful way. Good
transitions between shots and the proxemics of the characters are well presented, as well. Good use of frameing. The makeup and
costumes for the characters aren't distracting for the viewer and its clever how over time the characters start to look more rough. We
were very happy with the positive feedback.
Negative Feedback – There’s no dialogue and we could potentially leave some more enigma and shorten it a bit so we don't
give too much away. Which is what we knew anyway but glad to see that it's not just us and in fact the audience felt the same, which
means we can work on moving some shots around or taking them out to leave more enigma, as after all it's called a teaser trailer, so
we should be thinking about teasing our audience with the small time we have too. We could show the title of the actual film for a bit
longer because it just flashes up and it could potentially be tricky to read.

9. Overall
We learnt from the audience feedback that there were areas
that could be improved, this was largely suggested in the first
session of feedback; we learnt that we needed to adjust and
develop the poster as well as the magazine. Using the
feedback for development as well as improvement for the final
products was the solution we had come too. From the
audience feedback we have learnt that brand identity is a key
role with our three products the audience need to be able to
recognise our products through simple visuals, such as the
colour schemes this was criticized with the audience feedback.
Futhermore; we have learnt that audience feedback allows us
to know what the target market have enjoyed/ complimented
about our three products, this allows us to pursue and develop
what they said they liked about the products, and adjust what
the audience suggested within the feedback that was given.

10. Before, we went with quite a
simplistic layout and just started
to research the other elements,
without incorporating them within
our work.
After adding all the
elements and conventions
of a film poster, we started
to add links in which
connected all three of our
products together to create

11. This design was just a basic
look of what we wanted to
achieve. We used the
feedback we received to
improve the design, colour
scheme and composition of
When finishing off our front
cover we made sure to include
all the feedback we received for
the improvements and
developing idea.

12. Feedback
With the feedback we received you can see the importance
and values it contains; just by looking at the difference the
feedback has made to our poster, the feedback is what alters
the draft and finished product. With original feedback we
were suggested to change the font , and we listened and
took in the feedback and changed the font on one of the
products (magazine). Looking at the previous slides it
demonstrates the effects what the audience have to say and
the development that research simply from the feedback; I
have learnt the high value in which these feedback forms
contains and how it can dramatically improve the finished
product.
The audience feedback is what drives a development with
any product that is in it’s different stages from development
to finished; the feedback is what will affect the overall
outcome that is being produced.