The document discusses how film studios conduct test screenings before a film's release to get audience feedback. It describes two types of post-production test screenings - intimate screenings with around 100 people and full-scale screenings with up to 400 people. The feedback from these screenings is used to make final edits to the film. It also discusses how the feedback has a greater quantitative impact for full-scale screenings but standard industry measures are supplemented with open-ended questions and focus groups.

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!

5. The photos above show what other groups thought
about our promotional package, and as shown we
received quite positive feedback from the first
group with almost all apart from camerawork being
excellent. They also commented further by saying
that colour scheme and editing themes match and
the images in the magazine and poster are similar.
This meant that our brand identity was clear and
showed links between each product. We were also
pleased to see that they knew we followed
common conventions from real media platforms for
each product.
The main purpose of feedback is to improve and
develop your ideas and creations further. This
meant when we saw constructive feedback, we
made sure to change what most of our viewers
thought was better. The first group suggested the
font on our magazine should stay the same to
enable more links when thinking about our brand,
however with the research and planning of our
magazine company, we saw that they use a
different style. They also suggested adding more to
the poster as it could come across unclear about
the genre as the only convention of a teen drama
was the images of teen, which only suggest teens

6. With this group, we saw a slightly different response
from the other feedback sheets. Overall, they believe
we had clear links between our promotional package,
which was successful. We then saw that the majority
of there opinions were ‘Good’ with two being
Excellent and one being ‘OK’. They also thought
when watching it that the camerawork and editing
was really effective and visually pleasing. This was
probably on of the most positive important feedbacks
we could receive, as we spent a lot of time making
sure that the camerawork and editing of our
production was accurate and professional looking.
On the other hand, a continuous piece of advice we
saw a pattern of when receiving feedback, was the
style of font on our magazine. We knew we’d be
questioned on why the font is different to the other
two products however, when researching for a
magazine company, ‘Entertainment Weekly’ used
their own style of what they believe showed a
different side to a film. It can act as a form of true
identity of advertisement, therefore we changed the
style, yet still keeping certain elements of our brand
to make sure it’s not to different, and our audience
can still identify the promotional package.

7. 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.

8. 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.
Therefore; 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.

9. 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

10. 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.

11. 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.