After completing the first draft of our soap trailer, the next step was to get audience feedback. Audience feedback would be useful to us as a way of people giving us their opinions about the trailer; what they found to work well, and what didn't work well. To do this, we uploaded our video on Web 2.0 as a way of connecting with people. Facebook and Youtube were the main ones we uploaded to as these social networks meant that friends, family and even strangers could give us feedback.
The AS media class were asked to watch our trailer in class and respond to a set of ten yes or no questions provided. They were also doing a similar project to us, creating a film trailer and using the same skills, so their input would be very useful. The questions they were asked are as follows:
1. After watching the trailer, would you say the trailer is advertising the soap genre?
All of our feedback for this question was positive, with the students answering 'yes'. This shows that the genre of our trailer is quite obvious, and therefore, while some improvements still need to be made, so far we are successful.2. Would you watch the soap after watching the trailer?
The majority of answers to this question were yes, other than one which said 'maybe'. I believe that because of this, we must have done well with the pacing and music to make it exciting.
3. Is the music appropriate?
Most people felt that the music was appropriate however some were unsure. In the end we decided to keep this music the same as the made our video choppier, and many said that the music suited it better after.
4. Should there be text with the voice-over?
The feedback for this question was about half and half with 'yes' and 'no'. We therefore decided to use text but not directly linked with the voice over.
5. Is the trailer the right length?
All but one felt that our trailer was the right length, but we felt it was too long in comparison to other trailers and decided to cut quite a few seconds out.
6. Are there enough stereotypical characters?
Every person answered yes, showing that we had done well in introducing our characters and what they represent.
7. Is there a variety of shot types?
Once again, 'yes' was answered for this question. This shows that we had managed to portray soap conventions by using typical shots, as well as adding in some unusual shots to make it a little different and exciting The shots were also used to portray the characters emotions.
8. Is there anything that could be improved?
The main feedback was that the voice-overs couldn't be heard very easily so to resolve this we simply turned them up slightly and 'dipped' the music whilst the non-diagetic speech was playing. Whilst others said that nothing needed to be improved.
9. What works well?
We were told that our use of shots and editing worked well, that we used appropriate effects and that the storyline was easy to follow. Acting skills and the use of diverse characters was something that a few also mentioned.
10. Is the editing appropriate?
All answered 'yes' to this question, showing to us that not only had our camera work improved from last year, but also our editing skills.
Overall, the feedback was positive, however there were some constructive criticism after our first draft, such as:
- Too long for a trailer, needs to be choppier to add pace.
- Make the on screen text larger.
- Keep text on screen for longer.
- Music starts off too slowly at the beginning, cut to further in the song, also adding to the pace.
- Move the speech of the 'black haired girl' to make it seem less non-diagetic.
After recieving this feedback, we went back and looked at our trailer and understood what they had said. The text was too small and didn't stay on screen for very long, but we hadn't realised this since we had watched it through so many times. There was also the issue that the music worked well, but the actual video wasn't fast paced enough to work well with it, and so we went back and changed this too.
We also received comments saying that it was 'really good' and that after watching our trailer they would be interested in watching the soap.
The audience feedback has been extremely helpful, especially the feedback from our target audience, as it has allowed me to understand what an audience would want out of a soap and what they find appealing. Through their constructive criticism, I began to see parts that were inconsistant and possibly didn't fit in with the soap conventions we had layed out. After we went back and made the changes, we uploaded another draft, our final draft, and again asked for feedback. This time, the feedback was very positive and not much constructive criticism was given, and so I believe this means that there 2was a great improvement thanks to the feedback.
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