EVALUATION QUESTION 3:

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR AUDIENCE FEEDBACK?

As shown through the data, we achieved our aim of creating a film in the horror genre since
more than half of the respondents identified conventions of the horror genre. From some of the
more detailed feedback we got, we found that this was due to features such as the stabbing
shots and use of fake blood and makeup, as well as the build in music, causing heightened fear
amongst audiences. However, it is important to note that 3 of our respondents (6%) felt that our
trailer was of the drama genre, which could be due to the fact that we explore the theme of
relationships between people such as from brothers (characters of Alex and Jordan) and
friendship (between Adrien and Samantha), which is typical of the drama genre.

This can also be applied to our apocalyptic sub-genre (as shown above) in which 59% of
respondents felt that it was extremely relevant to the apocalypse sub-genre, from feedback it
became evident that this was largely to do with the news clips, editing and the difference in the
busy shots in London as well as the empty shots of train station and fields. However, the
amount of people who felt that the apocalypse sub-genre was somewhat relevant rather than
very relevant was close (48%) which could be due to the fact that we did not use a large
amount of gore which may have been expected of a trailer with horror as the main genre.
Additionally, audiences may have felt that the trailer was only somewhat relevant due to the
fact that it would have come across as more apocalyptic if we were able to gain a budget. This
would have allowed us to spend money on makeup and costume, making the actors and
infected people more suited to the genre and also allow us to create more destructed settings,
adhering to the apocalyptic genre.

The fact that 84% of our respondents felt that they would see the film after watching the trailer,
proves that our production was successful in its task of enticing audiences to see the film. The
16% who responded saying that they would not watch it may have chosen to due to the fact that
they are not fans of the horror apocalyptic genre or felt that they would not enjoy the creation as
a film due to various reasons. However, overall, the result we gained from this question is
extremely positive and shows that a film version of The Aftermath trailer is an idea which
appeals to many who watched it. This feedback proves that our trailer is highly effective due to
the fact that we were able to create enigma, convey the plot and also have a good structure in
which we could demonstrate the plot to the audience clearly.

Our chosen age group during the creation of the trailer was 15-25 years of age, which caused
us to be pleased by the fact that 92% of responses also felt that this was the age group in which
our film trailer would appeal to. The reason that the film is likely to appeal to this audience is due
to the fact that the main character of Samantha, is played by a 17 year old, therefore, audiences
of this age may feel like they can identify with her character. Additionally, many of the infected
characters were within the ages of the target market and therefore, this may cause audiences to
have more interest in the film so that they can see how their age group has been represented.
This would also help to explain why a respondent felt that the target audience would be suitable
for those aged 25+ or 40+ since the main protagonist fits into both these categories and
therefore, they may have felt that is could attract an older audience.

As a group, we spent a large amount of time deciding the settings we would film in due to the
fact that it is a vital part of showing the world as apocalyptic and deserted. It would not have
made sense for there to be many people around during the filming, due to the fact that the
population would have presumably decreased, therefore, we ensured that we filmed at times
when there would not be many people and worked at places which we thought would suit the
storyline through showing the characters isolation. For this reason, we filmed a large majority in
places which were not highly populated and also used forests, therefore, it is good to know that
96% of respondents believed that these were highly effective locations and setting. These
locations and settings were incredibly effective due to the fact that they emphasise the journey
in which the protagonists have taken, as shown through the large range of locations,
emphasising that they have travelled far, especially through the walking shots. The fact that
many of the settings are shown with just the two main protagonists walking also emphasises the
isolation of the post-apocalyptic world and the fact that they are excluded from society they
experienced before the apocalypse.

Due to the large amount of shots we had taken, we were extremely careful in the way in which
our narrative was constructed and therefore kept checking with others that the trailer was
making sense. Although a lot of our clips were not used, I feel that this ensured that there were
no unnecessary clips which would have made the trailer feel long and confusing. To achieve
this, we planned a three act structure and the particular shots which would go into these to
check that the shots we planned on using were effective without giving away too much
information about the storyline. This worked well for us due to the fact that 87.76% of our
responses agreed that the narrative was made clear in the trailer. In our qualitative data we
received a response which stated that the storyline was slightly unclear which may be due to
the amount of montages and quick cuts we had, however, it is more important to note that the
majority felt the narrative was clear.
In order to ensure that the trailer had a clear narrative, we planned the storyline in terms of a
three act structure, which we found was done by many other film trailers. Therefore, before
editing we planned out every detail of the film into acts (as shown below) and ensured that
these acts were separated clearly through use of different musical items and types of shots. For
example, act three differs to act one due to the fact that it is heavily based on the montage
which is incorporated with fast paced music and a crescendo, whereas, act one is based on the
introduction of the storyline and therefore a more monotone musical item, keeping the focus on
the shots.

A large majority of our time was spent on looking for music and ensuring that it fitted in well with
the clips we had put into the sequence. We wished to have many shots which were in time with
the music in order to keep the audience interested in the trailer and enticed into wanting to know
what would happen next. A good example of this is through the fact that we had three different

music pieces to separate each act and deliberately got music which was increasingly building
towards the end of the trailer, to heighten suspense and tension. Our trailer began with a piece
called Intimidation which was mainly made up of beats with a monotone sound in the
background, keeping the focus on the busy shots of London which lead up to the news flashes
and montages on them in which we used various cinematic noises. After this, we used a piece
called Wrong Turn in which a dull sound was played throughout the clip with random small drum
beats. Using a diminuendo, we were then able to progress onto a piece called The Escalation
which then led onto various other pieces and back to The Escalation for the ending of our
trailer and the montage.

We decided to focus our trailer on modern conventions of the horror genre as well in incorporate
classical conventions of the genre such as the use of gore (achieved by our fake blood and
makeup). The modern intake of the horror genre can be seen in the fact that our titles have a
clear and modern look to them due to the fact that they are on the shots themselves rather than
after on a black screen which would have been a feature of classic horror films. We kept to all
our media products being a modern example of the horror genre through the characters we
used as well. For example, conventional horror films usually base their trailer on the female role
being vulnerable and in need of rescuing. However, we decided to go against this and
modernise gender roles in our trailer through making our protagonists both have heroic roles
within the storyline, as also emphasised through the use of both characters on the film poster
and also that there is no hierarchy of power shown through their positioning on the film poster.
Despite this, we also used many conventions of the horror genre such as the dim lighting, used
to emphasise the post-apocalyptic world due to the fact that it would not have made sense to
have bright lighting which would have connoted a positive and utopian world.

We chose the title due to the fact that it holds relevance with the apocalyptic sub-genre since it
is based in a post-apocalyptic time. Therefore, the narrative matches the name The Aftermath
and from the action shown in the trailer, it is clear as to why this is the cause of the title.
However, after gaining feedback from respondents who claimed to have said no to this question,
I became aware that the reason as to why the title did not seem relevant to the trailer is due to
the fact that they had a lack of understanding as to what the word aftermath means. Another
reason for this could also be due to the fact that we may not have made it clear that the film
world was based in a post-apocalyptic time and it may have been presumed to have been
based in the time of the apocalypse, making the title seem irrelevant.

We deliberately worked with the same colour schemes, characters, font types and many other
qualities to ensure that they worked well and complimented each other, which is shown to have
been effective through the fact that 96% of our respondents felt the three components did
complement each other. The colour scheme of the poster and trailer were well incorporated due
to the fact that they all had edited lighting, in order to ensure that it created an apocalyptic look.
Although we could not incorporate this into the magazine cover (due to the fact that magazine
covers all follow their own colour schemes and not one matched to the film they promote), the
fact that the cover was mainly based on the colour white, it provided the clear, modern look we
had achieved in the trailer and poster. Additionally, the font types we had chosen to use (Futura,
Times and Dedicus Putro) were used across the poster and trailer and therefore complimented
each other, especially due to the fact that the title is recognisable by the font, which is bold and
in capitals. The same can be said for the FilmMaker title of the magazine cover in which it is in
a bold, modern looking font which matches our own title choice.