1. 1. Cold Blood Evaluation 4 Beth Quittenton
2. 2. What have you learnt from audience feedback?
3. 3. The focus group feedback for our psychological horror trailer Cold Blood helped my group to improve the trailer through the use of positive comments, as well as constructive criticism. A lot of people said that the use of loud music is suitable for our type of trailer, and it is also conventional due to the use of breakbeat style music in the popular Evil Dead (2013) trailer. We also used a variety of shots throughout the trailer which was highlighted by many in the class feedback session. Another positive comment was about how the trailer didnt give too much of the overall narrative away, but it gives the audience enough to understand the plot and become intrigued as to how the film is going to end.
4. 4. Our trailer also received some criticism, some of the audience members didnt like how frequent the black- outs are throughout the trailer. Another common comment was about how the use of inter-titles would explain the overall narrative of the story better to the audience. During our focus group, the audience also said that the ending needs to be more dramatic, and that the use of a jump scare could create this.
5. 5. I agreed with some of the comments after the initial focus group screening. We saw how inter-titles would help to explain the narrative more clearly to the audience. I also agreed with how the use of a jump scare at the end would build a lot of tension and make our trailer fit more into the genre of horror, rather than thriller. I disagree with the comment about how the black- outs are too frequent. Our group has focused on matching the pacing of the music with the editing, this would therefore build a tense atmosphere; therefore I think that the black-outs are not too frequent, I think that they help to build tension throughout the trailer. Although I disagreed with the comment my group opted to remove some of the black-outs to see whether or not it improved the overall atmosphere of the trailer.
6. 6. Our average score was 8 out of 10. I was happy with this score as this was our first rough cut, and after the focus group screening we set about to re-edit our trailer to increase the score even further. We first decided to add inter-titles throughout the trailer so that the narrative was explained better. We made sure that the inter-titles were strategically placed throughout the trailer so that it still fitted with the music and built tension throughout. We also added a jump scare at the end, where the new Lizard-Man jumps towards the camera. We also moved some of the footage at the start, and the middle about so that the trailer built a more tense atmosphere in preparation for the final jump scare. We thought that this would have an emotional effect on the audience and persuade them to watch the final film. We also decided to add in some more footage of Jason in the chair after he has been captured and tied up. These additional shots meant we could remove some of the black-outs and made the trailer more conventional and enticing.
7. 7. Cold Blood subsequently received a range of praise as well as constructive criticism during the evaluation screening. There were a lot of comments on how well the jump scare at the end of the trailer works, and how the range of shot distances, as well as different highs and angles gave out trailer an edge. The audience also liked how well the editing fits with the music, and how the editing as well as the music helps to build tension in preparation for the jump scare at the end. The inter-titles also helped the audience to understand the plot more clearly than before. The use of darker shots in the second half of the trailer are also effective when bringing the audience into the second half of the trailers narrative. This contrast in the mise-en-scene allows the audience to get a sense of how the second half of the trailer is more darker and more intense than the first half.
8. 8. We still received a few criticisms. Some of the audience members thought that some of the inter-titles were too short, and that they didnt have enough time to read them when they were on screen. A few people said that there are too many blackouts during the trailer, and that this made the trailer lose effect. One person said that we should try adding dialogue to the trailer too.
9. 9. When reviewing some of the criticisms that Cold Blood received I understood why some of the criticisms were made, but I couldnt see how we could resolve some of them without putting the trailer and the music out of sync. The comments about how some of the inter-titles were too short is unfixable unless we want the footage and music to be out of sync, and if that happens then the trailer will lose the tense effect that it builds throughout. Also, the blackouts are in time with the music, so if we got rid of a few of them then it wouldnt build as much suspense. We have decided as a group that we are going to try and add some dialogue into the trailer, but we are not going to keep it in if it doesnt fit with the overall mood of the trailer.
10. 10. Throughout the editing of our trailer, we have posted webisodes onto our blog. In the majority of them there is dialogue, therefore this introduces the characters and their character roles. Stake Land (2011) also uses this technique as a strategy campaign for the advertisement of their film.
11. 11. Cold Blood received mostly nines out of ten. I am very happy with this score as I think that Cold Blood has many good points within the trailer, and it follows typical horror trailer conventions. The jump scare now adds drama to the end of the trailer, while the fast-paced editing throughout managed to maintain interest with the rest of the students in our group.
12. 12. Evaluation Screening
13. 13. Focus Group Screening
14. 14. Final Trailer