To find out what we could have done to make our trailer better and find out what aspects of the trailer people liked the most, we set up a screen in class where our trailer was shown to around 15 students who were able to give us feedback. This feedback consisted of both strengths and weaknesses that they could see within our trailer, this was then written down and given to us as a group. We found that a lot of the things that were said were very similar in ways and so this gave us main areas that we should focus on if we were to edit the trailer or make another one.

I found that many of the strengths we were given consisted of the shots we has placed in trailer, a few of the shots being particularly popular; the bird’s eye view of the Ouija board, a focus pull shot where the camera moves around the tree to show the main character and the shot where the audience can see the main character in the kitchen and the dark figure is in the backyard and can be seen through the window – for some of the feedback on this shot, someone had described the shot as being ‘subtle’ in the way the figure is seen through the window. Another shot that we found was quite popular was a shot in the woods where the camera zooms out and in the background, the audience can see a figure walking out from behind a tree, however we did find that this was only be noticed after it had been watched a few times. There were also other shots that were mentioned in the strengths for our trailer, but these weren’t as popular and some of them were only mentioned once. Some of these shots were the 360˚degree shot around the main characters face which we sped up considerably, this was mentioned more than once and some of the feedback said that the shot was good in the way that ‘disorientated’ the audience. We also had a shot that we separated into two parts and the first part showed the main character looking at herself in the mirror and the second half she looks up to see a figure stood behind her in the mirror, and this was also considered a strength.

Not only were specific shots considered to be the better aspects of the trailer, some of the feedback pointed out how the montage worked well when the main character was walking down the stairs but we cut the shot up and placed different smaller shots in between the long one. It was also commented that the speed up of shots towards the end was good, and this was one area of the trailer that we spent a lot of time on just to make sure all the timings were correct and nothing looked out of place. Not only did people say about how we used the shots, it was also said that the shots used managed to create suspense throughout the trailer and this is what we were hoping for and along with this it was pointed out that we used a lot

This is a screenshot of a shot that we found was popular when it came to the audience feedback, as it was seen as very disorientating in the way that the shot is sped us by a considerable amount and therefore moves around the characters head at a fast speed. In this screenshot, it can be seen that the character is still in focus and the background is blurry due to the movement of the shot.

This screenshot shows a popular shot with our audience where we used candles to light up the Ouija board therefore making it look a lot more realistic, not only because candles are something that is associated with Ouija boards, but also because it gave the whole shot a creepier look showing the turn of events in the trailer. This was also a popular shot as it was from a different angle compared with the other shots in the trailer.

of shots overall and this meant that we had a lot to work with. I found that out of all the strengths we were given, shots was the one that was mentioned the most and for a few different reasons, however there were also other strengths that we were given and the use of lighting was mentioned a couple of times, one in specific mentioned the Ouija board shot where we used candles to light the shot and it made the shot look more realistic. A few people also mentioned the music which was something that we found was a weakness more than anything. However, the few people that mentioned the music pointed out how the sound effects worked well where we had placed them, also how we kept the ambient sound in worked well also and the sounds that we put in over the top were scary and fit in with the genre. It was also said that the title we had picked was good and fit in with what story line we had shown through the trailer.

We didn’t find that we had as many weaknesses compared with the strengths but I recognised that a lot of the weaknesses were the same and focused on one area in particular. This one main area that let us down for the trailer was the music even though some people did say that they liked the music for the trailer. One of the things mentioned about the music was that there was no build-up of the music at the end because we had no music at the end and this was also pointed out. The sound we did include in the trailer was said to have no pace and didn’t really grip the audience and this meant that the shots would have been the part of the trailer that give it the suspense. It was also pointed out that at one point the characters could be seen talking, but there was sound and instead the music was played on top and so this made it seem as if important information was being missed from the trailer. The final thing that was said about the music was that the sound didn’t always flow and there were abrupt cuts in the music. From the constructive feedback, if I were to do the trailer again, I would make sure I left more time to edit the music as this is an important part to the trailer, and I feel that if we had left more time to edit this area, the trailer would have worked better. I think that the music we had didn’t work because we tried to incorporate the music, ambient sounds and dialogue and so we ended up placing music where we though necessary and not where it was actually needed.

There were also a few things that were said about a couple of the shots, one of these things were the shot duration however it wasn’t specified whether the shots were too long or too short and so we didn’t know how to work on these feature. However, it was said that the writing we had in between some shots was on the screen for too long and this was time we

This screenshot shows one of the places where we inserted text to the trailer. The audience feedback showed us that these were on the screen for too long and this is something that we could have changed if we were to do it again, therefore making better use of other shots in the trailer.

This screenshot shows a shot of the two characters and the way we managed to add the background figure into many of the shots subtly was mentioned multiple times by the audience that we had watch the trailer. I think this was mentioned so often because it is something that you begin to notice the more the trailer is watched and therefore became a popular strength for our trailer.

could have used to add more relevant shots into the trailer. There was a lot of criticism about the end of the trailer and we originally had two shots that could have ended the trailer and if I was to go back and change the trailer, it would have used the alternative shot and see what reaction was given to that. It was said that the end shot wasn’t jumpy enough, which I did agree with, and this was because the ending was too slow to make the audience jump. It was also said the ending could have had an extra shot or a different shot being used, which is something that could have been changed, however it was also mentioned that the effect we used on the last shot was ‘weird.’ We spent a lot of time editing the last shot to achieve the look we created and in the end, it didn’t come out how we wanted but we decided to leave it as we didn’t want to lose the effect altogether.

There were also a few extra things that were said about the trailer and some of them I agreed with whereas there were some that I don’t think I would change dramatically. One of things that was said was we shouldn’t have shown a dead person as it was giving the story away, however it can’t be seen whether the person is unconscious or whether they are dead and so because of this, I don’t believe that the story has been given away too much. Plus we wanted to use this shot because for us it went in well with the montage of shots that we made. Another thing that was said was it could have been more intense for a horror trailer and to do this we would have needed more jumpy shots which was also mentioned as a weakness. I agree with this in the sense that the trailer is tame for a horror trailer and doesn’t show too much that would be considered horrific. Something else I noticed after gaining this feedback was that the pace does change at random intervals and we could have changed this easily but in some ways I think the change in pace works with the trailer and it does start slowly and pick up pace to eventually speed up at the end with lots of different quick shots. The final thing that was pointed out was how slow the text appeared on the screen, and so if I was to change the trailer I would speed the text up a little bit, but the pace of the text allows the audience to read it and take it in to understand what the message is. Through the feedback that our group gained, if I was to do the trailer again, I would keep many of the shots the same as this is the thing that seemed to work well amongst everything. However, I would change the music considerably because this was the one thing that let the trailer down the most and was the one thing that I wasn’t confident about within in the trailer. The reason for this being that the music and sounds from the shots didn't flow very well and jumped about quite a lot, there were also areas of the trailer where characters could be seen talking but there was no dialogue being heard, and so this is something that would have to be taken into consideration. From learning all this, it has made me realise how important it is to get feedback from audiences that differ because there is mixed opinions that way and some of the feedback can be very helpful and show what areas of the trailer have worked well and what areas haven't. I think it also shows from watching other peoples trailer where effort has been put into a certain area of the trailer and for ours, it would have been the shots that we used.

This screenshot shows part of the montage that takes place in our trailer, and this was something that was pointed out as working well for the trailer. I think this worked well as there was series of different shots that give the trailer a build-up and also snippets of the story line.