You can view our rough cut of the "Street Style" opening here:
Class Rough Cut Viewing
Our class comments overall seemed positive and showed that with improvements our opening could be very effective. In the ratings, our highest scores were for our transitions and camerawork which is very promising as those were a huge focus to get across in the opening. We even got some positive feedback on our acting so looks like Erika's 2 years of a theatre here and there wasn't for nothing! (Even if I did say 'stacing out' out instead of 'spacing out' but let's not point that out...).
Our class comments overall seemed positive and showed that with improvements our opening could be very effective. In the ratings, our highest scores were for our transitions and camerawork which is very promising as those were a huge focus to get across in the opening. We even got some positive feedback on our acting so looks like Erika's 2 years of a theatre here and there wasn't for nothing! (Even if I did say 'stacing out' out instead of 'spacing out' but let's not point that out...).
Some other positive areas outlined included SFX, narrative, camera angles, use of equipment, lighting effects in the bathroom scene and alleyway, music choice, CCTV effect, and a lot of people agreed they would want to watch it again as it was engaging!
To improve it was suggested that we remove the flashing at the begging of the opening as it was confusing and too jarring for an audience. Sound levels also need adjusting as they at times were too high or too low. Some of the lighting in the alleyway seemed to be too dark for people and the suggestion was to try out different lighting adjustments to make it more bright. A suggestion was to remove all the music from the bathroom scene to the final dance scene to make the dialogue more impactful and to remove sound effects in that place. A lot of people also suggested we needed more work on our colouring and visual effects, as expected, as we did leave that aspect out of the rough cut and have worked on it for the final cut.
Overall, the comments from the class were very helpful in pointing out things to tweak and develop and we have started work on many of those areas.
Audience Reaction and Feedback
Overall, the comments from the class were very helpful in pointing out things to tweak and develop and we have started work on many of those areas.
Audience Reaction and Feedback
We also showed this to our target audience and asked them some guided questions to get back some helpful ideas on what is missing to make the opening better. Here you can watch the video of their reaction and comments:
From this, we picked up some of these ideas on how to improve according to each questions asked.
1. How would you interpreter the narrative of the opening? Were you able to follow and understand what happened?
All of the people we asked understand the premise of the film. They were able to follow the characters to understand what happened with the gang and then the dance team. Those we asked clearly seemed interested in the rest of the story, making guesses at what could happen next. This is good for us to know as it means we have structured the opening well and our script was effective in getting across the beginning of the film.
2. Would you want to watch rest of this film?
Most of them noted that the beginning created enough mystery, especially surrounding what part the bag has to play in the story, meaning we managed to put a big enough focus on it as key prop to the story. This also means the beginning was engaging to the audience and fulfilled its purpose of grabbing attention and inviting them into watching the rest. We therefore once again succeed in clip structure and scripting the story.
3. What genre would you think of film this is?
This gave a mixed response. People noted it was a crime, mystery, dance, thriller, and action film. However, we did bring up to them we aimed for it to be a drama and most of them agreed it was the most accurate way in describing the film. This means that we brought in sub-genres of drama themes that people noticed, such as the gang involvement for a crime-drama, which means we managed to make our opening more original, as it incorporated different types of drama.
4. What themes did you pick up from the opening?
During this question, the themes mentioned included conflict, aspirations, truth and lies, and friendship. This was very positive for us to hear as these are all themes we tried to incorporate into the story. It shows to us that our story and characters really helped give across the right message and that our opening was realistic and true to the drama genre, as these are common conventions of that genre.
5. Were the main characters memorable to you? Could you describe them and say what part they planned in the beginning of the story?
From what was said, it is clearly that our characters came across as the driving part of the story as everyone was able to describe them well and say what part they played. Eleanor's character was described as the protagonist, strong, focused on survival, happy when at dance and struggling with the choice between dance and gang involvement. This is all accurate to her character and people clearly understand enough about her from a very short period which means our opening was effective in making people attached to her. Camilla and Jack where also clear to people and were described as the leaders of the gang and main antagonists, and many noted that Camilla being the more powerful out of the two - seeming more aggressive and scary - was a good change of roles for men and women that made our opening original. People also noted Tory's character to be a main character, recognising her as the supportive best friend but a note was made that she seemed too nice and a little patronizing and that the viewers were intrigued in finding out what happens to her characters with the rest of the story. This was good to hear for us as that means that they got hooked onto her character and would watch the rest of the film to find out the truth behind her. Overall, they thought the characters were quite stereotypical, which means we achieved genre conventions, but interesting enough to follow in the story.
6. Was the pacing appropriate? Did it feel too fast or too slow in any parts?
This was a mostly positive response. Some people noted that they had time to react to each scene and the music and transitions helped with this, meaning we had equally split the scenes for people. It was also not too slow as people noted they did not get bored throughout it meaning we managed to hook them on the story from the opening. However, many people felt the beginning scene with Eleanor running down the stairs and into the bathroom was too fast and this was a problem with the flashing and length of each shot, which means we need to consider how to extend this scene a little to make things a bit clearer. Problems with the pacing of the gang scene came mainly from the hard to understand audio so some bits seemed too difficult to follow, which means we will need to work on volume.
7. Was the audio clear in all parts? Anything too loud or too quiet?
As mentioned in the previous question, the audio problems came in the alleyway scene. It was most noted that it was hard to understand what Jack and Camilla were saying which means we need to equalise the audio of the music and dialogue in the scene. Everyone agreed however that the bathroom scene was clear and easy to understand.
8. Were the scenes visually clear or were some bits too dark? Did you also feel the scenes needed different colouring to fit the atmosphere?
Most of the people liked the look of the alleyway scene saying the night time fit the atmosphere, as well as it being a flashback, and that it was a good contrast to the happier atmosphere of the dance scene. They could see what happened and even wanted the bathroom scene to be darker to match the still tense atmosphere which we can work on in colour correction and lighting effects. The colouring of the scene they agreed was appropriate and so we would only need to make minor neutralising changes and darken some parts.
9. What effects did you notice and were there any bits you felt needed them?
A lot of people noted our CCTV effect was very effective! This gave people a sense of danger and added to the illegal atmosphere which means it fulfilled its purpose. It was noted that it could be good to have it for a bit longer as it felt a little too brief. Transitions were also praised and people felt they helped get through scenes smoothly and most agreed that the opening did not need any more effects as they felt it was more realistic that way and fitting for the genre.
10. Overall, what would you rate it out of 10, knowing it is just a rough cut?
As a rough cut people agreed it was a 7-9 rough cut which was positive for us to hear! The story was clear for people and they think that once we make some improvements it could be a very good opening sequence.
Overall, these interviews with some of our audience were very helpful in picking up ideas of what to improve in our opening. Main points we have taken from this include fixing some of the audio problems, working on the colouring and lighting for a darker atmosphere, and some pacing problems with the beginning bathroom scene. We will be prioritising this as we start to edit together our final cut!
1. How would you interpreter the narrative of the opening? Were you able to follow and understand what happened?
All of the people we asked understand the premise of the film. They were able to follow the characters to understand what happened with the gang and then the dance team. Those we asked clearly seemed interested in the rest of the story, making guesses at what could happen next. This is good for us to know as it means we have structured the opening well and our script was effective in getting across the beginning of the film.
2. Would you want to watch rest of this film?
Most of them noted that the beginning created enough mystery, especially surrounding what part the bag has to play in the story, meaning we managed to put a big enough focus on it as key prop to the story. This also means the beginning was engaging to the audience and fulfilled its purpose of grabbing attention and inviting them into watching the rest. We therefore once again succeed in clip structure and scripting the story.
3. What genre would you think of film this is?
This gave a mixed response. People noted it was a crime, mystery, dance, thriller, and action film. However, we did bring up to them we aimed for it to be a drama and most of them agreed it was the most accurate way in describing the film. This means that we brought in sub-genres of drama themes that people noticed, such as the gang involvement for a crime-drama, which means we managed to make our opening more original, as it incorporated different types of drama.
4. What themes did you pick up from the opening?
During this question, the themes mentioned included conflict, aspirations, truth and lies, and friendship. This was very positive for us to hear as these are all themes we tried to incorporate into the story. It shows to us that our story and characters really helped give across the right message and that our opening was realistic and true to the drama genre, as these are common conventions of that genre.
5. Were the main characters memorable to you? Could you describe them and say what part they planned in the beginning of the story?
From what was said, it is clearly that our characters came across as the driving part of the story as everyone was able to describe them well and say what part they played. Eleanor's character was described as the protagonist, strong, focused on survival, happy when at dance and struggling with the choice between dance and gang involvement. This is all accurate to her character and people clearly understand enough about her from a very short period which means our opening was effective in making people attached to her. Camilla and Jack where also clear to people and were described as the leaders of the gang and main antagonists, and many noted that Camilla being the more powerful out of the two - seeming more aggressive and scary - was a good change of roles for men and women that made our opening original. People also noted Tory's character to be a main character, recognising her as the supportive best friend but a note was made that she seemed too nice and a little patronizing and that the viewers were intrigued in finding out what happens to her characters with the rest of the story. This was good to hear for us as that means that they got hooked onto her character and would watch the rest of the film to find out the truth behind her. Overall, they thought the characters were quite stereotypical, which means we achieved genre conventions, but interesting enough to follow in the story.
6. Was the pacing appropriate? Did it feel too fast or too slow in any parts?
This was a mostly positive response. Some people noted that they had time to react to each scene and the music and transitions helped with this, meaning we had equally split the scenes for people. It was also not too slow as people noted they did not get bored throughout it meaning we managed to hook them on the story from the opening. However, many people felt the beginning scene with Eleanor running down the stairs and into the bathroom was too fast and this was a problem with the flashing and length of each shot, which means we need to consider how to extend this scene a little to make things a bit clearer. Problems with the pacing of the gang scene came mainly from the hard to understand audio so some bits seemed too difficult to follow, which means we will need to work on volume.
7. Was the audio clear in all parts? Anything too loud or too quiet?
As mentioned in the previous question, the audio problems came in the alleyway scene. It was most noted that it was hard to understand what Jack and Camilla were saying which means we need to equalise the audio of the music and dialogue in the scene. Everyone agreed however that the bathroom scene was clear and easy to understand.
8. Were the scenes visually clear or were some bits too dark? Did you also feel the scenes needed different colouring to fit the atmosphere?
Most of the people liked the look of the alleyway scene saying the night time fit the atmosphere, as well as it being a flashback, and that it was a good contrast to the happier atmosphere of the dance scene. They could see what happened and even wanted the bathroom scene to be darker to match the still tense atmosphere which we can work on in colour correction and lighting effects. The colouring of the scene they agreed was appropriate and so we would only need to make minor neutralising changes and darken some parts.
9. What effects did you notice and were there any bits you felt needed them?
A lot of people noted our CCTV effect was very effective! This gave people a sense of danger and added to the illegal atmosphere which means it fulfilled its purpose. It was noted that it could be good to have it for a bit longer as it felt a little too brief. Transitions were also praised and people felt they helped get through scenes smoothly and most agreed that the opening did not need any more effects as they felt it was more realistic that way and fitting for the genre.
10. Overall, what would you rate it out of 10, knowing it is just a rough cut?
As a rough cut people agreed it was a 7-9 rough cut which was positive for us to hear! The story was clear for people and they think that once we make some improvements it could be a very good opening sequence.
Overall, these interviews with some of our audience were very helpful in picking up ideas of what to improve in our opening. Main points we have taken from this include fixing some of the audio problems, working on the colouring and lighting for a darker atmosphere, and some pacing problems with the beginning bathroom scene. We will be prioritising this as we start to edit together our final cut!
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