3) WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM YOUR

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK?
When we were first coming up with ideas for our A2 trailer we decided to
create an apocalyptic horror that would be unique as it would also work to
explore human relationships, as most British independent films tend to do.
That being said we still wanted a target market of 16-25 year olds which
would be attracted to the horror side of the film whilst older audiences
might find the exploration of human relationships more interesting. In
order to see whether we had created a trailer that came across to an
audience as part of the apocalypse sub-genre of horror we created a
survey to ask a range of demographics about our media product to see

how well it was received.

1. Feedback from the question about our genre proved that we were
largely able to create a trailer that came across as a horror through the
use of codes and conventions that usually signify a horror. Audience
responses showed that we were able to convey that our media was a
horror through the apocalyptic setting and 62% of responses showed that
we were successful in portraying a horror. When we further questioned
people about their responses common explanations as to why they
thought the genre was horror was due to the music being used effectively

to build fear and tension which was further conveyed by the mise-enscene and reactions of the actors. Most concluded that the use of motifs

typical of horror and thriller genre films reflected that it was part of the
horror genre. For example we received feedback that the use of blood,
empty settings and unknown identities of the pursuers all suggested the
horror genre.

2. From the responses we received on the relevance of the apocalypse

sub-genre we were able to assume that we were successful in conveying
human relationships and creating a unique selling point for our horror. This
would also widen our target audience as many people might be intrigued
to watch a film that still uses the conventions of horror in addition to being
able to show a unique storyline that shows people coming together. This is
evidenced by the 6% of people that would have classified the trailer as a
drama. None of our responses claimed that there was no relevance to the
apocalypse genre so we were successful in relating the film back to the
apocalypse genre. Because 40.82% said that our trailer was only
somewhat relevant to the apocalypse sub-genre we can conclude that we
may have focussed more on showing the development of the narrative
and characters and left the apocalypse genre to be shown through the

mise-en-scene, i.e. the isolated and overgrown settings and the use of
costumes that look worn and old through fake blood and mud.
3. When constructing the trailer we took a priority in establishing a
narrative that made sense and conveyed an accurate portrayal of our film
idea and plot, without spoiling any twists or surprises. We wanted the
genre of the film to come across clearly and thought that the narrative
might be an effective way to reinforce this as Derrys story type The
quest is often featured in apocalypse films (i.e. The Road). As 87.76% of
our audience feedback answered that the narrative was clear we were
successful in getting the storyline across. We did this through the use of
the 3 Act Structure which, through our research and planning, proved to
be the structure that most trailers, regardless of their genre, used as an

effective portrayal of the films plot. We used that structure to base our
narrative around and split the editing into three sections: 1) The London
shots and introduction to the bleak empty setting 2) The introduction of
the main characters and brief plot 3) The end montage where the
ambiguous threats and danger is explored. Furthered explanations from
responses showed that the beginning montage of news clips were
effective in outlining the plot and setting of our narrative. Many explained
that the use of news clips helped to set up the story and reinforced the

genre of apocalypse horror.

4. Following on from this we asked how effective the use of music was and
received mostly positive feedback. This shows how we were able to
effectively build up a climax and create a tense and exciting atmosphere
that we had hoped. From the 4% of people we asked who said that the
music wasnt effective we could infer that maybe we had made the trailer
too fast paced because although we were able to create music that
matched our montage we did use quick music for both act two and three.
Our music consisted of four separate tracks that we found via YouTube
through looking up tense atmospheric music. We used these to help build
up the anticipation throughout the trailer until the title of the film was
revealed at the end after the names of the actors. The crescendos within
the tracks are also typically used with the genre of horror and not just the
sub-genre apocalypse thus hinting at our trailers genre and helping to
convey this to an audience.

5.
The majority of our results stated that our use of settings was successful
and that we were able to conform to the typical empty and abandoned
settings used within apocalypse films. By putting filters on some of the
shots, the empty ones in particular we were able to create a vivid and
fresh look to our settings but also able to darken them to make them
appear miserable and bleak. As 96% of our feedback stated that our
locations were effective we know that our inclusion of urban settings, such
as the train station which we used to show a lot of our empty shots, were
effective in creating the right visual images for an apocalypse setting. To
contrast to the emptiness of the train station we filmed busy scenes in
London with iconic symbols of Britain, such as Big Ben and the London
Eye, to convey that our film is set in the UK. The use of these contrasting
scenes also helped to convey the narrative and by speeding up the busy
shots we were able to create the concept of time passing.

6. We had intended for our film to be aimed at an 18-25yr old target

audience however this was only a rough target and in our survey we
allowed for a few years around this age scale. Judging from our results
92% of people thought that we had aimed our film at 16-26 yr olds which
proved that we were successful in achieving our target audience. We
wanted to canter to an audience of that age as they are typical audience
to horror and thriller films though it is a predominantly male audience
within those ages. 12% of our feedback did show that perhaps younger
people are now becoming more interested in films of our genre and that

the adventurous narrative appeals to the younger teenage demographic.

7. Our trailer is both a modern horror that uses codes and conventions
typical of older films within the genre. This is a result of us having to
present our trailer as part of an independent film and so not having the
budget to get shots of London when it was empty. This worked in our
favour though as we were able to create a modern interpretation of
apocalypse that 59.18% of our feedback agreed with. Our feedback
34.69% of our feedback stated that we used conventions and when we

inquired further people stated that our effective use of music to build
tension and suspense really made our trailer seem part of the horror
genre.
8. Most of our audience replies agreed that our three media products were
successful in complimenting one another and that we were able to create
a package that made each product appear professional. The 4% of people
that said our media products, when asked further, stated that it was the
magazine cover that did not appear to match the trailer and poster
however we were able to explain that as the magazine cover that
accompanies the film is usually only advertising the actress, not the film.
From the 96% of people that said our products were cohesive some stated
that the similarly dark colours used across all three products helped to link
them together and to create a complete package. The uses of dark greens
and red within our poster and trailer were pointed out and feedback said
that this made the link between the two especially prominent.
9. The vast majority of our feedback agreed that the title did make sense
in reference to the film as we wanted to create the idea of what happens
after the apocalypse. We were able to show this effectively through the

structure of our trailer which built up the narrative and was able to explain
that our title The Aftermath was in reference to the people trying to
survive after the fall of humanity. Our use of titles in Act 1 made this clear
as we incorporated the phrases In the beginning there was life showing
busy scenes of London however we then changed the setting after a
blackout and used the words But after... to convey to the audience that
an event had taken place which had wiped out most of humanity. The 6%
of feedback that stated we had not made the title relevant said that The
Aftermath was not clear enough within the narrative, meaning that we
had not shown an event but left that up to interpretation and the
suggestion of something going wrong in the world.

10. Our feedback from this question indicated that we were successful in
creating a trailer that would make people eager to watch the film through
our presentation of narrative and effective portrayal of the genre. As 16%
of our replies were against seeing the film we took into consideration that
our film is aimed at 18-25 yr olds mostly and that therefore a younger
teenage or older generation may not be interested in the genre or
narrative that we presented. That being said the 84% of people that did
wish to see the film help us to conclude that we were able to appeal to a
large target audience and that our trailer was able to successfully give an
audience a reason to watch our film.