Q1. Age: 17/18 - this question was just to clarify the rough age of my target audience
Q2. Gender: Female - this question was just to clarify the gender of my target audience
Q3. When watching a film, do you prefer seeing titles/credits during the visual film, or at the end?
ALL participants suggested that they would prefer titles/credits at the end of the film. Although surprising that all participants claimed this, I too agree. The majority of participants suggested that this way of presenting titles would be better as overlayed titles throughout the film would be distracting. My target audience would like to "just get on with the film.
Q4. When watching a film, do you prefer music with lyrics, or music without, why?
The majority of my participants stated that they would prefer music without lyrics, my initial idea. Although many did think otherwise, and others said their decision was dependent on other factors.
The following are quotes from participants who fell into each category:
With Lyrics: (4) - "Lyrics can help to explain/show meaning to the film"
Without Lyrics: (9) - "More emotional" "Focus is on scene"
Dependent: (7) - "Depends on the mood of the film" "Depends if there is dialogue (no lyrics if so)"
Although a few participants suggested that lyrics help to create meaning to the film, I feel as though lyricless music can too. Finding music with matching lyrics to the situation in my film could prove to be difficult, and could make the film a little more cheesy! I agree with the majority vote, without lyrics pulls to focus onto the scene and the emotion, as well as being more suitable for my "ambiguous time period" idea. Those who's view was dependent can be ignored on the basis that my film will not include dialogue and the fact the mood of my film (romance, heartbreak) suits emotional piano/guitar music without lyrics.
Q5. What are your view on narrative structure (the order of events in a film)?
- I like a conventional narrative order - starts at the beginning, finishes at the end (3)
- I like the story to jump from different time frames, it makes it more exciting (5)
- I like to cross between the two, a clear beginning and end, but jumping in the middle (12)
The vast majority of participants suggested that they like a cross between the two extremes. This is what I had originally planned for my short film, and this has given me conformation that my audience would find this preferable. My film will have a clear beginning and end (the boy starting to draw and the boy realising reality), but will flick back and forth to different parts in their relationship.
Q6. Please read a rough synopsis of my short film. How would you rate the idea? Can you make any suggestions for improvement?
All feedback I gained from this was positive, and I had no suggestions for improvement. I am just hoping this is genuine and not just my peers "being nice!". Everyone seemed to value the sketch idea highly, liking the way I had used a cliche (although usually popular) genre, but had the unconventional twist of the illustration/sketches coming to like.
Q7. What do you think would be an ideal title for my film, considering the synopsis?
Since producing this question, I came up with some more potential titles for my film (which I surveyed earlier). There was no suggestions for any other titles apart from "A Sketch of Love" which featured on the questionnaire - (refer back to my earlier post regarding the decision I made).
Q8. What kind of instrument could you imagine hearing during the film?
I left this as an open question as the only idea I managed to come up with was soft piano and guitar. Turns out, the majority of participants suggested these two instruments, particularly piano, of which I feel (and evidently my audience feel) will be suitable for my genre.
Q9. What type of activities do you associate as "romantic dates" (conventional and unconventional)?
I needed to know which locations and situations to place my characters in during the "memory scenes". Participants came up with all conventional ideas such as walks on the beach, in the park, a romantic meal out and the cinema. Much like with the title of my film, I have changed my ideas on this quite a bit (see earlier post). I wanted to give my film a "timeless appeal", so it is diffcult for my audience to allocate a specific time period to it. To do this, I will need to be careful when picking costumes, and also, choose "date/memory" locations that will not seem too modern (locations and activities that have always existed from at least 1940's to present day). I will discuss this with my target audience during a focus group in order to check that my idea is appropriate.
Q10. What types of clothes/style do you see the characters having?
Again, due to the new "timeless" aspect, I will need to change a lot of the criteria (will discuss with a focus group). Many participants saw the girl with long hair in a pretty dress, this suits my timeless aspect quite well, I feel. They also said that the boy would where casual clothes, or a smart shirt and jumper. I will do this, but will avoid jeans as they may modernise the character.
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