Tab and I conducted a focus group in order to gain some feedback on our first draft of our teaser trailer. We decided to do a focus group as it allows us to identify the changes needed in order to improve our trailer. The group was made up of A2 media students raging between the ages of 17-18. This applies to the target audience of our film as we are targeting young adults, as they are the demographic more likely to watch supernatural horror films. Also, as the focus group is made up of media students, they know that they can be as critical as they have to be and won't hold back like some friends maybe would. Media students also know how to improve in terms of fitting in with the conventions of other teaser trailer and the supernatural horror genre. I took some notes on the feedback that we received. They are featured below:
Narrative structure:
Many members of our focus group felt that the teaser trailer didn't really give a huge insight into the film's narrative, which although this is what teaser trailers intend to do, ours was too unclear for our focus group that they felt they didn't really get what happened by the end of the trailer and why. One member of the group stated that the lack of dialogue between the characters could be the reason for this. Another piece of feedback that we received was that they didn't feel scared enough during what was supposed to be the main climatic moment of the trailer as there was a lack of a dramatic build up to lead up to it. They suggested that the lack of a scary enough soundtrack and sound effects could be the reason for this and that if these were added with some extra fast montage editing, added tension and drama could be achieved.
Soundtrack/score:
One member of the focus group didn't like the use of the happy soundtrack at the beginning because they felt that it wasn't happy enough for it to contrast effectively with the scary soundtrack that begins later on in the teaser trailer. Some people felt that the transitions between the different sound effects and music were a bit messy and didn't run smoothly, thus making the trailer seem amateurish and unprofessional. However they did feel that the score was very conventional of a horror film. Like previously said in the last section, one person said that if some extra dramatic sound effects were added into the trailer, then it will make the trailer seem more scary for the audience and more conventional of a supernatural horror teaser trailer.
To improve:
One aspect that people commented on was the dramatic change in happy and ominous, as they felt it happened to quickly without any indication of why and how any of these things are happening, also not making it clear that is specifically a supernatural horror film. Many people commented on the sound levels on one of the shots where the two protagonists are reassuring each other on the sofa, as it is much louder than the soundtrack and there is a faint buzzing sound in the background of the shot, making it quite clear to the audience and making it sound amateurish. Some also felt that the trailer was slightly short and didn't appetise their interests in the film enough in that short amount of time.
Things they liked:
All of the audience members felt that the title and inter-titles were effective at grabbing and intriguing the audience, as well as they liked the way they were designed and how they appeared. They liked the beginning of the trailer as it is very conventional for most supernatural horror films to begin with everybody happy and prosperous to then contrast to the unfortunate events to come. They could easily recognise that it was a couple who were moving into their new home. The audience felt that they were engaged throughout the whole trailer thanks to the interesting shots within the montage editing.
