Focus Group for my Short Film



I showed my short film to a focus group of media students and then asked them similar questions as that of which my survey asked to try to receive more criticism in order to be able to improve my short film, however I did not receive much in terms of improving my film apart from that of which I got previously on my survey so the effectiveness of the screening of the film followed by the questions was not particularly that effective due to the fact that the survey had acted as a much easier and clearer way for me to receive feedback on my short film; as I made it clear on the survey that I wanted people to explain their answers fully. As it was not particularly necessary for me to change too much about my film, the feedback wasn't overly effective, but it made it clear to me what parts people liked most about my short film, as I asked questions such as How would you rate the different elements of my short film? Of which the majority of people liked the costumes and the music more than anything else, as well as what did you like most about my short film? Of which people liked the lighting techniques and the props the most. I think it was equally as important for me to find out what people liked about my film as it is to know what people thought I ought to improve so that I knew that those parts were safe and well done so that they did not need anything more to be done with them, unless I personally thought that they did. In terms of the feedback that I got that actually did influence me to improve my film, the effects were very effective in making my film both more visually aesthetic, but using 'Luma Waveform' on the exterior shot of Lotta made the film more conventionally Film Noir by creating a greater contrast between black and white as well as making the rain that the light caught more visible; rain being another convention of Film Noir.



Audience Feedback on my Final Draft

How would you describe the relationship between the visuals and the sound?

A good match. Enjoyed emphasis of neon light sound at point character was discussing it.

The mood of the film is carried by both the music, and the camera effect, they work well together to create a noir-esque feel to the film

They were a good match, though the VO was a little too 'radio-y' for a movie.

There was one part that I didn't fully understand due to missing something at the beginning, other than that, they fill very well.

They compliment each other well, suiting the time period and mood of the scenes

The relationship between visual and sound is good

The sound impacts the visuals, they both compliment each other.

The relationship is good and the sounds and visuals work well.

worked well for the most part

I think that they work really well, the type of music adapted to the scene shown, especially with the first scene with the female in walking to the office

Excellent. The music seems to be perfectly in time with the action, and the ambient sound are brilliant.

really effective at enhancing the themes and ambiance of the era it was set in

They are great, and give a clear idea of the protagonists thoughts

Perfect, fits the film noir theme

I think they go rally well as they all link and can understand why you have done it

I think the visuals work really well with the sound as they make sense with the theme that the sound gives.

At times the traffic noises made the dialogue difficult to hear but effects were otherwise good.

The slow music in the background suits the old-fashioned feel. The odd sound effect in the background suited perfectly.

Good

Perfect just too perfect

Very good - works very well

The sounds are extremely well done, better than the visuals. There's still something missing in the visuals, perhaps more contrast or special effects which makes the film more "old."

It works perfectly, you've clearly thought about it a lot and made sure everything fits in which it does.

Overall very good, they both followed the theme.

Mostly the sound supported the visuals; however, the comedic sound effects were a bit too out of place.

I thought it worked excellently

I think the relationship is really good. The music is very conventional of film noir and therefore works well with what the audience are seeing on screen.

Complimented each other very well in each section.

It's great, the narrative is very umm film noir / b movie / detective circa 1940's it's great! And funny

It was narrated well and everything was described to you clearly

Extremely important, especially in cases where there is action relating to the visuals, where sound is needed.

The sounds created an atmosphere that coincided with the visuals

Does my short film look like it was made in the 1940's? Please explain your answer.

Title sequence consistent with period. Costume and setting appropriate. Monologue evocative of film noir style. Insufficient experience with the medium to comment further in terms of "made in"; certainly tone and approach consistent with "set in".

Yes AND no, the only reason it doesn't look 1940's is because you would have needed to add an effect to make the camera appear to use film and be of a poorer quality than the obvious digital camera.

The style matched. The lighting and credits layout especially. Only the grain of the film itself seemed a bit too clean and modern.

It I didn't know the person that made it, I would presume that it was from the period.

Film noir style with the use of props, costumes, music and accents. The black and white filming obviously reinforces this.

Yes because of elements such as the lighting and the costumes

Yes; props, costumes, settings and sounds make it feel very authentic.

Yes, it has an authentic feel about it.

yeah, it had an authentic look to it

Yes to a large extent because of the use of props enhancing the era of the 1940's the film could be a bit more grainy to make the quality look older as if the camera was from the 1940's rather than the good quality we have today

Mostly looks set in the 1940s, there are a few bits which don't look totally authentic (there was a light switch which, I think, looked out of place). I think the thing that most sticks out as not made in the 1940s is the aspect ratio, it seems too wide. (1940s would typically be 1.37:1, rather than 1.77:1)

yes, very much so. The extreme highlights and contrast to the imagery, which is not always really clear, is actually a good and deliberate effect which makes it more believable.

Yes, due to the black and white picture and also the costume and props

yes, with the pure black and whites, it really feels as if it was recorded in film.

Yes because of the lighting, sound and way it was filmed

Yes it does due to all the effective effects you have used. I think it is very successful.

Yes - costumes and photography were in keeping with era.

It does VERY much so. It's so believable. The costumes were perfect, especially the male's with the suit and the way his hair was done. Obviously the black and white was a big factor to this too. Also, you even paid attention to even things like the way the voice-over sounds - it's muffled-sounding and sounds completely like it's from the 1940s.

Yes, content, atmosphere , music .

it looks perfect, it is beautifully shot and looks real, looks like a tv show something professional

Yes, black and white theme, colouring, sounds and actors props

Could have. But still missing the special effects in overall, make the frames more "damaged", a filter could've been cool.

Yes, mise-en-scene is spot on, to make it look even further you could create some effects such as a crackling screen if that makes sense?

Yes. Both costumes and props help this allot. And the lighting does feel like something from the 1940s.

I am not an expert in film periods, but while watching it, I felt it had a 1950s vibe.

Yes, the music the lighting and the acting all came together brilliantly to make it look very authentic

Yes definately, the black and white, the muffled sound when the actors are talking and even the simplicity of the camera shots all add to the 1940's feel, as well as the obvious mise-en-scene.

It fits the 1940s movie style brilliantly. Very accurate.

Yes However some of the filming ideas are more modern so looks like a spoof. Which is great!

Yes, the black and white effect and the various props made it clear it was from the 1940's

It has the 1940's feel, but the shots seem too clean, maybe using an overlay to add a little grain

The filming style, lighting and dialogue are similar to those in other "Film Noir" films I've seen

What improvements would you want to see made? Please explain your answer.

Lip syncing in female character main speech was slightly off. Street scene introducing female character approach, whilst atmospheric, was a little too dark - was almost impossible to make out character (rather than "difficult", which would have been fine).

The nature of the film is obviously a comical noir-esque piece, but i think more subtle punchlines would have helped, and maybe the woman needed to be a little less aware of the come ons of the detective, replying to punch lines sort of takes away the comical value.

I think there needed to be more action. Due to the length of the VO, a lot of the start involved the characters standing still with nothing going on to occupy the eye.

I really can't think of anything.

none

As I do not know the genre too well I am not a very reliable person to judge it if you catch my drift

Some shots appear a little grainy and could be sorted with a little fiddling.

adjustments to the sound during the conversation, levels too high

Perhaps try and make the office scene slightly more grainy to give it more of the effect of an old film, but without reducing the quality (experiment with grain)

None (other than those mentioned above), this is excellent!

I would want to see more!

I dont feel that there is any improvements needed

Nothing.

I don't have any.

N/A

Dialogue louder than background noise.

Perhaps make the start a bit shorter, but apart from that nothing. It's really great, well done

Better sync . Needed bit more content, I.e. Expanded storyline

nothing its perfect

Maybe some of the shots could be stabalised

Improvement of the camera angles (more of them, close-ups, slow movements etc.)

More of an effect on the overall video to make it seem more authentic

For a short film it is a little bit long. Also, more variety in your shots would do.

At one point it appeared a word was missed out in the editing.

Not really the most qualified to answer this, but from a laymans point of view I thought it worked wonderfully. Keep up the work mate, I wish I could create something as wonderful as this

Maybe try a range of different camera shots. Also, some shots are quite long, such as the close up of the actress when she first walks into the office.

I can't think of any. Well done.

Less procrastinating .... Get on with the story the jokes are the salt and pepper! 

No improvements, excellent short film

None. Really good short, maybe some additional story instead of the "trailer" of future events at the end, leave it as a cliffhanger for the audience to demand more

I would like it to feature more characters to further accentuate the costumes and dialogue

Overcoming Any Criticisms:

•  The majority of answers to this question were positive, in terms of people saying that titles, music, costumes, props etc. made the film appear very authentic in terms of trying to look as if it was from the cinematic era in which Film Noir was most popular, however a few people commented on the fact that the quality looked too high for it to appear as if it was from the 1940s. I decided not to change this when editing my film as I disagree. Firstly, at some points in my film, such as the external shots, due to filming at night the quality was lower than that of the internal shots (This change in quality between scenes is normal of classic cinema) and secondly, in the 1940's people were using film to record films and when I was viewing Film Noir movies from the 40's, the quality of the footage wasn't particularly grainy. I assume that peoples reasoning for that criticism was due to the modern generalisation that if a film is old it should be grainy, but that is not necessarily true. If I were to have added in a grainy effect than it would have made the quality of the external shots looks poor and would have ruined some of the styalistic shots that I had captured where the crispness of the shots was key. 

•  A few people said that some of my shots, such as the shot of Lotta standing in the doorway that is narrated by Marshal Mallows as he comments on her beauty, went on for too long. Now, the issue with me asking people to give me feedback on a classic cinema genre such as Film Noir is that the people who were telling me what I should improve had little to no knowledge of the genre and were used to seeing quick cuts every few seconds, as well as a variety of different shots. However, during the 1940's cinema hasn't advanced greatly and it was only till the films of Hitchcock that the way in which films were shot changed drastically in terms of the number of new shots that were discovered; although Hitchcock was directing before and contemporary with this genre, he was much more recognised in the 50's. It is a conventional Film Noir trait to have shots that go on for a while as at these points the audience is supposed to be concentrating more so on the narration than the visuals; and also this shot in particular is supposed to represent Marshal Mallow's POV so, as he is describing the way in which Lotta looks, it would make no logical sense for him to then look away at something else. Even to this day it is not a fundamental rule of film making that one cannot have shots that do not cut for a while; Stanley Kubrick and Alfonso Cuaron, two directors that I admire the styles of, are both well known for their use of unchanging shots. 

• A few people commented on the fact that some shots were too dark, even for a genre like Film Noir, such as the shot of Lotta walking through the alleyway, so I corrected this by using the 'Luma Waveform' in Adobe Premier Pro to make the parts of the walls of the alley that, Lotta was walking down, that the light didn't touch darker, and the parts that the light did touch lighter. This made the contrast of light and dark greater, which is conventional of Film Noir; Film Noir isn't just standard black and white, it's extreme black and extreme white. The contrast between the two is much greater than that of a standard black and white movie as the genre is greatly influenced by German Expressionist cinema that used the same style to create a contrast. Changing this was beneficial as not only did it make it so Lotta was seen more clearly, but it also lit up the rain more and made it more clear; light shining on the rain is also very conventionally Film Noir.