Draw - Short Film - A2 Practical Project FINAL

Ancillary Task: Magazine Article

Ancillary Task: Poster

EVALUATION: How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

UPDATE:
In addition to what I have said, it is important to note that these new media technologies have made me a prosumer: in the age of WEB 2.0, video sharing websites like YOUTUBE and VIMEO allow the consumers to create their own content with incredible ease, which is especially easy to do so with affordable high definition video recording equipment like I show in this video. WEB 2.0 is an important term to take into consideration, expressing the vast advances that have been made in the use and content of the internet. Although it is a relatively old term, in sums up the changes that have made everything I have done with this blog possible: social media, video sharing, web applications, wikis, blogs etc. In all, this has pushed the large swathes of the internet community towards a prosumer mind set, inspired by the success of fellow users who may host successful blogs or popular Youtube content. This term applies to the work I have done here, where I have been inspired by the success and entertaining qualities of the western feature films and online short films I have seen, using affordable and accessible technology to produce my own content as a consumer.

EVALUATION: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

USES AND GRATIFICATIONS

 

Why might my audiences like my short?

 

Blumler and Katz (1974)

 

1. Escape and Diversion from everyday life - The story is larger than life, presenting an imagination that takes over the characters reality, an extreme form of escapism, which parallels the audience's own personal needs.

 

2. Surveillance and Information - The audience watch the protagonist and gain information about him, they enjoy discovering the story and characters. The short film may also provide information on the world as it is.

 

3. Personal Relationships - The short film represents a starting point for discussion, where the audience and like minded people can discuss the film and forge relationships, an opportunity for personal interaction.

 

4. Personal Identification - The main character is a young adult male (the same as my core demographic) with a vivid imagination. He may be relatable in many ways for the audience, providing satisfaction for them, however he represents an extreme of a spectrum on which the audience is situated. Showing them how his reality has been obscured.

Audience Response Open (Eval prep)

Here are a selection of answers from the open questionnaire - answered b 15 people , again a range of ages 16 -21 and some upwards and a mix of males and females.

1. Did you enjoy the short film? Explain why?
   
   

   Yes, I really enjoyed it, I liked how it went from the black and white to the colour and was like two different pieces.

   
   

   Yeah its short and entertaining.

   
   

   I thought it was an easy watch. Thoroughly enjoyed.

2. What was your favourite part about the short film?
   
   
   Loved the music. 
   
   
   My favourite part was the duel. I thought it was very exciting.
   
   
   The story I wasnt sure what was going on and really liked the twist at the end.
   
   

3. What was your opinion of the storyline? Why do you think this?
   
   
   It sucked me in, liked the contrast between the western and the real life
   I didn't think it went anywhere - wasn't sure if I liked it, the twist didn't catch me off guard.
   
   
   Loved the black and white part, really unsettling.
   
   
   I completely understood it. Great!

4. Is there anything you didn’t understand about the storyline? 
   
   
   No, it was all good!
   
   
   Understood it all, no problems.
   
   
   Wasn't sure what the drawings were about. Did they come alive? 

5. What is your opinion of the locations chosen?
   
   
   The locations suited the story. Worked really well.
   Good choice of location, didnt distract.
   
   

Click to read more answers -

Audience Responses Closed (Eval Prep)

About 35 people responded to this questionnaire - the percentages are rounded for ease.

As expected the age range was evenly spread across the groupings and the Male to Female ratio was around 50:50, with a slightly more males.

Around 80% responded to the question:  Did you enjoy the short film? with Yes, the Not Sure and No vote were split at about 10%. Again, this is not unusual, I had to expect that my short film couldn't please everyone.

Which part of the film did you prefer? - This question resulted in a majority in favour of the duel, but a sizable minority around 30-40%, preferred the black and white sequences. I'm happy with this result. I was worried that the black and white sequences would be marginalised.

The question - Did you enjoy the storyline of the video? - received the same response as "Did you enjoy the film." Presumably those who were unsure or did not like it found their faults mainly in the story.

Around 90% of respondents said they found the story clear to follow.

Everybody seemed to agree that the location choice was appropriate for the video. I'm glad that the audience appreciated the locations and felt it worked for the story. Similarly, most people liked the costume designs - around 90%, suggested I succeeded in creating authentic/believable costumes.

80% of respondents said they'd share it with a friend and around 20% said they weren't sure - only 1 person said they wouldn't.


The average rating of the acting was 4. I'm pleasantly surprised considering non of the actors were professionals or aspiring actors, just friends willing to help.


For the question - Which parts of the film did you feel were most effective? the answers were evenly spread, with slightly less given towards the shot range- perhaps because people generally don't pick up on shot range when watching films casually.

In response to - Which parts of the recording did you feel were least effective? - most answers were left blank - but around 20% said either acting or shot range.

However helpful these responses are, they only give me a snapshot of my audience's opinion. Perhaps my choice of answers could have been more varied, but again it would only give me a number, which is does not give me anything concrete on what to change, especially when most of the participants have took to it so kindly.