#it's that mixture of high contrast but also slightly desaturated colours

[spielzeugkaiser]

I was sad there was no group shot at the end of the fanletter episode, so drew one! That was such a good special..

[gabrielkellymedia]

Evaluation Question 3

 What have you learned from your audience feedback?

This retrospective focus group was a very positive exercise, as it produced a lot of positive feedback. The first three comments from the group, when asked about things they liked, complimented our editing, cinematography and narrative one after the other. The only criticism the video received was on the pace of cuts, as some people we’re confused about location changes. Both cases seemed very minor and by their reaction, didn’t seem to affect the viewing. The messages and themes of oddness, loneliness and self-confidence were evidently communicated, as each member of the group referenced at least one at some point. Samson’s comment, though comic, was also valid “Orange… doesn’t rhyme with anything… loneliness”. It’s good to know that our use of costume has evoked the idea of loneliness and Gabriella’s comment at the end was very nice to hear. The focus group was a success in the sense that I got to know a mixture of viewers’ opinions. Maybe in future, I could pick a group with more 'film focused' eyes to get detailed analysis of the film language.

 Going to the platform on which we released the video, YouTube gave us some feedback from members of the public who were uninclined to enjoy the footage. The criticism I hoped to receive only came in the form of more praise – by this point I was confident in my work, but I wanted to know deeper opinions of peers within the target audience, in order to accurately gauge what went well and what didn’t.

 However, it was very pleasing that Tikikiti – a group dedicated to finding and sharing the best indie music videos – commented saying “great” and listing most aspects of film that exist. I’m not sure if they featured our film on their blog/channel, but with assurance like that from fellow filmmakers it doesn’t matter.

With not much other feedback, I decided to ask my friends to give me some more pointed notes on the feature.

Many commented on the colour of the video, especially the protagonists costume:

Coni 18: Her clothes show she's different and difference in her world seems to be frowned upon, which is very relevant to a target audience of young people, really relatable. I felt like I was routing more and more for her as the video went on

Samson 18: The use of costume to represent a distinct singular character (Girl with orange sweater) in an environment where all other characters are the same (shown by the recurring black clothing) was interesting and highly effective at communicating to the audience that the orange girl is the focus of attention and different to the rest of the on screen characters.

George 21: Overall I thought the music video was very entertaining, captivating and technically complex. The use of contrast in terms of the colours used in the video was a clever idea and was visually very appealing - the orange jumper of the protagonist stood out against the otherwise muted and desaturated colours, making her stand out and clearly depicting her as the main character.

Another mutual point of interest was the animation and dream sequence within the film.

Coni: The dream sequence was metaphorical and really effective in the sense that you definitely understood that it was more than a dream, as it actually helped her find the box

Samson: The animation perfectly matches the psychedelic musical genre, and the handmade quality of the animation style again creates a piece that doesn’t feel overproduced. An interesting and unique concept that was also well executed. saturated

George: In addition to this, I thought that the inclusion of animation was very clever, especially given that it matched the music perfectly and was blended very well with the other shots. 

Each gave me very more interesting notes on the film with George making valid judgement of the shakier shots:

George: The choice of setting for the video again helped to make it much more interesting, with a huge array of different locations. The outdoor shots such as in the foggy field or in the forest drew me into the video as they were somewhat surreal and I enjoyed the way in which transitions were used to seamlessly blend such shots in different locations whilst tracking with the main character as she runs.The only piece of criticism I have regarding the video is that at the start I felt as though some of the shots were shaky and could have benefited from the use of a gimble - it felt almost out of place given the high level of professionalism shown in the rest of the piece. That said, it didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment!

I’m glad that the foggy environment didn’t seem out of place, as I hoped the non linear and slightly more conceptual editing of the film would make it blend in like the journey was longer. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get my hands on a gimble and to rent one would have been quite costly. It would have been nice to have some kind of camera stabilisation but one of the last shots actually benefits fro the chaos of the cinematography.

Coni: I like how the end mirrors the start and we never actually know what's inside the box because it highlights the importance of her journey, rather than the outcome; it's how she's developed as a character because of her journey and what's inside the box doesn't matter, only that she got there with everyone being cold and pessimistic.

It’s good to see that people felt the film to be poignant and it’s positive to see that Coni has appreciated the narrative structure. The song, I think, really helps create the pace and feel of the video.

Samson: The main character is also established effectively with an extreme close up at the beginning of the piece. The diversity of shot length and shot type also maintains audience attention, without being complex or feeling overproduced. Some shots were obviously filmed on a foggy day, which I imagine would have been problematic for filming, but colour correction and a nonlinear plot meant that this is not an issue.

Samson has picked up on both the cinematography and the colour grading of the film. Molly and I worked together on the colour correction and I based each shot on the colour of the protagonists jumper.

The extreme close ups and all other shots were meticulously planned by Molly and I.

We were evidently successful in establishing the characters and plot through a variety of film techniques both in production and post. From the feedback I have received, I can see that we have made an entertaining, relatable and emotion provoking work, that can be appreciated both in video and narrative by the target audience.