Audience Feedback

Feedback from Media Class, before final edits...

Feedback of Final PA from Younger Target audiences (16+)

"i loved it, you guys really pulled it off
i had to watch it again cause i thought wait that cant be luke
its like a little mini-movie in its self .... although you couldnt tell that he had a tumor seemed more like a headache
it was great :D
were you and jemma like the devil and angel one trying to get him to spend his money and the other telling him to save it ?"

"I thought it was very good. I loved the two Devil and Angel characters, and the way you can definately tell who they were from the costume and the...gestures, yeah the gestures they make. Oh, I didn't really understand the storyline though."

"yes sonia the baddy!!!
i love the whole story board -- but its probably the background scene (and maybe at the beginning, you would see the players already sitting down instead of them walking to their seat) -- when the guys head is hurting as well --- ask if he could do it a bit more naturally (sorry but looked kind of fake)
i love the angel and devil at the end
hope it helps :)"

"It was fabulous. I really liked the soundtrack and the like different camera angles and everything. It all looked really good. I liked all of the close ups of like you guys and the table and everything. It was all great."

"I really liked the video. I wish it could be created as a full length movie because the small clip was great. It did have a brilliant look and feel to it but I think that the blurry bit at the beginning when they all go to the table could have been improved. However I think without the effect the scene wouldn't have looked right. Also, I think the order of the angel and devil bit is wrong - the angel should have come on first so the guy could then see the devil and go with the devil. But overall the video was awesome."

From Older Target Audience (30+)

(From msn convo)

This was amazing!
Karl thought it was amazing I really liked it
The color and b/w contrasts are super, your script proves that you can really tell a story in 2 minutes
camera cool, set cool, clothes and make up coolio!

Here' the one comment from both of us
This refers to "Michael Caine on acting" - try find his video or look it up...
if you want to be great DON'T BLINK - especially in the close up
if you watch Meryl and the rest of them they hold still even 'till the tears come
it's far more powerful and commanding
again just a comment and observation!

"I" - Amateur Film Maker, Film Lover.
"Karl" - Camera Man, Film Lover.

Video Summary:

- Logical and realistic

- Actors need to be older - have more of a gambler look

Copy-righted Music Permission Application Email

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to ask for your permission to use your song “Warriors Dance” from your album “Invaders must die” for educational purposes. The song will, with your permission, be used as a soundtrack for our AS level Media studies film opening. Due to obvious copyright laws we will not distribute or sell your material in any way.

Matthew Laverack

We ask you to sign the below slip if you would like to give your permission:
Confirmed by:

LICENSOR (theprodigy)
_________________________
[Theprodigy]

Poker's Advocate

Note...

Evaluation Question 5 is together with Evaluation Post 4

:)

7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in progression from it to the full product?

Compared to the preliminary task, PA was substantially more organised and each step was planned. A schedule was followed and at the start of every planning, filming, or editing session we as a group went through our tasks. Research and planning had to be thorough. I find that personally I wasn’t well organised enough when it came to props and costume. As I was working with the Extras the most I had to organise each character and make sure they had clothes that was remotely similar to what was drafted.

Though this time, filming was very different as we (me and Jemma) were not the main actors. Filming took longer as there were more people and the extras took time to prepare and organise. Setting up the three Redheads and camera was very time consuming and the filming location (Drama room 1) had to be booked. Most of the filming was done after school, meaning taking time out of our timetables and at time suitable for everyone.

Skills in Creative decisions during editing has improved a lot for me. Transitions and effects such as Peephole and changing the saturation of the picture is done with the question of how it represents the characters/target audience/ genre/conventions before it is done. This makes the final product more refined and professional in comparison to the prelim.

Teamwork this time was a challenge. As PA is a main part of the course, there were a few debates and creative decisions that clashed. These were worked out and compromised well but it showed me that teamwork also means putting your ideas down in place for others if they have a stronger view of what the film should be.

I would like to develop my editing skills more as I worked primarily in the filming side of Poker’s Advocate.

6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Lighting
Working with Poker’s Advocate has taught me the importance of lighting and how different moods can be created from it. I know the health and safety issues of using the Redheads and Boom mic, as well as setting them up correctly and placing the correct equipment in each box and setting during packing up. For example, when filming with dialogue, to capture a clear crisp sound, the tip of the mic should be pointed towards the speaker. To create different tones of light and shadow, opening/closing the “barn doors” of the Redheads intensifies/spreads out the light.

For example, the lighting of the character Luke – an LED light was used to illuminate the side of face and the Aviators. The bandoliers on the backlight was kept open but dimmed down so that a faint halo like glow illuminated the outline of his head.

Camera
Whilst using professional equipment (supplied by Jemma’s dad) I learnt how to hold a large camera steady and all its setting; shutter speed, grains to make certain effect (ghosting).
> This was shot with a low shutter speed, creating an almost ghost trail effect with the camera. It can be used to represent passing time or an alternative to Slow motion effects.

iMovie (Editing)
Compared to the Preliminary task, my skills on iMovie have improved a lot. Importing is easy now and I am familiar with what the different effects and options do. However my skills of working with shuffling sound bars may need some work.

I can take screen shots and apply them not iMovie as well as placing effects on them. This, unfortunately, reshuffles the sound therefore you have to place them back – which can prove difficult. During the editing of PA, I found that some effects won’t go on unless the actual product is longer than 6 minutes. This is troublesome when a film opening is only 2 minutes long. Taking plain stills and placing them at the end of the timeline extends the length of the product, and by putting transitions then effectively tricks iMovie. These stills can be deleted at the end. I did this with the pre-title credits and the titles at the end.

For research and planning I found the following sites useful.
Movie directors and production companies: www.imdb.com
Movie soundtracks for reference: www.ez-tracks.com/Movie_Soundtrack.html
Film opening clips, in particular gambling ones: www.youtube.com
iMovie help: www.docs.apple.com www.apple.com

Clips from films such as ‘Lock. Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ was really helpful when looking for gambling film conventions and camera shots/angles used in them. Also after researching different films, IMDB proved very useful for finding suitable production companies and directors who have a certain style when it came to Casino films, as the Casino life itself has created a genre of its own due to conventional styles in them.

4) Who would be the audience for you media product? AND 5) How did you attract/address the audience?

The specific target audience of PA would be people ranging from 16 to late 30s years old. The film’s genre includes gambling, illnesses, family issues, and perhaps some witty humour therefore it would not appeal to younger years. Older men in particular would be appealed because the character Dave may be relatable as he is imaged to be “the average bloke caught up in something extraordinary”. Teenagers may relate to the characters as people they want to be. Such as Holly, the rich girl who plays poker for the sake of it and does not care to lose – younger generations may find this character as an escape, therefore be attracted to the film.

In terms of creative choices, such as editing and soundtrack choices, the target audience was given great consideration. For example, children would not know Jimmy Hendrix or Black Sabbath. This music represents an older generation of target audience and in particular people who enjoy Rock music and movies with a lot of tension and action.
Cuts are quick and small gestures lasting for a few seconds are suitable for a more mature target audience as they can pick up on the implications of these details. Children would notice but may not consider how much an eye movement or tapping finger can mean. The pace of the movie may also be confusing for younger and less attentive years. Therefore PA caters for people who’ve watched many poker movies or has experience in it, and can keep up with the speed of events within a short amount of time.

On the other hand, those who have a vast amount of experience in poker might find this film irritating as creative and dramatic choices are taken in to make the game more interesting than it actually is. The opening features a short clip of the protagonist’s hallucinations. Those who play poker might find this unrealistic. Moreover, the experience poker player might notice that the cards on the table and in the hand have a flaw and cannot be used in the game. During filming, creative liberties were taken and although the game was thought out, it was not planned properly as it is just a film opening.


The titles of the card trick in black and white may also seem mediocre to a real dealer, but as we did not have a dealer this could not be changed. Looking at the wider aspects, however, the titles suit the target audience as it gives an adventurous mood and suits the tense/action parts of the film. The short snappy cuts suit the pace of the music well in that they are in relative synch and build up atmosphere before the actual plot begins.

>
This idea, inspired from Train Spotting and various spy movies appeals to the target audience. It reveals the cool rebellious side of the characters and film and makes it serious but fun. This attracts both the teenager and older audiences of PA.

For casting, it would be ideal to cast characters around the ages of 27 to late 40s. However this was difficult to time table and to find people willing to act for us. To show the involvement of gangsters and loan sharks in PA, the character Leo was made. His clothing and body language was meant to reveal his “Big-man” attitude, and for convenience we had quite a muscular extra to play the part. However, on film day this extra was not accessible so this character had to be cut out. This was not a huge problem, but it decreased our range of target audience and perhaps made the variety of characters less interesting. On the other hand, the specific target audience would not be affected as much without this character.

Plans on how to attract and edit for the target audience was followed and successfully fulfilled overall. With the exception of certain shots due to bad camera work and extra transitions such as the peep hole. These were added during the process of post production but the end result still suited and improved the film for the target market.

In conclusion, the target audience for Poker’s Advocate are teenagers who enjoy the idea of a secret and wild life, as well as a more mature audience who have experience in gambling and can relate to the older characters within the film.