In order for our group to create a successful trailer which attracted the desired target market as well as follow common conventions, we decided to carry out a focus group session with volunteers from our target market; this was to allow us to identify strengths and possible improvements for out trailer. Vast amounts of feedback was attained, which was then analysed and acted upon in our trailer, which is detailed below.
Audience Feedback:
One of the improvements suggested by volunteers was during the eye-opening scene whereby a point of view long shot of the victim looking at the killer is used, however, the eyes close first and open later. This was not ideal and thus, I improved upon this in editing.
Firstly, I deleted some of the footage initially used of the killer setting up the camera to reduce the number of transitions in use and thus, reduce the total time the teaser trailer ran on for as we were slightly over the allocated 60 seconds.
As explained in a previous post in terms of how to create this effect, I added another 'Centre' transition, but this time set the start as 'Open'; as a result of this change, I then had to go through again and change the remaining transitions to the corresponding 'open' or 'close' setting. The two screenshots above show this process, whereby I cut the clip and then inserted the transition.
These next two screenshots show a repeat of the process explained above, detailing how I added another transition and removed extra footage no longer required later in the trailer.
2. Scene Re-Shoot:
Another suggestion was re-shooting the scene towards the end of the trailer in which the victim is seen in a dark hallway whereby the killer pulls her back into the darkness. The focus group concluded that the hands used in this shot were too delicate for the context of the scene and thus, a re-shoot would be best.
Our group arranged to meet in the Dark room once again, this time bringing in a substitute male actor to stand in as the killer. Using the cameras, we then re-shot this scene and imported the new footage into Final Cut.
3. Conventional Scream:
Moreover, many Slasher horror films and trailers feature the stereotypical victim scream, which we had not incorporated into our trailer. This was another suggesting from the focus group, to include a girl screaming at some point during the trailer. After further discussion with my group, we decided to include the sound just after the scene in which the victim is pulled back into the darkness.
Initially, we attempted to record our own scream sound using Audacity, however, once we had imported this into Final Cut, there was a lot of background interference and the scream did not sound authentic. For this reason, we later downloaded a royalty free scream sound effect from YouTube which best suited the context of the scene. I then edited the sound slightly, making it of a more appropriate length, and placed the sound in the correct location.
4. Building Suspense:
Finally, in the first third of the trailer, there is a clip in which a point of view shot of the victim opening her eyes to see the killer's eyes appear in her face, inserted to create a jump scare for the audience. Audience feedback for this scene was that the music at this point did not build up suspense for the jump scare and thus, the clip was ineffective.
After extensive research on YouTube, I eventually found a suitable sound effect which built up the suspense for the audience but getting louder and faster only to suddenly stop, in which point I placed another 'Boom' sound effect. Once the trailer was then reviewed, the improvements built more suspense and created an effective jump scare for the audience.
From the feedback gathered, I feel that an audience focus group proved hugely beneficial in terms of allowing us as a group to further develop our trailer to better suit the target market and genre. Although the suggested improvements were basic, the adjustments when reviewed after made the trailer much more effective and successful. Meeting with volunteers of the target market also meant that the topics of discussion and suggested improvements were focused on our chosen genre rather than generic. As a result, I feel that the trailer is now much more professional looking and a successful Slasher horror trailer.
Firstly, I deleted some of the footage initially used of the killer setting up the camera to reduce the number of transitions in use and thus, reduce the total time the teaser trailer ran on for as we were slightly over the allocated 60 seconds.
As explained in a previous post in terms of how to create this effect, I added another 'Centre' transition, but this time set the start as 'Open'; as a result of this change, I then had to go through again and change the remaining transitions to the corresponding 'open' or 'close' setting. The two screenshots above show this process, whereby I cut the clip and then inserted the transition.
Another suggestion was re-shooting the scene towards the end of the trailer in which the victim is seen in a dark hallway whereby the killer pulls her back into the darkness. The focus group concluded that the hands used in this shot were too delicate for the context of the scene and thus, a re-shoot would be best.
Our group arranged to meet in the Dark room once again, this time bringing in a substitute male actor to stand in as the killer. Using the cameras, we then re-shot this scene and imported the new footage into Final Cut.
 |
| This screenshot from our trailer shows the new footage of the victim being pulled into the darkness by the killer. |
Moreover, many Slasher horror films and trailers feature the stereotypical victim scream, which we had not incorporated into our trailer. This was another suggesting from the focus group, to include a girl screaming at some point during the trailer. After further discussion with my group, we decided to include the sound just after the scene in which the victim is pulled back into the darkness.
Initially, we attempted to record our own scream sound using Audacity, however, once we had imported this into Final Cut, there was a lot of background interference and the scream did not sound authentic. For this reason, we later downloaded a royalty free scream sound effect from YouTube which best suited the context of the scene. I then edited the sound slightly, making it of a more appropriate length, and placed the sound in the correct location.
4. Building Suspense:
Finally, in the first third of the trailer, there is a clip in which a point of view shot of the victim opening her eyes to see the killer's eyes appear in her face, inserted to create a jump scare for the audience. Audience feedback for this scene was that the music at this point did not build up suspense for the jump scare and thus, the clip was ineffective.
 |
| This screenshot shows the layout of the clips and sound in Editor view of Final Cut before the addition of the tense sound effect. |
After extensive research on YouTube, I eventually found a suitable sound effect which built up the suspense for the audience but getting louder and faster only to suddenly stop, in which point I placed another 'Boom' sound effect. Once the trailer was then reviewed, the improvements built more suspense and created an effective jump scare for the audience.
Evaluation:
From the feedback gathered, I feel that an audience focus group proved hugely beneficial in terms of allowing us as a group to further develop our trailer to better suit the target market and genre. Although the suggested improvements were basic, the adjustments when reviewed after made the trailer much more effective and successful. Meeting with volunteers of the target market also meant that the topics of discussion and suggested improvements were focused on our chosen genre rather than generic. As a result, I feel that the trailer is now much more professional looking and a successful Slasher horror trailer.
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