This question asks us on how we met the needs of our audience. This is useful for any A2 Media Studies student who is doing their critical evaluation as part of the Advanced Portfolio.

1. What have you
learned from your
audience feedback?
Group 15: Daniel Fotheringham

2. Our initial ideas for our
audience of the film
 When we began production for ‘A Truncated
Parable of Complete Normality’ our initial idea
was to hopefully show a mature film that could
be given either a certification of 12/12A or 15
due to the maturity of the film and its dark
themes such as inferiority and not being able
to control your life. By doing this then we could
portray a dark and moving film which would
help our audience get a sense of pleasures
such as intellectual and emotional pleasure.
However, in order for us to understand where
the film was going and how it could be the
things we wanted it to be, we had to make sure
our research was reliable and we used
questionnaires to help us get the answers we
needed for the film.

3. The initial online and video
questionnaire
 Our first questionnaire was used as an initial
response from our storyline before we had
begun filming ‘A Truncated Parable of
Complete Normality’. We decided to try and
use two different formats for the questionnaire
with posting it online on social media sites like
Facebook and we did a video questionnaire in
order to gain responses around the college so
we could not only gain responses from or
peers but also from people we may not have
met before. This helped us and made the
process easier to do due to the fact that we
knew where to go with the film and how to
improve the film and how to stay faithful to the
hybrid of psychological drama and science
fiction.
To see the video
questionnaire then please
use this link:
Questionnaire - YouTube
To see the online
questionnaire then please
use this link
Online Questionnaire

4. Our results
 When we gained our results there were many things
we gained from it in which we were able to compare
our original ideas we wanted to have and what to
improve on. One of the things we were satisfied was
that the audience felt our film was a hybrid of drama,
science fiction and psychological thriller as it was
something we originally wanted to hear as well as the
audience which suggested we needed electronic and
classical music to help bring through the character of
David. They also felt the film was aimed at a 12/12A
as whilst it tackled contemporary issues like gaming,
it didn’t show much threat or danger which made it a
bit more suitable for younger audiences. We also
learnt that they wanted to see more depth to the
character and see how monotonous his life was as
well as seeing why he hates his life. We were able to
learn from this and whilst we didn’t change the script,
we decided that we could put in some other shots to
help show the melancholy of his life.
To see the initial online
questionnaire results then
please use this link:
Results from the Online
Questionnaire

5. What meanings did we decide
to make?
 To help our audience understand the film
and be able to find a sense of transparency,
we decided to help imply that David wasn’t
real by using glitches for the world that
David was in. By using this, we could help
imply something wasn’t right and this would
help the audience gain an intellectual
pleasure and also would help give the idea
of intensity and danger for David.

6. The rough cut questionnaire
 For our second questionnaire, we decided to
create a questionnaire based on the rough cut
of the film as we wanted our audience to
understand how the film was developing and
whether they still felt the same about the film
and whether it was meeting the audiences
expectations. However, unlike our initial
questionnaire, we chose to only use an online
questionnaire as we didn’t have a lot of time
left to complete the film. We decided to upload
the original rough cut on YouTube and whilst in
hindsight, we understood there were problems
with the film, we decided to show what we had
already done so the audience could see our
progress with the film and how this film could
go.
To see the rough cut of the
film then please use this link:
Rough Cut of the film -
YouTube
To see the online rough cut
questionnaire then please use
this link:
Online Rough Cut
Questionnaire

7. Our results
 When we gained our results, there were numerous
things we had heard from our previous questionnaire.
One of the big results we gained was that the
audience understood that David’s life was a constant
cycle that was repetitive and sad. They also again felt
that classical music fitted the film to help us show the
sadness of David’s life as well as also hinting
something sinister and dark. However, one of the big
things that changed was the certificate as the
audience gave a range of a U, PG and 12/12A
certificate as again, whilst they thought the film
contained dark and scary undertones, they felt there
wasn’t a lot of threat and it would be suitable for a
younger audience. They also felt in order for the film
to improve the bus stop scene needed to be filmed
and also it would be wise for David to have some
dialogue for the audience to understand what was
going on as they found it hard but this was due to the
fact that we hadn’t filmed some of the shots for the
film.
To see the rough cut
Questionnaire Results
PowerPoint then please
use this link:
Results from second
Questionnaire

8. What decisions did we make after
the audience viewed the film for
the first time?
 After we were given our results back there
were things people asked us to change that
we did. One of the big improvements they
asked us to make to make sure we had
filmed all the shots we needed as they said
there things they didn’t understand so we
decided to film those shots and made sure
that they were done at a suitable standard.
We also decided to reshoot the house scene
in which we were able to add more details
about David’s monotonous and sad life.
Finally, because many people wanted
David’s voice within the film, we decided that
his voice would be in the radio trailer so the
audience could understand what might
happen in the film.

9. The final Questionnaire
 For our final results, we sent out a final
questionnaire with a link to our film. We
decided to send it out on social networking
sites once more and asked our audience to
answer questions such as what they thought
the certificate of the film was and what genre
the film could be. After days of responses,
this is the responses we gained and helped
us understand whether we met or
challenged our initial idea for the film.

10. Our results
 After finally receiving the results, the audience
said they understood the plot and said that
they felt the music and light worked well with
the film defining the genre to be between both
Science Fiction and Psychological Drama.
Again, they felt the was between the age rating
of a PG and 12/12A due to the fact the film
contained a contemporary and complex issue
of the virtual world versus reality. However,
they felt again, it would’ve been wise to have
David to have spoke so the audience could
understand what was going on but, unlike the
rough cut, the audience was able to
understand because all the shots had been
filmed and the glitches were placed into the
film this time.

11. Our Final Certificate for the
film
 Overall, having observed and took on the
responses our audience have given to us, I
feel that our film should be rated a 12/12A.
This is because, having observed the
audience questionnaires and guidelines of
the BBFC, the film contains threat and can
be quite complex for younger audiences to
understand so by regulating and classifying
the film as a 12 then the film will be
understandable for older audiences. Whilst
as well as there is minimal threat, for
younger audiences, I feel because of the
sounds, it may frighten them.

12. Conclusion
 Overall, we feel as a group that by thinking
about our audience and the certificate our
film could be then it has benefitted us in
finding out what we can and can’t include in
our film. It also helps us understand about
what our audience could be interested in
such as gaming and this has helped us
where we can target that specific audience
making the film more enjoyable and
attractable to our audience. I feel that
without our audience research we would
have been unsure about the decisions of the
film as we can help make important
decisions that can not only interest the
audience but also intrigue them.