Final Questionnaire By Megan Vincent

Happy Megan I have been very lucky regarding my

questionnaire results because everyone has been so keen to help me and has given extra information/pointers on what they think would look/sound appropriate in our film which is great! Also, I managed to get just over 40 results back so I can see even more of a pattern in the abundance of answers.

Results1. What key storyline/ theme do you think is most appro-

priate?Drug AbuseBullyingIsolationDesire for in-formation

I am surprised that bullying or drug abuse wasn’t as popular. However, this could possibly show that the above themes have been done before and due to the audience being thinkers and innovators, they want something new and fresh which has not been done before and perhaps that is more difficult to portray.

2. Where do you think the setting should be that re-

trieves his memories? Train stationIn a flatScenes in a parkInner city

Despite the fact Inner city and park scenes are the most popular I still really like the idea of a train station, being suggestive of some sort of journey.

The audience may have picked inner city as it creates a prototype that we may associate with stereotypical views of C2-E income bracket situations we are highlighting in our production.

I think scenes in the park will create the ideal of isolation however it could perhaps make it too bland (although the film is bleak) which could un-engage our viewers.

This evidently shows that the audience liked all the locations. So, which one we pick will be their preferred.

3. Which title name do you think would be most fitting for the film?

RelapseEmancipationRegressionRefluxAlone

It is obvious that the most favourite names were ‘Alone’ and ‘Reflux’. According to Maslow’s needs, the audience look to satisfy problem solving, spontaneity and creativity. Therefore the name ‘reflux’ connotes intellectuality that would satisfy them more as opposed to the ordinary title ‘Alone’.

4.What type of lighting would you feel would be most appropriate in

the opening sequence?

Low key lightingHigh key lighting

It is obvious here what the audience preferred so we will go with low key lighting to connote the gritty atmosphere of the film with no equilibrium.

One of the questionnaires suggested that we use high key lighting to show the positive times with the mother. This made me therefore make the decision of whether we look at the negativity and despair of the boy or the beginning of hope. However, because of the conventions of the genre I am going to keep the lighting dark suggesting his isolation which was the chosen theme most appropriate from the audience.

5. Would you prefer to see a filter/effect over our film? If so, what filters and effects would you desire to see? No effect

Gray scaleSepiaVintage coldOther

The results were quite varied here but the key answers were grayscale and no effect. I really like the idea of both as the grey connotes his past/history and the positivity with his mum. However, the audience favoured no effect which I think we are going to go for because it heightens the verisimilitude and realism as opposed to making it look slightly clichéd.

(Images of the effects are on my questionnaire.)

6. What name do you think, would be most appropriate

for our protagonist?EthanSamuelEmmetOliver

The audience have picked the name ‘Ethan’ as their preferred choice therefore I think we are going to go with this name. All the others are perhaps more common and Oliver may have associations with the musical ‘Oliver Twist!!’

7. For our protagonist, which shot would you preferred to be used for establishing the

protagonist?Close up High angleLong shot Medium close

upOther

Other people suggested using a low angle, eye level and a birds eye view. I really like the latter because it perfectly shows his isolation and alienation from social acceptance that we are trying to portray. However, due to practicality reasons I think we will be unable to film this with the equipment we have.

The results show a rather equal view on the shot however a close up has slightly more votes. Therefore we will use this one to portray the boys intense feelings that foreshadow his destructive, forthcoming future.

8. What camera movements do you think should be most

frequent throughout the film?Hand heldDolly inTilt downTracking out

From the results our two most commonly used camera movements for the film will be a handheld and dolly in. The hand held shows the natural/ realistic and emotional tone the opening title sequence evokes, avoiding all associations with perfect Hollywood filing. The dolly in, reinforces the notion of enclosure suggesting a limitation of space of which the boy is unable to escape from.

9. What type of music/sound would you like to hear during the opening

sequence? Rhythmic score

Melodic score

Quiet/moving score

Just ambient sounds

Here, we got some fantastic feedback on suggestions for the music such as Moby- ‘Why does my heart feel so bad?’ because it is melodic it reveals the connotation of a light at the end of the tunnel for the boy finding his parents but however is maybe too positive for the bleak nature of the film.

The audience preferred most, ambient sounds which I agree with. I think it will be more powerful to pick up on them such as the loud noise of trains entering the station to connote the boys sensitivity and loneliness highlighting that every move he picks up on is punctuated by a thought/memory.

We also got another suggestion of ‘Ballyturk’ which is great for our production. It includes the perfect tones that we are looking to convey and it is very powerful although in a dreary way.

10. Would you rather have dialogue or music playing

through the whole pro-duction?

Just dialogue Music onlyMinimal dia-logue with music playing

The audience preferred minimal dialogue and just dialogue. Due to the results prior, I think we are not going to include any music and just have ambient sounds with dialogue to make it more dramatic and convey our message across with simply. We are trying to achieve ‘substance over style’(comment from pilot questionnaire) so therefore we do not want to overcomplicate it.

11.  How would you like our media product to affect you?

Informed of real life issuesThought provokingBe able to re-late to it

It is obvious here that the audience want an intellectual pleasure, but they still want an emotional pleasure gained from the title sequence, especially on the topics we are presenting. Therefore we must make it our aim to make the audience go away with perhaps 3 things they are going to think about. Like Hitchcock’s auteur theory he places on his work, to make ours our own, we could trigger thoughts from the audience as they watch it and make them carry on brooding on about what was shown.

12. Regarding props, what do you believe is the most ap-

propriate approach?

No propsEveryday propsExaggerated props

I think we are going to use everyday props like the audience believed was most appropriate. This portrays the ‘reflective’ representation theory that we are showing to mirror real life of which everyday, mundane props will present.

QUESTION 13: further input “Film should highlight the struggles when people are

placed in abusive and desperate situations.” “Have a look at England 80’s and 90’s because it is

filmed and shot so well. It covers what you’re trying to achieve.”

“Shots from his eyes and long shots in a foster care room will accentuate the ‘alone’ factor.”

“Expression and body language will be key. Show the contrast between the degenerating life of the male character and the social acceptance and happiness of others in couples/groups.”

“Sound is very important, you could exaggerate sound and the odd prop- maybe making it oversized by filming the prop in the foreground.

“Focus on presenting things through the protagonist’s eyes”

CONTINUED: further input “You could start the film with short

overlapping positive warm scenes of the son with his mother. The viewer may believe this is the present. All these shots use high key lighting to suggest the child is at the centre of this world. The harsh reality could start abruptly into a dark grey scale with cold long shots representing the real here and now highlighting how isolated the boy has become. When the boy recollects, the colour saturation changes.”

Choices made about production The questionnaire helped me make lots of decisions. I have

concluded that; Our main theme will be based around isolation perhaps of the boy in

foster care and the feeling that his father feels due to the mother’s death.

We are going to use a train station to connote the idea of a trip/journey through the past experiences of his life.

We are also going to have to music and pick up on particular sounds at the station.

The film will be called ‘Reflux’. Low key lighting will be present throughout. We will have no effect over the film. The name of the boy will be ‘Ethan’. He will be first established in a close up to foreshadow the film and

promoting the most favoured theme of the audience, ‘isolation’. The audience will gain the uses and gratifications of entertainment

through thought provocation and perhaps be informed of real life issues that will be present through the boy’s realistic situation.