Analysis of audience research results

Analysis of audience research results:

The closed ended question results:

5 people decided a flashback was not needed. Whereas 3 people believed that it is needed.

The collated results illustrated here show that a majority of people didn’t think that a flashback was necessary, but a lot of people also thought that it could be introduced. Therefore I and my group won’t rule out the consideration of an implemented flashback in order to give the audience an idea of the background.

Again, 5 people said that there shouldn’t be much introduction of characters. However 3 of the other people surveyed demonstrated it was a good idea.

The results here show that the introduction of characters is not necessary because it could potentially connote mystery about the characters – and that is not a bad thing! Although were aiming not reveal too much of the characters due to this primary market research, I still want to gain a sense of who the characters actually are. Accordingly there will be an introduction of the characters but not too much, to the extent that too much is revealed. The mysterious element to the opening sequence could be an interesting effect.

As portrayed above, with an absolute majority, the location of the opening sequence has to be a boxing arena. It is the logical decision and the correct one.

 The open – ended question results:

The improvements that my group will consider which are not only practical and realistic but also a great benefit to the opening sequence could be the following: “Possibly keep the identity of the boxer completely mysterious”. This will add an element of superstition and will increase the tension and build – up of the opening sequence which is exactly what we are trying to achieve and illustrate to the target audience. Also, potentially more scenes with dialogue to add more of a narrative to the storyline, however this would ruin the suspense and tension of the fight. In addition, some more boxing footage of the actual fight could increase the dramatic element of the opening sequence; therefore more P.O.V footage of the fight will complement this nicely.  Introducing a crowd to the match is an option but it could dismantle the effect of a ‘low – league’ fight as our aim is to connote that the protagonist boxer is starting from the bottom and will eventually make it to the top and prove everyone wrong. Accordingly, a crowd may not be necessary.

The majority of people that we surveyed suggested that the build – up to the fight should be very dramatic in order to gain the best effect and the best reaction from the audience – due to the fact that our target audience isn’t a passive one but, is instead an active audience. Therefore, the build – up is crucial and a dramatic element is vital to execute the opening sequence accordingly.  

The mis-en-scene could be considered the most important aspect of any film or opening sequence due to the fact the visuals makes up an entire film. And in my opinion the most important aspect of the mis-en-scene is the costumes within each frame. The people we surveyed always expect to see generic boxing equipment. Generic conventions of boxing items are things like, water bottles, gum shields, robes etc. Due to these results, although we already have these generic conventions already implemented in our opening sequence, it is a confidence boost to know that we are doing our job right and accurately.

Camera angles in an opening sequence and in a film are crucial as it provides a different dynamic and influences the audience’s perception on different characters. Therefore the dynamics of a particular shot are key into executing the perfect shot suited for the frame. As proved by the collated results, the majority of people confirmed that camera angles are in fact essential into creating a good opening sequence or movie. For instance: in scene 2 camera work is crucial because I aim to create a silhouette while directing the shoot. This is a great way of building up tension and passion about the boxer and intrigues the audience, what comes next? Therefore, camera angles and work is important in influencing the audiences view on each individual character.  Also there is an extreme close – up shot of the boxer’s eyes whereby he has an intense male gaze in order to capture the audience’s attention and engagement; however this effect would not be possible without the help and work from different angles and shots.

The boxer we intend to use is essentially an under – dog when it comes to fighting, reasoning being is because it’s his first ever professional fight! According to the survey a wide range of results suggested that ultimately people do like an under – dog and will therefore empathise with the character and will potentially build an emotional bond with the protagonist (the lone boxer). This relates to Roland Barthes code theory whereby ‘semantic codes’ are present during this connection between the protagonist and the audience because the audience’s perception of the under – dog (which is denoted through him being knocked out) is signified through the fact that the protagonist doesn’t appear like the conventional boxer with a hyperbolic body. Therefore, the audience does endear and empathise towards the lone boxer – the under – dog character.

A large proportion of people think that the build – up of the opening sequence should be fast – paced instead of a calm suspenseful build – up because in fact, a fast – paced editing execution and build – up excites the audience and immediately grabs the audience’s engagement. It really builds an exhilarating ‘atmos’ within the room, connoting the fight and narrative and enigma of the storyline is going to be extremely engaging. Accordingly, encourages the audience to not only continue watching but, the audiences actually wants to engage and continue to watch.  

The interview results:

One part of the interview suggests that what makes a good opening sequence is the suspense that not only engages but encourages the audience to carry on watching. Therefore, by implementing good camera work and particular editing techniques this will be achieved. In addition, suggested in the interview, for a film like ours the characters should be left more mysterious, this will ultimately intrigue the interests of the audience. Furthermore, possibly make the fight scene more action packed in order to engage the audience more and so that it fits the storyline better. This will be accomplished through the use of hand-held shots from P.O.V (point of view) perspective.

According to the interview, the favourite features about the opening sequence is firstly, the title of the film ‘One – Two’ and how it links into the knockout punches at the end when the protagonist gets knocked out through a combination of the ‘One – Two’ punches. Also, the use of a silhouette – this will engage and spark the interests of the audience.

Focus group results: 

What I and my group can gather from the focus group is firstly, that it is a good idea to include a flashback in order for the audience to gain a better understanding of the storyline and narrative of the genre. However, we are unable to incorporate a flashback purely because the mark scheme specification only allows a two minute opening sequence and so far our opening sequence will develop into just over a two minute sequence. Therefore, due to the fact that we are already slightly over we cannot add any more scenes. Even though we would love to, it cannot be done.

In addition, it was mentioned that the Referee and his character “can have more contribution in the scene”; possibly applying stage directions to this character may satisfy this focus group that is linked with our target demographic and will therefore satisfy our target audience.

Another point that was made was that some more action involved may tie in nicely with the genre. We as a group aim to develop on this and elaborate this feed back by incorporating more shots of the action scene, such as: Point-of-view shots. Also, action match editing may enhance the action aspect of the scene and satisfy this focus group along with our target demographic. Therefore, different camera angles and special editing techniques will give us the result that we want.

Furthermore, the location of our opening sequence is crucial because it will really set the atmospheric feel for the audience and accordingly has to be done correctly. Due to our storyline and choice of characters, it is a good idea to introduce a ‘run-down’ boxing gym in order to achieve the best affect for the theme. According to our focus group, the use of a run-down boxing gym is a good idea in order to gain a particular perspective on not only the characters themselves but also the narrative.

Also, according to the focus group they suggested that it was a good concept to in fact appear the protagonist to be left slightly mysterious, for example: leaving his hood up when he shadow boxes. This will benefit the storyline for the target demographic because it will encourage them to want to watch the rest of the film – reason for this, leaves unanswered questions and motivates the audience to find about the character.

Finally, it was a confidence boost knowing that the focus group liked the idea of a silhouette implemented in our opening sequence. Due to this camera work, it really builds the ‘atmos’ in the room and complements the audience’s reception with an engaging feel towards the opening sequence.