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 our
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. We also decided to use the idea of no
dialogue within the film from David to show his
inferiority to other people as well as
interpreting that his actions and facial
expressions show his feelings and help tell the
story of what his character is going through.
This would help our audience show a
meaningful psychological drama which would
make them feel sorry for David as the
audience would be able to understand what is
going on whilst David wouldn’t.
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 as we felt they were
accessible for a lot of people and easy to get
quick responses 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 to help us decided whether
our film had achieved the original aims we
wanted the fil. After days of the Facebook
post being online, we gained responses
which helped us understand whether we met
or challenged our initial ideas for the film.
To see the final film then
please use this link:
The Final Film
To see the online final
film questionnaire then
please use this link:
Online Final Film
Questionnaire
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 and
due to the complexity of the story. 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. As well as this, they felt it would have been wise
to extend the film and go more in-depth about the
character of David and his issues however, this
would’ve been something we would be unable to do
as we were limited to a five minute film which mean
we had to keep it short and intriguing for our
audience.
To see the Final Film
Questionnaire Results
PowerPoint then
please use this link:
Results from the Final
Film Questionnaire
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. As well as this, I feel it should be a
12/12A due to the fact that it contains more adult and
mature issues that younger viewers may not
understand so by making it a 12 then it could reach
out to a mature audience as well as being able to be
accessed to younger audiences, under the
supervision of a adult over 12, so it can teach and
educate people about the world that this character
lives in as well as
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.