Focus Group Feedback

After completing the focus group we gathered all our information and feedback that we received from the group members and we are going to take it all into consideration when we come to filming and producing our trailer. Overall, the focus group was successful and very helpful, allowing us to gain an insight into what are target audience like about our chosen genre and what they would like to see in order to make it unique. So what information did we receive from our focus group?

• Firstly, we received differing opinions on whether or not the narrative should focus on one main character or have a group of characters like in This is England. Some members of the group thought it was best to have a group narrative because if you have one main character, you soon know what he's about and can easily predict what he is going to do. Whereas with a group of characters you never know what could happen next and you are always learning new things about the different characters. However, some believed that a single main character was a better idea as it allows you to build a personal rapport with that character, so you feel more emotionally engaged in the story, for example the film Bronson just focusses solely on Charles Bronson.
• Furthermore, we noticed that the female members of our focus group didn't particularly like the way female characters were portrayed in the way they had little clothes on and were mainly sexual objects instead of women. Female characters are important in order to widen our target audience, however, I think we will only attract a female audience if they play a more significant role, instead of just being objectified. 
• Moreover, when we showed the different trailers to our focus group we discovered that they preferred their trailers not in chronological order as they thought it is much easier to predict what's going to happen when it is in order. They said they would prefer it not to be in chronological order so that it keeps them guessing, not knowing what might happen next. This is England uses a chronological trailer and so the member of the focus group could see what was going to happen at different stages of the film, whereas the film Legend is set in non chronological order making hit harder to predict and doesn't ruin the story.
• We showed our focus group two different British Drama films. This is England has a more relatable story line and narrative to what the audience are used to. On the other hand, Legend is not realistic and is not everyday occurrence. However, the group said they prefer to watch a film which isn't relatable to their every day lives and would watch something which is different and more exciting in order to follow the narrative more closely. 
• Finally, we wanted to have some feedback on the music that we should use. We have noticed that most trailers use music from the decade the film was set in. We got some good ideas, with some people saying that they prefer the music to match the on screen actions, whether that be an upbeat tempo for excitement or a slower tempo for a more depressing image. 

Editing our Focus Group

Chris and I

After completing the focus group we had to edit it in order for all the mistakes to be cut out and the time between the group watching a trailer and us asking a question to be filled with a transition. Chris and I began by uploading the video onto the Mac computers before we began to look for mistakes. When we found mistakes we cut them in order to get rid off them before Sam took over and added flash transitions in between the group watching the trailers so that there wasn't a massive gap between discussion. This made it look more professional as the trailer than began to flow and looked like there was continuous discussion and feedback. To finish, Chris made a few adjustments to the font and after that we had done our editing and it was ready for it to be uploaded.

Sam and Chris

Focus Group

Today we completed our focus group in order to gain an understanding of what people enjoy about British Film drama and their opinion on how we could make a successful product. I am going to do some analysis of the feedback and what information we gathered in a separate post.

We began our focus group by telling people what genre we were planning our trailer on and the typical conventions you would associate with this particular genre, asking for their opinions as we went through a powerpoint Sam had produced. We then shared a few examples of films that are categorised as British drama and asked whether or not they had seen any of them and if so were they successful and would you watch a film of that style again. We had a lot of really useful feedback and most people had seen the example films we mentioned, having lots of positives to say about them.

We then showed the members of our focus group three film trailers, Bronson, Legend and This is England. After watching each trailer we asked for what they thought was successful about the trailer, along with what they didn't like so we knew how we could make ours different and suitable for our target audience of 15-25 years. From this we got a lot of feedback, which has given us an insight into what we need to include and what not to include.

After watching the film trailers we had three important questions that we wanted feedback on to help us structure our film trailer. Our first question was whether the audience would prefer a group or single narrative. For example, Bronson is very much a single narrative focussing on the one main character. However, some films use more of a group dynamic, for example, This is England in which the story looks at more than one character in detail. In addition, we then wanted the groups opinion on a name for the film. We gave them a couple of our ideas, "Young Breed" and " Street Life" in which we got some useful feedback on. Finally, we wanted ideas on the genre of music that we should use. We noticed that many of the British Drama films are set further back in time and that the music they use tends to be from that time period. We wanted to know whether we should use modern music or a track from the past.

Overall, the focus group was a very useful and important task in order for us to see what our target audience like and dislike about this genre and changes that we could make to the ideas we came up with.

Focus Group presentation

Focus Group Ideas

We have decided to hold a focus group with students 15 and over. Our film is likely to be 15 rated as it will contain strong language and there will be a lot of drug abuse involved. The focus group will give us an indication into what people of this age like about British Drama films and how we can create a film trailer that gets people talking about how good the film is. We have produced a consent form for all members of our focus group to sign as we are going to film it and it will be put on our Blogs.

Audience Profile

Todorov Narrative Theory

I decided to do some narrative research to see the typical conventions of narrative structure and to see how we could link this to our film trailer.

Todorov's theory suggests that most plots follow a similar pattern and he demonstrates this by breaking down a storyline into five main steps. These steps are as follows:

1: The first step is known as Equilibrium- This at the beginning of the story in which all the characters are happy and everything is normal as it should be.

2: A disruption- This step comes after the first stage of equilibrium, where suddenly the happiness is disrupted by a problem or a threat.

3:Realisation: This is the moment when the characters in the story realise there is a problem which results in panic and often a lot of trouble amongst the characters.

4: Restored order: The characters try and solve the disruption and attempt to make to make the situation better.

5: The final stage is equilibrium again. This is when normality is restored and the problem is solved, resorting in happiness amongst the characters.

Trailer Analysis- Trainspotting

At the beginning of the trailer we see the logo of the institution, 'Miramax' which gives us an indication of who made the film and potentially what type of film the audience will get. Miramax is an American independent film distributing company. This may can be done in order to attract a cult audience who watch the majority of Miramax films.

We then see four characters running as if they have done something wrong and are in trouble. We don't know why they are running which creates an a enigma code, which is clever as it makes the audience continue to watch in order to find out what is going to happen. There is a voice over played whilst the four characters are running which says, "Choose life, choose a job, choose a career." However, this doesn't give anything away. As he continues running away from either danger or trouble, there is a low angle shot of one of the characters running down the stairs, which suggests we are inferior to this person. This character then gets hit by a car but doesn't get hurt. The camera is situated within the car so it makes the audience look like they have ran him over.

There is then a mid shot of the first character we are introduced to who is Renton. As he is the first character to be introduced we can assume he is one of the films most important characters. He has a big smile on his face and makes a weird laugh, however he looks a bit crazy and could be under the influence of something. We then see Renton in a two shot with a woman who seems polar opposite to him. He is a bit wild and mental, whilst she seems to be an ordinary intelligent female. It then jumps to the woman taking her dress off which suggests women are seen as sexual objects being taken advantage of by men. There is then a long shot of a group of men walking around the bar, which could link to Renton being a bit wild due to his fondness of drinking.

We are then introduced to the next character, Spud. He could also be important as he center of the shot suggesting he is a main protagonist within the film. Like Renton, Spud looks a wild character suggesting he could be alcoholic or drug user from the expression he has on his face. We then see him being interviewed shown by a long shot. He is acting very strangely linking to drug abuse. The room he is in looks very run down, representing the lower class status. Moreover, we then see a third character, Sick Boy. As with the other two characters he is shown in the center of the frame suggesting he is equally important to the film. We see him in the toilet and he is acting strange like the other two characters suggesting he might have just done some drugs.

We then see one of the protagonists lining up to shoot a man, with the target pointed at his head. This shows the danger and violence of these characters, along with not thinking what they are doing. This is followed by a low key lighting a shot of many people in a club having a rave. This represents younger people in society wanting to have and enjoy themselves with friends. We are then introduced to another protagonist, Begbie, who yet again is mental. There is then more violence as one character hits another with a snooker cue. This shows lower class people in a negative way suggesting they are troublemakers. In addition there is more violence when one of characters smashes a car window. During this part of the trailer the speed of the scenes are increasing building up drama suggesting something is going to happen.

There is some quotes of reviews for example, "A jolt of pure energy" and "Two thumbs up". This suggests that the film is a success and encourages more people to go and watch the film as they know it is approved by a number of different reviewers. Finally, the film finishes with a wide shot of the four characters in a line whilst a train goes past. One of the characters has their back to the camera suggesting he wants to be different to the other characters.

Trailer Analysis- The Football Factory

The film begins with the name of the institution which is Vertigo Films. Vertigo Films is a UK film and distribution company, focussing on lower budget films.  The Football Factory was the biggest independent UK DVD of all time. We then see a large group men in the street, all shouting and looking violent, which we would associate with football hooliganism. Furthermore, as a gang of men are fighting in the background, there is a close up of one of the main characters played by Danny Dyer, which could suggest he has an influential role within the film.

The trailer then has a review quote from a magazine, "F****** Fantastic". Throughout the film there is a lot of bad language and swearing and so the magazine has cleverly incorporated that into their review of the film. In addition, there is then a mid shot of the same character with a voice over of himself, sort of describing himself and what he enjoys and gets up to. It then cuts to show a large group of football fans like on matchday and police officers on horses, making sure there is no trouble. We then see a group of men in a bar and another group of men in a club. This is what we associate with a group of football hooligans, out drinking and getting into trouble.

There is then a wide shot of a man holding down someone on a bed about to attack him, when one man comes up from behind and hits him over the head with a cricket bat and then they run out of the house to pretend nothing has happened, more violence. There is then a coach full of men drinking maybe on the way to an away game. There all laughing and joking, having a good time. There is then another review quote from a magazine praising the film, "a nose bursting blow to the senses"which again relates to more violence.  We then see the F.A Cup draw on the TV screen and Chelsea are drawn to play Millwall, to massive rivals and violent sets of supporters. Both sets of fans are happy to play each other as they know there will be a lot of violence involved.

We then see a large group of men walking to the game as one big gang to try and put fear into the opposing team. The two large gangs then are face to face with each other and they are both shouting at one another. It then finishes with a voice over from one of the characters saying "what else you going to do on a Saturday?" Then the date of the film and the website for the film come up on screen.

Trailer Analysis- The Firm

The trailer begins with one of the main characters walking through the street and then cuts to him speaking with a man who is dressed smartly, who I think maybe part of another gang. It then has the Warner Bros logo and then the production company which is Vertigo Films. Vertigo Films usually produce low budget films as they are smaller institute.

We then see two men talking and smoking on the balcony of a black of flats. They distract the attention of somebody below and cause him to walk into a lampost, which shows their type of humour. We then see lots of people in a club, with one of the main characters headbutting somebody after a bit of an altercation.

Then the same character is in a pub when somebody comes up to him to apologise, which he appreciates. The character who apologises is then playing football with the main character and they seem to become close friends. They are then in the sports shop trying on new tracksuits. One of the men asks "Do I look like a post box?" due to his full red tracksuit with the other replying no. However, the other person tries on the same tracksuit and his mother is not happy as she thinks he does look like a post box.

It then cuts to a large group of people all fighting with the police and their police dogs trying to keep control. Whilst this is going on there is upbeat music playing over the top suggesting they dont care they are getting into trouble and in fact they actually enjoy it. It then shows them all on the train, having a laugh and drinking suggesting their on their way to a game. There is then another fight and then it cuts to all the men in a club, suggesting this is the type of life they live.

It then has the name of producer and two other films he has produced, which are both popular films, which is done to attract more people. Two firms then come together and there is more fighting and violence. It finishes with a rhetorical question, "Do you want to belong?" and the different companies associated with the film.

The Firm Poster Analysis

The Football Factory- Poster analysis

The Football Factory is a 2004 British film directed by Nick Love. The film stars Danny Dyer, Tamer Hassan, Frank Harper, Roland Manookian, Neil Maskell and Dudley Sutton. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by John King.

Plot

The Football Factory is more than just a study of the English obsession with football violence, its about men looking for armies to join, wars to fight and places to belong. A forgotten culture of Anglo Saxon males fed up with being told they're not good enough and using their fists as a drug they describe as being more potent than sex and drugs put together.

Analysis

Firstly, the poster is a bright red colour which relates to the story of the film in which football hooligans use violent actions as a way of life causing chaos and a lot of pain. The title of the film, like most film posters, is centralised, capitalised and bold to make it stand out. The font has lines in it, with the letters not joined together properly. This could suggest broken bones as they are not aligned properly. Moreover, under the title there is a tag line which says 'What else you gonna do on a Saturday?'. This suggests that football fans live for football on a Saturday and that there is nothing better than to have a fight and cause mayhem at the football on a Saturday. The grammar isn't correct with the word ‘Gonna’ suggesting the people involved are from rough areas who have grown up with this way of life. The main image shows a large group of men having a fight relating to the plot of the film, with graffiti which makes it look like blood stains, representing violence. Overall, the film poster us successful as it gives a clear narrative and uses a colour scheme which links to the story of the film. You know the film will be good to watch with the reviews and the five stars it possess at the top of the poster.

Trainspotting film poster

Background Info
Trainspotting is a film directed by Danny Boyle in 1996 and is a black British comedy crime drama. The film was successful with a Box Office of £48,000,000 from a budget of £1,550,000. In addition, the film was ranked 10th in the list of top 100 British films of all time by the British Film Institute (BFI) and in 2004 the film was voted best Scottish film of all time in a public poll.

Purpose of a film poster
A film poster is used to get peoples attention and to advertise an upcoming film. The poster is used to sell the film and get across certain information regarding the film, for example, the release dates and the actors within the film. A poster will usually have the institution brand name on so that it attracts a cult audience who are big fans of that institution. A film poster will usually include the BBFC rating and have a scene from the film as the key image.

Analysis
Firstly, we can see an introduction of the characters as the key image which is centred along with the title of the film. This highlights to the audience the title of the film and is the main attraction of the film poster. Moreover, the title of the film is in white font which contrasts on the orange background to make it stand out. In addition, there are reviews, for example the five stars and the caption at the top giving a quoted opinion. Furthermore, it includes the makers of previous film that have produced this film as it shows they have been successful and that can help attract a cult audience who have enjoyed that film to come and watch this film. There is the name of the production institution so that the audience is aware of the company who has produced the film so that it can attract not only the intended audience but the a cult audience who always watch films produced by that company. It includes key information like the release date and warns the audience to check the age guidance as it might not be appropriate for younger audiences. Finally, it tells the different music groups and individual artists included within the film, as they play a role within the film and so need recognition as they are important.