What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

After creating our teaser trailer, it was essential we received feedback from our target audience. By conducting audience feedback, we were able to see what on our trailer was successful and what could be improved to make the trailer stronger.
Our trailer was targetted at an audience around the age of 15-24, which is a common age range for cinemagoers and also people who are into horror films. By using this age group, the more chance our film would have of sustaining a theatrical life if it were to be distributed. From carrying out a questionnaire, we were able to depict that it was males who mainly watched horror films, and so this was to be considered when making our trailer. However, now that the trailer is complete, I think it can be enjoyed by both males and females, creating a larger target audience, which if the film was to be released would produce a larger profit, to if the film had been targetted at males only. To recieve our feedback, we uploaded our teaser trailer onto Youtube, a video sharing website, to allow the public to view it. Also, as our trailer was targetted for the age group 15 to 24, we were able to also ask our peers, whom gave very detailed feedback. Before a film is distributed, market research is conducted. Distributors run test screenings to an audience, after which the audience are asked to complete a questionnaire, giving the distributor an understanding of how well the film will do at box-office. By commending this market research, the distributors are able to verify what their target audience is, and then promote the film in a successful manner.
 From our feedback, the audiences responses indicated that camera angles, transitions and shots used in our trailer were successful. In particular the canted angles used and the close up of the eye were said to be most effective, and linked well to the horror genre. However, the use of repetition of the close up of the eyes and the crawling down the corridor was criticised, as they felt it took away the powerfulness they initially had upon them. They felt that it could have been removed, or digitally altered to create a more interesting and less tedious trailer. Another shot the audience commented on, was the shot of the hand scratching the floor. The audience found the shot effective as it puts them on edge, creating tension. Scratching a surface is something that most people find ‘distressing’ and ‘uncomfortable’ and so we played on this. The final shot of the eye, with the blood dripping and then rewinding back, was said to have worked well, leaving the audience with an image of the eye, and the visions of dead people.
The audience were particularly impressed by the selection of props used in our trailer. They felt the props created a realistic feel to the film, making it more believable.
The trailer was said to have been possibly too short of length, at 1 minute 12 seconds. Although I realise it was a teaser trailer we were asked to create, I also feel the trailer was perhaps too short, and could be made stronger by adding in some more shots of death. They also felt that the length of time the intertitles were displayed was not long enough to be able to read, and this would also make the trailer longer.
Overall, the majority of our audience commented on the soundtrack of our trailer. Some believed the music worked well, as it created a mysterious feel, and some felt that it did not create enough tension. They thought at the beginning of the trailer the music did grab their attention, however, as the soundtrack continued and remained the same throughout the trailer, the music lost its impact. They felt the climax of the trailer was lost at the end, when it should have been at its highest, and so the trailer could be improved by making the music towards the end stronger. The audience felt the voiceover approximately half way though the trailer was successful, giving the audience a brief indication as to what the film was about.
I feel the trailer works best as a teaser trailer for the audience, with the short shots, giving away a little of the stories meaning. Being a teaser trailer also helps with the horror genre as the speed creates tension, which is needed in the horror genre.