Audience response task

For this task I had to discuss the result of the filming with other groups in my class and film the discussion between us. Unfortunately my partner was absent on the day of the discussion, therefore I had to speak on behalf of her. To start off the task I showed my film opening to the two groups through Youtube. After watching it they were set various questions to ask me and I would try to answer them in good detail however as it was a discussion, some of the questions I was asked were not on the list of set questions. 

Question 1: "How have you adhered to the genre of your film opening?" I don't believe I handled this question as well as I could have simple because I did not give the best examples when referring to films that also open with monologues I accidentally stated that Forrest Gump and Titanic open with monologues. I meant that they both open with quite simple music to convey the focus of Drama films being on ordinary people and their stories. The examples which I should have given that I have talked about in other pieces of work include The Holiday, My Sisters Keeper and The Blind Side. The monologues used in these films are effective in conveying the character's state of mind and to introduce them.

Question 2: "What did you think was effective about camera composition and what could have been improved?" I think I handled this question better than the last one because mentioned both the key shots, the over the shoulder shot and the high angle shot. I explained that the over the shoulder shot is effective in putting the audience into her position and see what the world looks like from her perspective being lonely. I mentioned the high angle shot makes her look vulnerable, and with the main character living on the streets this also helps to convey her feelings. 

Question 3: "What do you think was effective about the editing and the titles and what could you have improved on?" The groups did not get the chance to see the completed film opening with titles due to my partners absence. The second piece which had better titles was not uploaded onto Youtube which meant that it was saved onto her computer. I had to show the groups the original piece. I mentioned that I should have used more of a variety of to make transitions between different scenes more interesting to watch.

Question 4: "What do you think about the narrative structure of the film?" I struggled to answer this question however I mentioned that most Drama films open with monologues. Monologues are effective in introducing the main character, I could have also mentioned that our Drama film is focused on just one individual, this is common in other drama films including 'Forrest Gump.'

Question 5: "What do you think was good about the use of mise-en-scene and what could you have improved on?" I mentioned that we did not use enough props, we only really used for props a sleeping bag and coffee cup. One of the group members mentioned that we could have used a cardboard sign that most homeless people holdup to make members of the public sympathize with them and give them money. We had various issues involving the lighting, our shot through the coffee shop window did not clearly show our main character buying the coffee which may have caused confusion with the audience if they did not realize that, that particular shot was taken inside a coffee shop. 

Question 6: "Do you think this production is conventional?" I answered that I think it is, however after watching the opening several times again I do not think it is conventional. The film is quite unusual in comparison to various block busters where mainly Action and Horror films dominate the box office. Our film is most likely to be similar to 'The Kings Speech' in terms of budget and this film started out only opening in four cinemas in the USA, however as a result of it's popularity it soon opened in more than a thousand. This popularity was because of the cultural heritage theme in the film, I believe our film will only reach a small audience due to the unusual story line.