Questionnaire

What we did
I wrote down a short questionnaire that we could ask people which found out a little bit about them for instance, occupation and then their short film/genre interests. It was ensured that it was about our chosen genre, Romance to discover the publics opinions on it or what they would prefer to see in a short film. By doing this, we could take adjust anything that we think wouldn't appeal to people if needed or add sub genres to gain more interest.
We then went into various buildings in Barnsley college (Old Mill Lane and Eastgate) to try and get a variety of people to take our questionnaire and also film it. We tried to get variety in categories such as age and gender mainly to gain different opinions to see if they differ at all. In addition, if we asked the same type of people then their views will almost be the same which wouldn't be of use to us in our research and it is a start in finding out our target audience. We managed to ask 5 male students, 3 female students, 1 male teacher and 2 female teachers all studying/teaching a variety of subjects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TrW1b_ggX8&list=HL1349795094&feature=mh_lolz

Editing process
After filming all of our participants the footage needed putting together in a questionnaire style. I decided to edit each bit of footage by putting a question and showing everyones answer after each other. This would be good because then all the answers to a specific question are altogether which appears better when viewing. After doing this, I put in text in several places for instance at the beginning to show what the video is about/who it is by before it starts. Furthermore I also added text when each question was being said by the interviewer to make it clear to the audience what is being asked. As some of the answers were really short, because some were just a simple yes/no, when they were put together the video was going too quick. To make this better for viewing I decided to add transitions between each clip (dissolve) so it would space the clips out more and make it better to watch to the audience. Also, I edited the framing as in some clips there was too much headroom in the shot. Therefore, I ensured that in all of the clips they were roughly the same shot as each other so when the video was put together it showed continuity and is better visually

Conclusion
From the questionnaire we gained knowledge of opinions from different people about the questions we asked. The majority of people said they didn't particular like the Romantic genre and had other various preferences for instance, action, horror.  Therefore most of those wouldn't be interested in watching a Romantic 5 minute short film, which was our initial idea to do however, they would probably watch a short film. This may mean that we should add a sub genres to appeal to a wider audience something like, drama or comedy. It was mainly the females who would want to watch one of the Romantic genre however we did have slight diverse answers between genders, which helps when thinking about our target audience.

Our Questionnaire on Short Films & the Romantic Genre

This is our finished questionnaire video,
Interviewers - Jess and Lizzie
Filming - Beth, Jess and Lizzie
Editing - Beth

Film Props and Location Photos (first idea)

iPod: The iPod can be any make or model. However because it will be James's iPod in the film. It obviously shouldn't be a pink or purple colour because it won't fit in with his character description.












Mobile Phone: Just like the iPod, the phone can be any make or model. However, I think that it should be quite a new model with a fairly wide screen because Sally types a message on the screen to James saying 'I love you' and the audience needs to be able to read it clearly because it is an important moment in the film.

Barnsley Train Station:  James will walk along the brigde displayed in this picture and walk down to the platform at the beginning of the film.

On the train: Sally enters the train and sits down. Sally must sit down with seats facing her and a table in between so James can hold her hands at the end of the film and we can also get a clear shot of the phone screen for when she types on it.

Costume Ideas- Sally Herman

We decided that Sally would have quite a quirkey, girly fashion sense. We want to stand out from the crowd because when you watch a romantic drama the female protagonist usually doesn't stand out, they look plain and 'normal'.

 I found this skirt on the Internacionale website: http://www.internacionale.com
This can be worn as part of a casual outfit but also for when she is going out or to a party. It is high waisted so it is fashionable but because it is a leather look skirt it isn't too girly.

This picture was taken from the Vans website: www.vans.co.uk

We decided that Sally should be wearing Vans because James, the male protagonist is also wearing Vans, this suggests to the audience that they have something in common. Furthermore, they are very fashionable at the moment and so we thought it was appropriate that she should have some fashionable shoes to match her skirt.

Finally, I found this top on the Topshop website; www.topshop.co.uk

This top is quite quirkey and different because of the winking face knitted on it. I decided for a knitted jumper because they are comfortable and fashionable. I chose the pink colour because it would look nice with the blacks of the skirt and shoes and it is an unusual colour for knitwear as they are normally pale colours and blacks.








I understand that we probably won't be able to find someone who has all of these clothes but this this is just an example of the style we want Sally to dress like. However, it doesn't have to be the same clothes as these shown.

Costume Ideas - James Oscar

Our idea for the costume of James Oscar came from the style of most guys seen around college, we just want him to seem like any normal guy.

We found these black skinny jeans on the Urban Outfitters website (where James works). They're casual and can be worn everyday, they give him the every-man sort of look. He doesn't look too different or un-stylish.

  We decided on these shoes as a medium, because personally, I felt that the normal Vans where not a good option whilst the others in the group wanted them. We decided that these where right in the middle and very casual to go with his over all look.

Because it is Autumn, it will be quite cold so we decided to go with a knitted jumper we found on the Urban Outfitters website. This is quite dark and casual also to go with the theme so far. Although we recognise that the character cannot wear all of these clothing items exactly, a close enough match will be enough.

Also, because James will have just left college and probably be on his way home he needed to have a back-pack to carry all of his books and so on. So we went with this type of bag we found on the Urban Outfitters website too. Its simple but will add a little quirkiness to his so far quite plain outfit.

Going with the Autumn season wear we decided to also give him a beanie. This adds are more teenage touch and will make him appear like the style of most of the college guys.

For the final accessory we decided to add these brown woven bracelets, they give the outfit a more laid back and put together look.

Character Profile - James Oscar

Date of birth - 16/06/1995

Location - Barnsley

Studying 4 A-Levels at Barnsley College; history, english literature, english language, media

Part time job at Urban Outfitters, Meadowhall






Hobbies - football
               - creative writing
               - guitar
               - Xbox









Music - The Courteeners
           - While She Sleeps
           - You Me at Six
           - Arctic Monkeys





Films - The Avengers
          - City of God
          - Memento
          - The Dark Knight

TV  - Big Bang Theory
        -Family Guy
        - The Inbetweeners
        - The Office
















Books -  Harry Potter series
            - Lord of the Rings
            - Catcher in the Rye
            - The Great Gatsby
            - Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions

         
Personality Traits - Shy
                               - Clumsy
                               - Hopeless romantic
                               - Lucky
                               - Procrastinator
                               - Artistic
                               - Bookworm
                               - Cultured
                               - Loves the outdoors
                               - Night owl
                               - Dog person
                               - Friendly

Character Profile- Sally Herman

Name: Sally Herman
Age:18
College: Barnsley College
Studying: English Language, Biology, Fine Art, Chemistry 
Family: Parents; Andy (Father), Samantha (Mother). Siblings; Ashley, 21 (Sister)

Occupation: Topshop Sales Assistant for two years. 
Favourite Music/Bands:You Me at Six, Paramore, Greenday

Favourite Films: 500 Days of Summer, Hairspray. Sally likes to watch a variety of films. Her favourite genre of film is drama however, she also enjoys to watch horror/thriller films such as Paranormal Activity. 



Favourite Books:
Harry Potter
One Day
The Lord of the Rings


















Hobbies: 
Dancing
Song Writing
Plays Piano
Horse Riding

Character Traits:

Perfectionist/Artistic

Lucky

Loves the Outdoors/Adventurous

Genius 

Excitable

Shy

Friendly

Animal Lover 

Background information: Sally's favourite passtimes are song writing and playing the piano. Her best friends are James Oscar (the boy she is in love with), Olivia Batty and Jessica May. They have been best friends since they were children but only Sally and James will appear in the film. They enjoy going to party's and being outside, doing more dangerous activities such as rock climbing and absailing which they do most weekends. Moreover, Sally has won awards for her abstract art work which she does not only within college but in her spare time also.


Sally's Role in the film: Sally is the main character in our film along with her ex-boyfriend, James. This time last year, Sally was caught cheating on James at a party after they had been together for a year, after he found out that she had cheated, they broke up and haven't spoken since until she see's James in the train station as she is on her way to work. She goes up to talk to him but he wants her to leave him alone, she tries explaining that she didn't cheat on him and that she pushed him away but James won't listen to her. James and Sally are sat away from each other and Sally thinks about all the happy times they had together and decides to go and talk to him again. James finally forgives her and they get off the train holding hands and smiles however James' new girlfriend, Leah, see's that he is now cheating on her and so she runs towards Sally and shoves her back but Sally trips and falls on to the train tracks. It is implied through sound effects that she is killed by an incoming train.