Evaluation question 3

After deciding our films storyline it was determined what certificate our film would be in regard to the BBFC's guidelines. The BBFC's guidelines for a 12A film follow as such:

 "Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to take a child under 12 to view a 12A film should consider whether the film is suitable for that child."

Furthermore, our film contains one instance of strong language (in the form of a gesture) and the official BBFC guidelines state:

 "The BBFC's Guidelines state that strong language (e.g. 'f***') may be passed at 12 or 12A, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency and any special contextual justification. Aggressive uses of strong language may result in a film or DVD being placed at the 15 category. There is some allowance for puns on strong language at this category.
There may be moderate language (e.g. uses of terms such as ‘bitch’ and ‘twat’) at 12 or 12A."

From this its possible to conclude that our film would pass at 12A quite easily due to the context of the film and the underlying themes, this means our audience will be 12 and above.

To get the meaning from certain shots we decided to either make the shots longer or use a closer zoom, here Laura can be fully seen by the audience ensuring clear conveyance of her gesture which shows her anger towards Matt.

This gesture's meaning would be apparent to our target audience as they are around 18/19 and this is a normal gesture meaning the gesture, and its intentions, would be clear in meaning.

In sections of our film warm lighting was used to connote the love and happiness brought by a relationship but this contradicted the current events in the film.

Depending on the gender of the viewer they are prone to taking sides with their retrospective sex represented in the film. One specific member of the audience said that they "related to Matt a little bit" but they also related to Laura as they "didn't know the cause of the original argument". This is good as the audience member being compelled to take sides and reason with the logic of the film would make them more engrossed into the plot and the film.

Older people than the people in our film, around 18/19, will possibly feel that the argument is pointless and perhaps look down upon the younger generation. This is also good because strong opinions regarding any characters in the film make for a more compelling watch for the audience.

Prefilming questionnaire.

 We asked members of our class a set of questions before we began filming to see what features they may like or dislike as well as their general interest into the film.

So at around 27 seconds we asked for feedback onto our films name "Notes", Darren said the name was ambiguous which meant it was intriguing to him and made him curious as to what the film contained. Ellis said the name was good as it game some insight into the films storyline which is good and Callum liked the simplicity of the 1 word title. So all positive feedback regarding our films name.

Next we asked if they understood the plot. Ellis commented that the film was "straightforward to follow" and "simple" and to follow on we asked whether they personally liked the plots content. Here Darren commented on the Todorov theory of narrative, where the equilibrium is disrupted and then returns back to normal and he commented that it was good that we "implemented that theory", Darren commented that it seemed "bland" in part which was contradicted by Callum saying it looked "good". Despite this Callum though that we could have done more with the plot, unfortunately this was not possible regarding our time constraints both to film and the length of the film.

Next we asked what genre they thought notes was, Darren commented saying it was a cross between a comedy and thriller, Ellis a comedy and drama cross and Callum said it would fit into the comedy genre but said it wasn't "that funny" until the "end bit".

When asked where they would expect to see our film we got mixed answers. Ellis said he would expect it in a cinema, Callum in his living and Darren in a film festival.

Rough cut feedback:

Our rough cut was screened in class to help our audience feedback and also help us produce the best film.


The majority of the audience said that the film was "simple" in its nature and had a "very clear story line", this is good as a confusing film isn't good for any viewer and a complex plot isn't associated with a domestic comedy film.

People commented on the music choices and said they were good for the genre and also the continuity of the film was very good. This is good to hear as the music was a difficult choice and lots of editing time was spent getting the best continuity. Also commended was the title sequence and title screen and people said the went well within the film and were executed well.

People mostly thought the film was 12A and over with one person saying they thought the film should be a 15. This was also good to hear as it reassured us we were within the guidelines for our certificate.

Good parts of our film according to the feedback: 

People thought that the music we used was particularly good as it fits in with the shots we had taken. 

A variety of shots were used. 

Good sequence of continuity throughout.

Post production questions

We asked a set of questions in post production screenings to a wide audience, the questions were as follows, the questions were asked after seeing the film.

• Did you enjoy the film? 

We got mostly positive feedback for this question with two people being on the side of not enjoying the film. Due to the limitations of the software we were unable to expand further on this questions so we do not know why they didn't enjoy it but based off of other submitted answers it could have been because the "plot was a bit boring" or needed more "jokes".

From these responses its possible to see that our certificate of 12A was appropriate as the majority of people watching the film agreed with this or under and said it could fit into a PG catogory.  It is good that people agree with this as they most likely won't know the exact BBFC guidelines and we determined that this was because of the swearing in the film.

• What element of the film did you enjoy?

An enjoyed element of our film was Laura sticking fingers up at Matt. This is good as this was risky as we could have not got our desired certificate for our film, limiting the target audience. The joke at the end was also a large success, this is also good as this is what made us categorise the film into domestic comedy as its an intended laugh. 

• What element of the film needs improvement?

• What age ranges do you think this film will appeal to the most?

One thing we struggled with throughout filming was getting the right shots on the notes. This shows how we did have a problem with it but only two people picked up on them which is a success. The lengthening of shots would have made us run over our time constraints and also made the film a bit boring with lots of slow reading, the zooms being too far is a fair criticism but we can only accommodate so many people before people with poor eyes are unable to see the writing but we zoomed as much as we could without it looking silly,

From this we can safely say that our film would appeal to our age certificate viewers and our target audience of 16+ year olds as that close to the age of the characters in the film.

What we would do better next time? 

We would improve the quality of the shots on the post it notes and conduct a survey asking whether or not people could see them clearly so we could make any changes faster and easier. We would also expand on the length of the film to clear up the ending a bit more and remove the cliffhanger and maybe add a montage of Matt getting ready and leaving the door. But overall technically I am happy with how the film turned out overall with the shots and the plot.