Qualitative Research Feedback and Analysis

Paper Based Focus Group Responses:

Direct Reference:Question: Did you enjoy the storyline? Why?Keith (64 years old)• “some parts I enjoyed, and some I didn’t.”Christina (51 years old)• “yes because of the classic ghost story it was based on.”Charlie (18 years old)• “YES! At first I thought it was a bit slow and had little narrative.

As it went on it came clear there was a hint of mystery and had the viewer thinking and really drew me in.”

Sonia (35 years old)• “yes because of the suspense and build up.”Mia (15 years old)• “yes because it is a ghost story that I heard before.”

Direct Reference:Question: Which themes and issues did you identify in this short

film?Mia (15 years old)• “Gender representations and stereotypes.”Sonia (35 years old)• “stereotypes.”Charlie (18 years old)• “Jumping to conclusions of a stereotype (doctor). The issue of

women on their own. Gender, stereotyping.”Christina (51 years old)• “gender issues and stereotyping.”Keith (64 years old)• “women being alone and vulnerable.”

Direct Reference:Question: Do you think any characters have been unfairly

represented? Why?Keith (64 years old)• “the doctor because of how he comes across to start with.”Charlie (18 years old)• “The doctor, he came across very forward to a woman on her own

late at night. This makes us think the doctor is after the girl, when really he is helping her.”

Sonia (35 years old)• “The doctor because of the first impression of him.”Christina (51 years old)• “The doctor because of his immediate representation.”Mia (15 years old)• “yes, the doctor, because he is made out to be the bad guy.”

Direct Reference:Question: Do you think that the perspective used is the most effective? Why?Mia (15 years old)• “yes, could of been from the doctor.”Christina (51 years old)• “ No, would of been better from the man so the couple wouldn’t of been

needed.”Sonia (35 years old)• “No, could of been from doctor so you could understand the miss-

representation of him.”Charlie (18 years old)• “Yes, as it keeps us thinking and makes the viewer on edge about the staring

woman. When if we saw it from the hooded mans view, it would loose all tension.”

Keith (64 years old)• “yes I do because you connect with the woman the most. Being a male

watching it, however a woman may prefer it from a male pov to see the difference.”

Direct Reference:Question: What do you think is the main problem in this short film?

Why?Christina (51 years old)• “the dead woman because of how strange it is.”Mia (15 years old)• “how the doctor is presented to begin with, also the woman being

out alone.”Keith (64 years old)• “The issue of the woman being alone on the train by herself.”Sonia (35 years old)• “The stereotype of the doctor.”Charlie (18 years old)• “There whole issue of a woman being by herself late at night. This

is a clear problem and makes us come up with different scenarios.”

Direct Reference:Question: What advantages do you think short films have over

feature films?Charlie (18 years old)• “They can get a message across a lot quicker.”Sonia (35 years old)• “Don’t bore audience by being too long, however they need to

make sense.”Keith (64 years old)• “They can get a message across quicker.”Mia (15 years old)• “get to the subject matter quicker.”Christina (51 years old)• “don’t need as many characters.”

Direct Reference:Question: Do you think its true to life? Why?Sonia (35 years old)• “yes because of stereotype issue.”Keith (64 years old)• “I think the woman by herself and the fear of this is, however it

would of been better without the dead woman as this took it too far away from social realism.”

Mia (15 years old)• “No because of ghost story (dead woman) element.”Charlie (18 years old)• “I believe the issues are true to life, but the scenario is something

more dramatic and more from a feature film.”Christina (51 years old)• “No – shouldn’t of had dead woman – could of changed storyline.”

Discrete Analysis:Christina's responses:• Christina’s responses told me that the main issue and theme that she felt was being

represented was gender stereotyping and that having the dead woman in it wasn’t beneficial.

Sonia’s responses:• Sonia’s responses gave me insights and drew me to the fact that in a short film it has to

make sense for it to be able to work.Keith’s responses:• Keith’s responses have given me insights to the careful selection I will have to make when it

comes to choosing the perspective in my short film and what one will have the best effect. They also very importantly made me aware of the fact that I shouldn’t have too much of a non-naturalistic element in my short film as this will branch too far from social realism.

Mia’s responses:• Mia’s responses gave me insights into how a ghost story can be beneficial as it’s a relatable

topic for the audience.Charlie’s Responses:• Charlie’s responses gave me the most insight into how an issue surrounding woman being

out at night alone is an important issue that I should possibly explore as it is different and interesting. He’s liking of the ghost story element has also given me ideas for my short film.

Comparative Analysis:• I benefited much more from Charlie’s responses then I did

from Mia’s as he had studied media before so he knew what to look out for more then she did. His answers were also much longer which is needed for Qualitative responses so this also benefited me more as I got more ideas from these. Sonia’s responses were also on the shorter side like Mia’s, both of their answers to the second question were the same so I wasn’t able to get any new information from them.

• Keith and Christina’s responses were like Charlie’s, all much longer sentences and more helpful for me. Keith’s and Christina’s answers to the last question were both similar, however Keith’s was more valuable he made the point of how it is important to not branch too far away from social realism.

Conclusions:• To conclude, I will still make a short film that is

eerie and based around a women who is out by herself and may possibly be spooked or scared, however, I won’t include any ghost stories or any elements that fall too much under the horror or thriller genre. I will also have to make the decision of how many characters I will want in my short film because of the fact that I want to be able to get to the main subject matter in the shortest amount of time so that I can explain it and make it as clear as possible to the audience.

Action Statement:• My conclusions will impact my creative process

because I will have to be careful when choosing how many characters I have and how to go about creating a storyline that can work with either 2 or even just 1 character. It will also effect the issues and themes that I decide to base my short film on as I will want the audience to be effected by it but not in the typical way that a issue or theme is presented to an audience.