Interview review

I wanted to do an interview with two male and two female media students so that I could collect more information on what others look for in a comedy trailer. I felt that by doing an interview rather than another questionnaire I was able to collate more of an idea of what I needed to pursue, it also allowed me ask questions in a more open and appealing manner, which I couldn’t do through the medium of text. I feel that the students were able to go in depth with their answers giving me the opportunity to develop their thoughts and feelings and put this into context for my trailer. I wanted to know how much of an impact the music actually made to the trailer, as I myself found it hard to stay focused on watching it when the music was taken away, so for part of my interview I showed the students the teaser and theatrical trailer, but I put the sound on mute; they didn't seem to think that it made too much of a change, however I could see that they became a lot more fidgety and distracted. For instance the two males started to recreate their own sound during the showing of the trailer. They even started a conversation half way through, yet they didn’t realise the difference the trailer without sound had actually made to them, as in the first viewing with sound, they were both fully focused and silent. The females both seemed to keep a similar focus that they’d had in the first, however they agreed it didn't have the same impact.
The funny clips that were shown seemed to be the most appealing part of the trailer to the students, which doesn't come at much surprise if I'm honest, seeing as you always want to know that the film is going to make you laugh, and it hasn't just been quickly placed into the comedy genre because it didn't quite fit into any other genre.
Having well known actors and actresses in a film trailer always adds more audience appeal, however this factor will not come at too much use to me as I do not have the provisions and connections to have someone like Tom Hanks or Ricky Gervais in my trailer.
From what I have managed to gather from my interviews, it’s become clear that the editing of funny clips with significant dialogue and suitable soundtrack sets and hold the tone of the entire trailer and the opinion that the audience are left with. – Keeping the audience focused is one of the most important factors of a trailer, if you don’t draw in an audience within the first 10 seconds, you will automatically lose viewers.