Ten questions were put to a sample audience, mixed in terms of gender age and race.

Nearly all guessed the genre was drama, some with caveats that, as the film progresses, it could still turn out to be a teen romance, adventure, crime mystery, or thriller, instead. Therefore, I have evidently included sufficient drama conventions, intrigue and generated empathy, for the viewer to recognise the genre.

No one answered that they were not left wondering anything! The audience had many questions in their head. The women were predominantly concerned for Taylor’s welfare, whereas the men turned this on its head, questioning Sam’s intentions. This would suggest that, in particular the females had identified with and focused on the female character, and the males had identified with and focused on the male character. The audience were clearly interested in what was to happen next, be it rape, romance, or adventure.

The opening sequence evoked a variety of emotions - a sense of intrigue prevailed, together with feelings of sadness , drama , sympathy, curiosity and general concern, as well as raising broader questions about what has let up to this situation and what kind of journey Taylor was about to embark upon.

The audience perceived the female character to be volatile, spontaneous, sad, vulnerable, lonely, confused, shy, malleable, scared and rebellious.

The male character, on the other hand, was thought to be friendly, confident, helpful, charitable, happy, excited and posh, but with an understanding that he was secretly strange, creepy and perhaps evil!

In rating the clarity of the storyline, the audience gave an average rating of 4.27 out of a potential 5, at times explaining that this was in part due to the early stage in the film.

There were some contradictions regarding the strengths. Women liked the journey sequence (metaphorically and physically); whereas some of the males felt that there should have been more action and dialogue (males typically prefer actions films to drama!). The dramatic start and storyline, cinematography, location and characters were praised by some, and the music emerged strongly as a positive for many.

Understandably, the wind was a recurrent theme to be mentioned as a weakness. Framing and steadiness of hand were issues for a few, and the male character came in for a little criticism, but I personally feel that this is not entirely justified. Several viewers said that there were no obvious weaknesses, but perhaps they did not want to hurt my feelings! One member of the audience thought that Taylor should have resisted and protested a little more before following Sam, and I think this is a valid point.

100% of the audience would definitely like to continue watching, which I consider to be an extremely positive result!

Suggested improvements included, more time for dialogue and explanation between Sam and Taylor, a more skanky location, and maybe scenes of Sam approaching before his memorial debut. Also suggested were, a different male actor, a longer scene of Taylor walking while the music played, a different font for the titles, and, as one might expect, reshooting of wind damaged shots.

I am delighted with the audience’s comments! I believe that they provide solid evidence that I have created a film of true ‘drama’ genre. The audience were able to follow the storyline, strongly empathised with the character, appreciated the music, and felt personally touched by the emotion and intrigue, and more importantly they were keen to know more!

I believe that a conventional combination of a strong storyline, and effective camerawork, editing and narrative, realistic characters with which the audience could emphasise, real life environments, and sensitive and emotionally charged scenes, really pulled the audience in to the film.