Screen — Film Review App Case Study
Reflection of the Previous Case Study
This project iterates my first case study when I got into UX design. I aim to answer the same problem statement with a solution focusing on a narrower scope. That will be the review, which is the main feature of the app.
Project Overview
Screen is a mobile app that keeps film lovers connected through reviews and conversations. Most of the film review apps such as IMDB, Letterboxd, provide rich information and sufficient review platform but lacks networking features to know the taste/personality of the reviewers.
The goal here is to make reviewing film easy and less intimidating and make stranger’s opinions interesting and engaging.
Insight about Film Reviews
Based on a qualitative survey filled by 20 respondents and 5 interviews, It came down to the problem whereby sociability function is lacking.
- Casual moviegoers found reviewing on Instagram or Twitter more enjoyable than IMDB, as people can ramble rather than sophisticate their review. It is also a safe space knowing the circles.
- Knowing reviewers in person or seeing it posted on a personal account as a part of the reviewer’s personality make the reviews seem more honest and believable.
- Storage issue and installing inconvenience is the reason people are picky with their app, casual moviegoers prefer to search on google and take whatever pops in first.
- People do not feel confident to post on film site and prefer sharing on their social media
Here is the mapping of people’s attitudes toward review.
User Persona
From surveys and interviews, there are two types of the film audience.
- Film-buffs who often dig more into the niche or familiar with the industry
- Normal people who watch it for entertainment. Films mimic life, so opinions could come from anybody without the need of being a pro.
Competitors’ Study
I tried to identify issues with IMDB and Letterbox by using and browsing users’ feedback. I compared them given the similarities and differences in their personas and features.
Letterboxd has more similarities with Screen, as it is a networking film site with both ramble and thinkpiece. IMDB is superior with its polished look, and well-thought usabilities such as spoiler alert, “likes” indicator, filter, etc.
With the goal closer to Screen, Letterboxd connects people offline and online. Reading real-life people’s reviews online gives a topic to discuss when meeting in person.
However, Letterboxd’s flow has some issue that is not very intuitive for first time user. For example, some useful sections are not divided into sections, instead, you have to scroll down to go from one section to another.
MOCK UP
For the low fidelity prototype, I explored ways to increase engagement, and prompt people to write. I tried with a designated menu button to write reviews but ended up making a tap button at the home and film page. I scrapped off scoring the review with redeemable points because it creates an ungenuine environment. I was exploring with preset response too, hoping thoughtful feedback preset would encourage the reviewer. After testing, people prefer regular upvotes and downvotes and leave comments for the thoughtful feedback.
Here are the key features after the mid-fidelity user-test.
Key Features
- Home
2. Trending movies
3. Forum
4. Film profiles
5. Watchlist
I will quickly cover each key menu and go at length based on features’ prominence and trickiness.
You can click here for the complete interactive prototype
1. Home
More review prominence to anchor engagement
Now, the home page has two modes of review scope: Worldwide and My circle. The filter sorts the results.
I place them on the top menu bar instead of clumping inside a filter button, The default landing is at “worldwide” to foster the circulation of popular reviews and expose popular topics reviewed.
My Circle’s reposted reviews or activity updates are in a way of trusted friend’s approval/endorsement.
Filter options
As a nature of social media suggests, people enjoy stranger’s opinion that has collected the group’s vote/taste. (for example, based on high to low review yet also popular to least,
The filter on worldwide and circle mode is different from the film page. Worldwide filter focuses on people wanting to narrow the wide-open review inputs to find a pool of films reviewed that meet their overarching specific criteria. It includes Order, Rating, Genre, and Spoiler.
While film filter allows narrowing the already searched film’s review result. It includes Order, Rating, and Spoiler.
2. Trending
Less unrealistic algorithm reliance
Previously I focused on giving rich film suggestions to secure engagement. But that is not the designer’s job for a hypothetical project, as I could go on with more dreamed of lists.
The movie recommendations are now set to just three categories: Most discussed film, Staff Pick, and Most Highly Rated. Next to it is the watchlist, which previously was set at the setting. Now it has more prominence next to trending as the two fall under the same mental, that is to explore a pool of films to watch.
3. Fixed Buttons: Search and Post Review
The search and plus (add a review) button exists across all pages. I put the search button on the right corner as the box slides to the left when clicked. When the search is clicked, the page below changes into “searching” mode, by giving an option to look out for films in a list based on category.
5. Easy Review
Aside from the review, two mandatory Inputs are the spoiler status and film title. Rating is optional but the user’s confirmation will be asked if they leave it blank. Spoiler status needs to be selected as it is important for those who have not watched and trying to make a decision about their money and time.
5. No-spam forum
Shifting it to the upper section for the followed forum and down for what’s out there keep the user in control of the board that they want to find more easily without getting spammed with notification.
Lesson
As an imaginary app, it is easy to saturate with features. I had fun digging about the problem that seems neatly brushed under too many features and pretty user interface and found myself learning more about the realistic application by breaking down the issue in the details. There is always room for learning and iteration for an imaginary case study as I absorb more things about UX design.
