Tutorial feedback

I had a group tutorial yesterday. We had to present our artwork to fellow students and five tutors. Tutorials are always nervewracking as you just don't know how your work will be received. My artwork consists of a film about marine pollution and its effect on the Albatross population and an aquarium filled with plastic litter.

I played my 3:54 minute film to my group. I received a very encouraging response. Several students were moved to tears. I knew my film contained a hard-hitting message but I have been working on it so intensely that I have lost sight of the impact it has on first-time viewers. The feedback I received was in stark contrast to the initial reaction of my personal tutor when I showed her my first version. 'Not another environmentalist banging on about how we consume too much plastic which kills marine life - bad!' I abandoned my original choice of soundtrack after her comment, ' backed with some dreary soundtrack from the 60's', (sorry Fleetwood Mac!). I ploughed through a lot of music, finally selecting 'Under Pressure' by Bowie and Queen. I chose this because the lyrics really underline my message. The music begins slowly, matching the pace of the Albatross in flight, then it speeds up, matching the images of a factory production line, then builds up to a crescendo which punctuates the images of dead juvenile albatrosses on screen.
The response from the tutors was encouraging. They indicated that the film communicated my environmental message and they liked the inclusion of images from a tv advert. The general consensus was that the aquarium was superfluous as the film encapsulated the message alone. For me this meant saving a fortune on the cost of a large aquarium which I was intending to purchase, However, I am disappointed that I will not be producing an installation. I had envisaged a large glass aquarium spewing out plastic litter.
I am really looking forward to finalising my film because it has had the desired effect and all my hours of trawling through environmental footage and tv ads has been worthwhile. I can see that the film stands on its own and does not need the tank full of plastic litter to underline the message.