1) The fact the majority of people of I asked where aged 18-25 was because these were the types of people I originally wanted to aim my horror film at. Nevertheless, I also wanted to create some diversity by asking a wider range, which is why 30% of my target audience were aged 25+. The 25+ category prefered supernatural and gothic horrors, whereas the 18-25’s prefered psycholigcal/ slasher films. I think this is due to the fact that supernatural horrors tend to aquire the taste for those with intellectual and stimulated minds, whereas younger, less experienced indivudals prefer the excitement and mystery of the psychological sub genre.
2) As I had already decided on the gender of my target audience, I only asked female indivudals for their oppinions as a male’s point of view would have been of no assistance to me and my film. I decided to base my horror around the female gender as I feel that there is a space in the film market for this type of film, and for this target audience. A majoirty of horror films, particuallry slasher horrors are aimed mainly towards males, with a small majority aimed at unisex genders. I think that by aiming my film purely at females will enable me to create a sophisticated film, aimed at the more elegant gender in society.
3) Occupation?
My chosen target audience are sophisticated and well educated individuals. They have well paid; exciting jobs, or are heading to pursuing an ABC1 bracket career, and is therefore currently sudying at university level. When I handed out this questionnaire, the feedback that I received showed that there was a wide range of different, yet interesting and stimulating occupations. For example, three females I asked were students at university taking either a Psychology or Media/Public Relations course. Three individuals were teachers and or student teachers, in their last year of training. Four participants were students studying either Media Studies or Psychology at a university level. The remaining three all had different ABC1 bracket careers; one individual was a doctor, another was a personal trainer and the third and final participant was working in house in a public relations company.
These are the types of jobs/ career paths that I had previously anticpated. They are both exciting yet thought-provoking careers that would require an active and intellectual mind. This therefore allows me to the trust the fact that this is the correct target audience for my film as Psychological horros require this level of intellegence and sophistication.
4) This was a 50/50, split response as 50% of the people whom I asked were single whereas the other 50% were in a relationship. In my target audience profile, I stated that “I’d say that my target audience would be in a long term, committed relationship, as she is a sophisticated, confident woman, who doesn’t tend to have casual relationships, but would rather be devoted to one man”. This therefore shows that I have distrubuted this questionnaire the target audience that I had wished to aim my film at. The fact that none of them were married reassures me that these are still young, exciting individuals who are not ready to settle down, still wanting to explore further in life. But also are loving and caring individulals, who will be able to feel for the victims and care for there safety, allowing them to be fully immersed and involved in the film and its narrative. This is the type of audience I want to aim my film at as they will therefore have an open mind for change, for instance, with codes and conventions, and are also able to appreciate the excitement that a horror tends to bring its target audience.
5) The prefered sub genre of horror was Psychological, followed by Supernatural, Slasher and last but not least Gothic. I think that by sending this questionnaire out to the types of females that I believe fit my desired target audience, and then getting back the response that their favoured sub genre was Psychological, reassured me that these are the correct target audience, who like both Psycholigcal and Supernatural horror’s. This lead to me to make the final decision that my horror film was going to be a Psycholigcal/ Supernatural as this is what my target audience would rather watch.
6. What is it that you like about horror films?
When I asked this question, the response I got was my anticpiated instinct. Half the amount of people I asked stated that they enjoy watching horror films because they “enjoy the excitement of being scared, it’s thrilling”. The fact that they enjoy being scared because of the excitement this brings with it, signals to me that this is the perfect target audience for me as psychological films tend to do this every time. Two participants simply said that they enjoy watching them, because they scare them. The final three individuals had different ideas as to why they enjoyed watching horror films; one participant stated that they enjoy the more technical side of horror films and that they like “The tension, the suspense, the music”. This shows me that even though I have to thrill my target audience with eerie and creepy footage, I will also need to be able to captivate and entice them with mise en scene devices, sound and editing as these are also important factors that my audience find most effective and most interesting. The other two participants said that they found “the mystery of the plot and unexpected twists that make you jump”. These responses signalised to me that this is the correct target audience as these are typical codes and conventions that you would expect to see in any psychological horror film,
7) When I asked the question ‘How often do you watch horror films’ half of the amount of people that asked answered only once a month. I think this is down to the fact that as my target audience are above the age of 18, where they should be in education, or have an ABC1 bracket, demanding career, possibly not allowing time for regular trips to the cinema. I think that because the other half of my participants chose either ‘once a week’ or ‘more than once a week’ this allowed me to understand that there are still some of my target audience who are able to watch horror’s on a regular, daily basis, showing their love, passion, dedication and understanding of the genre itself. From this feedback I was reassured and made certain that this was the genre for me as I am sure that my target audience are going to be enthusiastic in watching this film, and making it a success.
8) 70% of participants stated that they find ‘sound’ most effective when watching the film trailer. The remaining 30% chose ‘the actual footage used’ with not one of my participants choosing ‘lighting’ or the ‘characters’. This has shown me that to impress and lure in my target audience, I definitely have to use a vast range of effective sound devices. This has lead me to investigate further into the world of sound, as I am now aware that incorporating valuable sound effects, creepy and eerie music and effective dialogue is crucial in making my film a success with the target audience. Also, in order to make this film a further success I am dedicated in making the footage used in the trailer most effective and exciting due to the fact that 30% of participants found this the most effective. I am going to have to be able to both lure in the audience and then excite them, encouraging them to come and see the film. Even though not one of my target audiences chose lighting, I am fanatical in making this an aspect of film trailer’s that they will find interesting and effective. I want to convert the target audience into being lured in by successful lighting devices and I have made it one of my main priorities in making this possible.
9. Name your favourite horror film and give a reason why.
When presented with the feedback from this question I was given the expected response. I predicted that they would be a combination of the psychological and supernatural sub genre of horror as these were the people who matched my target audience profile. Three participants said that there favourite horror film of all time was the ‘Saw’ sequels. One indivdual stated that this was because “the suspense and the twists that we are presented with excite and of course, frighten me, also trying to figure out the link’s between the characters in the movie is interesting and mysterious, something I love to see in any horror film, is mystery”. The fact that I have been made aware that some of my target audience’s favourite films lye in the group of well known, successful psychological creations reasssures me that this is the correct target audience for me. The reason for why it is that they like this film signals to me that they enjoy mystery and twists, two main conventions of the psycholigcal genre.
Another two participants stated that their favourite horror film was “The Last Exorcism” a newly released psychological horror, which also proves that my target audience are avid cinema goers, dedicated to watching film, more so, horror films. One of the reasons for this was because they love the fact that “it makes you think”. This suggests to me that they love having things to figure out, again looking out for mystery and enigma. This also will involve the audience having a sophisticated and well educated mind, reassuring me that I have the correct group of people to ask.
The remaining five individuals who I had asked all gave me mixed reviews. The answers I received were; ‘Seven’ “Because its and intelligent, well scripted film, but still full of suspense”, ‘Sorority Row’, ‘What Lies Beneathe “because is was jumpy and I enjoyed the psychological/ supernatural genre of the film”, ‘Silence of the Lamb’ “I enjoyed this film because it provided me with a sense of fear, and had good thrill” and the final participant answered ‘The Orphan’ because “I thought that the twist was incredible as it was so unexpected and surreal, I enjoyed this film because I have always found little girl characters extremely scary and the thrill of being scared provides me with excitement”. This range of successful and well known films shows me that my target audience have a good understanding and love of the horror genre, particually, the psychological/ supernatural sub genre. These films also offer interesting twists which I would love to incorporate into my horror film, and knowing that they find these effective, ensures me that I should.
10. Name a horror film that you decided to watch because the
trailer was so good. Why did it have this effect?
After receiving the feedback for this question, some of the answers I had received were two people replying that they decided to go and see the film due to the effectiveness of the film trailer, “‘Orphan’ it seemed scary, thrilling and intense- the characters looked like they played the role well” and “The Orphan, because the trailer was incredible jumpy and intense and extremely intriguing”. This shows me that an intense and jumpy trailer is crucial if I want to encourage the audience to view my film in the cinema, when released. Other films that cropped up in the results were films such as ‘Paranormal Activity’, ‘Last House on the Left’, ‘The Strangers’ and ‘Sorority Row’. These are all well known and successful horror films, so the fact that my target audience are aware and interested in this type of film, it allows me to realise that in order to appeal to my audience and lure them in, I have to try and compete to such a professional and sophisticated standard, making sure that my trailer will lure in the audience, signal genre and excite and scare the audience.
After receiving the feedback for this question, some of the answers I had received were two people replying that they decided to go and see the film due to the effectiveness of the film trailer, “‘Orphan’ it seemed scary, thrilling and intense- the characters looked like they played the role well” and “The Orphan, because the trailer was incredible jumpy and intense and extremely intriguing”. This shows me that an intense and jumpy trailer is crucial if I want to encourage the audience to view my film in the cinema, when released. Other films that cropped up in the results were films such as ‘Paranormal Activity’, ‘Last House on the Left’, ‘The Strangers’ and ‘Sorority Row’. These are all well known and successful horror films, so the fact that my target audience are aware and interested in this type of film, it allows me to realise that in order to appeal to my audience and lure them in, I have to try and compete to such a professional and sophisticated standard, making sure that my trailer will lure in the audience, signal genre and excite and scare the audience.
