Questionnaire Results

1. Questionnaire Results Lucy-Anne Richardson

2. introduction • The purpose of this presentation is to illustrate the findings of a questionnaire I posed to my target audience regarding the trailer I am going to create. The questionnaire was to gain outside information from the general public with questions such as asking their age and what they would expect. After I collected these results, they were put into chart form with a bar chart or pie chart to show which answers were preferred.

3. Methods and techniques The method I used was a questionnaire as they are easier to gain results when involving a lot of participants. They are also quick and simple, allowing the participants to answer the questions quickly as most wouldn’t want to spend too much time doing this or would say no to being involved. I asked 20 people which allowed me to look at differences in age for example meaning I could gather a wider range of results from different viewpoints. By only printing out one set of questions, I was able to tally the results which makes it look quicker to the public as they don’t have to read for themselves or sit down to write the answers. The questions were varied in terms of open and closed ended so that, regarding some topics, I could collect more in depth answers rather than just a yes or no.

4. Audience profile • The first questions were about the participant themselves such as their age and gender. Half of the people asked were ages 16-20 due to the similarities of viewpoints with myself as I am in the same age range – this is also my target audience which is why I focused on this range. I was able to collect some other age groups such as Under 16, 21 -25 and 26 – 30. • More females than males were asked by an extra 10% which gives me decent views of both sexes. My target audience is both male and female so I wanted to make sure I get a near enough equal amount of viewpoints. • Employment is one of the more important questions when looking into audience profile as they need to have the income to actually be able to buy/view my product. Due to my target audience being in the 16-20 age range, they are most likely to be students. However, many students have a part time job which would allow them to go to the cinema for example. The statistics support this point as 55% are full time students as well as having a job. • The town of residence is also important as you need to know where to advertise for example. As well as doing the trailer, I am also doing a magazine front cover and a poster. The questionnaire was conducted in Harlow so it is presumed that most participants would be from Harlow (75%). This shows me that my posters would most likely be displayed in Harlow and Bishops Stortford (15%) and the magazine would be sold there too. However, I am sure that people from different areas would want access to the trailer but due to it being conducted in Harlow, some areas haven’t been included.

5. Trailer preferences • From looking at the audiences current film preferences and actions such as how often they go to the cinema, I can see how it would affect the trailer I am going to create. Looking at the pie chart, the majority of people watch films on DVD (45%) so it would be obvious to use this platform. Also, 25% of people watch through online streaming but this doesn’t account for whether it is legal or not (which wouldn’t create profit). Even though only 20% chose the cinema, it could change if it were a new film coming into the cinema rather than watching an older film on DVD. • This leads onto my next question of how often they would visit the cinema in a month. Surprisingly, 50% said 4 times a month which would be a good result – this could relate to the fact that my target audience mostly have part time jobs. • Again, looking at the financial side of things, I wanted to know how much they would pay for my film on DVD. As predicted, the majority chose under £10.00 which would then show me that I could sell my product for perhaps £8.99 for example. • I wanted to ask about renting as it is becoming much more popular than in the past. People are using iTunes, LoveFilm and Netflix for example to rent films and watch them at home.81% chose £2.99 which just gives me an idea of what they’re willing to spend.

6. Trailer Preferences continued… • I thought asking about the most important elements in a horror film would help me focus more on a particular one. The results show that sound is most important which leads me to think about what techniques I can use. From this, I came up with the idea of having a really loud scene then it suddenly becomes silent – this is used in many horror/thriller trailers I have seen. • Even though I already know my storyline and came up with the main title ‘The Cult’, as I went along doing more research, I thought of another title ‘Swarm’ which I think sounds much better. However, I included this question and the public agreed with me. • Gaining the result of Sound being the most important element lead me to the question of whether the audience would prefer low music which makes you jump or loud sounds which makes you jump. 75% chose low music which I will include to make the scene more tense. • This question allows me to perhaps watch the favourite film and take some inspiration by looking into how they used sounds and camera shots to show scary scenes etc. The majority chose Paranormal Activity and The Possession which are both relatively new films. This also helps me with my textual analysis as I know some more trailers to evaluate etc.

7. Visual elements looks at the magazine film cover and film poster rather than the trailer itself. I put together a list of the word ‘Swarm’ and made it different fonts so they could see what the title would probably look like. The majority chose font number 3 which I personally thought everyone would choose as it suits the genre and would look good on the cover/poster with an eerie image. • I then showed them three different types of film posters including The Uninvited, Possession and The Skeleton Key which are all similar films and are what inspired me to come up with the storyline. Doing this allows me to gather ideas for my own poster. I have now got ideas for my image and from previous questions I now know the font. • I asked them why they chose it, whether it was due to the layout, colour scheme, text or image. More than half chose the image as it was very dark, suited the film storyline/genre and used effective techniques such as superimposition as they had inserted one image into another –an image of a man looking at a house inside an eye. Visual elements

8. Visual Elements continued… • I then did the same with the magazine cover and showed them three different covers to choose from. One of the covers was very old and I knew it wouldn’t be chosen. However, the other two are relatively new which is why it was 50/50. This again helps me when I create my own cover. • To find out why they chose both of these, I asked about the font, model, text, colour scheme and layout and the majority went for the model as they are both attractive famous actors. This would then show me people are interested in appearance of the model which I will take on board when creating my own.

9. Conclusion • In conclusion, looking at all of these findings, I can gather who my target audience is, what they expect and what they enjoy. I know that I am targeting both male and female as it would appeal to both – also it allows a wider audience meaning more room for profit. As they are mostly in the 16-20 age range, nearly all are students. However, they have the means to buy this product due to part time jobs. I will advertise mainly in Harlow as almost everyone lives there – from whom I asked – and would be more likely to see it. The results show people prefer the DVD platform and would be willing to pay around £10.00 for the film. The public expects the sound to excel over the other elements such as lighting and would prefer a low sound that keeps them on the edge of their seat.

10. Proposal From my findings, I have now been able to make proposals for my product in which the audience has had some say in certain aspects of the creation. For example, 50% chose sound to be the most important element in a horror film so I will concentrate on this. From this, I have had ideas such as to use some loud sound going straight into silence when a scary scene is in motion. Also, maybe to use some sound affects such as a hospital life support machine in the background as part of the story. This is similar to another question asked – whether loud sound or quite sound is preferred – so I will also look at using quite sound effectively to create tension. I have also decided the name of the film/trailer is ‘Swarm’ as 65% of people asked agreed with this change in title. This can now allow me to look further into connotations of the name and perhaps use it to come up with techniques such as the ‘swarm’ of flies coming out of the girls mouth showing the release of the spirit. I will then have this is font 3 as the majority chose this which was the same as my opinion as it fits in with the title and looks plain yet bold at the same time. Overall, these results have helped me find ideas and inspiration into the creation of my product. It has also made me aware of who my audience is which is both male and female, 16-20 years old which is ideal as it appeals to a wider audience rather than being a specific age with a specific gender.