A2 Media Pre production survey results

A2 Horror Movie ProjectPre Production Questionnaire Results

20 people surveyed

Question 1

15 - 17 18 - 25 26 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 50 50+0

2

4

6

8

10

12

What Age Are You?

Tally

I have deliberately targeted my questionnaire at the teenager/young adult age brackets because these are statistically the most likely to watch horror films. I aimed to also survey at least one person from the other age brackets but no one I gave out a questionnaire to was in either the 41 – 50 or 50+. If I was to do the survey again I would try harder to ensure that each age bracket was represented.

Question 2

Male

Female

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

What Is Your Gender?

Gender

Statistically males are more likely to watch horror films than women, however the difference is shrinking and so I have given women an equal voice in my survey by questioning 10 females and males.

Question 3

Do You Enjoy Watching Horror Films and Why?

YesOccasionallyNo

For the first part of the answer we can see that 75% of the 20 people questioned do enjoy watching horror films. 14 of the 15 who said this were from the 15 – 17 and 18 -25 age brackets indicating very strong support from these age ranges. One person from the 26 – 30 category also chose this option showing marginal support from this age bracket. 3 of the 20 people surveyed commented that they enjoyed watching horror films occasionally but were not avid viewers, one from each of the 18 – 25, 26 – 30 and 31 – 40 age brackets. The two people who said that they didn’t enjoy watching horror films were from the 15 – 17 and 31 – 40 age brackets.

Question 3: Do You Enjoy Watching Horror Films and Why?

Why? Samples from the surveyYes – “I enjoy being scared”, “They are fun to watch with friends”

Occasionally – “Don’t have much time to watch movies”, “I think they are more for Teenagers than adults”

No – “They scare me and I don’t enjoy it”

The ones who watch scary movies are those who like being scared and they often watch them in social groups. For Teenagers, watching scary movies is a way to gain popularity as it shows that you have the courage to be scared time and again. It is the Teenage and Young Adult age groups who are the most likely to watch scary movies because they have more free time and also less expenses to pay than an older adult so can go to the cinema more often.

Question 4

Which Genre of Horror Film is Your Favourite?

0

2

4

6

8

Slasher (3)Supernatural (3)Monster (8)Gore / Torture (5)

This is a surprisingly convincing win for Monster movies as I thought the votes would be closer. Movies featuring iconic monsters such as Frankenstein, Zombies, Werewolves and The Mummy are the most popular according to this small-scale survey.

Question 5

Yes

No

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Do You Enjoy Psychological Techniques Being Used in Horror Films?

Response

There was a very strong response in favour of the use of psychological techniques in horror films. The two people who voted against the use of them where the same two who stated that they did not enjoy watching horror films in the previous question. Therefore all 18 people surveyed who said that they did watch horror films were in favour of using these techniques.

Question 6

Would You Like to See More Ethnic Minorities Playing Leading Roles?

YesNo

This shows that audience members would like to see more ethnic minorities playing major roles in horror films. There is still a 30% opposition for ethnic minorities having bigger parts but overall this seems to be the least popular opinion.

Question 7

Do You Think That More Disabled Characters Should Feature in Horror Films

YesNo

There were very view votes between them but overall my survey indicated that the audience do not want to see more characters affected by disabilities in horror films. This was a surprise result but unfortunately I designed the question to be quantitative meaning there were no stated reasons for peoples choices. If I was to conduct the survey again I would definitely ensure that I collected more detailed opinions than simply one word answers which would improve the quality of my research.

Question 8

Yes No05

101520

Do You Think That it is More Terrify-ing When You Cannot See the

Killer? Do You Think That it is More Terrifying When You Cannot See the Killer?

These results prove that less is more and that the audience are more afraid of what they can’t see in a horror film. This means that low budget films can still scare as much as the Hollywood productions and also means that I should be able to scare the audience very effectively within my own trailer.

Question 9How much more encouraged would you be to find out information about a new film if it was featured on the front cover of a popular movie magazine and why?

Example Responses:• More encouraged because it must be a good film if it features on the cover.• Very encouraged because movie magazines are respected sources of information

for film fans.• No more encouraged because I don’t listen to critics.

This shows that having my magazine feature on the cover of a popular movie magazine such as Empire or Total Film will be beneficial in the sense that it will encourage audiences to discover more information about my film. Some commented that they would not be any more encouraged by the magazine cover but no one said it would demotivate them.

Question 10What are the 2 most important things you look for on a movie poster which make the film appealing to you?

Example Responses:• Interesting image• Famous actors / director• Critic ratings• A hint at the story / plot• Catchy title / tag-line• Clear genre

These responses have provided me with a list of features to include when I design my poster. These are the features that will be the most important to encourage potential audiences to further research my horror movie.

Decisions Based on this Research• My target audience will be 18 – 25 year olds and I would aim for an 18 certificate. This

age rating will tell this target audience that the film is scary and suitable for their age range. It will also encourage the 15 – 17 year olds to ask parents/careers to purchase it on their behalf as 18 rated films are very popular for this age range as they deliver the biggest scares, meaning my film will be more popular and generate more hype.

• I will create a monster movie as my audience research has shown this to be the most popular genre.

• I will use psychological techniques within my trailer and print products to make them more appealing to the audience.

• I will cast an ethnic minority in a major role within my film. This will make the film more appealing for ethnic minority audiences as they have a character on screen that they can easily relate with. It will also challenge the normal conventions of movie magazines where it is nearly always Caucasian actors who play the leading roles.

• I will not feature any disabled actors or characters in my movie or advertising campaign.

• The monster will be hidden and you will not be able to see them during any attacks or until the very end of the plot. This will make the trailer more frightening and this will hopefully encourage my target audience to pay to see the whole film.