2. There were 20 people who took part in the questionnaire so it gave us a more focused answer and
opinion about what they thought about horror movies. It gave us an insight about how each person felt
about what they thought was effective in a horror film.
QUESTION 1: What is your age?
The questionnaire was given to an equal number of males and females to make the questionnaire be fair
and accurate. It also gave us a balanced response and opinion from both genders.
The most common option people selected for this question was‘17-18’. This shows us that this is the age
group that may have more interest when it comes to watching horror movies. This means that when we
create a trailer for the slasher– genre it is important to take into consideration the target audiences age.
There were two options that were not selected at all in any of the questionnaires which was ‘19-20’ and
‘21+’. So from the results it is important to target the horror trailer at teenagers.
From the results that I had gathered I could understand that this was the popular age group that would be
interested in watching horror movies. So it is important to include events that the teenagers could relate
their lives with.
3. QUESTION 2: Do you enjoy watching horror films?
For this particular question the most selected answer was ‘Yes’. 19 people chose this
option which shows us that a large amount of teenagers have a huge interest in
watching horror movies and enjoy watching it. The least option that was selected
was ‘No’. This shows that most teenagers don’t hate watching horror movies.
So from these results it is important to make the trailer meet the expectations of the
target audience because the more people who enjoy watching horror movies the
more expectations they would get.
4. QUESTION 3: What is your favourite subgenre of horror?
The horror genre use sub genres which identifies a particular type of horror film.
For this question there was five options available: ‘Slasher’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Psychological, ‘Gothic’
and ‘Sci-Fi’. The most common option that was chosen was ‘Supernatural’. This shows us that
most teenagers have a huge interest for this particular genre and that they probably like the
different elements included in supernatural films that other genres don’t have. The third most
common option was ‘Slasher’. So this shows us that there are people who like slasher movies and
probably have great expectations when watching those movies so it is important to meet those
expectations when we make the horror film trailer.
From these results we could see that less people like ‘Gothic and Sci-Fi’ films so we should take this
into consideration and make sure that no Gothic or Sci –FI elements are included in the trailer.
5. QUESTION 4: Where is your favourite place to watch a horror film?
For this question there was two most common options selected which was
‘At Home’ and ‘At Friends’. This shows us that most people like to watch
horror movies usually in a friendly and comfortable environment. Less
people chose the option ‘At Cinema’ so this could indicate to us that more
teenagers would rather watch a horror movie with friends at a well known
environment and a safe surrounding.
Results
Cinema -4
Home- 8
At Friends- 8
6. (5) Which of these is most effective in enticing you to see a new horror film? Please circle
and then explain your answers.
35%
40%
0%0%
25%
0%
Which of these is most effective in
enticing you to see a new horror
film?
teaser trailer Full trailer poster
website recommendation/review magazine
20 horror film lovers were asked a simple question; “Which of these is the most effective in
enticing you to see a new horror film? “In order to find out what attracts them the most when
coming to watch an upcoming horror film. From handing out the questionnaire which consisted
of several questions we were able to gather a wide range of answers, which showed that the
majority of participants prefer to watch a horror film based on either ‘Teaser trailers’, ‘Full
trailers’ or through ‘recommendation/review’. Once tallied results show that 7 people circled
Teaser trailers, 8 people went with full trailers and only 5 people watched a horror based on
recommendation or review form someone else who has already seen It. However, other
promotional sources such as posters, website and magazines are totalled up to be zero which
shows that such sources are weaker and less persuasive when compared to trailers and
reviews. With the Full trailers taking the lead in comparison to the other two, shows that this
source of promotion is more effective and persuasive than any of the other choices. The reason
for this is because, as stated in the answers, full trailers have to ability to provide the audience
with enough information on what that film is about without seeing the whole thing. Many
believe that if the full trailer looks good and provides jump scare scenes, it will allow them to
make a decision on whether to continue to watch the film or not. Teaser trailers also work in
the same way as they can excite the audience and give an insight into the film but still not give
away too much information about the general plot. Results show that people nowadays watch
movies depending on the reviews and recommendations rather than watching every movie
released based on its trailers. This is because, when someone recommends a horror movie to
an individual with great excitement/ fear it intrigues the audience to watch the film. One lover
of horror who took part in the questionnaire stated- “I prefer not to watch the trailers since it
ruins the movie” , this shows that they either take the risk and go and watch the film, or they
make a decision based on recommendations, which therefore means the films got to be
decent.
7. 25%
0%
30%
5%
0%
40%
WHICH OF THESE DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT
OF HORROR FILM?
use of sound effects Teaser shots of the killer
Keeping the plot hidden pacing and composition of shots used
Recognisable director/actor/actress Jump scares
(6) Which of these do you think is the most important aspect of horror film?
This question was asked to 20 of the participants who took
part in the questionnaire so I was aware of what to include and
not to include when producing my trailer, while at the same
time meeting the target audience’s likes and preferences. The
reason why this question was asked is because, it will let me be
aware of what the audience thinks the important factor of a
horror film is and by looking at the average of the results, it
will give me an idea on how to make the trailer effective so it
meets their standards and draw’s them further into watching
the film. In the question, the participant was given a range of
answer’s to choose from and gathering the results I was able
to conclude that 8 people out of the 20 chose jump scares, 7
chose keeping the plot hidden, 5 circled the use of sound
effects and 1 person chose the pacing and composition of the
shots used. No one circled the other options. So therefore,
from these results I was able to gain a brief idea and come to a
conclusion that in my trailer the plot should be kept hidden
and the involvement of jump scares and sound effects should
be used appropriately so it attracts the audience but not put
them off at the same time.
8. (7) What do you think the most important aspects of a film trailer are? (Circle two)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
What do you think the most important aspects of a film
trailer are?
What do you think the most important aspects of a film trailer are?
From collecting the results based on the questions; “Which of these do you think is the most
important aspect of horror film?” and “What do you think is most effective in adding tension
for the audience from the following?” I was able to identify several similarities and differences
that were made amongst the answers. Graphs showed that out of the questions that were
asked, there was a greater popularity with people choosing ‘Jump scares’ compared to the rest
of the choices. It was to be seen that 8 people chose jump scares for question 6 and 11 for
question 7. This therefore suggests that no matter whether it’s a full movie or a trailer, if there
are jump scares involved, the audience is most likely to watch it as such scenes have the ability
to make the audience excited but gets them jumping up off their seats at the same time. Sound
effects and eerie music are shown to be one of the most important aspects of both a horror
film and trailer, this is because it has the ability to create a specific mood to the scene and will
also help promote even more emotions to the audience. For example extreme but intentional
changes of pitch tones build up suspense at the same time it makes the audience feel
immediately tense, as they cannot predict what’s going to come up next. However, as results
show from the questionnaire, no one circled ‘teaser shots of the killer’ and ‘recognisable
director/actor/actress’ which therefore shows that such aspects do not how much of an
importance in horror films, generally proving that people are more likely to watch a film that
puts sound effects, music and jump-scares to good use. The sample of 20 who took part in this
questionnaire certainly loves the involvement of a mysterious killer who is presented
horrifically on screen through the use of makeup and costume. A mysterious killer and the
effective use of costume, hair and makeup is generally important in both horror films and
trailer as such aspects have the capability to transform a normal human into something unusual
and disturbing. If these typical conventions are followed appropriately then people are most
likely to carry on and watch the full film itself as it brings it bring out the real horror in horror
films and trailers, especially those within the slasher sub-genre. However, if the monster is not
presented in a way to make people scared then it may not attract the target audience into
watching the film or even the trailer as they may think it’s not worth it.
9. (8) Name one thing you least like about horror films.
From the 20 people who were asked this question, I was able to a see a
similarity and a variety in many of the responses given. One of the main
answers that tend to be re-occurring several times through out the
questionnaire was about the general plot and how it is so unrealistic and
predictable. This maybe because – “ A lot of the types of characters are
repetitive and stereotypical” which may reflect upon the fact how in many
horror films, especially Slasher, the plot seems to be quite similar; a group of
friends on holiday at an isolated location with some sort of historic
background and get’s targeted on by masked killer. From analysing this
question I was able to see that the target audience love to see more suspense
and change in the general plot of the film as many answered “ the plot lines
are long winded and predictable. Even though most horror films are based on
true stories and shot in a way which allows the audience to relate to their daily
lives, many people answered that several scenes are exaggerated, through the
use of excessive gore, hair and makeup making the film look unrealistic and
less interesting to watch as it will not be as effective nor scary.
10. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
isolated setting
Dark lighting/ events occuring at night
scary/creepy killer
ominous soundtrack
Jump scares
Myesterious Narrative
What do you think is most effective in adding tension
for the audience from the following?
What do you think is most effective in adding tension r the audience from the following?
(9) What do you think is most effective in adding tension r the audience from the following?
Please explain your answers
20 people were asked a question based on what is the most effect in adding tension to the audience and results showed that the majority of
the people (6 out of 20) chose the isolated setting to be the most effective when it comes to creating tension and the scary/creepy killer to be
the least. The main reason why most people chose the isolated setting to be the most effective is because it sets the mood and creates a lot of
tension, as no one can predict what will happen next. Having the movie filmed in an isolated setting builds up great tension and pulls you more
in as anything can happen any second but there’s not a single person around for help. Dark lighting and jump scares are another factor that
adds tension for the audience when watching horror trailers/ films-as stated in the answers “evil is associated with darkness so by having
events at night more tension is added”. This shows that scenes that are captured at night or in very dark lighting tends be more scarier than
those filmed in light as anything can pop up or happen at any time. In addition to this such dark scenes puts the audience on the edge of their
seats ‘because of a natural fear of the unknown’. However, only 2 people thought the scary/creepy killer creates tension as the killer is the main
focus point of the film and it has the power to ‘play tricks with your brain’.
11. There were different answers that I had gained from analysing this question as people had mixed
opinions. In one of the questionnaires someone had said that they liked the film ‘The Babadook’.
This was because there was an interesting concept and the overall film was different to all the
other horror films. This shows us that the target audience are expecting to see different plots in
horror films – so therefore I would need to take this into consideration by add elements and unique
yet unexpected event’s in the trailer, that will entice the audience into watching it as it will be
something they have never seen before In typical horrors. A lot of people had also stated that they
liked the fact that most films included jump scares and that horror films would generally have an
unexpected ending. So it is important for us to keep this is in mind when making the trailer as we
should focus on ending the trailer in an unexpected and non-predictable way. Many people had
also responded to the fact that their favourite horror film was ‘Scream due to the fact that even
with the involvement of stereotypical characters the plot of the film was not predictable, which
made it more interesting and enticing to watch. It was also a film that was commented to bring
audience to the edge of their seats and be scared from the deepest of their fears. So by looking at
this answer and the previous answers in the questionnaire I was able to see that the audience
would want to see something that has a twist in the plot and surprises the audience unexpectedly.
The next interesting answer we got from the questionnaire was that someone had stated that they
liked the use of special effects used in horror films that created the overall horror atmosphere. So
from these answers we had gathered from the questionnaire it is important that we take into
consideration the target audience’s response about what they liked about their favourite film, so
we can include many of the aspects in our trailer in order to meet their likes and preferences,
which will increase the chance of them watching the trailer.
What is you favourite horror film and why?
