1. Focus group
We conductedan informal focusgroup.We askedsome of our friendsaboutwhattheylike about
horror films.We were able toobtaininformationwhichhelpedusdevelopourplotandchange
thingsinorderto make it more suitable andappealingforourtargetaudience.
One thingwe foundisthat our targetaudience like whenfilmsare basedonreal,importantissues.
Thismakesit more "realistic"and"scary"for themas itcan happento anybody.Theyreferredtothe
issue of mental healthinthe horrorsplit.Usingthisand our audience feedbackwe have decidedto
use the ideaof female genital mutilation.Thisisareal,dark issue thathappensinreality.
We alsonotedthattheystatedthat theylike "twistsasit'snot predictable"and"horrorsthat aren't
typical".Therefore we decidedtohave a twistinour horror.Rather thanrestoringequilibriumand
typicallyhave the maincharactersolve herissueswe decideditwouldbe more appealingforour
audience if ourmaincharacter,Madeline becomesanantagonistatthe end. Thiswill be
unpredictableforthe audience,drawingtheminmore andcatchingthemoff guard.
We askedourfocus groupwhatgrabs theirattentioninhorrorfilms.Some thingstheyresponded
withwere "dolls"and"children".So,we've decidedtomake achildthe centre of our horror and
make the role of the doll a significantpartof the shortfilm.We foundthatdollsandchildrenare
somethingthattheyfindterrifyinginhorrorfilmsastheyare usuallyassociatedwithinnocence.
Havingtheminhorror filmschallengesthisideaof innocence.Aswellasthisdollsandcreepy
childrenare easilyidentifiableconventionsof horrorfilms.
More overanotherthingwe foundoutwas that theylike whenfilmshave "flashbacks".Thisiswhy
we decidedtouse flashbackstoreveal Madelinespast.Flashbackswill make the storymore clearfor
the audience.Makingthe storyline clearissomethingourfocusgroupalsosaidtheywantina horror
film.Thereforehavingflashbacksisperfectasit'll allow the audience to uncoverthingsandcreate a
interpretationof the film,makingthe story"clear"forthem.
