2. The Questionnaire
Our questionnaire was conducted as a way in which we can connect with the target
audience and receive information about what would best interest them and scare them. This
will help us create a conventional media package which will be part of the slasher genre and
will be realistic. We sent this questionnaire to individuals who fit the specific criteria of our
target group (teenagers) to gather a wider understanding of what they would want to see
from our media pieces, allowing us to create a relatable piece of work.
3. How Old Are You ?
This question was asked to the audience in order to determine their
age. This will help us assess our results based on what each different
age group of individuals want to see in a horror media package and
why. As seen, the majority (85%) fit into the 15-23 bracket which is
our audience. This will help us as they are part of our target audience
and so will help us determine what would make a good poster, trailer
and magazine front cover. Knowing our target audiences results will
help us use what they find scary and enjoy against them to try and
scare them in our coursework.
4. What Is Your Favorite Horror Film?
This question will help us determine what the target audience
enjoys to watch. From this question, we can see the different
types of genres and plots in which the audience has been to
see over previous years. 6 options have been chosen between
20 people, showing they they all seem to like similar films to
each other, this can help us as we can see what these films
have in common and use examples for our own media
package. All of the options below are blockbuster films which
were very successful in the box office, this shows essentially
that the films must be conventional and stand out in their sub-
genre. The choices themselves features 2 slashers, 1
psychological, 2 supernatural and a crime thriller. This Shows
that the audience on average seemed to prefer the slasher
and supernatural genres. This could benefit is when we are
creating our slasher trailer, poster and film cover.
5. Which Of The Following Sub-Genres
Would You Choose To Watch?
This question was asked to our audience to try and find out which sub-genre they most like
watching. The results as you can see showed us that 40% prefer to watch the slasher genre,
which is the genre we have chosen to create our media package on. The other choices of sub-
genres were roughly even, showing that slasher was the standout one. As a group, we suspect
this is due to the versatility you can have within the slasher genre, for example the vast range of
different plots and the many ways in which a victim could be killed. This ensures that our ideas
will be original and will still follow the codes and conventions of the slasher genre.
6. List Two Of Your Fears
This question was asked to our audience as we wanted to see what
scares them. Knowing this would help us plan and create a trailer that
the audience will find scary, these results show that lots of our
audience are scared of death and animals. Due to this, we will include
these in our media package as it will help draw in our selected target
audience. The fear of animals is commonly used within horror films as
the audience is unsure how the ‘creepy’ animal will play a part in the
film. The fear of death is normal for humans as every living species is
programmed to fear death in order to naturally survive. This fear is
played on in horror as our slasher film as well as many others will aim
to show the audience many gruesome ways in which you can die.
7. How Often Do You Watch Horror Films?
This question was included as part of our questionnaire as we wanted to find out how often
our audiences watch horror films. These results showed us that they do not watch the horror
genre very often for various reasons, however they are all familiar with the genre. The
majority of the audience watched horror films once a month, this shows that they are popular
for our target audience.
8. Do Film Trailers And Posters Influence
You To Go And See The Film?
This question was asked to the audience so we could see the effect our trailer and poster
would have on the audience when seeing the film. As the results show beneath, 90% of the
responses said yes, this reiterated the importance of having a strong media package
surrounding our horror film. It is conventional to have a symbiotic link between media pieces,
showing they are all from the same media package. This is a convention which we will follow
when creating our own media pieces to encourage the audience to watch the film.
9. If You Are Influenced To Watch The
Film, Why?
This question followed on from the previous one, asking why they
chose that it affects their decision to watch the film. Most of the
feedback we received were saying that it draws them in and it usually
makes the film look scary - making them want to see more. The uses
of trailer usually try to highlight and show the most interesting parts of
the film without giving away too much, this entices the audience and
makes them want to watch the film. Usually, in horror posters, the
villain features in an attempt to try and hook the audience. This is
because they want to find out more about them and so will be
encouraged to watch the film when it comes out.
10. Name A Horror You Went To See
Because Of The Trailer
These results have helped us in our attempt to create a convincing media package as we
have looked and will continue to look at these trailer as inspiration, drawing codes and
convention form the slasher films to include in our own. The films listed below have all been
blockbuster films that have had very good box offices, suggesting to us that they have been
successful with the audiences for various reasons. Again, this will help us as we can draw
inspiration from these films to create our own media package.
11. Select 2 options from the list below this film
trailer that would make you want to see the
actual film?
These result show that most of our audience thought that jumps scares were the most
important part of a horror film trailer. We concluded that this was because they scared the
audience - which is what a horror film is supposed to do. Sound was the next most
important aspect of horror film trailers, this is because it plays a part in creating a scene and
scaring the audience. Weapons, costume, narrative and lighting are also important aspects
of a horror film trailer, the costume is used to create a character and show their background,
the weapon is one of the most iconic parts of the slasher genre - brutally killing people and
the lighting is used to depict the mood and portray different characters, for example low key
lighting is used when trying to scare the audience or when showing the villain and high key
lighting is used in the equilibrium.
12. How Often Do You Purchase Film
Magazines?
This question was asked to our target audience to find out how often they buy fim
magazines. Based on these results, it shows that our target audience often do not buy them,
this could indicate the importance to us of making sure that we include different features that
the audience want to read about in a film magazine. The following question asked this to our
audience in an attempt to find out what would make them more likely to buy our film
magazine through the content we can provide.
13. What Features Do You Want To Find In
A Film Magazine?
This question was asked to our audience to find out what would make them buy a film
magazine. We will use the data collected to place sell lines on our front cover - as it is clear it
is what they will want to see that information inside. Film reviews was requested the most in
this questionnaire, this shows that the audience want to know what others think about a film
before seeing it. Information about upcoming films was also popular, due to this, we will also
use this topic area as a sell line in our film magazine to attract the audience and encourage
them to buy it.
