Researching our target audience for our short film

1. Research into Our
Target Audience

2. Questionnaire
We asked 50 people to take part in a questionnaire to help
us understand who watches short films. This will benefit
us when it comes to planning and making the short film as
we will begin to understand our audience and knowing
the target audience will help us when it comes to relating
the film to the viewers. We asked questions relating to
what they look for in a short film, what genre they prefer
and how they like to watch the film e.g. at the cinema,
online, on t.v or at a film festival. These questions help us
as we know where to focus when making a short film. Also
this helps as we will then know what our audience likes to
see in a film. We can make representations using
semiology, to relate the film to the audience.

3. Question1: Male or female
who took the
questionnaire, it is
still a mixed
gender as its not a
large amount
more. This might
mean that we have
to consider and
make our film
relate to both
genders.
There were 28 females and 22 males who took the
questionnaire. Even though there are more females than males

4. Question 2: Age Group
The second question asked the audience their age group. The results
below show there were 8 people who were 12 to 18 years of age, 17
people who were 19 to 25 years of age, 12 people who were 26 to 32
years of age, 9 people who were in the 33 to 39 years of age and lastly, 4
people who were of the age 40+ who took the questionnaire.
This question
combined with
the next, will
help us figure
out what age
group watch
short films. After
finding this out,
we can then
know the age
group of our
target audience.

5. Question 3: Do you watch short films?
This diagram shows that in total, 29 people watch short films and 21 people don’t.
As we got the questionnaire sheets back the results came back as shown in the
diagram, the most people who watch short film are the age group 19 to 25. this
will be our target audience as they are the people who would watch and be
interested in our film. In the 12 to 18 age
group, 6 watch short films
and 2 don’t. in the age group
26 to 32, four people watch
short films and 8 people
don’t. also, in the age group
33 to 39 4 people watch short
films and 5 people don’t.
which brings us to our last
age group of 40+ years of age
and 1 person watches short
films whilst the other 3 ticked
no. after this question was
asked, all those who ticked
no, did not carry on with the
questionnaire.

6. Question 4: what attracts you to a short
film?
Overall, 12 people said they are attracted to a short film by the storyline, 8 of
which were in the age group 19 to 25. 2 that preferred a storyline were from the
age group 26 to 32 and 2 more people from the age group 33 to 39 are attracted to
a short film because of a storyline. Seven people said they are more attracted by
the cast who are in the film. 4 of whom were in the age group 12 to 18, one person
preferred this factor in the age group of 19 to 25. one person from the age group of
26 to 32 prefers the cast aspect of a short film, as well as one more person from
the age group 33 to 39. 8 people preferred the genre aspect of a short film. 4 of
which were in the age group 19 to 25. also one person from the age group 12 to
18, one person from the age group 26 to 32, one person
from the age group 33 to 39 and
one person from the age group
of 40+. Lastly 2 people were
attracted to a short film because
of the producers. One of these
people were from the age group
12 to 18 and the other was from
the age group 19 to 25. however
not one person ticked the other
box.

7. Question 5:what Genre do You
Prefer?
These results show that, six people preferred short films with horror content, 2 of
these people were 12 to 18, 2 were 19 to 25 and the last two were in the age group of
26 to 32. only 2 people preferred a comedy genre, one of these people were in the
age group 19 to 25 and the other was In the age group of 33 to 39. 19 people
preferred the drama genre, 2 of whom were in the age group 12 to 18, 11 of these
people were in the age group of 19 to 25, a further 2 people from the age group of 26
to 32, preferred a dramatic short film as well as 3 other people in the age group of 33
to 39 year olds. Lastly, the remaining one person in the age group of 40+ preferred a
drama genre. One person
preferred a romantic genre
and they were from the 12 to
18 age group, Lastly one
person ticked the other box
and listed that they preferred
a documentary but it was
only one person, which
makes this irrelevant
compared to our other
results.

8. Question 6: Where do you watch them?
The result of this question told us that the easiest way for people to access
short films and the most popular way to watch short films. This is proven as 20
people out of 29 chose watching short films online as their preferred option. 5
of these were preferred by some people in the age group of 12 to 18 year olds.
In the age group 26 to 32, 1 person prefers to watch short films online. 12
people in the age group 19 to 25 prefer to watch short films online, leaving 2
people in the age group of 33 to 39 who prefer watching films online. Only 3
people prefer watching short films online. One of these
people were from the age group
12 to 18 and the other two are
from the age group 26
to 32. 6 people prefer to watch
short films at film festivals. 2 of
whom are in the age group 19
to 25, one person from the age
group 26 to 32, two people
from the age group 33 to 39
and one person from the age
group 40+

9. Our Target Audience
Our film would predominantly appeal to the age range of 19-25 year olds and can
appeal to a mixed gender audience. We picked this age range as, we asked students
in sixth form and younger years in secondary school if they watched films and it
became clear that there is a vast majority of students who don’t watch short films
unless they are celebrity endorsed as the majority of 12 to 18 year olds in the
questionnaire said they prefer the casting element of a short film as many short
films with iconic celebrities to them in whom they admire, have been released. The
best example to use to explain this would a short film called “break free” starring
celebrity Ruby Rose, who grabbed a lot of student attention with her short film on
gender roles. This is why we are not targeting short films to students under the age
of 19. On the other hand, people who are in the age range 19 to 25, may be more
influenced by short films and may enjoy them. They may also be at the age where
they can afford to go to film festivals which show a variety of short films. As people
come out of their teens, they may become more independent and not follow trends
or social norms like students do by only going on social networking sites. Meaning
this age range may be more open to exploring other sites such as short film show
cases. We have also got a mixed gender target audience as the film is not set to one
gender as it is a psychological drama which is appealing to both genders. Also the
younger side to this age group may mean they could be studying in higher
education, such as university, which could mean they may begin to look for new
hobbies such as watching or making short films as they take a break from their
student/working life.

10. Our target group is between the age of 19 to 25 and we’ve found
through research that this age group mainly watches short films
through the use of the internet. This represents the youth of this age
group as the internet is easily accessible for them . Also, the most votes
for what genre would you prefer to watch was drama followed by
horror for this age range. This lead us on to think about our genre and
we would like to make a psychological drama. This takes the horror
element and adds to the drama to make it more intense and slightly
spooky, without being a full on horror film. Question 4 (what attracts
you to a short film?) relates to this as most people in this age range
preferred a good story line, which would be found in a psychological
drama. We decided to target our audience at a mixed gender as dramas
don’t seem to relate to just one gender, unlike a romance as it may be
seen as more feminine as opposed to an action film which alternatively
could be seen as more of a masculine genre. We will guarantee that our
short film will not follow stereotypical gender roles, making it
relatable and relevant for both genders to watch and enjoy.
Refined…