This is the analysis of our focus group for a2 media studies coursework.

1. Focus Group Analysis
For our focus group, we got one boy and three girls aged 17 and
18 to be a part of it; this is because our film is aimed at girls more
than boys. We showed them three examples of horror film trailers,
posters, and magazine front covers, and asked them questions
related. The purpose of this was to find out their opinions on what
they would like to see. This will help us as when we come to
creating our own trailer, magazine front cover and poster, we will
know what to include in order to appeal to our target audience.
The three trailers we decided to show our audience were ‘The
Shining’, ‘The Butterfly Effect’ and ‘Orphan’ as although they
belong to the same genre, they have very different narratives and
editing/sound techniques. We chose these trailers as they belong
to the same sub-genre of our film, so we thought it would help us
greatly when creating it. By doing this, we found out more about
what our audience liked and disliked about these trailers and how
they could be improved, so when we create ours, we can
incorporate some of these ideas.
Firstly, we showed our audience
the trailer for ‘The Shining’. We
found that they believed the
narrative to be intriguing, and
wanted to find out more about
the main character and why he
became mentally unwell. They
also liked the fact that we see the
antagonist normally first, before
we see him turning crazy. However, our audience didn’t fully like
the trailer, and thought there were some things that could have
been changed. For example, they didn’t like the way the trailer
ended as they thought it revealed too much about the narrative.
Our audience also said that nothing stood out to them much,
meaning that they found the trailer a bit predictable. It was also
mentioned that the scene where we see him walking down the
corridor alone emphasises his loneliness, and this was very
effective, along with the characters facial expressions which
created fear amongst our audience.

2. Next, we showed our target
audience the trailer for ‘The
Butterfly Effect’. We found out that
our audience didn’t perceive this
to be a typical horror film as there
were different narratives
introduced into the trailer, for
example, a romance; our audience
liked this as they believed it to be
different, meaning they were
interested in watching the film. The emphasis on the psychological
aspect of the film made them feel like they personally knew the
main character, meaning they could emphasis with him. Generally,
our target audience liked the fact that this film was different, and
they enjoyed the use of flashbacks in this trailer. However, they did
say that some of the dialogue hinted too much to the ending of the
film, and that the music didn’t fit in with the film. The audience said
they would make the trailer seem more dramatic if they could
change one thing. The editing and effects did stand out to our
target audience, and they believed the straps to be very effective.
We also showed our target
audience representatives the
trailer for ‘Orphan’. They
liked the fact that there was
a build up from the beginning
to the end that built
suspense and made them
feel more intrigued about the
movie. They also liked the
fact that they got to see the change in the character as the trailer
went on, similar to results from the last two trailers. The fact that a
child was used in this film was liked by our audiences, as they
believed it to be different and scarier. However, as seen from the
last two trailers, some of our audience believed that too much of
the narrative was revealed. In regards to the sting at the end of this
trailer, our audience believed it both to be effective, or too
predictable.
By analysing these results, we found that in order to make our
trailer successful, we need to include the transition of our character
from normal to crazy, and ensure that we don’t reveal too much

3. about our narrative as this could put audiences off watching the
film. The majority of our target audience liked the ‘Orphan’ trailer
the most, and that it was the most persuading to get them to go
and watch the film because they believed the narrative was
unexpected and the use of a child antagonist was well received.
After showing these trailers, we asked our audiences ‘what would
you like to see in our horror film trailer’ and we found that they
would like too see quick cuts and jump scares along with
unpredictability, tension building music, and a focus on the main
protagonist.
We also showed our audience some film posters in order to find
out more about how we should present our poster and what they’d
like to see. We chose to use posters within the psychological
horror sub-genre, as this is the sub-genre we will be creating our
own piece on. We chose to use three very different film posters in
order to find out what our audience liked and disliked about each
one.
The first poster we showed our target
audience was the poster to the right
promoting ‘The Awakening’. We decided
to show this poster as it included a
location as the background, the actor’s
names, and a review, therefore making it
a bit different to the other posters we
showed them. When looking at this
poster, our audience liked the fact that
they could feel a sense of darkness
because of the trees curling in, and the
fact that she is covering herself made the
audience feel as if she had a secret that
they wanted to find out. They also noted
that the trees look as if they’re moving away from her, which
makes it seem more isolated and lonely. However, they agreed
that the image used too much black and white, meaning it wouldn’t
stand out too them. When reading the title of the film, our target
audience said that this title would persuade them to watch the film
in order to find out who/what is being awakened.
Another poster we decided to show our audience was the poster
for ‘Repulsion’. We decided to use this poster as it is very plain
and simple, with a small image in the arm of a person, and reveals

4. nothing but the name of the film. Our
audience liked the fact that the image
was unique and interesting, and agreed
that the black and white contrasted well
with each other. However, they believed
the poster to be too plain and thought
that there should have been much more
information on it. Because not much is
revealed through this poster, audiences
believed the mystery of it would make
them want to watch the film as it made
them wonder what the arm is doing.
Also, by not showing the antagonist, a
sense of excitement and horror is
created because they don’t know what to
expect in the movie.
The poster for ‘Orphan’ was also showed to our target audience in
this focus group. We decided to show them this poster as it is a
more conventional poster for the sub-genre of psychological
horror, and revealed an image of a girl
making eye contact with them. Our
focus group responded to this poster
saying that they thought it was the
scariest compared to the others, and
they thought that the eye contact was
very effective. Also, they liked that the
tagline makes you want to find out
what is wrong with Esther, but they
don’t like the lighting that is used
brightly on her face. The main image
was well liked because it is simple and
makes her look evil, as it’s just a
picture of the antagonist so you can
focus more on her and find out more
about her story. The name ‘Orphan’
was also believed to be effective
because the audience won’t know
anything about her or what she’s
capable of.

5. Overall, the majority of our representatives liked the poster for ‘The
Awakening’ most because it hinted at the narrative and was most
interesting to them. When creating our own poster, the audience
said they would like us to have an eye-catching main image with
the antagonist on the front along with an interesting film title and a
mysterious background to leave the audience guessing. In our film
poster, we have decided to make it more ambiguous as it will
produce the most beneficial response from our target audience.
For the magazine section of our focus group, we showed our
audience three front covers from different magazines. We choose
these front covers as they are all promoting films within the horror
genre.
We chose to show our audience
this magazine front cover as we
are thinking to create a general
movie magazine featuring a
horror movie. By finding out what
our target audience like and
dislike about this magazine, it
will help us in the creation of our
own. When we showed our
audience this front cover, the
immediate response was that
the red stood out and linked well
with the theme of flames on the
masthead and the character
‘Hellboy’. The audience also
believed that the name empire
was effective, and that the black
and red colour theme was strong and effective. However, some of
them thought that there was too much writing which caused the
cover too lose its effect, and that the flames were too distracting.
On the other hand, some of our focus group said that they didn’t
dislike anything about the front cover of this magazine. When
asking about our own horror movie, we got mixed results as some
said that we should make a general movie magazine in order to
draw in a wider audience, but some said to make it a horror film
magazine.
The next magazine we showed our audience was for ‘Fangoria’, a
magazine that promotes horror films. We decided to show our

6. audience this film magazine to find
out what their opinions on the layout
and image were. Our audience
instantly thought that the font on the
masthead was effective and very
unique, and that the name
‘Fangoria’ links in well with ideas of
vampires and horror. The main
image of the antagonist scared the
audience, meaning that it was
effective. However, some said that
the masthead looked tacky and
unprofessional. We also found that
showing the antagonist on the front
cover gives a clear indication on the
film, but could be revealing too
much as the audience already know
what the horror is. Some people in our focus group believed that
by putting feature article photographs on the front cover, it slightly
took the attention away from the main image; however others
believed that it could attract more readers from fans who are
interested in those films.
This is the third magazine front
cover we decided to show our
audience. We chose this
magazine as it is different to the
others in the effect that it doesn’t
use direct address, and contains
a disturbing image. Our target
audience answered that although
the image is strange; it was
effective in scaring them. In
terms of direct address, our focus
group participants said that they
would rather have seen the
character making eye contact as
it feels more personal and ask if
they’re asking you for help. They
also said that the main image
drew them in so you want to find
out what is happening to the character, and why he is in that
situation. Our target audience believed that the text on the front

7. cover is too small and they couldn’t read it, although the colours
used were effective and contrasted well with each other. Another
dislike about this poster was the layout, as the audience thought it
wasn’t typical of a magazine front cover.
Overall, the majority of our target audience preferred the ‘Virus’
magazine front cover because although the text was small, the
image was more dangerous and creepy, persuading them to go
and watch the film. By asking our target audience what they’d like
to see on our film magazine front cover, they agreed that they
would like the character in the main image to give direct address,
and to include colours that will contrast well together. They also
said that the ‘Fangoria’ magazine would be the one to persuade
them the most to watch the film promoted as the main image is
attention-grabbing.
Generally, from this feedback we have gained a better insight into
what attracts our audience to different pieces of media, and what
we should include on our pieces in order to make them effective in
luring in the target audience. This research has been very effective
in also telling us what we should avoid doing on our pieces and
how we can be successful in promoting our film to our target
audience. By completing this focus group, we have found existing
media texts in which we can use as inspirations for our pieces.
I have learnt that we need to ensure our trailer focuses most on
the protagonist and allows the audience to get to know her and
why she has become mentally damaged. I have also learnt that on
our poster, we should include something that will leave the
audience wanting to find out more, e.g. a tagline. For our
magazine front cover, I have learnt that it will be more effective to
have the main image drawing the audience in through the use of
eye contact, and adding sell-lines around the side.
This piece of target audience research has been beneficial for us
as we know what to include, and it has helped us to make
important decisions on our practical pieces.