Questionnaire results

1. Questionnaire Results
Units 2, 3 , 22 -
Lauren Rosenfeld, Millie West, Ben Karrass & Alex
Pereira

2. Purpose of Research
We have conducted research into audience preferences for horror films, by using
questionnaires. Due to conducting research, we now know what our audiences
like and dislike in relation to horror films. Therefore, we can create suitable
products (a trailer and short film) for our target audience, as we now know what
they prefer and want to see from a horror trailer/short film, so that it is more likely
that they consume the products, as we will tailor it to suit their specific needs and
preferences. This presentation shows the results that we have collected from
carrying out questionnaires on 40 people, including audience profiles, media
purchasing habits and personal preferences, the conclusions we have come to
from analysing the data and our proposal for future production.

3. Methods and Techniques
We chose to carry out our research using a questionnaire. As it involves
quantitative data, it means that data is quick and easy to collect and analyse. A
questionnaire also allows us to target different potential audiences, as we found
several different kinds of people of different age groups to participate. The
questionnaire also allows us to communicate/interact with potential audiences
directly, allowing us to see the different interactions of target audiences. As we
collected the data ourselves, it means that the data is primary data. Therefore, it is
original and reliable. Also, not a lot of resources are needed to create the
questionnaire, meaning it was cost efficient and did not require much effort in
creating, reviewing and interpreting the data.

4. Audience Profiles - Part 1
The results of the questionnaire suggest that the target
audience is aged around 17-24 years old. As they are in this
age range, they may have a low income as they are likely in
full/part time education. This shows that they are most likely
to have time to consume and watch a movie trailer/short film,
as they may not have a job, due to being in education. We
asked participants from both genders allowing us to conduct
information about our product, from our research we found
out that the majority of our audience is male. This tells us that
our product may be aimed at a majority male audience, as
they are more likely to consume products of the horror genre.

5. Audience Profiles - Part 2
Not only did we ask our audience about their age and gender, we also
asked them about both their employment status and their town of
residence. Out of all 40 people questioned, we discovered that 21 of
those were in fact full time students, this suggests that the majority of
horror movie audiences are students. Some of those also came under
the category of part time. This may mean that any disposable income
may go towards spending money at the cinema. When asking about
where participants that took part in our questionnaire resided, the most
common answer we got was ‘other’, yet most of these did in fact mean
Chigwell, following this, the second most common area in which people
that enjoyed watching horror movies lived was Barkingside.

6. Audience Profiles - Part 3
This means that we now know which district we should release our horror trailer and
short film first, as it could get better publicity through horror loving audiences, that
live in one or two particular places. We could also market and advertise the short
film in the area where we are filming the horror film (the Hainault/Chigwell and
Barkingside area). Once the film is advertised in regions where horror films are
prefered, we can then advertise it first in selected countries. It can also be
advertised first in countries that When a lot of people have heard of the film and it
becomes popular, we can take the same marketing approach as Paranormal
Activity (2010). For instance, fans across the country of Paranormal Activity could
demand a screening of the film, by hitting a "Demand" button on its website, and in
turn the movie would screen in their area.

7. Media Purchasing Habits - Part 1
We decided to ask our potential audience about their
preferred consumptions methods and habits to have a
better idea into what they like. Out of the 40 people
asked we discovered that 15 of these people
consumed horror films through online streaming, with a
close second being through a cinema with 11 people
preferring it. This indicates that posting a production
online may reach the most potential viewers, therefore,
for us to have the largest potential of audiences to view
the short film/trailer, we will release them on streaming
platforms such as YouTube.

8. Media Purchasing Habits - Part 2
We also decided to ask our potential audience in our
questionnaire about how much they spent a month on
movies. 26 people out of 40 chose £0-£10. This is the
majority of the audience. This indicates that the audience
prefers to watch things for as little as possible and this is an
important point to think about when deciding on who to show
the production to the audience. As our majority audience
who participated in the questionnaire is 17-24, this suggests
that they may be full/part time students who have a relatively
low income and can not spend a lot watching films.
Therefore, when releasing our short film and trailer, we will
make sure that it is affordable for all audiences to potentially
view it.

9. Media Purchasing Habits - Part 3
From the questionnaire, we discovered that most people
watch horror films monthly. This indicates to us that we
should not release our film near to when other horror films
are coming out, as this will give us the best chance for the
largest potential audiences. Another answer we found out
is that the majority of people watched horror films with their
friends. Therefore, from this information, in our short
film/trailer the main characters may be a group of friends,
as this will make the biggest impact on an audience that
watches horror films with friends, as they can find it
relatable.

10. Personal Preferences Part 1
We also asked our potential audiences what sub genre of horror our audience
found their favourite. We found out that the majority of our audience felt that
psychological was the scariest out of all of the sub genres given. Showing us
that we should include in our trailer/short film the psychological element,
because this is what our audience will want to see. We believe audiences
found psychological the scariest because it can play on the audience's mind
and make them question what they are seeing. We also asked the audience
what antagonist they thought was the scariest and the majority of the audience
chose Valak from The Conjuring 2 (2016). Meaning that when producing our
own antagonist for our trailer and short film, we should take some elements of
Valak that people found scary. For instance, a character that would normally
connote purity, would connote evil instead. We also believe that audiences
found Valak the scariest because she is pale faced and lifeless. She is also
demon like and has human features which are distorted.

11. Personal Preferences Part 2
Our questionnaire allowed us to know what supernatural
element our audience found the scariest. From our research,
we found that our audience found possessions the scariest
supernatural element. Therefore, we will try and include this
element in our trailer so we can fill the audience's need for a
large potential audience. We also asked “Who is the most
iconic protagonist”, we found out that our audience felt that
Patrick Wilson was the most iconic. Meaning that for our
protagonist, we will take inspiration from his characters in
Insidious and The Conjuring (2013). For instance, making a
character that is brave and may be seen as a role model to
younger audiences.

12. Conclusions
In conclusion we found out that the majority of our audiences were males, aged between 17-24
who are in full time education and were either unemployed or in part time employment. The
majority of people lived in either Chigwell or Barkingside, and were into either the psychological or
supernatural sub genre films. More than half of people surveyed found that Valak from The
Conjuring was the scariest antagonist, and the scariest supernatural element was tied between
‘other’ and possessions. The most iconic protagonist was Patrick Wilson, who has starred in
several modern horror films, including The Conjuring and Insidious. Many people preferred to
consume horror films through online streaming, and spend on average, £0-£10 monthly on films in
general, therefore, when we release the short film and trailer it will not cost the audience a lot to
view. We could also go to the distributors of a successful horror film such as Get Out (2017) and
ask them if the short film that we are producing could be an extra on the DVD/BluRay when it is
released, therefore, a lot of people would see it. Several people watch horror films monthly and
watch them mostly with friends, thus, we may have teenagers who are friends as the main
characters.

13. Proposal Part 1
From our results, we have concluded that although more males, than females
watch horror movies we will target both male and female audiences. This will
result in the largest potential audience for our short film trailer. We also decided to
specifically target 17 - 24 year olds, as we found that this age group tends to be
the largest audience who watches horror movies. Through our results we found
that the audience members tended to be full time students, therefore we will
release our trailer and short film through an online streaming service, such as
YouTube, as students have low disposable income. Audiences will be able to
stream the trailer and short film on several platforms, including phones and
tablets. As charging audiences to watch our production could deter them from
watching it. Due to there being a mix of locations, we will base our production
around the Chigwell, Hainault and Barkingside area.

14. Proposal Part 2
The favourite consumption method shown in our results gathered, was online
streaming. Therefore this will be our chosen method of distribution. As previously
mentioned, our target audience are full time students who have low disposable
income and therefore, we will release our production for under £10, in order to
ensure a large potential audience. Results show that audiences watch films
monthly, as our target audience is students, we have decided to release our
production around half term. This enables audiences to watch the film with friends
as this was a preferred method of consumption. We found that the psychological
and supernatural subgenres were the favourites of potential audiences, thus, we will
add these elements into the short film. Audiences also found that Valak from The
Conjuring was the scariest, this means that we will incorporate some of Valak’s
features, such as pale skin, demonic eyes and having a normally pure figure, evil.

15. Proposal Part 3
We found that audiences believe the scariest supernatural element used in horror
movies, was possessions. As a result, we will incorporate the possession element in
our production, as it will have the largest impact on our intended target audience, as
they find this the scariest. We may also decide to include a demon as an antagonist,
as it was the second favorited supernatural element. Patrick Wilson was chosen as the
most iconic protagonists, due to him starring in several successful modern horror films,
such as The Conjuring. Therefore, our main character may be male, as audiences
seem to relate to him the most and may have some of the iconic features of the
character Patrick Wilson plays, such as Ed Warren. As when audiences recognise
him, they automatically feel safe and secure as he is seen as a safe figure in horror
movies. We will add some of the features of Ed Warren into our main character, such
as being brave and courageous in fighting supernatural forces.