media studies at A2 focus group and evaluation

1. T H I S S E T O F R E S U L T S I S T A K E N F R O M T H E
Q U E S T I O N N A I R E S H A N D E D O U T T O O U R F O C U S G R O U P.
FOCUS GROUP RESULTS

2. THE FOCUS GROUP
After creating our film trailer for Defiance we decided to show a focus group
our trailer to see if we had been successful in targeting both genders and
the age group we set out to target. We also left some open questions where
members of our focus group could give us any suggested improvements.
We had a total of 7 people within our focus group which filled in a
questionnaire and then took part in an open discussion. We also asked the
focus group their opinions of our movie posters and how they felt they could
be improved.

3. QUESTION 1
The first question we asked was what
gender did our focus group what gender did
they feel our trailer targeted. We aimed to
target both genders with our trailer, and it
seemed we did this successfully as 100% of
our focus group said that they felt the trailer
targeted both males and females.

4. QUESTION 2
The second question of our
questionnaire asked our focus group to
identify the age group the felt our trailer
targeted. We aimed to target people
aged between 14-25 predominantly
however, we did suggest the we could
potentially target people aged 12 with
our trailer. However, 86% of people
within our focus group said they felt the
age ranged was 14-25, which is what we
wanted to achieve. The other 14% said
they felt it targeted people aged between
12-20. so no one said 25+ suggesting
we successfully targeted a younger
audience.
12 to 20
14 to 25

5. QUESTION 3
The third question on our questionnaire
asked our focus group what genre they felt
the trailer represented. We aimed to create
a Post-apocalyptic trailer, we wanted to see
if our audience felt we fell under any other
genre. 86% of our focus group said they felt
the trailer was Post-apocalyptic. So we
successfully represented this genre. The
other 14% said Action saying the trailer was
an “action packed adventure with a bit of
romance.”
Post-
apocalyptic
Action

6. QUESTION 4
Question 4 asked our focus group
what 3 shots in our trailer stood
out for them. It was easiest to tally
these shots up and see how many
people said one shot. We then
looked to see if any of these shots
were the ones we wanted to stand
out. One of the most popular
shots was our Opening Scene,
where the character Connor read
the note. This was not one we
planned to have as a stand out
shot. The others were
predominantly what we wanted to
stand out.
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7. QUESTION 5
We were intrigued to see who the
focus group saw as more as a
villainous character in our trailer.
Although we did not really create a
‘villain’ as such, we did make our
‘scientists’ out to be the ‘villains’ in
our trailer. However, we wanted to
see who the audience identified as
the ‘bad guy.’ There was a mixed
response to this question. However,
no one saw the character of Olivia
as a villain. Some said they felt the
scientists were “doing what they had
to” and were “sterile professionals”
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The Scientists Nate Connor
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8. QUESTION 6
Question 6 looked at how well the
soundtrack worked with the trailer. We
asked our focus did they feel the
soundtrack complimented the trailer. 100%
of our focus group said they felt the
soundtrack worked with the trailer and
provided a sense of tension and urgency.
However, someone did say it was missing a
“dramatic flare,” this was for us a main
focus in terms of improvements for our
trailer. This was the main focus after our
focus group as we felt it was the main area
to improve.

9. QUESTION 7
Question 7 looked at what ideas members of our focus group pulled from the
trailer. We asked our focus group to explain what they felt the film was about
based on the trailer. There was mixed responses with regard to what they felt the
film was about. 57% of our focus group said it was “a fight to the death” situation.
One member of our focus group said its “a fight for survival and the best team
wins.” A few of the members of our focus group picked up the idea that there
was “a bit of romance” in our trailer. One member of our focus group summed up
our trailer as a “post-apocalyptic world where humanities survival is based solely
on the teenagers of the generation.” Our trailer was also described as a “Hunger
Games-y sort of place where teens are selected for a sort of eugenics
programme for the future, others are killed” these quotes suggested to us that
there was a clear narrative within our trailer and what we had originally planned
in our film plot had come through in our trailer.

10. QUESTION 8
For question 8 we asked our focus group after watching our trailer what did
they feel would happen at the end of the ‘movie’ if it did in fact come out as a
movie. This was because we wanted to see if we had a predictable ending.
However, the fact a number said they wanted to “see how it ends” suggested
to us we had left it ambiguous. The end of our original plot was left
ambiguous as although we had planned for ‘Nate’ and ‘Olivia’ to survive, we
did have them separated. 2 people within our focus group suggested that
“many characters would die” another member suggested that “one team will
win.” Three suggested that “the boy and girl survive” and the final member
suggested that “the girl is captured and one of the boys saves her.” With the
mixed response it is suggested that the trailer gave no real clue to the ending
of the plot and did in fact leave our audience wanting more.

11. QUESTION 9
Question 9 focused upon if our trailer did its job as a promotional tool. We
asked the members of our focus group if after watching the trailer would they in
fact go and watch the ‘film’ if it was to be released. We wanted to see if our
trailer worked as a promotional tool and if we had in fact succeeded in creating
a promotional film trailer. 100% of our focus group said if the film was to be
released they would go and watch it in the cinema. Which showed us we had
succeeded in creating a promotional film trailer and that our trailer worked well
in promoting the film ‘Defiance’

12. QUESTION 10
Question 10 was probably the most important question for us. We asked our
focus group to give us any suggestions with regard to improvements, or how
we could perhaps enhance the narrative of our film. There were a few
suggestions. Someone said we could perhaps have “more context on who the
couple are.” The main area focused upon for improvements seemed to be the
soundtrack, where we were told to perhaps “slow the tempo” or “make it
slightly quieter.” This was the main area we wanted to improve after looking at
the feedback. So after the focus group the soundtrack was the main area of
improvement. It was also suggested to us we could maybe “edit the trailer to
make it more darker and scarier” so we looked at scenes which could perhaps
use a filter to make it look more threatening and build more tension amongst
our audience. This helped us gain feedback from people within our target
audience to see what they would like to see within our trailer.