3. research(1)

Existing Product
Short Film-Plot
The short film that I am analyzing is titled Roommates. It is a comedy/Horror Short film about a guy who moves into a
new house with two other people. The guy who is moving in to the house instantly gets suspicious of one of the
roommates who states that “I will murder your entire family”. Shocked at this, the newcomer is repelled by what he just
says and impulsively asks him to repeat himself but, the other roommate tells him that he wanted to take him too his
room. The second scene starts at night when the new Roommate, who I will now name the protagonist, is sleeping in his
bed but, is immediately awakened by the sound and then the view of his door closing which, scares him. The third scene
has the protagonist walking into the kitchen greeting his fellow roommates but, is shocked to see that the guy who had
supposedly threatened him earlier is eating spaghetti hoops at the table which he mistakes for blood. This causes the
protagonist to run off which grabs the attention of the other roommate who wonders what his problem is before adding
ketchup to his cereal. The next scene that follows is where the protagonist is coming home after a venture that hasn’t
being described in the short film and meets the guy that he is paranoid of carrying a bin bag out the front door. They
both greet each other and the guy asks the protagonist for some help with carrying the bin bag however, the protagonist
believes that the bin bag has a body in it and proceeds to run away stating “you got a body”. The guy is left standing
there on his own but, he takes the comment as a compliment and proceeds to take out some floats used in a swimming
pool and walks off with them. The next scene has the protagonist drag the other roommate into his room and they begin
to discuss how bad the suspicious roommate has gotten and the roommate agrees and is surprised that the protagonist
had noticed it too. The roommate tells the protagonist that they will discuss this more in the morning and that they
should get some rest. The protagonist agrees and falls in to bed. The following scene takes place later at night where the
protagonist is sleeping in bed and the roommate he is on friendly terms with is lying down next to his bed texting his
friend who calls ‘dibs’ on his kidney following up with the close up of the roommates creepy smile as he stares directly at
the viewer. The film ends with a shot of the side of the house and the same guys greeting a new roommate however, it is
unknown if the protagonist is there as the shot is to the side of the house where you can barely see the feet but, it is
made out to be a new victim for the duo.

Existing Product
Short Film-Analysis
Now I will break down a few scenes in this short film and study what it all means. The first scene starts off by using an establishing shot of the
house which is used to set up the location for the short film and to tell the audience where the short film will be taking place. This scene also
classifies as a long shot as well due to the full character being in shot as well as his surroundings. The backing track is rather eerie which
gives the audience the impression that the house is not a safe place for the characters and instantly makes the audience feel a small amount
of tension during the scene and this builds up into the next scene. The eerie music and the look of the house contrast each other as the
house looks very welcoming and safe yet the music applies tension and a sense of paranoia. This is effective because it makes the audience
paranoid of an ordinary house and this can carry over as an after effect after the film has ended. The connotations of this scene are that the
neighbourhood is boring in the sense that nothing interesting happens here and the viewers wouldn’t see what was wrong from first glance
which, seems to be a major part of the horror for this short film. The level of ‘normal’ here makes it seem impossible for anything strange or
horrifying to happen in these areas and it also makes the viewer intrigued as to how the events of the short film unfold and perhaps, how the
community in the short film react to it if they are shown in the film at all. The denotations of this scene is that it is just simply a middle class
neighbourhood where people of average income live and an area that isn’t harsh or violent which contrasts the violent nature of the short
film. The denotations of the colour that this short film uses are light colours and these are white, beige and green colours which are
especially bright and almost repel the idea of something bad happening in this neighbourhood and gives a warm and welcoming impression
to the audience whereas the connotations of the colour used in this scene show a pure and innocent neighbourhood due to the colour white
which represents purity and beige represents relaxation, calmness and neutrality however, according to Plutchicks wheel of emotion, green
represents apprehension, terror and fear which foreshadows the horrible occurrences that happen in this house. There is only one prop in
this scene and it is the suitcase that the protagonist is carrying to the house which immediately suggests that the character is moving into this
house or is coming back from a trip which is later revealed to be him just moving in. The colour of the suitcase is red and the connotations of
this colour are rage, strength, power, blood war and lust which don’t really match the film other than blood which goes with the horror
theme of the film and foreshadows possible danger. The colour also draws attention down to the suitcase and character as red is a danger
colour and stands out more than the other colours in the light spectrum. The Character is placed at the foot of the shot which makes him
seem quite small in this mise-en scene as it tries to infer that the character is weak and powerless which adds up when you take the plot of
the film into account. It also makes the house look big as it covers a huge degree of the frame and it towers over the character. The clothing
in this scene is casual and light which shows the audience that the character is just an average guy and his lack of layers show that it must be
fairly warm as he is walking around with just a T-shirt, trousers and shoes. The colours on his clothing are red which again, represents blood
which can foreshadow some of the things to come while also drawing attention to the character due to red being a colour that stands out
from the others. The lighting in this scene is also fairly light as it utilizes ambient light from the sun to lighten up the set and connotes to
feelings of warmth and happiness even if this wasn’t the filmmakers intentions.

Existing Product
Short Film-Analysis
The composition in this scene is symmetrical as the buildings are relatively similar and have an equal amount of colour, depth and light. This
is used to make the viewer feel comfortable and relaxed and adds to the blandness of the scene as symmetrical composition is used for a
more visually relaxing experience rather than an action oriented one. This type of composition does not attempt to get emotions from
people and treats itself as an ordinary and boring composition while also repeating colours and themes; these are blandness, warmth and
innocence. The post-production to this scene include the addition of music and a filter that has being placed over the part where the
character is walking up the stairs to the front door as the edges of the shot are blurred over to draw more attention to the character. I find
this particular edit pointless as the red already draws the audience in and considering that he fills up quite a big part of the screen already so,
the director is already drawing in the attention to the character and lets not forget that the effect is definitely overused and brings the
audience out of the immersion. This could suggest that it takes place in the past although its hard to know if they want this is the intended
effect. They also make use of the dolly zoom in this scene is which is effective at building tension but, in this particular case, its probably
being used to make the scene funnier for using a tension building zoom during a rather jokey scene.
The second scene that I will talk about is the scene where the protagonist enters the kitchen during breakfast and mistakes the spaghetti
hoops for blood. This scene again starts off with an establishing shot of the house which I have already broken down. It follows with a
medium shot of the protagonist and the roommate that he finds suspicious together after the protagonist enters the kitchen. The third shot
is a medium shot that zooms into a close up of the protagonists face followed by a close up of the spaghetti hoops that are being eaten. The
rest of the subsequent shots are of close ups of the suspicious roommate and the protagonists reaction but in slow motion which is being
used to emphasize the horror of the scene that is unfolding before the protagonists eyes. The next shot is a medium shot of the other
roommate and the suspicious roommate entering the room wondering “what his problem is” and this is followed of a close up of him using
ketchup in his cereal. The backing track for this scene is again, very eerie and tries to create fear and suspense. This again contrasts the light
colours and themes that are shown in the scene as, there a lot of light colours that this short film uses in this scene so, the music seems to
mainly act as a way to tell the audience that the film is a horror even though the scene is very comedic as if comedic music was used, the
audience wouldn’t feel any tension or suspicion and just find the scene funny however, it could also be said that the eerie music been used in
this scene is actually being used for comedic effect as the scene itself doesn’t apply tension due to how the character reacts to something
that is clearly a bowl of spaghetti hoops so, the scene tries to use the contrast between the two to create comedy.

Existing Product
Short Film-Analysis
The colours used in this scene are beige, brown, orange, white and red. The connotations of the colour beige are again, relaxation, calmness
and neutrality which represent how normal the neighbourhood/room is and tries to push a sense a sense of relaxation onto the audience.
The connotation of the colour brown is security, home, stability and honesty to list a few and this represents the plot very well because the
house to the audience and the character appears to be secure and safe as well as stable but, the other characters represent honesty as the
unsuspicious roommate is unable to come forward and be honest about the work he does behind the protagonists back and this may count
for the the character that the protagonist finds suspicious as he also doesn't come forward about it either, if he is involved in it that is. The
connotations of the colour orange is happiness, enthusiasm and creativity to name a few but, none of them really go with the plot of the
movie but, they can represent the emotions a comedy film tries to make its audience feel as orange is often shown to be a combination of
reds energy and yellows happiness which are all factors in a comedy film but, according to Plutchicks wheel of emotion, orange represents
anticipation and vigilance which definitely connotes to the main character as he anticipates the worst in any situation and is vigilant to
prevent his own death which ironically, he is unable to prevent; possibly? Considering that the character is holding an orange toothbrush,
this most certainly represents him. The connotations of red are again rage, strength and power which don’t really represent much in this
short film but, it does have connotations with danger and could represent the ketchup as the character who turns out to be the villain is
pouring ketchup into his cereal and it could actually be fore shadowing his motives throughout the film. This means more when you take into
account the fact that the film has the cereal in the shot for quite a while and it takes up the entire frame. The first prop used in this scene is
the bowl of cereal which suggests that it is early morning and the characters are just getting up and this point is strengthened when the main
character walks in while brushing his teeth. The same cant be said for their clothing as the effect would be stronger if they were wearing
pyjamas or any kind of nightwear though, it doesn't matter that much as it is a student short film. The characters seem rather average
compared to the Mise-en-scene so this means that this scene isn't trying to build tension this way as the camera angles and music already do
this for the audience so, any more tension would just be overdone. The main character has a moving position so the audience are more
drawn to him rather than the character sat at the table however, the character sat at the table was in shot before the protagonist walked in
so, the audience already know what he is doing. The distance presented between the characters suggests their emotional disconnect from
each other as the protagonist does not trust the other character at all whereas the antagonist happily sits next to the strange character in a
two-shot which suggests how close they are and may even suggest the strange characters involvement in the murder of the protagonist. The
clothing is quite casual again in this scene but, more akin to lounge wear instead which goes with the idea that it take place in the morning
but some of the characters stick with casual clothing as I have said which ruins this effect slightly. Most of the lighting in this scene is artificial
as it comes from inside as well as the lights in the house though, it does not have any obvious effect in this scene nor does it really come
under any of the other lighting categories. The composition is again, fairly symmetrical because of the cabinets being the same width, height
and colour but, the positioning of the characters and the uneven distribution of the upper cabinets makes the scene rather dynamic which
makes the audience feel tense and uncomfortable throughout this scene.

Existing Product
Short Film-Analysis
The characters involved in the scene have trust issues and this makes the dynamic composition of the scene work very well and this can be
juxtaposed with the symmetrical aspects of the scene as this gives a calming and tranquil feel to the film which doesn't match the unequal
dynamic feel that the scene may be trying to portray. This scene does not really use any kind of effects or filters which can be a bad thing as it
doesn't make the film look quite as professional or cinematic compared to some of the other short films that I have seen but the camera
work and acting is what makes it. No special zooms or shots were used either.

Existing Product-Trailer Analysis
• The first shot that has been used in this trailer is the establishing shot which is a shot more commonly used when informing the audience of the location of a scene or where the film
takes place. In this example, the establishing shot is used twice; once for neighbourhood that the film takes place in and the house itself. The shot can also be used to build up some
tension or paranoia, especially when paired with creepy music that has a dark tone to it however, the music used for these scenes are not that creepy as they are quite loud and
obnoxious instead which is most likely because of the comedy elements in this film. In this specific case, the shots appear to be primarily used to simply tell the audience where the
scene takes place. The first establishing shot is taken in the air which also makes it an aerial shot and this particular shot is also used to establish the scene and location yet, this also
means that the shot is dynamically composed and this helps to build tension and keeps the audience at the edge of their seat. Its use is made more effective when placed at the
beginning of the trailer as it reels the audience in and the sudden cut into the shot alarms the audience and gets them to ‘shut up and watch’ the trailer. The second establishing shot on
the other hand has a more symmetrical composition and this helps to calm the audience down so they can relax yet, it can also be used to start building tension subtly before the tension
building really starts; as the horror begins to unfold. The eerie music contrasts the safety of the house, just like in the short film, and this helps to associate a safe environment like a
house as a dangerous place and can help with making the audience uncomfortable which, can lead to ‘post film paranoia’ where the audience becomes paranoid and won’t appreciate
the safety of their home for a small while afterwards. A pretty effective horror tool however, this film uses comedy as well so, the effect will be somewhat limited and may not actually
be present after the film has ended. The next shot that this trailer uses is a long shot where the characters body is in full view and is effective simply for allowing some negative space to
be in the shot so, the audience can see some of the background/scenery in the scene. Its also fairly relaxing for the viewer and the shot is generally used when nothing action wise is
occurring. The film also makes use of close up shots to bring detail to specific parts of the shot or the scene. In this films case, it brings detail to some of the Facial expressions for more
comedic effect e.g. The scene where the husband is on listening to some music while his wife is being dragged around by the ghost and his facial expression tells the audience that he has
no idea that it is happening and this is what makes the scene funny. At the same time, the scene makes good use of negative space so the audience can see the wife being dragged
around by the spirit. The trailer also makes good use of the medium shot which only shows the top half of the characters body and is used during conversations to help bring attention to
the faces and their upper body movements. This trailer does make use of this but, its only use is for when the characters are conversing with each other and doesn’t really have any
other special meaning. The trailer also makes great use of the two shot to show the relationships between some of the characters e.g. The husband and wife are mostly shown in the
same shot and close together as they are married however, this changes after she becomes possessed and the husband and wife are shown to be farther apart afterwards to symbolize
the fact that the demon or spirit has taken over and she is no longer the person she once was. The film also makes use of found footage shots to show the fact that it is filmed on camera
which also leads to the shots being slightly unprofessional and they move about a fair bit. They also help to give a more aerial (and I use this term loosely) shot of the rooms in the house
and can even act as mini-establishing shots of each room to show the what is happening in the house at what time. One of these shots makes use of the triangles and diagonals
composition when the stairs are viewed in one of the mini-establishing shots and this particular composition is used to help guide the eyes of the viewer to particular parts of the shot
and it also makes the shot more interesting when the scene would originally be considered bland or boring. The trailer also makes use of text frames to inform the audience about the
director, actors and producers and this is very useful for transitions as well because the cuts work very well with them and don’t seem forced in any way. The music used in this trailer
can be quite eerie yet it also makes use of strange robotic sounds to make the music rather comedic instead and it gets to the point where I don’t know whether or not to laugh or be
spooked out. The music does also cut out occasionally when comedic scenes are being used to try and lessen the impact of the scene and make it feel less important to the audience
which helps with making the scene funnier. The colours used in this film are green, red, blue, black, beige, purple, brown and white. The green makes its appearance on some of the
clothing and makes the audience feel relaxed which is nice considering the fact that it is the start of the trailer and is also the start of the film which demonstrates that the director wants
the audience to be relaxed for the start and enjoy some of the comedy first before things kick off. This can also connote the characters personality; she is most likely a relaxed and fun
person to be around. The next colour to be used is red and this is a danger colour that does have some connotations blood and violence. The colour is located on some of the house
furniture and it could be used to foreshadow the somewhat dangerous events that are going to happen in the house. It could also be used to draw attention to some of the items in the
background and is helpful because this can help to spice up the scene and make it more visually interesting. This can also be a bad thing as it can disorientate the viewer and confuse
them on what area of the shot to focus on more. The next colour is black and this colour is only used during the text frames along with the colour white. The connotations don’t really
match what is going on however, it does help to make the film more mysterious and eye catching. The white on the other hand directly contrasts the colour black and it can represent
the purity and innocence of the protagonists while the black represents the ghost and his malicious intent. The colours beige and brown are used on the house and it is used to make the
house appear more bland and boring/make it like any other house and this can be used to give the audience ‘Post Film Paranoia’ and is a good effect for horror films and this works
because the house is so normal and like other houses that it gets to the audience even more. This can also reflect the characters as well due to the fact that they seem to be pretty
boring and don’t have a lot of character development but, this is pretty standard for a lot of comedy films and even more so for horror comedy ones. The colour purple crops up on the
priests robe scarf and this could be used to foreshadow this particular characters untimely demise as explained in plutchiks wheel of emotion however, it could be shown to represent
another characters death as well. The composition on some of the shots also make good use of fill the frame to make the audience focus on one thing as well as the contrast between
dynamic and symmetrical compositions to confuse the audience and keep them on edge. The lighting throughout the trailer does change a fair bit with the first being the artificial light
from the sun to create a more natural effect, the ambient light from lighting placed in the scene to make the shot more immersive and dark when the horror aspects come into play to
make the audience feel the dread of the scene. The costumes are just casual which help with the point that the characters are fairly boring and average with the exception of the priest
who wears priest robes and the gang who all wear the same clothes which may connote their dull personalities and how similar their characters are to each other. The costumes aren't
used to contrast the characters and are simply used to represent their personality. The acting on the other hand isn’t serious and doesn't really elicit any kind of emotional response
from the audience and this is most likely because the film is a comedy and the audience isn’t really meant to connect to the characters in the same way a normal film would do.

Existing Product Box Art 1
No sub-heading question. Bad
for getting the audience
intrigued as it doesn’t raise a lot
of eyebrows without it
Title of the film is red to draw
audiences attention in and the
blood effect it uses also matches
the colour very well. Font is
quite sharp and harsh; effective
considering the tone of the
movie. The title itself does raise
suspicion in the target audience
as evil dead could mean ghosts,
demons or even zombies and
this question gets the audience
to watch the film out of mystery.
The colours used on this box
art are red and black. Red has
connotations with evil and
danger which directly denotes
the film title as the dead are
evil and evil is a connotation of
red. Black on the other hand
connotes mystery and malice
which fit the title of the film as
well due to the fact that the
title of the film is rather
mysterious and leaves the
audience questioning the
identity of the antagonist.
Lack of images creates mystery fir
the audience as not a lot of
information is given regarding the
films content. The character present
is the main character and has
become somewhat of a horror icon.
The face also stands out when
compared to the background as it is
blurred.
Billing block used to
advertise director,
producers and actors
though, this really
should be on the
poster instead.
Blu-ray logo tells
us that this version
of the film is Blu-
ray compatible
however, there is
no mention of a
age rating on the
spine which is not
good
Image of a skull with a
black background. The
skull also has eyes for
added creep factor.
Directly denotes the title
of the film. Black
background adds a sense
of mystery.
The heading here tells the
audience that it is a 25th
anniversary edition of the film.
Useful when the audience would
like a HD rendition of the film
List of
directors and
actors here.
Uses white and
red colours to
help the
names stand
out form the
background
List of special features
that is included in the
new rendition of the
film. Can be eye
catching for the
audience especially
considering the fact
that the colour is red
The lack of age restriction
on the front and spine isn't
really helpful. It does say
not rated at the back but
this could lead to some
issues when purchasing
the product.
Terms and services
at the bottom
here. Necessary
information for
box art. Also
includes copyright
information as
well.
Bar code. Is
used to scan
item in shop.Blurb which summarises the
concept of the film. Worded in a
way that catchy and doesn't
reveal too much about the plot.
A quote is also above this in red
so the audience are drawn to it
reviews generally help people
buy the film as they give an
opinion on it.
The spine has a smaller image of the
skull located on the front cover and
the title of the film in a vertical
position. The background is black
which leaves a lot of negative space
on the product. Very eye catching.

Existing Product Box Art 2
The colours used here are green
and red and both of these
colours contrast each other
completely as green is a colour
that relaxes the eyes whereas
red is a danger colour and makes
people feel more tense. Black is
also present further down the
front cover as the image fades to
black.
Title of the film is in large
red letters with a font
that is somewhat easy to
read. This denotes a
more joyful experience
for the viewer as the title
makes the film out to be
more laid back and soft.
The red also draw the
audiences attention in
and is easier to see when
compared to the black
background.
Logo
denotes
what is
required of
the
audience
to play this
film.
Bar code is
positioned at the
bottom of the
back cover. Used
for scanning.
Sub-text is used for
comedic effect/mocks
other films
Reviews used to persuade the
audience to buy the film.
Information on the
requirements for this film to be
played. Displays length of film
and quality of film etc.
No age rating on the
film. Bad for business
and we have no way
of knowing who the
target audience is.
A terms and
services
display. Tells
the audience
the
copyright
laws etc.
Main image gives some insight onto some
of the characters who will be seen or
portrayed in the movie. Some of these
characters elicit a joyful response to the
audience as they are doing things that are
funny or just stupid. This film cover likes to
make us very aware that the film is
comedic.
There are images on the left and right
hand side of the page as well as images in
the middle of the page. These are most
likely used to give an idea on what the
plot will be about.
The information on
the back of the page
is used to give the
audience and insight
into the film with a
brief summary on
the plot of the film.

Research Analysis
• What common features do the researched
products have?
• What aspects of the research will you include
within your own production work?

*PLEASE NOTE*
• The following is the primary research for my product and involves
asking 10 questions to people on survey monkey. I can’t take
responsibility for some of the answers as people have made some
rather silly comments that aren't refutable at this point and I have
no control over them whatsoever. Please bear this in mind when
reading ahead. I would also like to point out that the lack of
responses come from my audiences refusal to answer the
questionnaire as well as some of the answers in this questionnaire
missing a few responses and comments which is most likely due to
their laziness and this also counts for some of the one word
answers. A certain someone has also decided to be picky and
attempt to correct one of my questions even though the correction
goes against the point in the questionnaire. Some people can’t read
the questions properly either.

Audience Research Question 1
• Observation: The question posed here is what gender my target audience
is and this is important because I can develop an experience tailored
towards men or women depending on the results that I get here. This can
effect colours, mood, tone and even the characters themselves within the
film so, this question is definitely viable and very important. From the
responses here I can see that 77.33% of the people who answered my
questionnaire are male which leaves 26.67% of responders as female. As
there were only 15 responses to this question; that leaves 11 of them to
be male and 4 of them to be female.
• What this says about my audience: This just simply says that my audience
is mostly male with some females. I did anticipate this somewhat so, not
much will really end up changing in the long run.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to
this audience by having the product mainly appeal to men while also
including aspects that would appeal to the female audience just to keep
the product neutral.

• Observation: The question that has been posed here is what age range my
audience fall into which is also important as I can develop a film that
would suit the needs of people who are specific ages and will also help
develop a proper age range to appeal too. Unfortunately, this question
backfired quite badly as all the respondents are within the age category of
15-20 so, I cant quite get a varied response out of this question.
• What this says about my audience: This means that the audience here are
all within the 15-20 age category. I did not anticipate this as I believed that
I would be getting more responses.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to
this audience by using more modern concepts; this means removing jokes
that the older generation get and trying to appeal more to the younger
horror audience and I can do this by using jokes and clichés that are more
viable to the younger generation rather than the older one.

• Observation: This question was posed in a text format rather than the classic
one word answer tick box. The question itself asks for peoples opinions on
horror/comedy films as a whole and this is useful because I can weed out the
people that don’t like horror/comedy films and focus more on the people that
enjoy them. I can also help to make the product appeal more to the audience
that don’t like horror/comedy films and make it work for them some how.
Perhaps I can make the film more horror based. Quite a lot of the responses
are positive; saying things like its good and they love them. Others just say
that they are indifferent to them don’t mind them whereas some despise
them. I’d say that most of the responses are positive and only a minority of
them are negative.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that the majority of my
audience love them or don’t mind them with only a small fraction of them
despising genre. I sort of anticipated this when designing this question so, the
result does not surprise me that much.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: As my product is inherently a
horror/comedy; this makes changing things slightly difficult in the long run
however, I could focus more on the horror aspects of the film and just have
the comedy aspects be more in the background although, this is another
question in the survey so, I will discuss this more then.

• Observation: The question posed here goes back to using the pie chart instead and having a comment
field as an extra. This question is used to gauge what the audience like in comedy films and then using the
majority answer as the source of the comedy. This may also help the product appeal more to people who
dislike horror/comedy films as finding the comedy they actually find funny and placing it into the product
will make the product more enjoyable for them. From the results, I can see that 64.29% of the responders
like dark comedy, 7.14% enjoy light-hearted comedies, 21.43% of the audience like deadpan comedy,
7.14% enjoy cringe comedy’s and nobody picked slapstick comedy, blue comedy, character comedy,
observational comedy or prop comedy. This means that 1 person picked happy/light comedy, 9 people
picked black comedy, 1 person picked cringe comedy, 3 people picked deadpan comedy and the other
options came to a zero. The comments just seem to confirm peoples options as they only offer the simple
enjoyment of it to be their reasoning. One person does not like comedy films so, they refused to answer
this question which makes the comment field a little pointless however, the multiple choice answer is very
effective at finding results as it forces the surveyed to answer the question seriously. 1 person did not
answer this question.
• What this says about my audience: This means that the vast majority of my audience prefers dark humour
to the other options and I will keep this in mind when designing my trailer. The other option which came in
second place was dead pan comedy so, I may still incorporate this into my film. The results kind of
surprised me this time around however, I also slightly anticipated black comedy to be picked over the
others so, it doesn’t have a massive effect on my trailer as a whole.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: This does have a big effect on my product as this can help
to persuade me as to what comedy style to pick and it seems that black comedy would be the preferred
option but, not just because it was picked but rather, it falls in line with the way I wanted to design the
trailer from the mood boards which was to focus on the horror aspect compared to the comedy.

• Observation: This next question is again, in a pie chart formula and uses the multiple answer type with a
comment field that has hardly being filled out and the 2 responses are not helpful at all. This particular
question asks what aspects of slasher films people enjoy and this is useful as it can help to give me an idea
on what the audience want to see in the horror aspect of the product. As I want the horror aspect to be
slasher in my trailer, this in and of itself is a very useful question to ask so, I can see what slasher aspects
people like the most and try to push it into my trailer concept. From the results, I can see that 46.67% of
people picked splatter/gore, 6.67% of people picked psychological, 20.00% picked thriller, 13.33% picked
mystery, and 0% of people picked Giallo and classic slasher. Translated, this means that 7 people picked
gore, 1 person picked Psychological, 3 people picked thriller, 2 people picked mystery and no one picked
Giallo or classic slasher films. The comment field here is also extremely pointless as only 2 people
responded and one of which decided to criticize the question while the other gave me a film name which
is not what I was asking for. The multiple answer formula is still holding up its usefulness as I can still be
influence by it.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience does prefer blood and gore quite a bit
compared to the other aspects that I displayed and second place went to thriller which quite often
appears in most films anyway. Was not really that surprised with the results as I should have expected that
my audience would pick gore over the other options that could have been picked though, thriller coming
in second was quite the suprise and I may incorporate it into my trailer
• How will your product appeal to this audience: For this question, it may be slightly difficult for the
product to appeal to this audience as making a gore fest is fairly difficult to make while also making it look
legit so, I should probably focus on the thriller elements instead and I can appeal well here by adding more
tension and suspense in the trailer. Not sure how to do this yet but, I will decide during pre-production as
to where to put it.

• Observation: The question makes use of the pie chart again so gathering the results is easier for me
however, it only has 2 options this time around and tries to make better use of the comment field. The
question asks if the audience think that the short film can attain the same level of character development
a professional film can and this is useful to me because I get an idea on whether or not I should go for
some character development in this short film although, it will not be shown as much considering that the
product is only going to be a trailer due to time constraints. The results tell me that 46.67% of people said
yes and 53.33% of people said no. Into numbers this translates to 7 people saying yes and 8 people saying
no and no one skipped this question either. The comment field helps to explain why and it shows that
people really do have different opinions on why they said yes or why they said no. Some people said that
short films are too short and don’t have the time to develop their characters while on the other side of the
equation people mentioned that characters can be developed with only a few short scenes while others
simply mentioned that it depends on whether or not the director has the skill required to pull it off.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience is rather split on the subject matter and
they all have some pretty good points, even if some of them are simple although, the majority still falls on
no so, maybe I should take them into account more. These results were fairly interesting as I considered
that maybe that more people would pick no but, it has come to a split which is giving me something to
really think about.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I may struggle here as the answer is rather split so
decisions have to be made on my end however, I could just go with the majority and say no and scrap
character development but, this is rather lazy and I don’t feel comfortable with this. I will decide what to
do with this when I move onto my pre-production as I would have had some more time to think about it.

• Observation: This question makes use of the standard multiple answer with comment field
design I did earlier and the pie chart design to make it easier to analyse. This question also
goes back to more than 2 choices as I want more of a split here which is largely due to this
question being very important for my trailer. Only 13 people could be bothered to answer
this question which means that 2 people skipped it for some unknown reason. The question
posed asks the audience what their favourite serial killer name is and it very important as the
results here are what the name for my product will come out to be. Out of these options,
15.38% picked east side ripper, 7.69% picked the phantom killer, 15.38% picked the devils
emissary, 53.85% picked the taxidermist and 7.69% picked the river side butcher. This means
that 2 people picked the east side ripper, 1 person picked the phantom killer, 2 people picked
the devils emissary, 7 people picked the taxidermist and 1 person picked the river side
butcher. The comment field also gave a brief insight into their reasoning which mainly
includes just liking the sound of the name and whether or not it has the right fit for
horror/comedy. 1 person thinks they are real serial killers and tells me he prefers Ed Gein
over them so, I wont even question it as it is fairly useless and does not contribute anything
to the trailer at all.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience generally prefer the
taxidermist to the other options in the answer field. I didn't actually interpret this answer as
a lot of these names came off of the top of my head so, its definitely nice to see.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to this audience by
making use of the name the taxidermist instead of the others. In a way, I also prefer this
name to the other as well.

• Observation: This question is a standard two answer question which asks if
the film should focus on horror or comedy. Using percentages, 15.38% of
people picked comedy and 84.63% picked horror. When translated, this comes
to 2 people who picked comedy and 11 people who picked horror. This also
means that 2 people skipped this question out for some reason. The comment
field is also fairly irritating in the sense that one or two of the answers aren't
very helpful at all and attempt to make jokes out of the survey even though I
need it for results however, some of them decide to go into some detail about
their choices e.g. they prefer horrors because they enjoy the tone more then
comedys etc.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience vastly
prefer horrors over comedy films. This answer didn't really come as a surprise
to me as most teenagers prefer horrors instead of comedies and I also know
that some people are different as well and prefer comedies to horrors
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to this
audience by focusing more on the horror aspects rather then the comedy
ones.

• Observation: This question goes back to using multiple answers and is in a pie chart
formula. The question asks the audience what aspects of a film cover draws the
audience in and everyone actually answered it this time. The percentages of people
that answered the question are 26.67% said colours, 26.67% said positioning of
characters, 13.33% said effects and 33.33% said they preferred the symbolism. When
translated this question comes out as 4 people liked colours, 4 people liked characters
and their positioning, 2 people liked post-production effects and 5 people chose
symbolism. The comment field on the other hand is quite short and simply goes over
their reasoning's as to why they picked these options and some of them compared
themselves to a moth as their explanation as to why they picked colour which leads me
to believe that these individuals answered this question for the sake of it rather than
actually thinking about it.
• What this says about my audience: This says that my audience are split and they all like
very different things which leads me to believe that I should develop a focus on all 4 of
them rather than leave one out. Despite this, symbolism still takes the majority vote.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: I will use all 4 of them considering the
fact that this question is rather split while placing greater emphasis on the symbolism
compared to the other 4.

Product Development Based on
Questionaire
• Based on the results from the questionnaire, I decided to make some changes
to my product. The first change, courtesy of question 1, is to have the product
appeal more to men than women for the reason that the majority of the
answers are from boys. Another change includes utilizing more modern
comedy in comparison to older comedy for the simple reason that most of my
audience appears to be young so, making use of comedic and horror concepts
that appeal to a younger generation would work far better in my opinion. The
next change that is going to be made will be to focus more on the horror
aspects of my project instead of the comedic aspects of my project as that is
what my audience seems to prefer. Making the comedic side of the project
more dark and gritty will also appeal to this audience and this aligns with the
horror standing out more as well. Adding more tension to the trailer will also
help my product too as I can combine this with the horror elements. Tension
can be applied by adding in jump scares and music that build up slowly and
makes the audience nervous and uncomfortable. The name of the project will
be Taxidermist as per the wishes of the audience and because I also prefer it. I
can also have the box art be more symbolic rather than just box art.

Interview 1
• Do you think short films can use two genres and still be effective at teaching their meaning. Why?
- Definitely, if you are creative enough even though this will need a lot of planning. If you are combining two basic
genres like for instance a romantic comedy. Those genres fit well together and have some relation making it easier to
combine however making a sci-fi western, it would be very difficult since a western is mostly related to the past
contrasting with the science fiction.
• What comedy/horror film do you enjoy the most and why?
- I enjoy Shaun of the dead as its more of an adapted zombie film rather than a parody. They still have well developed
characters as well as having emotional scenes. The comedy on the other hand is perfect as its always pulled off at the
right moments such as the clumsy action sequences and relatable stupid questions about zombies.
• Do you prefer basic and easy to understand slasher films or do you prefer slasher films that are more mysterious
and require more thinking and why?
- I think having a mix of both would be perfect as it’s a call back to classics while adding your own mysterious twist
would make it unique.
• How do you feel about plot twists and why?
- I think plot twist should be done right to make the audience genuinely surprised. One good way of an effective twist is
to foreshadow the twist before hand but with as much subtlety as possible.
• Do you think that the short film needs to have loads of blood and gore or do you think that it should be more
strict with the blood and why?
- Many people would say gore isn't necessary however there are many uses of gore. A first basic reason is that it would
be realistic and can be genuinely scary however you make gore artistic. For example in kill bill they have the blood
exaggeratedly squirt making an entertaining scene.

Interview 2
- Yes I think that short films can include two genres and still be effective at putting their meaning across
because as the two genres merge together the film will become more in depth in its meaning which will
make the viewer think about what he is watching and why something is happening
-Zombieland, because the characters fit in well with the post apocalyptic world. They all have their
personal stories involved throughout the film and they are so different in their personality that the film
becomes funny. Also, ZOMBIES!
• Do you prefer basic and easy to understand slasher films or do you prefer slasher films that are
more mysterious and require more thinking and why?
-More mysterious slasher films because I like to have that thought process about what’s going on and
what is about to happen as it creates suspense which stimulates the brain.
- I hate most plot twists, because usually it turns out to be stupid and pointless and contradicts the
obvious.
• Do you think that the short film needs to have loads of blood and gore or do you think that it
should be more strict with the blood and why?
-it depends on the type of short film, if it is a horror where people are murdered then yes it should have
a lot of blood and a scene where people are getting killed. However if it is a horror that is full of jump
scares and no deaths then no, I don’t think it is necessary to have a lot of blood involved as it wouldn’t
be a part of the main story at all.

Interview 3
-I agree that a film can use multiple genres to convey a message while also being subtle and progress
the story. I enjoy films that combine elements of horror and comedy to make a witty and engaging film.
-my favourite comedy of all time is between the cornetto trilogy of Shawn of the dead, Hot Fuzz and at
worlds end. They blend horror and comedy together so that neither overpower each other with clever
use of timing and cinematography.
-I enjoy both types of films on different occasions however I tend to prefer more mysterious films as
they leave more up to be interpreted and keep me engaged.
-I like a film to have a plot twist that is not obvious but is not too obscene to break the tension. If there
are too many plot twists or the script is too confusing it will damage the overall film.
-I think that more blood and gore is good for a short film because it adds an element of shock to the film
that a short film cannot build up like in a full feature film with character progression and tension as
much.

Interview 4
- Absolutely, I think often times short films benefit from utilizing multiple genres as they can draw in a
bigger audience and convey more meaning through different devices.
-I enjoy ’Shaun of the dead’ as the overall horror theme is well designed however the underlying
humour used makes for good entertainment.
-I prefer movies that require a bit more thinking as you get to figure out why certain things happened
making it more of a fun experience and also much more memorable.
- I like plot twists, spending time to give the audience one idea of something and then at the last minute
changing the whole dynamic of the film is difficult to do, but when it is done well it makes the viewer
remember the film more and often adds to the enjoyment and entertainment of the film.
-I think it is down to the person making the film, personally I don’t think you need to be strict with
blood, however the film shouldn’t be gory for the sake of being gory. But rather have a valid reason to
be gory.

Interview 5
- yes, most films that are released have a mix of different genres like a horror is normally also a thriller
so yes I do think that they can show there meaning with two genres.
- Zombie land, it keeps a realistic threat and steaks as a horror film would have and makes it realistic
while also proving subtle comedy is great for horror films.
- I prefer them to have more mystery but if it’s a comedy/ horror I would not mind as the comedy and
horror vibe is more important than a plot dependent on how its intended to be made.
- It all depends on how they are done and if the plot is interesting enough to provide a good plot twist.
- I think it all depends on who you are appealing to as an audience, if you want to appeal to 18 year olds
only then use blood and gore if your aiming for a wider range then use less of it if any.

Interview summary
• Observation: For the interviews I asked 5 questions to 5 different people in an attempt to gauge what each person
thinks should be included in my product. The 5 questions I asked are 1. do you think short films can use multiple
genres, 2. what comedy and horror films you enjoy the most and why, 3. whether or not they prefer more mystery
or more of a simple plot and why, 4. if they like plot twists or not and 5. if they like a film with a lot of blood and
gore. These questions are fairly different from the survey as I already have answers to those questions so, I asked
5 new ones for extra information. The first question was thought up to see if people think that a concept like mine
is actually doable and most of them actually admit that it is with the last one admitting that all films use more
than one genre anyway. The second question was asked to see what their favourite horror comedy film was so, I
could attempt to find what was good about them and try and emulate some of these films into my own trailer. The
responses tell me that they all either liked Shaun of the dead or zombie land which is helpful because it means
that I wont have a lot of emulating. The third question was asked because I want to see if a more complex plotline
will be acceptable compared to a more straightforward, easy to watch film ad most of the responses tell me that
they prefer more complex plotlines but some of them also consider the possibility that a more laid back plot
would be nice as well while others consider both at the same time to also be a viable option.
• What this says about my audience: This suggests that my audience are quite open-minded about two contrasting
genres being pushed into one short film and are happy with these two genres. It also suggests that they all like
similar comedy/horror films and these films are rather similar due to the fact that they are zombie films as well. It
also suggests that my audience are intelligent to some degree as they understand and enjoy complex films where
a bit more thinking is required. It may also suggest that my audience is happy with some plot twists as long as they
work and fit well with the product and that they like a lot of gore as well.
• How will your product appeal to this audience: My product will appeal to this audience by making use of the
horror/comedy genres to their fullest while also trying to make it work together in a cohesive plot. I can also make
use of films like Shaun of the dead and zombie land and try to use some of their techniques to make the film more
appealable to my target audience. This is followed by having a plot that is somewhat complex but, also can be
easy on the viewers at some points to make the film more relaxing. I can also include one or two plot twists to
make the film appeal to this audience more. Even though the audience wants blood and gore, this will be difficult
to include in my products so, I may have to leave this out.

Bibliography
1. Hickman Jack. (2018) Target Audience Research Survey (conducted on 12/04/18)
2. Ahmed, Tahmid. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on 12/04/18)
3. Schoettner, Sam. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on 12/04/18)
4. Coleman, Patrick. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on 12/04/18)
5. Gannon, James. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on 12/04/18)
6. Ross, Luke. (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on 12/04/18)
7. Walls,T. (2015). Roommates. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DvuSxA2c5I. Last accessed 15th Apr 2018.
8. MovieClipTrailers. (2012). Haunted House Official Trailer. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J50vA5VLR6k. Last accessed 18th Apr 2018.
9. Anon. (Unknown). Evil Dead 2 Box Art . Available: https://dailydead.com/wp-
content/uploads/2011/11/Evil-Dead-2-Blu-Cover.jpg. Last accessed 18th Apr 2018.
10. Anon. (Unknown). Scary Movie Box Art. Available:
https://k13ran24.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/dvd-cover-research-scary-movie.jpg. Last
accessed 18th Apr 2018.

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