The document summarizes interviews conducted to research the target audience for a horror film trailer. The initial interviews included 10 questions but the candidate became disinterested, so it was reduced to 5 questions. Most interviewees preferred a mix of music and verbal clips in a trailer. They also preferred fast cut scenes over long scenes to generate suspense without revealing too much of the plot. Common expectations for horror trailers included jump scares, screams, music and suspense. While one trailer was praised for its detail, revealing too much of the plot was undesirable. Most interviewees expressed a preference for trailers to be in chronological order.

1. AUDIENCE RESEARCH-INTERVIEWS
Sophie Potter

2. Changing the interview
When I originally wrote the interview questions I
decided that I would make the interview 10
questions long. I decided this as I believed it
would enable me to gain a large in look into the
ideas and requests of our target audience.
However after the first interview was conducted
it was apparent that the length of interview was
an issue as the candidate was becoming
disinterested. Because of this I made the
decision to limit the interview to 5 questions
which made the interviews more successful
even though less information was collected.
After changing the questions I then carried out
the interviews on 5 different people.

3. Questions
1. Do you prefer music throughout a trailer
or more verbal clips? Why?
2. Do you prefer fast cut scenes or longer
snippets of a scene?
3. What would you expect to see in a typical
horror trailer?
4. Are there any horror trailers that you have
particularly enjoyed watching? If so what
trailer?
5. Would you prefer the trailer to be in
chronological order or a less structured
order?

4. Question 1-
Do you prefer music throughout a trailer or more verbal clips? Why?
Question
1
Two people;
Both said it helps
to give more
information and
connection to the
characters
2 people; music -
creates
suspense and
dramatic effect
1 person; Vocal.
They believed it
allowed the
audience to have
more of a
connection to the
Verbal clips are not favoured
with our target audience
however they are favoured
when paired with music, as
they help to give further
information and create a
connection with the
audience. Music is preferred
over verbal clips alone as it
adds dramatic effect and
suspense to the trailer.
Because of this we are going
to look into using a mix of
both within our trailer as we
believe it will benefit the
audience more.

5. Question 2
Do you prefer fast cut scenes or a longer snippets of a scene?
Question
2
1 person- both,
because it sets up
a foundation for
the film.
Three people;
Fast clips
because it creates
suspense and
doesn't give away
too much of the
plot
1 person; Long,
as it gives the
audience more of
an idea about the
film.
Long clips are not favoured
when it comes to trailers as
they reveal too much of the
plot. More people enjoy
trailers with fast cuts as it
doesn’t give away too much
of the plot and creates
suspense. Because of this we
will be using fast cuts within
our trailer as it will create the
suspense in which we are
hoping to create.

6. Question 3-
What would you expect to see in a typical horror trailer?
Jump
scares
Question
3
Dark scenes
Clips from
each stage
References
to problems
Suspense
Screams
Music
As seen from the answers to
this question their are a
variety of different things
that people expect in a
horror film. When
interviewing the candidates
it became apparent that
screaming and jump scares
are favoured when it comes
to horror trailers.

7. Question 4-
Are there any horror trailers you have particularly enjoyed watching? If so what trailers?
Question
4
Mama-
The trailer was
very detailed
Carrie-
However the
trailer gives
away too much
of the plot.
As a group we had already
watched the two trailers in
which had been mentioned
in reply to this question.
The candidates showed that
they enjoy trailers that have
a lot of detail however they
dislike trailers that have too
much insight into the plot.
Because of this we decided
as a group that we would
make our trailer detail but
not give too much insight
into the plot.

8. Question 5
Would you like the trailer to be in chronological order or a less structured order?
Question
5
4 people;
chronological
1 person;
less
structured
The candidates who where
interviewed clearly enjoy
horror trailers to be
chronological. Because such
a large amount of out
candidates chose this we
decided that we would make
our trailer structured as it is
what our audience prefers
and also because it will make
the trailer easier to follow
and understand.