The focus group was conducted with 6 teenagers to understand what would attract their target horror film audience. Participants were asked questions about film posters, fonts, taglines, sound, magazine features, camera shots, murder weapons, costumes, the film name, and enjoyable horror movie factors. Their feedback indicated a preference for disturbing imagery and taglines that hint at the plot without revealing too much, conventional horror sounds, clear villain and weapon depictions, and close-up shots that make the antagonist look sinister. This information will help design marketing materials that entice the target audience.

1. Focus Group Analysis

2. We produced this focus group in order
to find out what our target audience
expect and will want from our media
package

3. This focus group was
delivered to a group of
roughly 6 teenagers of
both genders, they are
predominately our target
audience and therefore
will be more likely to
identify features that
they are encapsulated by.
Each member of the focus
group have a shared
interest in horror, which
is why we chose them to be
a part of the focus group.
We wanted to gain an
insight into what is
enjoyed by the target
audience and find out what
conventions will draw in a
wider audience.

4. Q1 - Which film poster entices you the most?
We asked our audience this question to determine what type of
layout and which features would make them want to buy the
magazine. After asking which poster the audience wanted to
see; we questioned why? This gave us an insight into what
conventions will work within our media package. The majority
of the audience each chose opposing posters to one another,
they picked out parts of the posters which seemed most
enticing.

5. Q2 - Which font do you prefer and why?
This question was asked in order to find out which font would
fit conventionally and which fonts would attract an audience.
The selection of fonts displayed on the focus group are
generic initial ideas, we will consider using similar fonts
based on feedback. The audience did not find any of the fonts
conventional or appropriate to use, we will most likely not
use any of the selected fonts in any of our media pieces as
they did not fit the genre correctly, for example we received
feedback saying they looked too sci-fi or comedic.

6. Q3 - What tagline would you prefer for our film
poster?
We have come up with an array of ideas for our tagline, they
all have a similar concept but we wanted to find out which
one would be most effective when enticing an audience. Each
tagline refers to the villain and his love for human flesh,
which is disturbing but creates an enigma code. Based on our
3 options, most of the audience went for “he is what he
eats”, they justified this by saying that it does not give
away too much of the plot yet relates to the villain being
human and eating human, revealing just enough of the
narrative to entice viewers.

7. Q4 - Which types of sound do you expect to hear
in a trailer?
This question asks the target audience to pick out which
types of sound they think is conventional to hear during a
horror trailer. We think that sound is one of the most
important elements of a trailer/film in order to make it
effective, therefore we need to consider lots of sounds.
Foley sound was mentioned by multiple people alongside
diegetic sound, this is conventional within a slasher and
creates fear amongst the audience who will be able to see and
hear the killings going on.

8. Q5 - Which features in relation to the film would
you like to see on a magazine
Creating a symbiotic link is important, we need to include
certain features across all media products so that the
audience can determine a link. Most of the audience said that
they would prefer to see a full shot of the villain and
horror iconography, for example the iconic weapon used to
kill the victims.

9. Q6 - Which camera shot/angle would be best for
our poster?
We included this question in order to identify what camera
shot/angle the audience would like to see on our magazine or
poster. The main image is the main factor which entices an
audience, so we need to have an interesting focal point to
initially encapsulate an audience. The audience decided they
they wanted to see close up shots in order to create a sense
of fear and to accentuate the antagonist, making him look
more sinister.

10. Q7 - Which murder weapon would be suitable for
a butcher?
Horror iconography is an essential part of any horror movie;
slasher movies especially rely on an iconic murder weapon, we
are planning on featuring this weapon in our trailer, on the
poster and on the magazine front cover, creating a symbiotic
link. The audience all agreed that the meat cleaver would be
most suitable, the general feedback was that it had most
relation to the antagonist (butcher), and the fact that is is
capable of a lot of damage.

11. Q8 - Which costume is appropriate for the
slasher genre?
Conventionally in all slasher horror movies the villain wears
a mask, we have to carefully consider costume choice as it
has to be scary yet conventional, the killer's face will not
be revealed making the audience question everyone. For the
most part the audience selected the costume where the masked
villain is wearing an all black suit; they said that this
connotes the villain’s multiple personalities. On the other
hand there were a few comments stating that the costume with
an apron will relate to the narrative and his profession.

12. Q9 - Do you agree with our name of choice for
the film, why/why not?
The name we are considering is ‘The Human Carvery’, this
relates to cutting up humans, which is the primary role of
our villain ‘the butcher’. The name of our trailer will be
the initial point which will draw in the audience. The
majority of the audience preferred ‘The Human Carvery’ as it
sounds scary yet also gives away a small part of the
narrative. The other names that we came up with were not as
popular, they apparently sound too familiar, and not original
enough.

13. Q10 - Which factors from a horror movie do you
enjoy the most?
This question is rather generic and allows us to find out
which parts of a trailer people prefer, some of the suggested
answers included sound, lighting and costume. Our target
audience said that they think the narrative, setting and
villain are three aspects of the film which are very
important, the villain needs to scare the audience, the
narrative has to be enticing and convincing, following
conventions in order to portray what genre the movie belongs
to.