The document discusses research conducted on an audience for a horror film opening sequence. Questionnaires and test screenings provided both positive and negative feedback. Positives included praise for shots, music, and original storyline, while negatives questioned the title choice and indicated more buildup of tension was needed. The research helped evaluate if the setting was effective and if the entity was shown appropriately. It also assessed if the audience understood the plot and found the film professionally made.

1. GROUP – Questions 4/5
Tom Holmes and Dan Holden

2. Who would be the audience for your media
product? How did you attract/address your
audience?
-Demographically, my film would not attract a specific age bracket of people and exclude
everyone else. Generally the film would be more attractive to younger people but this is common
place with any horror film I believe. That is to say, however, that it would not be surprising if an
older audience did wish to watch my film. But it is designed to entice a younger core audience for
sure. I say this because of the plot of the sequence as well as the filming style amongst other
things. These aspects will be discussed later.
-I believe that my target audience would be the core audience of 15-29 year
olds that regularly attend horror films of any genre. I think this because there
is nothing obviously unconventional in my film’s opening to suggest it is
any different on a significant level to generate a cult audience for example.
Paranormal horror is not different to other horror sub-genres in truth, in that
it encourages a young audience to the cinemas to watch the films but also in
that the plots for many horror films are simple and easy for the mass
audience to follow. This is a problem of arthouse or cult films in some cases
as they are ‘specialist’ films; they require a certain kind of audience to watch
them.
So, in essence, I believe that my film would appeal most to the likes of the
core audience of horror film lovers in the 15-29 age bracket.
Who is my core
target audience?
What makes this
the case?

3. -In terms of gender, my film does not set out to appeal to the likes of one sex rather than the other. In
relation to which genders were present in my opening sequence, certainly it would seem like the film
would be more attractive to males as there are more in the story. However, I do not think this is the case.
Conventionally, horror films appeal to both males and females, specifically maybe males slightly more.
Paranormal horror is much the same story. Initially, people would expect more men to visit the cinema to
see horror films, but why? Is it because horror films are expected to be violent, gory and scary?
Iconography in horror films determines the audience a great deal, as most horror films follow the
conventions of the sub-genre. Indeed, I believe my film is mainly conventional of paranormal horror.
What effect this fact has on my audience, there is no telling. In spite of this uncertainty, I believe that my
film certainly appeals with equal depth to both men and women because there is no content to claim one
way or another a certain group of people would like it more than others.
-Class and occupation is taken into account when films are produced, distributed and exhibited. The style
of filming as well as the content will appeal to different people, the way it is advertised and who it is
advertised to will too and where the film is shown will have been considered in relation to the people
who will watch it. I have already established that my film is much more likely to be exhibited in a
smaller cinema chain rather than at a multiplex. Similarly, my film would not have the financial backup
of larger films with bigger budgets and so reaching everyone, particularly upper classes for example may
not be so easy because of the financial strictness and limitations.

4. -The only belief/value really
touched upon in the opening
sequence is the matter of good
against evil/life against death.
This set of binary oppositions is a
topic often linked to Christianity.
This factor is linked more towards
psychographics rather than
demographics.
The psychographics element to
my film relates to what things a
group of people like. This can be
anything from gore to ghosts or
from mystery to murder in horror
films. I believe that my opening
sequence suggests that my film
would attract those with
paranormal psychographic tastes
because of the nature of the plot
being void of blood and the more
creepy aspects of horror, but
rather it focuses on the mystery
and supernatural side.
-Another demographic concerning my film is ethnicity. The
social background to an audience is often more important than it
appears to be. This is to say that definitely a certain ethnic group
would prefer to go and see a particular genre of film rather than
any other. Moreover, certain ethnic groups may have values that
restrict them to only watching films of specific content that
would not offend.
I do not believe that my film explores any ethnic groups’ attitudes
nor does it cause concern for prejudice.

5. As I just mentioned, I think that
my film would appeal to those
interested in paranormal horror,
much more than anyone who
likes the more gruesome aspects
of horror in slasher and zombie
horror, such as ‘Shaun of the
Dead’ (Wright, 2004). This is a
very gory comedy horror film in
truth. There a number of reasons
I think this way, namely in the
style and plot of the opening.
The style of my film’s opening
is not intense, it sets the scene
for the rest of the
film with character development
and paranormal events taking
place. When I refer to my film’s
‘style’, I speak of the technical
aspects and how these make my
film conventional of paranormal
horror.
Jump scares are conventional of horror and so an audience would
expect to see this if they went to the cinema to watch a film of
this genre. On psychographic terms, I expect regular film goers
that anticipate scares and thrills from horror films would go to
see my film; younger adults and teens perhaps find this more
attractive. Despite the fact that there are not a great deal of scares
in the opening, there would be more as the story. I believe that
this is evident given the style of the sequence.
What appeals my in film
to my target audience in
terms of genre?

6. The setting for the opening is a stock location; a forest has
strong connotations to horror and mystery. This factor was
considered during the film ‘The Blair Witch Project’, a
very famous horror film.
The soundtrack appeals to a younger audience and shares
connotations of youth due to its upbeat-feel and its genre.
Mystery in the plot up until the end of the opening sets the
stage for the rest of the story to continue on from a opening
which does not explain a lot but creates a cliffhanger to
introduce the film. Mystery is conventional of paranormal
horror.
The protagonist and the antagonist are both generic
characters in my opinion. This meant that my audience can
understand their attitudes and values simply and enjoy the
story. They can relate to the protagonist too I feel, as he is
presented as just another teenage male out jogging. This
links to the aspect of verisimilitude; it could happen to any
jogger. Verisimilitude as a characteristic of film is very
important in horror, increasingly so, to induce fear.

7. Compliments
-People explained how they liked the variation and ambition of
shots we plan to use to meet criteria for technical excellence.
-Many people also agreed that our storyline/plot was original.
-Relating to our Wilderness Woods filming, people asked
whether we would be replicating or interpreting some of our best
shots in this film, as it is also situated in a forest.
-Once the treatment was explained in relation to the music
soundtrack, people seemed to like the idea.
Questions/targets
-Some people did question our decision on why we did not
choose the favoured title our audience questionnaire concluded
upon. On reflection, we will need to explain in-depth as to why
we chose a different one.
-On the topic of the title, some people also theorised that the
audience - or at least some of them - would maybe not
understand our title, 'Psychedelic'.
-Practically, our location could be busy, as a number of our
audience picked up on.
-Despite the fact our Wilderness Woods shots were praised so
highly, people questioned whether we thought we would be able
to match or improve upon their quality.
-In terms of the advice our audience provided, people suggested
we should research into after effects before we start shooting so
we know what to expect when editing.
Comments:
-People liked the low
angle shot of the ball.
-People liked the music
syncing a lot.
-Where the titles were
positioned went down
well.
Targets:
-No indication of horror
genre?
-The clip was too long.
This is a collection of the
response we received
after our rough cut was
screened.

8. What did my audience
research provide in
terms of results and
evidence?
-For my audience research I mainly utilised questionnaires and open
screenings. The first allowed me to collate data and ideas on the
sequence from a number of people and generate a group of graphs to
show the results. The second refers to my film sequence being shown
to numerous people while I reviewed their reactions. This enabled me
to judge the reactions of an audience who had seem the film for the
first time. Such an activity will have provided me with a very useful
understanding of the views and attitudes of my target audience and to
judge whether it is positive or negative.
Was the setting effective?
Yes No
Was the setting effective?
Did you like how the entity was shown, and
was it shown enough?
Feedback was generally positive, praising the
shortness of the sighting adding to the intrigue,
however it needed to appear more malevolent.
Again the feedback was almost completely positive,
people liked the sound in our piece, and thought the
juxtaposition of the music was interesting and
engaging, however some found it odd at first.
Did you like our choice of
soundtrack? Please explain.

9. Opinions were mixed, some thought the title
was too colloquial for a horror film, while
others liked the theme of juxtaposition
throughout the piece and the memorable aspect
of it.
We decided to not use the Patriarchy question
as it was very difficult to determine without
several characters, the terminology also led to
confusion.
Do you like the title?
Was tension built up enough? Please explain.
Was the font suitable?
Yes No
Was tension built up
enough?
Yes No
Comments were very positive, however most
people were unsure of how it was built,
however it was accredited generally to the
sound mix and fast cutting.

10. The viewers seemed to understand the plot perfectly well,
commenting mainly on the discovery of the noose and death
of the protagonist. The disappearance of the tennis ball was
only mentioned once but the summary constraints may have
been two small for details such as this.
Please summarise the plot in two
sentences.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
1
(heartwarming)
2 3 4 5 (terrified)
How scary was it?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Yes Don't Know No
Did the film appear professional?