The document provides quantitative audience research data collected through an online survey about preferences for horror films. The survey results show that the target audience is primarily 17-19 year old males who prefer slasher films like Halloween and Friday the 13th. Popular slasher film villains like Freddy Krueger and settings like neighborhoods are favored. Most audience members access films through streaming and would prefer to see a slasher film in spring to avoid competition. Common weapons like knives are preferred to use in the film.

1. Quantitative Audience
Research
By Ava

2. Introduction
The quantitative data shown in this slideshow has been collected with the use of
QuestionPro, an online survey software tool. It allows people to upload a
questionnaire and then provides a link which my group and I posted to social
media and sent to as many of our peers as we could. These participants then
completed the survey and through QuestionPro we were able to see everyone’s
anonymous answers and graphs corresponding to this data. We had a final total
of 50 completed questionnaires which is not a huge amount but still managed to
give us enough data to make decisions about our horror film - which is the reason
for collecting the data - and decide which factors would most appeal to those who
completed our survey (the target demographic)

3. Primary Data

4. What gender are you?
The answer to this questionwas mainly female
but only by a slight percentage. From these
result we know that half our answers will be
male orientedand will be helpful in choosing
some factors of our film i.e. location, choice of
weapon as our trailer isplanned to be aimed at
the male audience. It will also help to have
some of our trailer filmed in line with the male
gaze to appeal to the male demographic yet
relatablefemale characters to still encouragea
female audience to view our trailer.

5. How old are you?
The majority of people who completedthe
survey are aged 17-19 which is an extremely
helpful result as the certificate for our Slasher
film will be an 18. This means that those most
likelyto view our film will be male teenagers
over 18 years old. Our survey will thus give us
very accurateand informativeresults as they
are our core demographic.

6. What is your favourite sub-genre
of horror?
The most common sub-genre of horror selected
by participantswas Slasher which is again a
good answer as it means that most of the results
will be gearedto male teenagerswho are fans
of Slasher films which is our target
demographic.

7. What if your favourite
Slasher film?
The most popular Slasher films chosen by our
participants were Final Destination, Halloween,
Friday 13th, Prom Night and Scream. This
answer indicatesthat our audience prefer very
formulaic Slasher films that follow the
conventions and generally have a definitive
villain. However, the presence of Final
Destination asone of the preferredfilms
indicate that a formulaic film that occasionally
subverts conventions would be ideal.
Also, the answers to this questionshows what
films should be referencedwithin our film for
super fans of Slasher films to recognise.

8. Where do you think the best
location for a horror film is?
The answer to this question revealed that the most
popular setting is a neighbourhood. This location is
in fact a common one in Slasher films as there is
nothing more frightening than a violent atrocity
taking place in a similar suburban neighbour to
where the audience lives because it alludes to the
idea that danger is always lurking around the corner
and allows the audience to draw parallels between
themselves and the characters in the film helping
them to identify with the plot. Other than a
neighbourhood, my group and I decided to use two
other settings in our trailer; one being school and
the other not necessarily an abandoned house but an
empty one.

9. How do you access films?
Our audience’s answer to this question showed that
the dominant format of watching films is via
streaming. This is unsurprising as we live in a
digital age and 17-19 year old are a group that
spend a lot of time online and have a good, solid
understanding of how to use the internet
successfully. Netflix is another popular way of
accessing films and is also an online platform.
Having our film on Netflix would prove wise as it
would prevent illegal streaming. From these results
it seems that online promotions and adverts would
be the most efficient way to market our film and
establish interest within our audience.

10. Who is your favourite horror film
villain?
The majority of people who completed the survey
chose their preferred horror villain to be Freddy
Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street. This
particular villain was a vengeful, mass murdering
ghost who killed people through their dreams.
Given that this is our target audience’s favourite
villain, my group should attempt to base our anti-
hero on the character of Freddy Krugeur. Other
than this, the villain Michael Myers from
Halloween is a popular choice indicating that our
audience favour films in which the ‘bad’ characters
actions are completed in an attempt to bring about
revenge.

11. When would you preferably go
and see a Slasher film?
Given that the common season in which 17-19
year olds go and see Slasher films is around
winter (and obviously as Halloween is a major
time for horror films) it makes more sense to
releasea low budget, independent horrorfilm
in the spring time in order to avoid serious
competitionand give our film the best
advantage to make a good profit at the box
office.

12. What weapon would you most like
to see in a Slasher film?
Our audience’sgeneral weapon of choice is
machete,axe, chainsaw and knife. As the first
three are relatively hardto get hold of, we
chose to use a knife in our trailer. The knife, as
well as being an iconic symbol within Slasher
films is also a masculine, phallic symbol as it is
a weapon thrust into a victim’sbody by a
normallymale villain.

13. Most people who completedour survey watch
horror films with their friends who would most
likelybe their peers and thus the same age as
the people who completed out survey(17-19).
This would not affect much of the choiceswe
make in our trailer as our Slasher film still only
has to appeal to this age group especially given
that the second most popular answer for this
questionis to watch horror films alone.
Who do you watch horror
films with?

14. Secondary Data

15. Highest ranked films at the box
office 2013
This table shows the number of
releases and box office profits of each
genre within the year of 2013. The
top performing title for the horror
genre was World War Z thus in an
attempt to put my film on par with
this release I will take elements from
the trailer and transpose them as
suitable to my plot, locations and
characters.

16. All films, UK films and UK
independent films box office
ratings
These figures show the profits made at the
box office comparing UK films and UK
independent films. The horror genre has the
most profits from the UK film category anda
very low level concerningthe independent
films meaning that UK horror films are not
popularat all. However, UK horror films are
more popular than American imports so it
could be argued that there is a gap in the
market whereas tryingto compete with UK
independent comedy films might be harder as
there are so many.

17. Audience Profile

18. Audience Profile – Key
Statistics
• The majority of the participants in our survey will fall into the C1 or C2 social grade in terms of the ABC1 demographic
categories. Given that most (if not all) of our sample were students their parents most likely have supervisory, clerical, junior
managerial, administrative or professional jobs or are skilled manual workers. Most people fall into the A, B and C1
categories and these people also spend the most in the current economy. This means that any marketing conducted for my
Slasher film must be specifically tailored to the taste of these people.
• Young and Rubicam’s characterisation model divides the audience into seven distinct types of consumers. The three that
apply most to the questionnaire results I have received are aspirers, reformers and explorers. Aspirers crave status and are
generally quite materialistic. They tend to be viewed as superficial and are more concerned with other’s values and opinions
rather than their own. This is typical of teenagers as most of them are constantly wanting to fit in, so change their opinions
swiftly to allow easier association with their peers. Reformers vary drastically from aspirers as they value their own
judgement more than others and often seek out to be different rather than mainstream. The seek enlightenment and are
generally the most intelligent of the characterisation types. The last category I am concerned with are explorers; these types
of people seek out something new and authentic and are the first to sample new brands. They are constantly trying to
discover something novel and experience new challenges. Most young people normally identify themselves as explorers.
• These needs for status individuality and freedom can all also be linked to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow was a
psychologist who contemplated the motivations behind people’s needs. All manner of things that aspirers, reformers and
explorers need are also known as self-actualisation. This is known as a person’s need to achieve their full potential and
accomplish everything they could possibly do.
• All decisions made for my horror film will be decided to ensure that the choices appeal to both genders, students, and those
who already have a great appreciation for the horror film franchise and are constantly seeking out new films to provide them
with entertainment.