Research

1. Research
Georgina Whiteley

2. Existing Product – Grave Encounters
 The entire film is set in one main location, just mvoing between different places in
said location. This is a common trope emong found footage films. In this instance, it’s
set in an abandoned asylum, which provides a creepy, dark atmosphere right from
the get go.
 The film was filmed in an actual asylum rather than just a studio, which makes it
authentic and seem a lot more real, hence more immersive for the audience. This
also means the camera angles are more diverse and it seems like a real documentary,
which just makes the film overall more disturbing.
 There are many different angles in this film in terms of camera work. For example, at
the start of the film the camera work is very professional, as if it was a real ghost
hunting show. Then, as it becomes night and the film starts to get scary, the camera
work becomes more and more shakey, as if the camera man cares less and less about
the footage and more about survival. Then, once the camera man is killed, the film
turns into more of a vlog style where the main charatcers are lazily carrying the
camera around with them, meaning the angles become less and les sproffesional and
more jaggedy and shaky. Overall, this helps the audience feel more immersed in the
film as it feels like something that would really happen in this situation.
 Most of the effects, with a few exceptions, are done by practical means, like make up
artists for the creatures. This again makes the overall experience seem a lot more
real as the mix of dark lighting and practical effects work well together, and really sell
the idea that the ‘documentary’ is completely real.
 In terms of post production, by the looks of it some effects of the creatures were
done digitally, such as the iconic gif of the girl transforming into a monster. Though
done digitally, they do look real and pass quite quickly, so its hard to tell they’re not.
 The night vision effect would also have been added post production, by colour
correcting some of the footage to make it very green with black shading. This helps
convey the feeling of darkness and add to the scary atmosphere while also letting
the audience still see what’s happening.

3. Existing Product – Grave Encounters
 The lighting differs throughout the film into three main sequences. At the start,
they’re filming in daylight so the film is quite bright with soft, natural lighting. This is
at the start, before anything creepy begins to happen so the choice of lighting here
really helps build tension for later on in the film. Then, when it becomes night and
the creatures begin to terrorise the charatcers, the lighting switches to night vision,
only highlighting some parts of the screen in a green glow. This helps create a dark
and creepy atmosphere, while also still highlighting the monsters to add to the
horror. Finally, near the end it, the night vision turns off and the only source of
lighting is a singular flashlight. This spotlights the main charatcers and monsters,
meaning the audience’s entire focus is on the potential horror, which in contrast to
the bright start of the film, really builds up tension.
 Due to the change in camera angles over the film, the way the characters and props
are arranged changes quite a bit throughout, mirroring how the people filming are
becoming more and more panicked and focusing less on filming. The creatures tend
to be dead centre in a lot of scenes in order to provide a full jumpscare affect,
wheras the charatcers tend to be off to the side slightly, in some cases so the camera
can show something coming up behind them.
 In terms of costume, the outfits the characters in are quite typical, with nothing in
particular standing out. They are all dressed like a normal camera crew, which helps
add to the immersion. However, the monsters themselves differ a lot in terms of
costume. They all have raggedy clothes with distorted faces done by practical effects
like make up and some digital altering in post production.
 The colours are a big part of this film, especially the iconic green. They help transiton
the story, going from the natural daylight start to the creepy, typical horror green of
the night vision cameras, to finally the white of the spotlight flashlight near the end
to create a story in itself, and provide tension.
 The font is very typical of a horror genre and quite basic, just a blocked red font
reading ‘Grave encounters’ with some parts of it faded. It’s simple and stands out.

4. Existing Product – Grave Encounters
 The film has many appealing factors that would make people want to watch it. First
of all, immersion is a key aspect in grave encounters. The way it’s filmed and the
acting makes it seem very real, as if it was an actual failed ghost hunting video with
restored footage. A lot of horror movies aren’t that scary because they’re obviously
fake, but despite using paranormal aspects due to the practical features of the film, it
really helped create a sense of reality for the audience.
 The film itself was also seen as very iconic when it first came out and inspired a lot in
the horror genre. A lot of people have seen the two images of the girl to the right in
a gif form without even seeing the film, just because it was a very iconic part of the
film and has been shown around a lot.
 Because of the iconography of the film, a lot of people will want to watch it after just
hearing about it. It works as free advertisement, if someone was interested in horror
and saw the gif of the girl, they’d want to watch the entire film.
 Another iconic part of the film that would make people want to watch it would be
credited to the colour scheme of green, which similarly to the gif is very iconic. It also
means the audience can actually see what’s going on despite the darkness, which is a
big problem in a lot of other horro films. Darkness is a good trope because it creates
a sens eof unknown and hence fear, but in a lot of cases the people watching can’t
actually see what’s happening due to the dark, making it less impactful.
 Another big appeal of Grave Encounters is the plot itself. The ending is left as a
mystery for a lot of people, which though can sometimes be frustrating, it also sparks
mystery and interest among the community of the horor genre. This leads to threads,
videos and online discussions trying to piece together exactly what happened, which
will lead to more people wanting to watch/rewatch it to figure out what happened.
 The characters are also likable, meanignt the audeicne would become more
attatched, especially when using a ‘ship’ as the last two surviving characters. This
creates tension and the idea of one of them dying when there’s only two left makes
the film sadder and more impactful for the audience.

5. Existing Product – Outlast
 This game, similar the Grave Encounters, uses one primary location with many
different sections. The location is very dark with multiple different rooms, such as
cells, kitchens, long hallways – all which have creepy connotations and can create an
atmosphere typical of the horror genre.
 Due to it being a game, everything is computer generated within a style of realism
and good graphics in terms of when this game came out. This means that there were
no creative restrictions for camera work like having to use a studio and work with
real life props. This means that the location in the game is as creepy and immeserve
as possible for the player.
 The game plays with many different angles, though the main common factor
between all of these that it is shot in first person through the main charatcer’s
camera, as the playable character is videoing all the events that occur in the game.
 Some of thiese angles include looking down, crouching, looking behind the player
and tilted views. The variety of camera angles which reflect the player’s movement in
game leads to an immersive and interesting experience for the player. The different
angles also mean that a potential scare could come out of nowhere, leaving the
player on edge for the majority of the game, something horror games strive for.
 In terms of effects, there are a lot of different ones throughout the game which all
add something to the game. For sound design, the sountrack creates a very creepy,
high alert situation that keeps the players constantly in the horror atmosphere and
can nasue fear just by asociation with the franchise. Furthermore, for the creatures,
they all have signature sounds that get louder and louder, which makes the game not
only more immersive, but completely terrifying when playing with headphones.
 ‘Post-production’ effects are most significant through the use of colour correction
throughout the game. The majority of the game is ‘shot’ on a night vision camera,
meaning most of the game is seen in a green hue apart from the rare moments when
the character is not filming. There are also overlays on screen which are clearly
meant to showcase the fact that the screen is a video recorder.

6. Existing Product – Outlast
 For lighting, the game itself is very dark, lit up only by the green of the night vision
camera mixed with a singular flashlight. This creates a ‘spotlight’ effect for most of
the game, meaning the majority of the screen is dark and the player can only focus
on one thing at a time. Due to this, it creates a fear of the unknown in the dark and
can lead to quite a few jumpscares when the lighting shifts, which is very typical of
the overall horror genre, though can be a bit predictable at times.
 The charatcers in the game are often presented in the centre of the screen, moving
towards the camera in order to be the main focus of the ‘scene’ to the player.
However, in some instances throughout the game, you can see background creatures
lurking just out of focus to the left or right of the frame, which can catch the player
off guard and increase the overall tension.
 The characters and settings themselves are also very commonly bordered by black
shadows, creating a framing for the setting and again drawing attention to what’s
directly in front of the player, menaing their eyes have no where else to look and
they can’t hide from potential creep factors or jumpscares that appear.
 Each of the main monsters in the franchise has a very iconic costume, ranging from a
deranged suit and tie for the ‘groom’ to a butcher esq outfit for one of the most
iconic characters throughout the entire franchise. These outfits, though different, all
have a cut up, disturbing feel to them, especially the butcher. This not only makes
the game more interesting, it adds to the overall horror genre of the game.
 The colours in this game are very minimal, using only greens and blacks with an
accent of red when recording. Though this may not be overall very interesting for the
player, it certainly creates a sense of horror and plays well with the idea of the main
charatcer recording, meaning it’s a good choice to make, colour wise.
 The font of this game is a basic block text in a pale white with a green tint. The
ending of the text ‘Outlast’ is faded, with glitch effects surrounding it, making it
original and therefore well known, even to people who are not overly familiar to the
game. The text itself fits with the style of the game and has a creepy feel to it.

7. Existing Product – Outlast
 The game has many features that would make it desirable to the audience. First of
all, the sheer fear factor would be enough. Outlast is very highly known as one the of
the scariest horror games ever made, especially in the time it originally came out.
 Outlast was considered scary due to many things. One of the most significant was
the plot itself. The game handles a lot of disturbing themes which would be enough
to scare enyone, alongside multiple high tension chase scenes with just enough
jumpscares to keep the player constantly on edge.
 Furthermore, Outlast had a very iconic soundtrack due to the variety of music for
each character and haunting background music. Sound design is a very important
part of horror and Outlas tnailed it, using sound to create anxious situations and to
keep the player constantly afradi, not only with scary sounds like loud noises or
ambience, but also using the music to express highly tense situations.
 Outlast quickly became very popular due to’s good graphics and fear factor, which
sparked lots of people to talk about it and multiple play throughs on sites such as
youtube, which naturaly led to more people discovering the game, seeing the appeal
and then wanting to play it for themselves.
 The iconic colour and lighting scheme of Outlast would also appeal to an audience.
The dark colours and the green makes a very horror esq atmosphere and adds to the
overall fear of the game. Plus, the dark colours allow the game to hide things in the
background that not everyone will pick up on, meaning each person plays a personal
version of the game which again leads to more people actually wanting to play it
themselves instead of just watching a play through.
 The characters are also a big part of the appeal, they all have their own stories and
reasonings to what they’re doing, which adds to the overall lore of the game, making
not only the game scary but also interesting in terms of story for the players. Horror
does best when it’s not just scary, but has something deeper behind it.
 Outlast has many different add ons to the main story and even a sequel, which just
means the story is always expanding, adding more interest for the players.

8. Existing Product – Shane Dawson Ghost Hunting
 The location of filming for the most significant Shane Dawson video was the Queen
Mary, a ship that’s considered the most haunted in the world. Though, like the
others, it was all shot in one location, the boat had many different rooms and
settings, ranging from a creepy hotel room to a horror esq boiler room.
 Shane and his friends filmed at a real location, meaning they didn’t need a studio.
This meant they could get realistic shots from all angles and show of actual parts of
the ship when talking about it.
 Differently to the previous research projects, none of what they film is fake, it’s all
real. This leaves the viewer perhaps even more on edge than fake ‘mockumentaries’
because they know that everything they see and hear is real. Shane is also widely
known to be a genuine person, so unlike hollywood ghost hunting shows, nothing is
faked which makes the video even scarier.
 In terms of angles, they diffrentiate a lot rhoughout the video depending on what is
the current focus. For example, in a lot of shots the crew has a designated camera
man who gets group shots and close ups from different perspectives. However, the
crew also sometimes film themselves through vlogging, like when they’re alone or
want to show something they found themsevles.
 Though the documentary is genuine and nothing is faked, Shane’s used editing to
create a creepy atmosphere and make potential jumpscares for the viewer in post
production, as well as soom colour correction in places to add a creepy yellow glow.
He also uses sound design such as adding sound tracks and effects to keep the video
not only interesting, but to keep the viewers on edge.
 Overall, the video has a very real and genuine vibe to it, as though nothing
particularly scary happens, its clear that all that the audience is seeing actually
happened. And though nothing that scary actually happens, the use of music and
different angles builds up tension throughout the video, which means it manages to
generate fear without anything actually paranormal. Post-Production adds a lot to
that, such as the music and cutting between clips/angles in quick succession.

9. Existing Product – Shane Dawson Ghost Hunting
 The video plays with two different types of lighting. In most of the clips, the scene is
lit up by a yellow light from lamps or ceiling lights. Despite the scene being mostly lit
up, this still make the audience feel unsettled due to the fact that the lighting is still
quite dimly lit and casts a lot of shadows.
 However, occasionally they switch to green lighting due to night vision cameras when
filming primarily dark places in the ship. This provides contrast to the dim yellow of
most of the other scenes, which hence creates tension due to the idea that suddenly
they’re in the dark, and anything could be there with them.
 An often theme in terms of how the crew position themselve sin frame is one of
them being in focus, while another stands nearby, either closer or further away to
the camera. Quite often if something especially ‘spooky’ is occuring, they’ll get a lot
closer to the camera, as if they’re hiding something from the audience almost.
 In terms of costume, the crew are just dressed in what they’d usually wear. Shane’s
even wearing his merchendine to promote it during the video, which though clever,
doesn’t really add to the overall creepines sof the video. However, the fact that all of
them are dressed stereotypically does show again how genuine the video is, and how
nothing was faked – meaning the audience would be more interested.
 They use the location to create a creepy atmosphere, purposefully filming the darker
parts of the ship and recording any sort of sounds that sound even remotely creepy,
purposefully leaving out any parts of the ship that seem normal. This creates an
voerall uneasiness about the entirety of the boat, even if the creepy things they
show the audience is just a small part of the ship.
 In terms of font, it differs between each video but almost always is some form of red,
overlaying stills from the video with the crew looking scared. Red is very typical of
the horro genre and stands out against most colours, especially the black and green
of a night vision camera.
 For thumbanils on the video, they combine the font and stills to create an interesting
and stand out cover which would make people want to watch.

10. Existing Product – Shane Dawson Ghost Hunting
 Shane Dawson’s ghost hunting videos always have a lot of appeal to them. One of
the main reasons is because they mix two very popular genres, horror and comedy.
Shane and his friends are considered very funny by a lot of people, which is one of
the main reasons people choose to watch them. This means that not only do they
attract a horror genre audience, they also attract people into comedy.
 Overall, the crew themselves are very likable people and all work well as friends,
each having a lot of fans themselves. This means that some people would want to
watch the videos just for people in it rather than the actual horror or comedy aspect
of the video which in turn will attract more of an audience.
 The videos themselves are usually very well made, with a lot of genuine, uncut
footage mixed proportionally with good editing, such as intro and outro sequences,
plus the use of sound and music to create a very creepy atmosphere for those who
joined to be creeped out, mixed with post production humour, like sound effects and
zoom ins on faces, for those who came for comedy.
 These videos also usually have quite a big budget, hence why they were able to
afford to stay at one of the most ‘haunted’ rooms in the Queen Mary. This means
that they can document potential horror experiences that a lot of people would
otherwise not be able to experience, which in turn would attract an audience.
 The documentary is also up on Youtube for completely free, meaning the audience
don’t even have to pay for it, they can just watch it whenever they like. This means
they’re going to attract a lot of viewers because people who love horror, comedy, the
crew or all three don’t even have to pay for the content. This is especially good for
attracting younger viewers, who potentially can’t buy things at their age.
 The video also inspired a lot of reaction channels due to it’s high quality of content,
which works as free advertisement and will make more people want to watch the
original video. This exposes Shane’s content to even more people which will then
lead to a larger audience watching the Queen Mary, getting hooked by the videos
contents, and then going on to watch his other videos.

11. Existing Product – Saw Franchise
 The saw franchise uses multiple locations throughout the films, however it is most
commonly associated with dark, industrial esq basement where most of the traps
take place, such as the house in Saw II and the bathroom that reoccured throughout
most films, the original location for the first film.
 As the franchise grew and became more popular, the locations became bigger and
more high value, including many different locations throughout one film which
contrasts to the first one, where the majority of the film took place in a singular
location. However, by incorporating interesting plot points told through the
characters and twists, the film didn’t need multiple locations to be interesting. Saw
was an example of a film that didn’t need a big budget to be effective. Due to my film
being really low budget, the first film of this franchise provides a lot of inspiration.
 Throughout the franchise, a lot of different angles are used, often adding or
decreasing tension to scenes and keepig the viewer on edge. For example, in scenes
where the charatcers are together and not in danger, the camera angles are wide
screen and don’t focus on a particular charatcer. However, in scenes such as
kidnappings or when the detectives are arguing, the camera focuses on close ups of
the characters which insinuates danger is going to come up behind them.
 During scenes with traps, the camera angles are very quick, often rapidly jumping
between wideshots to show off the trap and close ups of different segements,
including close ups of the victim’s face to show the fear that they feel. This creates a
lot of the already intense trap scenes even more anxiety inducing due to the loud
sound effects and the rapid camera movement.
 The effects in most the films are very realistic, just becoming more so as the
franchise goes on and hence the budget increases. The traps become highly violent
and disturbing, some becoming unbearable to watch for me. A lot of these are
practical effects with little CGI, however they are enhanced in post production to add
more to the traps by adding more gore, or changing the editing like I mentioned.

12. Existing Product – Saw Franchise
 The colouring is a huge part of the Saw franchise and one of the most iconic parts of
the franchise, aside from the traps themselves. The films all use a mix of dark greens
and blues throughout most scenes. The traps themselves tend to mostly use green
lighting with a few exceptions, though the scenes with the detectives or hospitals
have a blue undertone to them with bright white lighting. These harsh tones are
commonly associated with horror, and make the atmosphere dark.
 During trap scenes, the traps are commonly centre screen, making sure all focus is on
the trap itself, even if the actual character is situated away from the trap. This
presents the traps as playijng a very important role in the series themselves, in some
cases proving to be more important than the actual characters.
 In terms of lighting, a lot of the films set in the basement like locations are quite
dark, using a spotlight effect to highlight what the film wants the audience to focus
on, like the traps themselves. Some scenes could be described as almost too dark as
it’s difficult to see, though most of the import scenes and the trap scenes are lit well
to create a scary atmosphere, but still light enough to see what’s happening.
 The props are a very significant part of the franchise as a lot of the traps are practical
effects, as well as the iconic ‘Billy The Puppet’. These props became an iconic part of
Saw which even people who haven’t seen the films recognise, which just goes to
show how effective well made and interesting props can be in a film.
 The costume design veries between each charatcer, however most wear dark
colours, such as Amanda wearing a deep purple dress and then a dark red shirt. The
main antagonist John is depicted wearing a dark hood when he’s with his followers
and ‘normal’ clothes when in public, showing easily the split between how he acts in
different situations through costume alone.
 Along with the props, the overfall logo for Saw is very recognisable, and a lot of
people would recognise the font even if they haven’t seen the films. Similar to the
films themselves, it has a dark colour scheme and is also raggedy and imperfect,
giving it an almost inventive feel, similar to the traps.

13. Existing Product – Saw Franchise
 Saw has many ways it appeals to it’s targetted audience. However, due to the violent
nature, some scenes unbearable to watch to a lot of people, and incredibly dark
themes of the franchise, it does limit it’s audience significantly compared to other
horror films that aren’t as graphic.
 Despite that, even though it has a minimal potential audience, it does attract those
who would watch it very well. The premise of the film itself is enough to entice lots
of people, as the idea of kidnappings and deadly have a way of sparking morbid
curiosity in people, leading to them wanting to watch the film.
 The frnachise itself also has many iconic visuals, such as the puppet and Amanda in
the reverse bear trap, which becomes well known amongst people and spread
around, which works in a way of advertising and will enoucrage more people to
watch the film to find out the visual’s context.
 In terms of characters, Saw has many charatcers who are each very complex, despite
the horrofic nature which should be seen as cruel and evil, it could still be argued
that the supposed ‘antagonists’ are actually morally grey characters, which would
maike the franchise even more appealing and interesting to watch. Characters play a
large part in any film genre, and if a charatcer is morally ambigious it’s more likely to
spark debate and therefore further interest in a particular film.
 Another huge part of the franchise, particularly the first two films, is the big twists at
the end of the films, usually changing the entire audience’s view on the film in a
matter of minutes. These were seen as extremely clever twists, which is refreshing
from the typical horror movie cheap twists or jumpscares. This make speople want to
buy and watch the film in order to find out the twist for themselves and experience
it, as due to the complexity of the films just hearing about the twist doesn’t give the
same effect to the person viewing it.
 This was also a large part of how the first film became so popular in the firs tplace, it
received lots of good feedback on the twist, which eventually led to the other films
in the frnachise being made, which also became iconic in their own ways.

14. Research Analysis
What common features do the researched products have?
• A common theme between most of the products is the use of green blue hues in lighting, mixed with dark
shadows to create a creepy atmosphere. Furthermore, this is usally contrasted by ‘happier scenes’ with
brighter lighting, allowing a clear distinction between the two moods, which helps create tension.
• The horror films I have looked at seem to prefer practical effects such as props and SFX makeup rather
than CGI, which makes the film seem more authentic and real. This mixed with the found footage style of
Grave Encounters worked really well.
• Across the board, all these products have very interesting and ‘likeable’ characters/hosts, which seems to
be a key aspect in drawing in an audience. For example, in Saw, the characters are very morally grey and
complex, which makes them likeable and for the Shane Dawson documentary, the hosts each have their
own quirks and humour which makes it very entertaining to watch for both horror and comedy fans.
• The story itself seems to be a key aspect of each product. If the story is boring, no matter how good the
characters, atmosphere eor cinematography is, people won’t watch/play it. Every product has a
compelling story with twists and anecdotes, keeping the reader/player drawn in at all times.
• The products use this appeal as free advertisement, resulting in people watching playthroughs or reviews
of the product, and then wanting to experience it for themselves. This is also acomplished by having a lot
of iconic aspects in each product, such as the traps from Saw and the soundtrack from Outlast. All the
researched products are very popular.
• In terms of font and logo, all the fonts have a common theme of using specific aspects with conotations of
horror, like spikes, being worn down, blood etc.

15. Research Analysis
What aspects of the research will you include within your on work?
• All the products I looked at focus a lot on cinematography, using the lighting and camera angles to both
build and diffuse tension, keeping the audience’s interest and creating an immersive environment. I would
use a lot of techniques they used, such as combining both wide shots and close ups to hide potential
scares and build up anxiety in the viewer.
• The colour scheme of green and blue is something I will also use, focusing more on the green as that’s
more commonly associated night vision. This will be used in the second half of the short film, once the
bright, warm vibe of the friendly gathering has decended into the creepy atmosphere of the two
remaining survivors looking for the others. I was also incorporate shadow backgrounds, like trees, to blend
in black with the green, meaning I can hide figures and shapes in the background.
• All the researched projects have intriguing characters/hosts that play a big part in bringing in an audience.
This has inspired me to do the same with my short film. I will create a cast of characters with realistic and
individual qualities, making the film more immersive and interesting for the viewer. These characters will
make realistic decisions based on their personality, moving the plot forward with both good and bad
choices on their part, just like the characters from these products.
• In terms of poster, logo and font design, all four products provide a lot of inspiration. Basing mine off
these, I will create mine to have connotations and themes of horror, like using spikes or deteriation in my
font style, and using dark colours such as a deep red. Furthermore, my actual poster designs will revolve
around something creepy/symbolic as the centre, using dark colours like greens and blacks mixed with the
font to create and unsettling and disturbing atmosphere.

16. Questionnaire Analysis

17. Audience research

18. Audience research
Observation:
• This person likes horror films that make them think - they want to be shown, not told. They seem to like
mystery style horor films with complex plots, introducing lots of twists and charatcers, as well as good use
of location to create an immersive experience.
• The fact that they like the first Saw films show’s they don’t care about budget or how ‘extra’ the film is,
just purely on how compelling and creepy it is.
• They prioritise plot, and don’t like most clichés, though they like getting saved at the last minute. This is
backed up once again by the fact they like the ending of Saw, which is famous for following this trope.
What this says about my audience:
• This respondant seems quite intelligent, meaning they want to be challanged and have their expectations
contrasted when watching a horror film, as well as be interested throughout by multiple means, such as
plot, twists and the soundtrack.
• They seem really into horror films as well as just films in general as they seem to have a clear
understanding of what they’re talking about, like when it comes to ambiguity, location or sountracks.
How will your product appeal to this audience:
• My product will appeal to this audience because my ending isn’t cliched and has somewhat of a twist, as
well as leaving questions unanswered which plays into the ambiguity they like.
• My product won’t include many cheap jumpscares and instead hide scares in the background for the
viewer to find themselves, meaning it will also appeal to this particular audience in that way too, as well as
having interesting, realistic charatcers that react in a way you’d expect, though not completely stupid.

19. Audience research

20. Audience research
Observation:
• This respondant seems to have a lot of knowledge about film. They like a lot of genres, like rom coms,
comedy and horror, which they seem to like mixed together. They said they liked the trope of ‘final girls’
because even though it’s predictable, it makes them laugh.
• They avoid horror films that use real life phobias they have, instead of just common horor fear tropes. This
could be because phobias make it ‘too real’, and horor films can become unenjoyable due to fear.
• This person likes to have some questions left at the end so it stays in their mind and can discuss it, as well
as liking a film with good cinematography over anything else.
What this says about my audience:
• This tells me that this particular audience like a lot of film genres and perfer films that mix generes well,
instead of just playing to one. For example, they like comedy mixed in with horor. This could be connected
to the fact they tend to stay away from horror if it’s too scary to them.
• They also don’t seem to mind clichés that much as shown by the fact they like rom coms even though
most of the plots are extremely clichéd. This differs from a lot of people’s opinions, as most would say they
find clichés boring and over done.
How will your product appeal to this audience:
• My product will appeal to the audience as I’ll be focusing a lot on cinematography and lighting in post
production, making sure that the short film not only is interesting, but looks good for the viewer.
• Furthermore, my short film won’t be too scary, partly due to lack of budget and hence special effects. This
means that though the film will be scary enough to intrigue the viewer, it won’t be too scary so they don’t
want to watch it at all.

21. Audience research

22. Audience research
Observation:
• This person is quite similar ot the last in the fact they can’t watch horror films if they use real life phobias
they have because they’re too scary. They also like some sort of comedy mixed within the genre, like ironic
deaths or cliches that could be considered funny, like villain monologuing.
• This audience has mixed opinions of ambiguity, saying to depends on the overall mood of the film. They
think that if the horror film is cliché, it doesn’t matter, but if it wants to be something more, then it does.
• They believe cinematography is the most important part of a horror film, rather than plot or characters.
This links back to their previous point, where they seem to want a film to be high quality rather than
cheesy and cliché.
What this says about my audience:
• This audience prioritises how well the film is made over the actual content. They want the film to look
good and feel immersive due to the cinematography, rather than relying on just the plot or characters.
• This audience doesn’t like overly scary films, especially ones that trigger their phobia. Based off their
answers, it seems they are more into clever, psychological horror films like thrillers rather than cliché
horror films, hence their interest in ‘Get Out’.
How will your product appeal to this audience:
• My horror film is going to be a mix of psychological scares which appeal to this audience. Furthermore, it
has quite a few of questions left unanswered, which means the audience could theorise themselves, but
the ending is also conclusive, so it’s a good balance. My film will hopefully also look good in terms of
cinematography and colour, so it appeals to this audience.

23. Interviews

24. Interview 1
Q1: Do horror trailers scare you, or do you only get scared by the actual film?
A: It depends. I couldn’t even get through the trailer for ‘IT’ because it was too
scary, but then again I’m not really a horror fan. I feel like a lot of trailers aren’t
too scary, but that ‘IT’ one scared the **** out of me.
Q2: Do you think horror trailers should be scary?
A: They should be scary enough to freak me out, but I don’t want them giving
everything away, that’s boring. I think suspense is a better way to put it, like
build up suspense instead of being actually scary.
Q3: What’s your opinion on violent vs. psychological horror?
A: I’d prefer neither, but I’d much rather watch a psychological horror than a
violent one. I can’t handle gore, and some of those 18 rated films go way over
the top in my opinion. I don’t understand how people can like it.
Q4: What’s the scariest horror film trope in your opinion?
A: When it feels real, like based off real events. I don’t know if it counts as a
horror film, but that Chernobyl film really messed with me. Ghosts and
demons are scary don’t get me wrong, but when it can actually happen it
makes you sleep with one eye open.
Q5: What one thing would make you not recommend a horror fim?
A: Not recommend? Probably something like cheap jumpscares or bad acting.
You know those really bad horror films that are like ‘Killer <insert animal here>
and its about some stupid teens getting killed off in real dumb and obviously
fake ways. Like some of those can be made well, but if it’s clearly cheaply
made and relies on jumpscares, that’s a no from me.

25. Interview 1
• Observation:
• This person enjoys horror films that make you think and can keep you scared for a few days,
rather than one that relies on cheap scares and only gets you for a few seconds. They also do
not like violence in films, and feel like just watching gore is not fun. In addition, they like films
that seem real because they have more of an impact on them.
• What this says about my audience:
• They seem like a passive horror film water, very casual. They also seem to not watch them
often and tend to avoid them due to fear, unless they’re really good and/or based on real
events, as that seems to interest them
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
• My shortfilm/trailer is quite realistic in the fact that wheras it aludes to potential
supernatural happenings, it’s more about searching for lost friends which is something that
happens in real life. It also includes no violence and relies on psychological scares.

26. Interview 2
Q1: Do horror trailers scare you, or do you only get scared by the actual film?
A: Eh not really. Most trailers these days rely on cheap jumpscares then give
away most of the film. I much prefer a good story and psycological stuff, so in
order for a trailer to scare me, it has to use those kinds of things.
Q2: Do you think horror trailers should be scary?
A: Yes, or what’s the point? When I watch horror I want to be scared, so I want
to know I’ll be scared from the trailer. I just don’t want them giving the entire
film away, like it’s mjeant to be a tease, so build up fear through suspense.
Q3: What’s your opinion on violent vs. psychological horror?
A: I don’t mind, my preference is psychological but I don’t hate violence. Like I
can watch it, though sometimes it can be a bit much and you just think, ‘who
thought that was necessary’, but most of the time it’s okay. Definately prefer
psychological though, it sticks with you longer in most cases.
Q4: What’s the scariest horror film trope in your opinion?
A: When it’s disturbing. The hostel films get me really bad, it seems real but
also unthinkable at the same time. Everything about those films makes me
uneasy and terrified. It’s not even the violence, it’s the fact that it could be
very real and we would have no idea because it’s Government run.
Q5: What one thing would make you not recommend a horror fim?
A: If I know it’s violent and the person I’m talking to doesn’t like violence, like
you. Seriously though, some films are just too much for some people and I get
that. I think people who make violent horror films really need to consider just
how much it would restrict their potential audience.

27. Interview 2
• Observation:
• This person wants to be scared by horror trailers, but wants it to be done in a way that it
doesn’t ruin the actual film. An example they gave was using the trailer to build up suspence
for the film, instead of giving away the plot. They also don’t mind violence, but prefer
psychological horror over gore, as it’s scarier to them.
• What this says about my audience:
• Theyseem to have a good understanding over horror and watch a lot of horror films. They like
horor films they have to think about and pay attention to, rather than just occasionally
getting jumpscared. Furthermore they can stand violence, but recognise the fact that not
everyone can, and think this limits audience appeal to more violent horror films.
• How will your product appeal to this audience:
• My shortfilm/trailer relies heavy on psychological scares and tells a story that mixes both sad
and horror themes, which could appeal to this audience as they like films that make them
think. It is also not violent, so it doesn’t restrict the potential audience.

28. Bibliography

29. Bibliography
1. Dwayne N Jazz (2018) Shane Dawson "GHOST HUNTING IN A HAUNTED SHIP" REACTION!!!
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rHRVtIMfJ8
2. Found Fix (2017) GRAVE ENCOUNTERS (2011) Ending Explained -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLcq59mdbEQ
3. Headland, Luke (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on 15/04/2020)
4. James Wan, Leigh Whannel (2004) Saw
5. PewDiePie (2013) Outlast Gameplay Walkthrough Playthrough - Part 1 - THE HORROR
BEGINS HERE! - Full Game - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP5k7I70qlI
6. Red Barrels (2013) Outlast
7. Shane Dawson (2018) GHOST HUNTING IN A HAUNTED SHIP -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehby1npFCnk
8. Sykes, James (2018) Target Audience Interviews (conducted on 17/04/2020)
9. The Viscious Brothers (2011) Grave Encounters
10. Whiteley, Georgina. (2020) Target Audience Research Survey (conducted on 02/04/2020)