The questionnaire was completed by 14 people and included both open and closed questions. Most respondents were male, aged 16-25, and enjoyed going to the cinema. When asked about thrillers, common appealing elements included suspense, mystery, plot twists, and having to piece clues together. For the opening scene, most said to reveal just enough to intrigue viewers without giving away the entire plot. Popular thriller subgenres were psychological and crime films. Favorite films cited were Inception and The Sixth Sense for their unexpected endings. Respondents said suspenseful music and tension that could lead to any outcome make scenes gripping to watch. The evaluation concluded audiences prefer suspense and intrigue over straightforward conventions.

1. AUDIENCE RESEARCH
Questionnaire

2. QUESTIONNAIRE
They have been given to 14 people
 Questions included both open and closed
questions.
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3. ARE YOU MALE OR FEMALE?
6
Male
Female
8

4. AGE
00
2
0
Under 12
13-15
16-18
19-21
22-24
25+
1
11

5. DO YOU LIKE GOING TO THE CINEMA?
1
Yes
No
13

6. WHAT DO YOU FIND APPEALING IN A
THRILLER?
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Having to think, challenge myself to work out what might happen/piece clues
together. To be intrigued by deception.
Suspense and the twisted plot.
Suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen next.
Cliff-hangers – it causes me to think of the different possible endings.
Not knowing the plot, expecting the unexpected.
I like the ambiguity and mystery. A dynamic plotline that draws you in straight away
without giving to much information away at the beginning. Having to put the pieces
together myself.
The jump scares and the tense atmosphere it creates.
The excitement, adrenaline rush and suspense.
Clever plots, well rounded unconventional characters and non-predictable endings.
A good plot and a good line up of elite actors.
The suspense, action and the fast pace.
The fact of the unknown and mystery that it includes.
The plot twists.
Suspense.

7. IN A THRILLER HOW MUCH OF THE PLOT SHOULD BE
REVEALED IN THE OPENING SCENE?
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Just a teaser – so the suspense is held
Not a lot
Not too much so it reveals the whole movie plot, but enough to keep
the viewer interested.
Enough to get you interested and thinking of the possibilities
Not a lot
Not much, mystery is better in the beginning
Only a little bit to give the audience a basis of what it’s about
Hints of the thriller should be revealed but not be obvious. We should
have to put the clues together ourselves.
A small part at the start of the film
Not too much but not too little
Just enough to get you hooked and intrigued
Little to none
Very little, better to establish themes, characters and the mood.

8. WHAT SUB-GENRE THRILLER DO YOU LIKE?
1
3
9
5
2
3
Action
Crime
Conspiracy
Psychological
Supernatural
Other

9. CAN YOU STATE ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE
THRILLER FILMS AND WHY YOU LIKE/LOVE IT?
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Syriana – great pace, political conspiracy
Shutter Island – psychological thriller that highlights the unexpected
Exam – doesn’t reveal much and you have to figure things out yourself
2012 – The action scenes on such large scales, the possibility that it could
happen. Makes it more realistic and personal.
Snakes on a Plane – It doesn’t have that much gore and violence yet
intrigues me to know how they fight for survival
Black Swan – it was full of unexpected plots
The Cleaner – the audience believes that it’s a normal day and then there’s a
shack of death
The Sixth Sense – ending is unexpected, heads up to the ‘Big Reveal’
Inception – it was an interesting concept and storyline that deceives you
Inception – It’s entertaining and keeps you guessing even after the film has
finished
Scream (1, 2 & 3) – The suspense and the fact that you’re always guessing
who the killer is
Inception

10. WHAT MAKES A SCENE GRIPPING TO WATCH?
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Fast camera scenes, suspense
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Sex, action and dialogue
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A lot of suspense/tension that has been built up previously
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Non-typical fight scenes but realistic
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Lots of blood and violence
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The suspense
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Abstract structure, deceptive
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The setting of suspense of not knowing
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Mystery and unexpected tension and full of suspense
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The music and the actors
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The aspect of the protagonists dying at any moment
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The suspense and the idea that anything big can happen
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The background music
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Sound – see ‘No country for old man’!

11. QUESTIONNAIRE EVALUATION
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From our questionnaire we are aware that a thriller audience
prefer a plot twist subverting from the conventions of the
genre. They also preferred suspense and tension intriguing
them to watch further on and piece the clues together. This
makes it more personal and captivating for the audience to be
apart of the character’s situation. This allowed us to
generalise what our target audience prefer in a thriller and
what we needed to include for our opening scene. For
example, not giving away the entire plot but just establishing
the main characters, settings and themes.