1. Audience Research
I produced a questionnaire to allow our group to
fully understand what audiences expected from
our film as a psychological thriller. This thoroughly
helped us as it enabled us to work out techniques
we could implement to convey our film
successfully as a thriller.
2. Results of my questionnaire
I asked a total of twenty people to answer my questionnaire.
These are the responses I came up with.
Audience
How old are you? 56
48 48 46
41
31 32
24
21
16 17 17 18 16 15 17 18 17
15 16
Ages
4. What would you expect to see in a
psychological thriller film?
7 Music
6
Violence/action/death
5
4 Location
3
2 Actors
1
Costume
0
Conventions
5. What others films, TV shows would
you associate with this genre?
Examples:
• Chronicles
• Pulse
• Cellular
• Se7en
• Snakes on a Plane
• Tokyo Drift
• I Am Legend
• Flashpoint
• I am Number 4
• Drive
• Man on a Ledge
• Inception
• Chinatown
• Dark Water
• Heroes
• Unstoppable
• Transporter 2
• Cradle 2
• Blade Trinity
• Shutter Island
• Contraband
6. Are you a fan of psychological thrillers and
explain your reasons?
Yes
• Yes, because they get me scared.
• I am, because I enjoy anticipating the coming events.
• The scary music paired with intriguing characters with hidden depth and secrets makes me wonder about the human mind. They cause me to
think.
• Location gets me scared, like in Shutter Island, the characters are isolated and causes suspense which I enjoy.
• Psychological thrillers tend to include irrational thoughts which creates a tense atmosphere typical in a psychological thriller.
• Psychological thrillers are very close to real life and are actually possible, something that gets in your head. Your worst fears. Making me think.
• They provide a lot of suspense and cliff-hangers to maintain the audience’s interest and attention, this will make sure they focus on the plot at
hand which gets them more involved as an audience.
• I like thrillers because it keeps me on my toes so when it scares me, I get ready to run.
• They are really effective keeping the audiences eyes on glued to the screen and keep the audience in their seats because psychological thrillers
usually engage mentally with the audience.
• They juxtapose one’s mental state to ordinary life creating discomfort, and therefore adding to the suspense used in the psychological thriller
genre.
• I enjoy thrillers as it makes me think. It makes me think about the situation and what is going on through one’s head. I enjoy films like this.
• Yes because the plot is hidden, and so you are left in suspense during it. Making you think of what would happen during the rest of the film.
• Yes, I prefer psychological thrillers as it has deeper meanings. You get to imagine what it’s like in that character’s head and what goes through their
mind as the plot unravels.
No
No because they are too close to real life, and make me think that what happened in it could happen to me or anyone else. It scares me.
• No, because it seems slightly mental, the idea of that is slightly horrifying. Horror films and psychological horrors frighten me.
• No, I prefer action films.
• I would not pay to watch a psychological thriller as I feel they are not worth the money.
• I would not watch a film as I feel it could ruin my mind, and make me go crazy, developing crazy thoughts such as the character in the film.
• I don’t like thrillers because they scare me, and I feel that they could scar me for life.
• I don’t like thrillers because I don’t get scared easily so I feel it is a waste of time watching one.
7. What do films require at the
beginning to keep you watching?
• They need to grab your attention.
• Keep you watching the film
• Jam-packed with action
• Misfortunate events, for example someone dying
• Engage with the audience
• Have a good titling sequence
• Good musical score
• Film starting before the title, allowed into the film creates a cliff-hanger, as they are waiting for the titling sequence to end
before the film starts.
• Prequel of the movie
• Flashbacks
• Makes me want to see more
• Makes me feel it is worth the money with special effects
• It needs to have a bit of comedy, as funny films are what I enjoy, and so I know there’s more to come.
• It shouldn’t unveil too much of the plot at the beginning. Otherwise I feel there’s no point in watching the rest.
• Action or humour
• Sexual scenes
• More action and less dialogue, that always draws me in.
• Mind-devouring scenes
• Mind-blowing special effects
• Killing or death scenes
• Mystery murder
• Letting you into too much of the plot and then holding back to make you wonder, and leave you puzzled and confused.
8. What is your favourite movie opening and why?
• Inception - I like the way it starts with a man being washed up on a beach.
• Black Swan as it clearly gives off what the film is about; ballet.
• Titanic as it begins with very sad music, and it is about a real historical moment.
• Avatar as it clearly symbolises to me that it is an action movie.
• Titanic as it is my favourite movie, it’s familiar to me so it is my favourite movie opening.
• Twilight as it begins with a narrator, introducing us to the film and setting the scene.
• Mean Girls as it has someone narrating the story for us.
• The Notebook as it resembles a film about love, which is light-hearted and simple to watch.
• Psycho as it begins with that eerie soundtrack and the titles makes me think to myself: “What on earth is
going on?”
• Any action film as it stimulates my mind, with all the colour and special effects.
• Any of the Harry Potter films, as I am a fan of the books; so immediately it captures my attention as I want
to see how they have acted it out on the big screen.
• James Bond movies as they have usually have a little intro to the film or start with the titling sequence
itself which is iconic in it’s own right.
• Films such as Edward Scissorhands, as they have famous actors such as Johnny Depp as the main
role, which can quite easily signify what genre the film is.
• Films such as Déjà vu, which has a dual plot and the film goes back in time. This creates intrigue.
• Titanic as it has beautiful scenery which draws me in.
• Beastly as it seems quite dark and vivid, which makes me wonder why.
• Pirates of the Caribbean as it has many famous actors in it and it is interesting to see them all working
together.
• Avatar as I had previously heard about the special effects incorporated in it before, creating interest from
the media.
• The Italian Job as it is a very iconic film, and begins very originally.
• The Dark Knight is a good film ,as it uses chilling music and a dark colour scheme reflecting the storyline of
the film, which I enjoyed.
9. What thriller sub-genre do you prefer?
Sub-genre
Psychological
Horror
Sci-fi
Drama
Action
Political
10. After reading the script are you able
to identify which sub-genre our film
fits into?
18
16
14
12
10
Yes
8
No
6
4
2
0
Identifiable
11. Does the synopsis give a clear
outline of the film?
16
14
12
10
8 Yes
6 No
4
2
0
Clear outline
12. Is it obvious who is the hero and
who is the villain?
20
18
16
14
12
10 Yes
8 No
6
4
2
0
Obvious
13. Is it clear who is the protagonist and
who is the antagonist?
16
14
12
10
8 Yes
6 No
4
2
0
Clear
14. Which age certification do you think
the synopsis and script is suitable for?
14
12
10
8
12A
6 15
18
4
2
0
Age Certificate
15. What are the weak elements in our
opening sequence?
Weaknesses
Characters
Setting
Storyline
Music
Dialogue
Editing
16. Characters
Did you think our male character appeared sinister enough?
Sinister
Yes
No
Did you think our female character appeared
vulnerable enough? Vulnerability
Yes
No
17. Conclusion
You must also analyse the data – so what have you
learned from the process? Who likes the film you’re
trying to make (gender, age)? What other media do
they consume? What do they expect from a film of
that type? What would attract them to go and see
your product?
Then you must reflect on how this information will
impact on your product. So will you include what
they expect? Will you change your ideas to fit your
expected demographic?
