Questionnaire Results

1. Questionnaire Results Units 2, 3 , 22 - Lauren Rosenfeld, Millie West, Ben Karrass & Alex Pereira

2. Purpose of Research We have conducted research into audience preferences for horror films, by using questionnaires. Due to conducting research, we now know what our audiences like and dislike in relation to horror films. Therefore, we can create suitable products (a trailer and short film) for our target audience, as we now know what they prefer and want to see from a horror trailer/short film, so that it is more likely that they consume the products, as we will tailor it to suit their specific needs and preferences. This presentation shows the results that we have collected from carrying out questionnaires on 40 people, including audience profiles, media purchasing habits and personal preferences, the conclusions we have come to from analysing the data and our proposal for future production.

3. Methods and Techniques We chose to carry out our research using a questionnaire. As it involves quantitative data, it means that data is quick and easy to collect and analyse. A questionnaire also allows us to target different potential audiences, as we found several different kinds of people of different age groups to participate. The questionnaire also allows us to communicate/interact with potential audiences directly, allowing us to see the different interactions of target audiences. As we collected the data ourselves, it means that the data is primary data. Therefore, it is original and reliable. Also, not a lot of resources are needed to create the questionnaire, meaning it was cost efficient and did not require much effort in creating, reviewing and interpreting the data.

4. Audience Profiles - Part 1 The results of the questionnaire suggest that the target audience is aged around 17-24 years old. As they are in this age range, they may have a low income as they are likely in full/part time education. This shows that they are most likely to have time to consume and watch a movie trailer/short film, as they may not have a job, due to being in education. We asked participants from both genders allowing us to conduct information about our product, from our research we found out that the majority of our audience is male. This tells us that our product may be aimed at a majority male audience, as they are more likely to consume products of the horror genre.

5. Audience Profiles - Part 2 Not only did we ask our audience about their age and gender, we also asked them about both their employment status and their town of residence. Out of all 40 people questioned, we discovered that 21 of those were in fact full time students, this suggests that the majority of horror movie audiences are students. Some of those also came under the category of part time. This may mean that any disposable income may go towards spending money at the cinema. When asking about where participants that took part in our questionnaire resided, the most common answer we got was ‘other’, yet most of these did in fact mean Chigwell, following this, the second most common area in which people that enjoyed watching horror movies lived was Barkingside.

6. Audience Profiles - Part 3 This means that we now know which district we should release our horror trailer and short film first, as it could get better publicity through horror loving audiences, that live in one or two particular places. We could also market and advertise the short film in the area where we are filming the horror film (the Hainault/Chigwell and Barkingside area). Once the film is advertised in regions where horror films are prefered, we can then advertise it first in selected countries. It can also be advertised first in countries that When a lot of people have heard of the film and it becomes popular, we can take the same marketing approach as Paranormal Activity (2010). For instance, fans across the country of Paranormal Activity could demand a screening of the film, by hitting a "Demand" button on its website, and in turn the movie would screen in their area.

7. Media Purchasing Habits - Part 1 We decided to ask our potential audience about their preferred consumptions methods and habits to have a better idea into what they like. Out of the 40 people asked we discovered that 15 of these people consumed horror films through online streaming, with a close second being through a cinema with 11 people preferring it. This indicates that posting a production online may reach the most potential viewers, therefore, for us to have the largest potential of audiences to view the short film/trailer, we will release them on streaming platforms such as YouTube.

8. Media Purchasing Habits - Part 2 We also decided to ask our potential audience in our questionnaire about how much they spent a month on movies. 26 people out of 40 chose £0-£10. This is the majority of the audience. This indicates that the audience prefers to watch things for as little as possible and this is an important point to think about when deciding on who to show the production to the audience. As our majority audience who participated in the questionnaire is 17-24, this suggests that they may be full/part time students who have a relatively low income and can not spend a lot watching films. Therefore, when releasing our short film and trailer, we will make sure that it is affordable for all audiences to potentially view it.

9. Media Purchasing Habits - Part 3 From the questionnaire, we discovered that most people watch horror films monthly. This indicates to us that we should not release our film near to when other horror films are coming out, as this will give us the best chance for the largest potential audiences. Another answer we found out is that the majority of people watched horror films with their friends. Therefore, from this information, in our short film/trailer the main characters may be a group of friends, as this will make the biggest impact on an audience that watches horror films with friends, as they can find it relatable.

10. Personal Preferences Part 1 We also asked our potential audiences what sub genre of horror our audience found their favourite. We found out that the majority of our audience felt that psychological was the scariest out of all of the sub genres given. Showing us that we should include in our trailer/short film the psychological element, because this is what our audience will want to see. We believe audiences found psychological the scariest because it can play on the audience's mind and make them question what they are seeing. We also asked the audience what antagonist they thought was the scariest and the majority of the audience chose Valak from The Conjuring 2 (2016). Meaning that when producing our own antagonist for our trailer and short film, we should take some elements of Valak that people found scary. For instance, a character that would normally connote purity, would connote evil instead. We also believe that audiences found Valak the scariest because she is pale faced and lifeless. She is also demon like and has human features which are distorted.

11. Personal Preferences Part 2 Our questionnaire allowed us to know what supernatural element our audience found the scariest. From our research, we found that our audience found possessions the scariest supernatural element. Therefore, we will try and include this element in our trailer so we can fill the audience's need for a large potential audience. We also asked “Who is the most iconic protagonist”, we found out that our audience felt that Patrick Wilson was the most iconic. Meaning that for our protagonist, we will take inspiration from his characters in Insidious and The Conjuring (2013). For instance, making a character that is brave and may be seen as a role model to younger audiences.

12. Conclusions In conclusion we found out that the majority of our audiences were males, aged between 17-24 who are in full time education and were either unemployed or in part time employment. The majority of people lived in either Chigwell or Barkingside, and were into either the psychological or supernatural sub genre films. More than half of people surveyed found that Valak from The Conjuring was the scariest antagonist, and the scariest supernatural element was tied between ‘other’ and possessions. The most iconic protagonist was Patrick Wilson, who has starred in several modern horror films, including The Conjuring and Insidious. Many people preferred to consume horror films through online streaming, and spend on average, £0-£10 monthly on films in general, therefore, when we release the short film and trailer it will not cost the audience a lot to view. We could also go to the distributors of a successful horror film such as Get Out (2017) and ask them if the short film that we are producing could be an extra on the DVD/BluRay when it is released, therefore, a lot of people would see it. Several people watch horror films monthly and watch them mostly with friends, thus, we may have teenagers who are friends as the main characters.

13. Proposal Part 1 From our results, we have concluded that although more males, than females watch horror movies we will target both male and female audiences. This will result in the largest potential audience for our short film trailer. We also decided to specifically target 17 - 24 year olds, as we found that this age group tends to be the largest audience who watches horror movies. Through our results we found that the audience members tended to be full time students, therefore we will release our trailer and short film through an online streaming service, such as YouTube, as students have low disposable income. Audiences will be able to stream the trailer and short film on several platforms, including phones and tablets. As charging audiences to watch our production could deter them from watching it. Due to there being a mix of locations, we will base our production around the Chigwell, Hainault and Barkingside area.

14. Proposal Part 2 The favourite consumption method shown in our results gathered, was online streaming. Therefore this will be our chosen method of distribution. As previously mentioned, our target audience are full time students who have low disposable income and therefore, we will release our production for under £10, in order to ensure a large potential audience. Results show that audiences watch films monthly, as our target audience is students, we have decided to release our production around half term. This enables audiences to watch the film with friends as this was a preferred method of consumption. We found that the psychological and supernatural subgenres were the favourites of potential audiences, thus, we will add these elements into the short film. Audiences also found that Valak from The Conjuring was the scariest, this means that we will incorporate some of Valak’s features, such as pale skin, demonic eyes and having a normally pure figure, evil.

15. Proposal Part 3 We found that audiences believe the scariest supernatural element used in horror movies, was possessions. As a result, we will incorporate the possession element in our production, as it will have the largest impact on our intended target audience, as they find this the scariest. We may also decide to include a demon as an antagonist, as it was the second favorited supernatural element. Patrick Wilson was chosen as the most iconic protagonists, due to him starring in several successful modern horror films, such as The Conjuring. Therefore, our main character may be male, as audiences seem to relate to him the most and may have some of the iconic features of the character Patrick Wilson plays, such as Ed Warren. As when audiences recognise him, they automatically feel safe and secure as he is seen as a safe figure in horror movies. We will add some of the features of Ed Warren into our main character, such as being brave and courageous in fighting supernatural forces.