Target Audience Feedback

The results of the questionnaire will have a significant influence on how we decide to construct our Horror Genre Movie Trailer. Our own ideas and views on how we want it to turn out will be matched with those of the audience, in order to appeal to the target audience with a greater degree of accuracy.

Are you Male or Female? (Total Votes: 11)

Male 5 (45%)

Female 6 (54%)

The results show that females have been the majority of voters, which is not what I expected on this question. I thought that the majority of voters would have been male, because of the use of women protagonists. However, the survey has shown that this clearly isn't the case, therefore in the trailer I will aim to produce a finished product that appeals to both Genders. I do not not want to create a trailer that is biased towards a gender, which can be resolved by the inclusion of both female and male characters within the project.

What Age Are You? (Total Votes: 11)

11-13 1 (9%)

14-17 2 (18%)

18-21 8 (72%)

21+ 0 (0%)

The majority of voters are aged between 14 - 21, which is the Target Audience I am aiming this trailer at. The outcome of this survey has shown that the target audience was chosen correctly, and that Horror Films appeal more to the younger age groups of the population. The idea of the trailer is to create something that has a chance of happening in modern day society, that the audience can connect with and feel scared by imagining the events happening to them. If the trailer is about a film that cannot happen in real life, the audience can tend to be less scared by what they are watching.

What is your Preferred Film Title? (Total Votes: 11)

Intervention 6 (54%)

The Tormented 0 (0%)

Horrorville 2 (18%)

Forgotten 3 (27%)

The results show that "Intervention" was the preferred title name of the film, as appose to the other 3 that were up for vote as well. I'm glad that "Intervention" appealed most to the target audience as it was the title of choice for me as well. I believe that "The Tormented" wasn't chosen because another horror movie with a similar name already exists, therefore the audience don't want to get confused. As for "Horrorville", although it received two votes, sounds very much like the 'Goosebumps' era of visual media, as if it were targeting a younger generation. "Forgotten" would fit into the genre of horror very well, however it would fit to a story-line where a protagonist is forgot or eft behind. Overall I'm glad the target audience chose "Intervention", as I feel it fits the horror genre, and fits the story-line of an antagonist 'intervening' the life of the protagonist.

What Kind of Location would you Prefer to see a Horror Film Set within? (Total Votes: 11)

A House 3 (27%)

A Church 1 (9%)

An Abandoned Building 3 (27%)

Open Landscape 1 (9%)

An Urban Area 3 (27%)

The result for this question finished on a three way tie, between a house, an abandoned building and an urban area. This proved that the target audience enjoy seeing action in lots of different locations within the context of the film. Taking this into account, the locations seen in the trailer cover most of the categories listed in the survey. This will widen the audience base, potentially appealing to more people.

What Gender would you Imagine the 'Antagonist'? (Total Votes: 9)

Male 5 (54%)

Female 4 (45%)

The results show that the target audience would prefer a male antagonist in the movie, which I feel is because of the convention that already exists in the horror genre. This is due to the target audience being aware and used to the idea of a male antagonist in these sorts of films. (For example; My Bloody Valentine, Halloween and Friday The 13th). However, it was very almost a tie between female and male, so I feel that with the inclusion of a second protagonist - being female - would slightly break the convention and prove a different viewing experience for the audience. Therefore, I think that the antagonists should be represented by both genres to make the film more interesting.

What would you expect the 'Antagonist' to be Wearing? (Select 2) (Total Votes: 11)

Halloween Mask 3 (27%)

White Theatre Mask 4 (36%)

Hoody Hiding Their Face 4 (36%)

Drenched in Blood 2 (18%)

Suit 2 (18%)

Cloak 1 (9%)

Wedding Dress 1 (9%)

Regular Clothing 1 (9%)

Blood Stained Clothing 5 (45%)

The choices for this question were both conventional and unconventional to a film from the Horror Genre. It gave the audience a chance to vote for something they would find most scary in a horror film. This provided the perfect chance to use the outcomes to full effect in drawing the audience in giving them the best scare. The audience voted for "white theatre mask" and "hoody hiding their face", for the clothing they believed the antagonist should be wearing in the film. I have to agree with their choices, because I feel they portray the 'scary look', but in an unconventional way to other films where the killer is always drenched in blood wearing a very stimulating, specific mask. The theatre masks are very plain and show no expression, as well as making it hard to make eye-contact, which makes them very creepy in comparison to some halloween masks. The hoody adds to the mystery as it covers up the rest of the facial features, so the audience and protagonist are constantly left wondering about who or what is under the disguise.

What would you expect the 'Protagonist' to be styled like? (Total Votes: 10)

Casual Dress 6 (60%)

Formal Wear 3 (30%)

Fancy Dress 0

Underdressed 1 (10%)

The results of the questionnaire show that the target audience expect the protagonist to be styled in casual casual clothes such as jeans and t-shirt, etc.. As I have seen this a lot in horror movies too, I think that I will stick to the convention for that reason and also because casual clothes show that the protagonist has been caught off guard

What Gender would you imagine the 'Protagonist'? (Total Votes: 10)

Male 4 (40%)

Female 6 (60%)

The usual convention is that if there is a Male antagonist, there would be a female protagonist to show contrast and difference between the two sets of characters and genders. So I will use this convention as I feel it works best and because the target audience have come back and shown that this is how they expect the film to be.

Do you find the use of 'Captions' in Horror Trailers effective? (Total Votes: 11)

Yes 11 (100%)

No 0 (0%)

This was the only result from the questionnaire that got a decisive 'yes or no' response. The target audience clearly stated that they find the captions in the trailers very effective, therefore in the project, captions will definitely be used. This is one convention that cannot be broken as it could leave the audience confused about were they are in the trailer, or leave them thinking what the movie was about in the first place. Captions also cut up the footage in the trailer so that it isn't all one continuous clip, often giving good places for the rise/fall in action to take place.

What Style of Music/Sound would you prefer to hear in a Horror Trailer?

(Total Votes: 11)

Melodic 1 (9%)

Slow Paced 1 (9%)

Frightening Elemental Music 3 (27%)

Fast Paced 1 (9%)

Both 5 (45%)

Almost half of the votes in this question went to the "both" option, which shows me that the target audience like a mix of music in the trailers they watch. Often starting of with something, with the beat/tempo/pace all changing during the middle and end sections of the trailer. Often starting off with something slow and melodic, with more fast paced elemental music as the trailer increases in action towards the middled and end. Usually this mix shows contrast and evokes the emotions in the viewer, manipulating them into being scared at specific parts of the trailer.

What pace would you expect a Horror Trailer to follow? (Total Votes: 10)

Fast Pace Throughout 1 (10%)

Slow, then gaining Momentum and Speed 9 (90%)

Slow Pace Throughout 0 (0%)

Begins fast then gradually Slows down 0 (0%)

The result here is a clear one, in showing that the audience expect or want the trailer to have a change in the speed. The desired option as voted for by the target audience is by far the most effective for horror genre trailers in my opinion, therefore this is the the structure I am going to use for the trailer. It is conventional and works best in drawing people into the trailer, as well as making them jump due to several tempo turning points at which loud sound effects can be used.

Would you expect a Trailer to reveal the Intentions of an Antagonist?

(Total Votes: 10)

Yes 3 (30%)

Partially 4 (40%)

No 3 (30%)

This result wasn't as clear cut as some of the others in the questionnaire, as the votes were very evenly spread, with "partially" only receiving one more vote than the other two categories. I believe that in the trailer the antagonist's intentions should be be partially shown, firstly because it's unconventional to show full on gore in a trailer, as they are more widely publicized, and secondly because the audience knows what will happen in a horror movie as they have seen many more. They can often guess that people are going to be attacked in the film, therefore not really needing to tell them in the trailer. More tension is also built when the actions and intentions are only partially shown as it leaves the viewers guessing as to what could happen next.