Research into potential target audience - Primary Research Results

I sent out a questionnaire to find out more about who my main target audience would be. I was able to see what kind of films they like, why they would watch a film, and what is important to them in an opening scene. This will then help me when  it comes to creating my own idea to look for what i can include, and what to focus on more. I posted the questionnaire on social media i.e. Facebook and was sent around my parents workplace. I decide to share this questionnaire where i wouldn't just have my friends opinions as they will  most likely be the same and i wanted to get a  more diverse view. I received 31 results all from different age groups and backgrounds, giving me a wider variety and idea on what people like.

Question 1: Are you male or female?

Based on this question i was able to see that there was an almost equal divide between the males and females who answered my questionnaire. This will allow me to see if stereotypes show based on genre and interests and will also give me an idea on how i gain the attention of both genders to watch the film. 

Question 2: What is your age?

This question helps me because it is clear that the majority of people who answered are aged between 15-24. This will help me as it means this is what i should focus on for my target audience. However, i can also compare this to the people aged between 25-34 as there wasn't a big difference in the amount of people who answered. In addition, due to there being very limited results from the under 10's and over 45's , it was evident that i should rule these out from being a target audience.

Question 3: What is your favourite genre?

By asking this question i was able to see the most popular genre which i can then focus on for my film. The most common genre was horror, followed by action and thriller. This will help me majorly when planning my film as my initial idea was based in the horror genre, but i can now try to gain more popularity by including ideas which can link to both action and thriller. However, most horror films will include thriller and action content. In addition, this will help me further as based on prior research i found out that most 15-24 year olds will view horror as their favourite genre. Whilst this is stereotypical, it means this will be my main target audience.

Question 4: What makes you want to watch a film?

The responses i got back included: "good review", "the trailer is eye catching", "been recommend to them", "favourite actors included" and one of the most common responses being "the title is intriguing". When is comes to preparing my film opening i will need to think about all these comments, and based on the most common answer revolving around the title, this will have to be a main focus. Furthermore, i will focus on the other comments by looking into trailers for different films and film reviews to see if any can help influence my film content.

Question 5: What is your favourite film?

The responses included: "Suicide Squad", "Deadpool", "Saw", "The Ring", "Schindler's List", "Cabin In The Woods", and "Divergent". These films come from a variety of genres however, they all involve some sort of action at some point meaning that tension will be created, which is something i will need to include within my opening. Through being given these titles i am able to watch clips and trailers which will enable me to view how they create this effect in different scenes. I can also look at reviews and compare to good from bad, this will then help me as i can be influenced by what they have done or know to avoid making similar mistakes in my film opening, such as story line doesn't flow.

Question 6: How often do you watch films?

The results i got from this shows that the most common answer was to see how many people are likely to watch films. By asking this question, i found out that most people watch films a few times a week. The results i got shows that the majority of people who answered commonly watch films. This would show if films are popular compared to TV programmes. In addition, it means that i could look at the results from those who said they watched films more than once a month to everyday as they will most likely be the ones who love films, and therefore be my target audience.

Question 7: What attracts you to a films?

The results i received included: "actors", "good reviews", "good trailer", "good title name" and "good plot". Due to most of these being repeated, it shows that these are a common things people look for before going to watch a film. Therefore, I should try to included as many of these in mine as I can. Based on these results, my initial idea must be able to have a good story line and be engaging with the audience. I can ask a further question later on to see if the storyline  does actually engages with an audience or not. Furthermore, will have to make sure that when it comes to making the main task it looks professional with the actors used as well as having a suitable title.

Question 8: Would the actors included make you more likely to watch a film?

The was an important question to ask, from this i will find out if the people i ask to play parts in my film will make a difference to whether or not they will watch a film. For example when it comes to films i can gain interested from different people based on the actors. Most women seem to be drawn to watch a film based on appearance of a character such as an attractive male. Therefore, it could be a way in which i can reach a bigger target audience, by focusing on engaging with different genders and audiences from what I include. In addition, the people who I ask to play a role should be able to act well in order for it to be successful at the end. By looking at the results, it is clear that to most people it does matter who the actors are in a film, so will need to be taken highly into consideration in order to reach a bigger audience.

Question 9: Would the production companies influence you to watch a film?

This question was essential as most companies such as "Disney", "Pixar" and "Warner Bros". I can attract people to watch their films by having a world known brand. When people know the production company it can sometimes help gain more people to watch a film, even if its not one they would usually go for, mainly due to the type of films they create. From my results it suggests that the production company is an important factor to some, however, it isn't the most common thing to interest people to watch a film compared to other factors.

Question 10: How likely are you to watch a film based on the opening scene?

The majority of people who answered said 7/10 times and plus implying that if the opening scene isn't any good nor does it engage with them to continue watching, they wont watch the rest of the film. It suggests that the opening sets how the rest of the film is going to be, so bad opening means the rest of the film will be too. This will in turn encourage me to try and show the codes and conventions genre of horror more, included better filming techniques as well as effects when it comes to credits and titles to engage with people in different ways and look professional.

Question 11: What is the most important feature of a film opening to you?

In order to help me achieve question 10, i asked this question so i would know how different people are drawn into an opening. Many people stated that "it has to look interesting and eye catching" which will be a main focus and will try to be added more not only by the cinematography but also by the use of the program After Effects to create more exciting credits that can also add to the genre using a ghostly smoke effect. In addition, some others said "sets the story line" being that the opening has to show what the film is about and initially who the main character is. This is so it is easier to follow and they have a basic understanding allowing the rest to make more sense. This will help when it comes to my opening scene as i will be making sure that i show the genre is horror and has the dangerous and thrilling side of it in the opening scene engaging them within the first couples of minutes and hopefully cause them to want to see more.