In order to collect first hand and reliable information about our target audience, we conducted a questionnaire asking various questions about the thriller genre and who watches it. Many of the people we asked were aged seventeen to eighteen, although to make our questionnaire more reliable we also asked some older and younger participants. The youngest participant we surveyed was 15, purely because thriller films mostly contain violence and include unsettling or discomforting scenes which would be inappropriate for anybody under the age of 15 by law. This tells us that the target audience for our film would have to be over 15.
Findings of our Questionnaire
We surveyed 10 people and got them to answer the questions above, 5 were male and 5 were female to make the questionnaire fair and to give us a clearer understanding of what conventions males and females feel are most important in a thriller film. The age range of the people we questioned were between 15-25. 70% of the people we surveyed preferred staying indoors than going out and about which could suggest that they were more likely to watch more films than the 30% that preferred going out and about. The most popular genre of film was comedy with 40% of the votes 2 male and 2 female picked this, the second most popular was thriller with 30% 2 male and 1 female picked this, horror was third with 20% of the votes with 1 male and 1 female and rom-com had 10% and it was a female that chose this. This conveys that more males are likely to watch a thriller than females. There were only three sub-genres that had votes from our survey: mystery thriller with 30% 2 female and 1 male, action thriller with 40% 3 male and 1 female and crime thriller with 30% 1 male 2 female, these results highlight that the sub-genre which appeals the most to the audience is action thriller. For example of different genders being attracted to different types of films, females are more likely to be inclined to watch a film with a leading female role like Salt (2010) as it means they're more likely to connect and engage the audience with the protagonist.
The most appealing convention of a thriller film was the next area we explored, compelling characters and challenging story lines both received 40% of the votes with both having 2 male and 2 female select it and suspense and tension received 20% of the votes again with an equal 1 male and 1 female, this gave us a good understanding on what an audience wants from a thriller film, and with equal votes we are able to attract both male and female into our thriller film. The most important feature of a thriller film was the final question we asked; characters, costume and props, acting and camera angles were chosen. Characters received 20% of the votes both being female, costume and props also received 20% of the votes chosen by 1 male and 1 female, acting received 30% of the votes with 2 male and 1 female and camera angles also had 30% 1 female and 2 male chose this, we will take into account the answers given to us and focus on the areas that our audience will find the most appealing to make our thriller film more exciting to watch.
Focus group of target audience: what they expect from a thriller,
opinions on our film idea.
From our focus group and our questionnaire we can see what 16-18 year old expect from a thriller and use this to make our thriller film more effective; as mystery thriller had the second most votes as the best sub-genre of a thriller film we have decided to create a mystery thriller mixed with crime and psychological to make it more appealing for our target audience and we felt this was the most appropriate to create with the resources we have. Compelling characters and challenging story lines both had an equal amount of votes and were themes highlighted in our focus group , so we will include both of these and focus on them more than the other conventions that were on our questionnaire to connect with our audience and show that we are taking into account their views and opinions in order to make our film better. Camera angles were the most voted feature of a thriller film in our questionnaire and again we will focus a lot on our camera angles to give the audience the right atmosphere, and having a good actor was mentioned a lot in our focus group, so we can make the role believable. These results show us what our target audience expects from a thriller film, and we will focus on these to make our thriller film more effective.
After pitching our idea to a focus group of the target audience, they suggested using a prop to add depth to the storyline and to add opportunity for different pathways for our film to follow. As they said, a prop could offer a whole new twist to the storyline such as a weapon. We have considered this idea and decided to include a discarded bracelet in our storyline, in order to create further mystery. We found a focus group to be a very helpful way of gathering new ideas and considering different options of where the storyline should head.
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