Questionnaire & Questionnaire analysis

Questionnaire Analysis

From the graph above you can see that the majority of the target audience are female, this is out of 8 people. 5 were females and 3 were male. We would have to make our opening sequence appeal to and engage a mass audience. However it also suggests that the female market may be less interested in gore as in another question gore was not very popular when asked what the best convention is. Therefore suggests that the female market would not be interested in seeing gore in films. From this we will not use gore in our horror opening sequence so it appeals to the majority of our target audience. Furthermore we could take this into consideration when choosing the content of our opening sequence. We would do this by including content that appeal to both genders.

One way in which we can make our opening sequence appeal to a mass audience is by firstly using the horror genre as that is the preferred genre, as shown in question 3. Moreover using specific sounds such as high pitched noises to build suspense and show the disequilibrium is about to happen. I know this will be effective because in the 6^th question it shows that 50% of the target audience would want to hear a high pitched sound in a horror film.

Furthermore in our opening sequence we are incorporating the stereo typical weak female to play the victim of our story. A man is the villain and is portrayed as strong and controlling. These are conventions of horror films which the mass audience can relate to.

From the graph above we can see that the majority of people questioned are between the ages 12-17. Our opening sequence is targeted at this age so the results collected from this questionnaire will be relevant to our production. Furthermore when asked what movie genre is their favourite majority said the horror genre. This suggests our target audience like to be entertained through frightful events in films, this is a use of the gratification theory through identification. This means that our opening sequence will appeal to the target audience because it is a psychological horror. As the majority of the target audience is under 18 we also have to make sure that our opening sequence is appropriate for that age group. Moreover in my opening sequence we will be representing the majority age group of the target audience as the main characters are around 16 years old. Our target audience will be below the age of 18 and in between 12-17 as research has shown that the majority of people aged 12-17 who prefer horror. This means ‘Moderate physical and psychological threat is permitted at 12 or 12A as long as horror sequences are not too frequent or sustained and the overall tone is not disturbing’, ‘Action sequences and weapons may be present and there may be long fight scenes or similar. Weapons which might be easily accessible to 12 year olds (such as knives) should not be glamorised’, ‘Sexual violence, such as scenes of rape or assault, may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, Such scenes must also have a strong contextual justification’ quoted from the BBFC.

The most preferred film genre is horror and the least preferred film genre is comedy. Our participants in this survey were mostly in between the ages of 12- 17 which at that age would be more interested in horror as they find it exciting and chilling to watch. A comedy film is mostly for adults as many of the jokes may be something only adults would understand. As Horror was the highest preferred film genre it suggests the audience like the feeling of being scared instead of laughing. Also that the visual effects such as lighting and the supernatural (ghosts) appeal to the target audience. Psychological thrillers and crime are the second most preferred film genre. We can incorporate both these genres into our opening sequence as sub-genres whilst still sticking to our main genre of psychological horror. Crime would be the murder taking place and the psychological thriller would be making the audience think it was a dream. Crime fits in with the horror genre, as the weapons used in both genres are very similar such as knives, which will make it easier for us to include it in our opening sequence.

The above pie chart shows a house is the preferred setting for a psychological horror at 62%, this immediately sets the narrative in horror films for where the victims may be living. This has influenced us to include a house as one of our locations for filming as it will appeal to the target audience more. Moreover one of the participants suggested a cabin in the woods/forest would be their preferred setting for a psychological horror, this we have also taken into account as one of our key scenes is set in a forest. This is effective because it will give a chilling effect as they are seen as quite spooky also this is very conventional to horror films as preferred so location due to the good use of natural light and effects that can further be used. Hospitals and asylums are often used in psychological horrors as it is where mental characters would be so it sets the narrative of the film. This is effective because the audience may come across characters they wouldn’t usually interact with in real life so they wouldn’t know what to expect, which creates the idea of the fear of the unknown keeping the audience on edge throughout the scenes. A warehouse is rarely used by directors in horror films so it is not what the target audience would expect to see, this means this location would not appeal to our target audience. This we have taken into account when filming our opening sequence to keep the mass audience satisfied.

We asked the target audience what relationship they would like to see in a psychological horror film this would be the victims in the film. The majority chose a couple such as husband and wife or couple of friends. Others said a family relation such as a disorientated family or a nuclear family. Our narrative is based around a disorientated family: mother, stepfather and daughter we also include a best friend relationship. A couple is frequently used by many directors because they like to show the idea of breaking the family apart for example in insidious the victims are a husband and wife, which is a clear use of the gratification theory through identification as it is what people want to see to be entertained. The patient and doctor was suggested by a participant in the questionnaire but was the least relationship the audience would like to see in a psychological horror film as it is not usually expected or would frighten the audience. These relationships were chosen as people can relate to them for example as the majority of the participants questioned were 12-17 they can relate to films involving a family relation.

50% of the target audience said a high pitched violin sound is what they would want to hear in a psychological film. This demonstrates that majority of psychological horror films use this sound effect in their films which is why many of the audience would expect to hear it. Films such as the Scream sequels and the Woman in Black use this sound effect. In the narrative it is mostly used a horrifying event is about to happen for example when the killer in Scream is about to appear. They may find it intriguing as it builds the most suspense. The guitar and low bass are the least wanted sound to hear for a psychological horror as you wouldn’t usually expect them in a horror film because they are quite upbeat and lower pitched, to create a false sense of security before the ‘scare’ factor. This will encourage me to use high pitched sounds in our opening sequence as it appeals to our target audience the most and it is what they would expect to hear to create a tense atmosphere. The tense piano is used to signify a significant appearance about to come on to the screen such as the supernatural or some sort of creature. An example of where this is used is in the horror film Jaws. The audience automatically know when the shark will begin to make its appearance on screen before it suddenly attacks, which creates the scare in the audience, this is also a use of the gratification theory through identification.

The questionnaire results agreed with our idea of dark clothing to be used as they find it the most intriguing. In our opening sequence the villain is wearing a black outfit to portray the darkness the villain possesses. The use of dark clothing is also a typical convention for a horror film as it immediately points out to the audience who the villain is, making the scenes tense. Ripped, masked and nurse costume design are said to be the least intriguing. This is because these don’t create a scary atmosphere which the audience are waiting for they create different effects but are not seen as frightful as they are more used to describe the character and their personality. Ripped is used more in thrillers to show what happened to a character for example in taken the girl comes back with ripped clothing but this doesn’t scare the audience. A mask is used to create a sense of mystery not usually to scare, however this can be effective in a horror film to hide the killers identity such as in the film Scream. This can also create some humour within the film but this takes the away the scary atmosphere which is why a mask may not be effective in a horror film. A nurse costume is not usually shown in horror films as a setting would not be in a hospital however it can be shown when the setting is in a psychiatric home or asylum. An asylum was also one of the chosen places for a preferred location in question 4. This is where a nurse costume would be appropriate to fit the scene of an asylum.

The most popular camera angle as shown above is eye level as this shows the audience the emotion through the characters facial expressions and the gestures being made this connotes what may happen next so audience can engage and predict the rest of the narrative. This is effective because it shows the personality of the characters so the audience can engage with the film through the use of the gratification theory. The second most popular camera angle is the high angle. This works effectively in a psychological horror as a high angle shot of a character can tell the audience about their social status in the film. For example a high angle shot of a victim makes them look inferior and powerless due to the low appearing status. The bird’s eye view angle was not chosen by any of the participants. This is not as effective in a psychological horror because it can’t represent the emotions of the characters or see what they are doing. This does not fulfil the entertainment of a horror film as this angle does not build suspense or instil fear within the audience. This is therefore not fulfilling the uses and gratification theory as the audience can’t engage with the film through social interaction or entertainment.

The most popular camera shot as shown above is a close up shot. This is effective in a psychological horror film because it further shows the emotion of the characters to conceal the setting and create a sympathetic atmosphere towards the victims as their fear and anxiety is evident to the audience. A close up shot is also a convention of a horror film as used by many directors to build suspense making the scene more unrelaxed which therefore entertains the audience. The hypodermic needle theory can be applied here to inject the emotions into the audience. An extreme wide shot was the second most popular and can be effective because it is an establishing shot to show where the main events may happen or what surrounds that characters in the shot as it may be significant. Moreover it allows the audience to focus on the background so they can look out for anything out of the ordinary and if the characters are in the shot it could suggest something important is happening around them, which the director wants the audience to notice. The wide shot and mid shot were the least popular as with these shots you can’t really engage with the film or a characters emotions and you may not be able to see what’s around the characters. However this can also be seen as effective because it allows the audience to focus on the characters and what they may be saying or doing.

 The majority of the target audience said they liked supernatural events the most as a convention for a psychological horror film out of masks, gore and blood. Supernatural events are effective in horror films because many of the audience find it intriguing as they most likely may not have witnessed these occurrences before. Masks are the least popular convention for a horror as no one chose this. They are not very effective because you can’t see who’s behind the mask, so many directors do not use this prop in their films as it doesn’t show the emotion of characters that may be significant.

However some people may argue that masks are effective because it creates a sense of mystery within the narrative. For example in the horror film scream masks are very important in the narrative as it hides the identity of the killer which builds tension throughout the whole film.

Blood is the second most popular convention at 24%. Blood can be effective because red is a strong colour used in many horror films as it immediately portrays death and the theory of binary oppositions between good and evil.

The most conventional to a horror would be the supernatural events and blood as there is always death in a horror involving blood and on many occasions a supernatural force being the cause of the death. For example in the Woman in Black children are being killed by an evil spirit and blood is shown in many scenes.