Second survey analyse: Thriller Horror audience.

Due to the results of the previous survey I have studied the information and have now produced a more detailed questionnaire. This survey goes into further detail, and by analysing the results I can see what my target audience want from my production.

The first question on the survey asks the audience what films they have watched in the past week. This style of question is useful as its asking a simple question so you can study what kinds of audience are participating in the questionnaire. For instance if the audience members select a thriller-action hybrid such as Inception they will also enjoy a detailed thriller production that follows a complicated storyline with detailed enigma codes. Two of the following audience members have stated that they have not watched a film in the past week, and another member has skipped the question missing out this piece of data. This evidence shows that either these members of the audience do not enjoy watching movies or have not had the time to do so. However, it is hard to conclude the results of this information as the question should have been more open-leaded such as What films you have enjoyed in the past few months?

On the second question the audience have an option to select a box rather than write down what they think. The question asks the audience if they like the identity of the villain to be seen or left to the imagination of the viewer. I personally think this is key to a film because if a certain selection of the audience thinks that the villain is fat, rich and powerful they would be disappointed when they see the villain is skinny, sly, poor with mental issues. Generally in a thriller-horror film the villain or demon is either not shown, or just shows the shadow or key parts of the antagonist character. This makes the character seem scarier as the human mind is very wary of the unknown. A selected 90% of the audience who took the survey have told us that they prefer the villain in a thriller film to be left to their own interpretation. The probability is that they also agree that the unknown is scarier than what is actually seen, although the other 10% of the audience want to see and visualise the details of the antagonistic character. In my production I will make sure certain aspects of the villain are shown, however the rest will be left to the viewers interpretation. Things such as the face of the antagonistic

character will not be shown as the sense of the unknown villain could be anyone rather than that selected person. The use of this question in the survey gives an idea to what age range the protagonist is going to be. I feel that this is important in a film as the age of the main character can change the age rating of the target audience. For instance if the character is a younger child aged around 6-10, the target audience would be at a lower age as the younger viewers will be able to relate to that selected character. However, if the protagonist character is aged 21-30 and shows the trouble and responsibility of being that age then the older generations will also be able to relate to his or her problems during the film. The results of this question showed that 50% selected that a protagonist character is better aged 11-15, however the other 50% who took the survey selected that they would prefer the male character to be over the age of 21. When creating the production of my film I will make sure that both halves of the audience are happy with the age of the character. I could do this by having a 21 year old protagonist as well as a younger protagonist who is under the age of 21. However, I feel that within the people I associate with I would not be able to find someone who is over the age of 21 to act in my production, so I will hit the middle mark and use a male protagonist character who is aged 16-20. This should suit the needs of the target audience as the character will start to experience the troubles of having responsibility as well as still being young enough to be oblivious of to what is happening around him.

On the first survey the answer to the question of what crimes the audience found most distressing, the results showed that kidnap and murder were highest on the list. On the second survey, question four asks the audience to answer what crimes they expect to see in a thriller-horror hybrid. These results show that kidnap and murder were also the crimes they most expect to see in a thriller, this means that most thriller films share the same expected crimes. In my production a distressing crime takes place to one of the selected characters, this makes the audience either feel worried, upset or distressed for the selected character or because of the effects it has on the other characters in the film. In my production I will make sure I use the expectation of genre, and there will be a moment in the film when the character is in distress. I also feel like using real life incidents that happen in real life to make the movie more realistic as well as more worrying, because of this the viewers might feel that they too could be in the same situation. However, if an un-realistic event such as an alien evasion took place in a film then it would be less scary and would be classed as a sci-fi film. Whereas, murder and kidnap take place most often in thriller and horror productions.

Question five on the second survey asks the audience what time setting a horror-thriller hybrid should be set in. I feel like this is important as the location and time setting can be key to what type of activity will take place. For instance if the filming is taking place at night time the colours will not be as bright and vivid, this makes the audience feel like it is a gloomy setting. As there is a lot of shadow the fear of not seeing everything and the unknown might make the audience members feel on edge as they cannot clearly see what is taking place. However, if the filming is taking place in the day time the lighting will be bright and it will looks like a typical ordinary day. When a conflict of action takes place such as a murder or kidnap the audience will feel more shocked that action has just taken place as they will have a false sense of security. In the survey the audience however have voted that night time and being in an alley way are the two most popular choices making the percentage over 90%. Although the audience members think that night time is the best time to set a thriller-horror hybrid, our production cannot be set at this time due to the equipment we use and own. If we filmed at night the camera quality would be grainy and not to the high standard that we want. If I had a higher budget for my production then we would shoot the scenes at night time, but use hidden lighting and a higher quality camera so the grain is not shown in the dim lighting.

The reason for question six was to see what class our audience was targeted at. The question asks if the audience like to have clues on who the villain is or whether they would prefer the villain to be completely unexpected. With a complex plot it will make the audience think throughout the film showing little clues about the villain, this means that the audience who have answered my questionnaire would be on a higher scale on the demographics chart meaning they have a higher intelligence and want to be surprised or inflicted on the film. However 10% of the of my target audience said they dont mind if the villain is unexpected or want clues throughout the film, this might show they have a lower class of education and want the film to be less complex so they can understand and follow the film more easily.

Question seven will make a big impact on our production as the female character could have two different styles of roles. If the female is strong and determined she will be able to have strong opinions on matters, this means she will easily be able to get out of a difficult situation. The audience will know that she will be okay as she has the strong signs of the typical male characteristics. Typically the female is a villain if shown strong and determined in a film, or if she is an antagonistic character the genre of the film is an adventure-type family film with a happy ending for all. However, in a thriller or horror production I feel that the female character should be weak and vulnerable as this has a bigger impact on the audience and fits the style of genre. In the survey 60% of the audience have selected that the female should be weak and vulnerable where only 40% have said they want the female victim to be strong and determined. On question 8 in the survey it lets the audience write down their own view on the question rather than having to tick a box. The survey asks the audience what they feel makes a film interesting, this will help when creating the story outline and what plots are included in the film. One member of the audience has suggested that suspense, humour, love interest and a goal for the protagonistic character to work towards. I feel like this audience member must be interested in watching horror/thriller movies as this is the main aspects of the story outline that a film plot needs. However, as the production I am working on is a thriller-horror hybrid I will not use the aspect of humour in the final production as comedy in horrors are often very low budget and look unprofessional. Another member of the audience has said that suspense and tension makes a movie interesting, while another member of the audience has said that

enigma theory and action codes make a film interesting. These two aspects are very similar so I will try to use a high detailed story plot that engages the viewers and the key moments of action will be surprising and make the film entertaining.

The ninth question on the questionnaire shows results of 100% on one of the selected options. I feel like this is very unusual, however I will make this moment of interest in my production as all of the audience feel the same way about this specific story plot. The question asks the audience if they prefer the antagonistic character to have a motive to kill or the crime to be accidental. I feel that in a film when the villain has a motive to kill, or do the crimes they are doing makes the storyline more interesting as the viewers know a little more about that character and have a wider understanding of why the crimes take place, especially if the antagonistic character is physiological and cunning. For example in the film the Dark Knight Rises the character Bane has a motive to commit the crimes he does, this makes the viewers have more interest in the film. However, in the film Kidulthood Sam kills a protagonistic character with a bat. This does not make him seem more evil and the viewers may even feel sorry for him due to the crime he has committed as he did not mean to hurt that character in such a way. Overall I think that if an antagonistic character kills someone accidentally he or she does not seem as evil than someone who has a motive to kill or commit a crime than someone.

The last question on the survey will help me create the storys plot for the final outcome of the production, this will be key in what happens to the characters and what the expected outcome is. Although the selected audience have said that the victim should have a chance of surviving but they still die in the end I feel like this can also have a positive outcome of the victim living and the film having a successful ending for him or her. Usually this is not what happens in a thrillerhorror hybrid and is very unusual in a film, as the outcome for all/some of the characters in a horror always leads to death. However, in modern films the victim is surviving the troubles as it is unexpected of the genre and therefore makes the film more interesting and less predictable for the audience. I feel that whatever outcome I decide for my storyline will be unexpected to the audience target market.