Research into Target Audience - Miss Miller

Research into Target Audience

Research was carried out to find out the most productive and effective way of creating a successful thriller sequence. From the research, we are able to discover what the most popular and idealistic conventions are that should be included in a thriller. My group and I decided to create a questionnaire to carry out research in order to see what codes and conventions were the most popular in thriller films and why. The results will then be able to influence the ideas for our thriller opening sequence. We asked 40 people to answer our questionnaire so that we could receive feedback from a large sample. This would mean that the results we get will be more valid and accurate as the view and opinion of many is counted and to more of a mass audience more so than a niche. From the results we have acquired, we will use it to create our sequence noticing what the audience like best, what they expect to see and how successful a thriller can be created with the specific conventions found within.



This was the questionnaire we carried out, consisting of 3 open questions and 7 closed questions:

These were the results in which we retrieved from the questionnaire:
  

From this pie chart it is clear that 19 - 25 year olds was the highest percentage age category therefore, most people between these ages took the questionnaire. Whereas, there were less 12 - 18 year olds that took part in the questionnaire. This could show that this is the age group that are the most popular with thrillers, however this could just be due to the particular people in which was questioned. This would support the age certificate of a thriller to be 18 though, I believe most thrillers are aimed at 15+. However, because of this research, age will definitely be taken into account when making our thriller sequence. From the high number of 19 - 25 year olds, this is what information we will consider. 

This pie chart shows that the majority of the people that took the questionnaire were men. This could suggest that thriller films are more popular with the male gender. This could be because stereotypically they are seen as the gender that are 'least scared' in general and so as thriller films can have an aspect of horror and fear to them, this may be the reason the results have appeared in this way. Furthermore, it may just be the fact that females are not as engaged within thriller films or may enjoy another type of film genre a lot more, leaving the thriller genre with less female 'fans'. Moreover, a lot of the females are shown in thrillers as the victims, so this could mean that females relate a lot more to them but also feeling their fear throughout the film - this could also be a reason as to why females don't watch thrillers as much. From this research, it can be taken into consideration that not a significantly large percentage breaks the other, however, male being the more popular, this will be considered. The thriller sequence we create will have influences such as the idea of a female victim and perhaps a male killer included. 

This pie chart recognises the different films in which the participants liked best. It is evident that most people at 25%'s favourite thriller was something other than listed. We are unable to know what this is as it is not visible, however, from the ones which are the most popular was 'Scream' at 22%. Scream is a fairly old film, so more may have seen it however so is 'Silence of the Lambs'. The fact that 'Scream''s killer has a hidden identity proves to be popular, furthermore, the fact that they had a mask and black cloak covering the entire body makes it a lot more suspenseful because none of their flesh at all is visible. This could be one of the reasons why this is the most popular thriller film as chosen from the participants. 'The Strangers' at 15% of the participants choosing it as their favourite thriller could be for a number of reasons. This films has a lot of 'jump scares' which some people may hate, however some may like. 'Jump scares' create more of an impact and the events that cause the jump can be thought of by the viewer shortly after, making them feel scared at times when they shouldn't. 'The Strangers' is also quite realistic in the way that a couple has gone away together, although, it's predictable because they are in an isolated setting, communication with others seems to go wrong and some sort of killer seems to be after the. This predictability and expected nature could prevent people from watching as they know what will happen, so may not see the point. From the results, they will be able to influence the ideas in which we have for our thriller sequence as we will analyse what the participants said to the 'why?' part of the question. This will give us a better idea of inparticular why they favourite a certain thriller over the others. 

Results from this question show that the most popular sub-genre in which people like to be paired with thriller is horror. This is not surprising as most thrillers do have a horror element to them in the way that suspense is built and there is usually a killer. With the horror sub-genre this adds slightly more gore to the film and so this may be what viewers want to see. This creates more of an enigma as the audience are able to witness the way in which a victim is killed in intricate detail for example. More fear is created and the kill is made more personal as the audience get to know more of the gory details. The least favourite sub-genre in which the participants as a whole decided was comedy. This is understandable because there isn't many comedy thrillers that exist. With the input of humour, it lessens the impact of the killing or traumatising event that may occur. Consequently, this is why it may be the least favourite as it isn't as intense and so doesn't build up as much suspense and tension because it's not taken as seriously. For out thriller sequence, this research will be taken into consideration and so it will also influence the way in which we create our thriller. Aspects of a sub-genre will be determined by these results from a clear lead of horror. Therefore, our sequence is most likely to include elements of horror such as evidence of killing like blood, for example, due to the popularity of the sub-genre. 

This question here is vital in the making of our sequence, as it shows the most expected conventions in a thriller from the participant's (audience's) point of view. Clearly, the use of an eerie soundtrack was the most chosen option at 31% of the people in the survey choosing it. From this knowledge, an eerie soundtrack will be present in our thriller sequence as it seems to be very popular with the participants but also ourselves and in many other thriller works. This is most likely because an eerie soundtrack helps to build suspense, surprise and shock - 3 main elements to a successful thriller. Normally, an eerie soundtrack also complements what is going on in the scene which is what makes it so effective with a large impact. The option that was chosen the least was a female victim. I don't necessarily think this is because this is not a convention but more so that the other options may have illustrated more of what the audience expect to see. Female victims are usually in every thriller with a male antagonist being the killer, supporting dominant ideology. The results from this question will definitely influence the opening sequence of our thriller as it is clear what the most popular conventions are so which ones we can emphasise. Furthermore, we can make sure that they are clearly portrayed in our sequence in order to create a satisfied audience by meeting their expectations. 

Number 6 was a question finding out what setting was the most popular in the eyes of our participants. An abandoned house proved the most popular with 30% of our participants opting for it. I believe this may be because the audience are made to feel worried and scared for the victims as they have no one around that are able to help them get out of the situation they may be in. In a city/town was shown to be the least expected setting, from the results shown. This is likely to be because in a city/town it's quite lively and doesn't contain the silence that can be used to build suspense, surprise and shock. Also, in a city/town a killer may be clearly spotted or identified and from the high density of people in this area, the audience do not feel as worried for the victim. This is because they know that they will be able to seek help from someone as there will be someone around in the area. These results will influence our own thriller sequence as one of the listed settings will be used. The way in which the data has resulted will determine which setting will be best and most effective for our thriller and it's narrative. 

This question is on iconography and demonstrates that the most popular use of iconography that is expected to be seen is a knife. Over a quarter of the people we questioned chose this as their option causing it to be a shared agreement. A knife is a lot more personal than a gun for example, as a killer has to be close to a victim in order to cause a wound or killing. With a gun, a killer can be further away and so maybe this is one of the reasons as to why the use of a gun is the least expected in a thriller. This suggests that viewers prefer to see more intricate, up close murders representing the killers as disturbed and cold-hearted. Using a knife also makes a murder a lot more brutal and graphic from the traces it can leave behind such as blood for instance. Whereas, a gun is just one, single moment of pain that the victim has to go through and therefore one, single moment for the audience to witness. Not much in the way of brutality is seen as the bullet travels so fast that it is not clearly visible to the human eye when being shot. A knife is an object that is able to be seen constantly so when this is used it creates a more fearful effect as it is also an everyday object which anyone can get a hold of. These results will be taken into consideration from the thorough decision making we will proceed in order to use the best weapon in our thriller which will most likely be a knife. This is because the high percentage of people that chose this option therefore, these results will influence our sequence.

From this pie chart, the results show that the majority of the people we questioned expect the killer's identity to be hidden - just under three quarters to be precise. This shows that not knowing who the killer is really makes an impact and is a common opinion that it should be kept unknown. The way that only 28% said 'no' suggests that they like to know who the killer is and have the thriller filmed as if they are the point of view of the killer. This is quite a common scenario and so could be the reason for these participants choosing 'no'. In our thriller sequence we will most likely have our killer's identity kept hidden in order to please our audience. Therefore, the results retrieved will influence our own thriller sequence.

Number 9 is based around what sounds are expected in a thriller - the most popular was an eerie/dark soundtrack. Most likely, this is because this is one of the most effective ways of building suspense, surprise and shock. Half of the amount of people that chose an eerie/dark soundtrack opted for screams. This is also a typical convention of a thriller as it demonstrates the stress of the characters especially the victims, particularly if their murder is brutal and violent. The weapon being used is the least expected sound in a thriller which I don't believe is necessarily true, however, could just not be the most important sound to be included. Having the weapon visible is one thing, but hearing it being used is another as it creates a sense of foreboding from the weariness the audience will have become of that use of violent iconography. This will influence our research as this is the second time that an eerie/dark soundtrack has proved to be popular from the results of this questionnaire. Therefore, using an eerie/dark soundtrack in our thriller should help build suspense and create a successful opening in which the audience will enjoy to watch.

This final question is about the cinematography in thrillers and which is most effective. Point of view shots seem to be the most picked option. This type of shot allows the audience to build a relationship and relate to a character more easily as they are able to watch the scenes through the character's perspective. From seeing the character's perspective, it may change their views and opinions on how they would resolve a situation or cope with whatever is occurring in the scene. What is shown to be the least effective shot is a shot other than what is listed joint with steadicam which 15% of participants chose. Steadicam is quite an average shot that can be used in all genres but in thrillers may not make that much of a difference when referring to effects. Not as much as a close up for example, as a close up allows the audience to witness the intricate detail of something like someone's expression or emotion. The results retrieved from this question will influence our thriller sequence as we can clearly see that point of view shots are tended to be fairly popular and effective. We want to make our thriller as effective and successful as possible so using this research to influence our own thriller sequence will hopefully make our thriller the way we intend it to be. 

These are 3 vox pops in which I also carried out:

From creating and carrying out this questionnaire, it will ensure that our film is much more audience considered. This is because we now have evidence to support the decisions we make and resolutions as to how to make our thriller successful. We are going to be very much influenced by the particular topics of the questions such as the sub-genre, iconography and soundtrack. The results all display answers that are conventional to the thriller genre and so are what we pretty much expected that they would come out as.