Questionaire Results

The results of our questionnaire were very successful as we have learnt a lot from them and plan to use the information that we received to our advantage. We surveyed ten people of varying ages and we asked an even number of each gender as we wanted our results to be equal and even. We had a really good response from our audience members with some really interesting opinions and suggestions.

Before we start to film and plan our final film we will review these suggestions and work on improving the material we have so far. The questionnaire has proved to be very positive as it has helped us to form our final film and we will be working on implementing as many of them as possible and we will take the target audience advice on board.

From our results we have learnt that our main target audience are 15-24 year old as they visit the cinema and watch trailers the most out of the age groups. We found out that the majority of people watch horror trailers 1-5 times a month with that result being 6 people out of 10. Our questionnaire result also informed as that there are two aspects of a horror trailer that audience members find vital. These are fast paced scenes and dark mysterious scenes. Four out of ten from the people that we surveyed preferred horror trailers to romance, comedy or action we think that this might be because they are more tension building and keep the audience on the edge of their seats. We also found that the scariest aspects for a villain include masks on the face (4 people) and face in full shadow (3 people). This information is valuable to us as it gives an idea of how we can make our villain scary as can be.

Our results enlightened us that the most popular horror genre was real life which we feel could be down to it being more ratable to the audience member and their life in reality. From asking our target audience we found out that the most popular horror trailer is Paranormal Activity and The Strangers.This could be down to the fact that they are very realistic and relatable to the audience as they both take place in the home where the audience should feel most safe. Our results also instructed us that a split amount of people enjoy watching a horror trailer for their actual film. Music plays a very important part in a trailer according to our research and trailers really effect peoples view of a film.

Audience Profile: The Strangers

The Strangers Released: 29th August 2008 Genre: Thriller Price: C Estimated box office: £3,000,000 Director: Bryan Bentino Film cast: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Gemma Ward Certificate: TBC Distributor: Universal Pictures The Story: "Strangers" is a suspense thriller revolving around a couple in a remote suburban house who are targeted by three dangerous masked strangers. The resulting clashes force the couple to go well beyond what they thought themselves capable of in order to survive. These statistics show that 74% of this film appeals to 15-24 year olds audience. This is a very big percentage of the overall audience which demonstrates that it is better suited to a younger audience, this could be as the main characters in the film are in this age group which means that’s these people feel that they can relate to the characters more and identify with them. The second highest is 25-34 year olds and 45+. These statistics show that this film generally appeals to a younger audience. The percentages also show that 40% of the audience are males and 60% being females. This means that this film is more suited to females which could be because females prefer the realistic genre of a horror film and find the story line more scary than males. Overall from looking at this film statistics, it shows that this type of horror film is mostly watched by 15-24 year olds, with most of the population of that being males, with females not far behind. This shows that most horror films are equally liked by males and females. Also from the age group percentages it shows that people younger than 15 don't really like horror films, and people above 34 don't generally watch them as much.

Audience Profile: The Grudge

The audience profile shows that the most common audience age is between 15-34. This age group makes up 41% of viewers, with a percentage of 35% for 25-34 year olds. This suggests that the majority of the audience of 'The Grudge' is comprised of young adults.  This could be due to the fact that it could be considered that the film has more aspects which appeal to a younger audience, such as the horror element, which is famously enjoyed by teenagers in many films.

The percentage of male and female audience members demonstrates that the gender mix is quite balanced, 56% being male, and 44% female. This shows that this genre is not gender specific and can be appreciated by all.

Font Research

This font in this film poster is bright red against a black background, so stands out and catches the eye. The use of red and black is effective as red connotates blood and black connotates death. The font used has a slightly 'dirty' look in some parts, which makes it look more frightening as the black hair in the background could be swallowing it up. The font is all in capitals which makes it easy to read and stand out. 

The font in this poster is again in capitals, making it stand out against the dark background. The writing is a kind of yellow/white colour, which makes it clear and easy to red, compared to if it was a dark colour. The font used is a very basic font, but it has been made scarier by the use of blacking out some parts of the letters.



 The font in this poster is very clear compared to the other two. The white against the black/red is very noticeable, and the writing is clear and easy to read as it is bright white, and bold in capitals. The writing in this poster is not very scary in my opinion, so our trailer will probably be using a scarier looking font, to fit in with the mood we want our trailer to create.

 I personally really like this font, as it has almost drops coming off of the writing, which could symbolise the blood that has been shed. The writing is in capitals so it catches your eye, and the way it is not all on a straight line, but instead up and down, makes it look as if someone has quickly written it, with what could have been lipstick or something on a mirror. The way parts of the lettering is bold, and the other parts are thin, I think is very effective because it looks as if it could have been written in blood, which would also explain the drops coming off of the lettering. If we were to use this font we would not use the handprints, and we may choose to put the lettering in red instead of black.

I like this font as it is all clear in capitals, but also has drops coming off it like blood. It is slightly similar to the font above, but different in the respect that it is thin, not bold, and it all on the same line. This font may be good for our trailer as it is scary looking, but is not as 'in your face' as the one above. 

 This font is not as clear as the other ones I have been looking at. The idea I get from this font, is that the film/trailer attached to it would be supernatural as the letters slightly look like a ghostly outline. Although the lettering is dark and interesting, I don't feel it would suit our trailer as it isn't as clear as other fonts.



Compared to the other fonts I have been looking at, this font is very normal. The font looks disjointed and unusual, which could suggest a child has written it, which could suggest the villain is a child or has a personality disorder that makes him appear as younger. Some aspects to this font are scary, for example how it is written, but compared to the other fonts I don't think it is scary enough to be in a horror trailer.

http://www.1001fonts.com/horror-fonts.html?page=1&items=10

Masks

We want our villain's identity in our trailer to be hidden. From researching films such as 'Friday the 13th' 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' 'Scream' and 'Nightmare on Elm Street' the identity of the villain is mostly kept a secret via the use of a mask or some kind of facial disfigurement, i.e. a burn. Using a mask to hide who the villain is, is effective as you do not get to become familiar with the villain or see any 'good side' to them as the mask covers everything that could show remorse or regret. 

The first mask is from Friday the 13th, the second from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the third from Nightmare on Elm Street and the 4th from Scream. The first mask is effective as the whole identity is hidden from the audience, and the bullet kind of holes make it look like the person wearing it is invincible. Also the huge black holes for the eyes add to the horror factor as it is obvious that the eyes behind the mask will not be friendly. The second mask is also effective as it looks very worn and frightening as there is stitching on his forehead which makes it seem like it has gone through a lot and still survived. The mask also covers a lot of the face and neck, so the person wearing it is even more hidden than someone who just wears a mask like the first picture.

The third picture of a villain with a facial disfigurement, which is a burn, is frightening because his skin is scaly, and there are holes in his face where the burn has effected a wider scale. Also by him having a burnt face it shows he has been through something horrendous and survived it, so he is more invincible than a normal villain, and he would probably be harder to kill. Also it suggests a reason for him to be a killer, so it makes more sense to the audience as to why he would have so much anger that he feels he needs to kill someone. The third mask is a very well known one, and is scary as it covers a lot of the face and neck. The mask is effective as the identity of the killer is completely a secret, as it would be a lot more difficult to remove that mask, than the first one. The facial expression on the mask almost looks depressed, so it can create an idea that the person killing people is upset about something which is causing them to kill.

Villain Costume research

We have chosen these items of clothing for our villain as they are all dark and mysterious and they hide most of an individual body. We want our villain to stand out so by putting him in dark clothing and a mask he is not fitting the 'norm'.

We have chosen the first image because the audience wouldn’t normally see someone walking around with a mask on and ripped clothing. This would show them alienated from society. Also a mask covers all facial features so the identity of our killer would be kept secret at all times which would enable him to have a distant relationship with our victim from afar. We think that this mask is unusual as it had strange markings around the facial features on the face. This will make the audience find our villains disturbing as they will not be able to relate to him so will therefore not know what he is thinking or be able to agree with his actions.

The second two images show what our villain will be wearing in our film. These items of clothing are quite unique as they look old and tatty.

        

Victim Costume Research

In our trailer, we intend to put our victim in really feminine, light coloured clothing as light clothes make someone look a lot more vulnerable due to the things associated with different colours of clothing. For example white is associated with purity, and black is associated with death, so someone who is wearing white would be seen as a lot easier of a target. We want her to be wearing just jeans and a vest top as then it is obvious that she is just lounging around at home, and not going out or anything, which supports the idea that she will be home alone. Initially we wanted a girl with very blonde hair who we could perceive as not the wisest of people to be in our trailer, to conform to the stereotypical victims in horror films/trailers, but we want to subvert that stereotype by having a girl who thinks about her actions slightly more, but still has a troublesome time.