Focus Group and Analysis

For our focus group, we asked four questions on the movie trailer, a magazine front cover and a movie poster. This was to determine what our audience will like to see, what can be improved and how we can put our feedback into our promotional package. We asked two girls and two boys to be in our focus group from the age 17+ since they are our target audience. We were lucky to have some students sitting in the back of the class which allowed us to see their reaction at each point of their trailer and how they reacted to a certain scary part.

Trailer

We showed the “The Devil Inside” trailer to our focus group because it is from the same sub-genre as what we are aiming to create our products within and so it will give us a more precise idea of what our target audience will want to see in our trailer. Regarding this point, “The Devil Inside” has the same typical supernatural narrative which we would like to create and so this makes it easier for us to see the faults and improve them to create a better trailer. “The Devil Inside” movie made a box office of $101,386,096 which shows clearly that the movie was highly successful through its utilisation of codes and conventions and methods of appealing to the target audience. Through the research we have conducted and the responses we have received, it was easy to conclude that the promotional trailer is the most important aspect of the promotional package as it resonates with the audience and forms their decision of whether the film is worth watching.

Question 1: What did you like about the trailer?
 "Nothing, it was too demonic."
 "It was realistic which is a good way of drawing us in."

Question 2: If you could change something about the trailer, what would you change?
 "Don't show too much of the movie."
 "Not much, it is a really good storyline."

Question 3: Does it make you want to watch the movie?
 "No."
 "Yes, it's really graphical which people who enjoy those types of movies will want to watch."
 "I do like the sub-genre, so I would go and watch it."

Question 4: What was the most effective element of the trailer?
 "The graphics used."
 "The based on a true story feature."


Magazine Front Cover

For our focus group we used the Total Film front cover featuring Leonardo DiCaprio from Shutter Island because it has an almost horror-like haunting effect.. The reason for this is because Total Film magazine is one of the most purchased magazines and has a readership of 471,000 people. In regards to magazines, the front cover is the most essential element as attracts the eye of the target demographic. As Total Film has a readership of 471,000, it easy to deduce that the layout they have used for their front cover is successful. We aim to take the colour scheme, fonts and the effects used as inspiration for our own product. However, before we do this, we wanted to gain a enhanced idea of what it is that attracts the audience to this magazine and what we could do to enhance it on our own product.

Question 1: Does the main image appeal to you?
 "Yes, it's really mysterious."
 "Since the image is a well known actor it is more appealing."

Question 2: Do you expect to see more sell lines on it?
 "I like it how it is."
 "No, because you can see more of the picture which is more eye catching."
 "No, it doesn't give away too much."

Question 3: Do you want to read it?
 "Yes."
 "Too much writing will put me off, so I, like, would want to read it."

Question 4: What is the most eye catching thing about it?
 "Where it says Shutter Island because it stands out."

 Question 5: If you could change something about it, what would you change?
 "Add something in the bottom corner; it's a bit empty.

Movie Poster

We decide to use the film poster from the “Possession” to receive feedback on as we perceive it as one of the most successful horror posters created this year. As one of the latest supernatural horror films that has been such a success at the box office, the poster has been placed over websites, billboards and in shopping centres where people will see it daily meaning that it has to be really eye-catching to attract an audience which the creators of Possession have done in an effective but simple way. The main image of this poster influenced us to use it for inspiration as we intend to use horrific imagery on our poster to attract our audience and by using this feedback, we can determine what it is that has made this poster so successful and what faults there are, if any, so that we can learn from this product and take inspiration for our own work. 

Question 1: What is the most effective element on this poster?
 "The main image; it's just so unusual."
 "The main image. It makes you wonder what you will actually do if it happened to you."

 Question 2: Is there a link between the main image and the elements on this poster?
 "Obviously the girl is possessed by something which link with the name."

 Question 3: Do you find the "Based on a real story" an effective element?
 "It is more chilling."
 "It is more scary."
 "Even though it looks unrealistic, it makes you think "Oh, it could actually be true"."

 Question 4: Do you like the font used?

 "Yes, the whole scratched out look adds a link to the name and shows us there is a distruption."


Question 5: If you could change something, what would you change?
 "Not much to change, it's a really good poster."
 "Make the slogan stand out more."

Question 6: Does it make you want to watch the movie?
 "Yes, if you are into them types of movies it will be really appealing."


Overall, our feedback has shown us that from existing movie trailers, we should not show too much of the movie footage because this will give away too much of the plot. The fact that the trailer said it was based on a true story allowed the movie to seem more realistic, which is something that we are considering adding into out trailer for effectiveness. From the magazine front cover feedback, we are most likely going to make our front cover image heavy, because the less text was more appealing to our male participants, which shows men respond better to visuals.We have come to the realisation that the majority of magazine front covers use the same main image as that which is featured on the poster. We will use this technique to create a symbiotic link between the products and follow the codes and conventions of a promotional package. Bold colours will also be used on our front cover because they seem to catch the most attention when it comes to buying the magazine. The film poster feedback was the most helpful because the audience feels that a graphic and unusual image is very eye catching, which is something we plan to do for out poster; something very grotesque. The font on the poster is very appealing, which is something that we are going to take into consideration when choosing our font for our poster and, once again, based on a true story will most likely be included on our poster.

Questionnaire Analysis

Question 1: What is your gender?
We handed out this questionnaire to an equal amount of males and females to give us a fair view of each gender's opinions on horror movies.

Question 2: What age bracket do you fall under?
The majority of those that filled out the questionnaire were between the ages 15 and 19. Since it is a large majority, we have taken their preferences into consideration as they would be slightly different to the other age ranges.

 Question 3: Out of this selection of film genres, which other than horror do you prefer?
 There is a lot of variation in the answers to this question and this allows us to see the other styles of movies that people like other than horrors. This information is useful because it shows what elements we could add to our project to make it more enjoyable for our target audience.

(Other: Bollywood and Animation)

 Question 4: What is your favourite horror movie?
A large percentage of the people that were asked this question chose "Orphan£ as their favourite horror movie. "Orphan" is a psychological horror movie and so we could use some elements from the movie such as sound effects and cuts that will make our target audience enjoy our movie trailer more.




Question 5: Please state two reasons for your choice.

• The Exorcist: It was cool when the bed started moving by itself and it was the first horror movie that I watched
• The Sixth Sense: The twist in the narrative, e.g. that Bruce Willis’ character is dead, and the delicious scare created by the haunting.
• What Lies Beneath: The plot is interesting and has an unexpected twist. The way the Director builds tension is excellent.
• Dead Silence: The idea of inanimate objects being alive, the story-line and the plot twists.
• Orphan: A lot of horror movies aren’t directed as well as this one, in my opinion, and the story is good and thought provoking.
• Orphan: The different storyline; the kid is 30ish years old! The setting was good.
• Orphan: Made me jump and was a good story line.
• The Ring: Psychological terror rather than gore. Plays on fundamental fears, having limited time to live etc.
• Saw: Scary and gruesome.
• Saw: It’s gruesome and it makes me laugh.
• Disturbia: Good story line and kept me on the edge of my seat.
• Final Destination 5: The creative deaths and the unpredictable test.
• Paranormal Activity: Realistic imagery and incredibly frightening.
• Blair Witch Project: Interesting plot. The way the movie is presented, with point-of-view camera, makes it seem more realistic.
• The Orphanage: Because it keeps you in suspense throughout, and the ending is predictable.
• 28 Days Later: I friggin’ love zombie films, it’s awesome.
• None: I prefer comedy films; the characters annoy me when they don’t help themselves by running upstairs or locking themselves in a room.
• None: I don’t watch horror because they are too scary.

These are the results that we received and the majority of the people love the movies they chose because of the story line or how "on edge" it kept them. This tells us that our narrative needs to be gripping with startling moments.

Question 6: What influences you to watch a movie?
From these results, we can clearly see that the most influential element that makes someone want to watch a horror movie is the trailer. This means that our aim for our project is to create a good, strong, high quality trailer and the other two products should support it.

(Other: Friends)



Question 7: If anything, what makes a horror movie less appealing to you?

• Nothing.
• If a horror has too much gore and is too silly and/or predictable, I won’t enjoy it.
• Gallons of blood and gore.
• It’s scary.
• The fact that characters don’t help themselves by running upstairs and locking themselves in a room.
• Predictability.
• Poor ratings and reviews.
• Excessive gore overtaking story-telling.
• The constant need for scenes to be ever more gory then the last, and the fact that I watch a movie to be cheered up and possibly excited, not scared and frightened by what will be coming next, therefore making me not watch on.
• Story-lines that don’t make sense.
• The actors.
• A poor storyline.
• Typical horror film narrative.
• Too much blood cliché.
• Unrealistic such as aliens.
• They’re scary.
• Ones that scare me thoroughly and give me nightmares.
• A bad storyline.
• They’re too twisted and give me nightmares.

From the resuts of this question, we will define the answers that relate to our sub-genre, such as "Story-lines that don’t make sense" and "Predictability", and adjust our narrative to appease those opinions. It is our aim to attract our target audience, so to create a narrative that doesn't take into account these factors would be destined to fail. 

Question 8: Which of these film posters is most effective?
"Possession" was chosen 11 times as the most effective with the other two poster far behind with only 5 and 4 votes so it is clear that the poster for "Possession" grabbed the audiences attention, but for our project we need to know why so that we can utilize this.



Question 9: Please state two reasons for your choice.

Amityville:

• The bright red writing. The creepy image of the house and the man makes you want to know more.
• Looks dark and scary. The house looks like a face.
• It shows a character from the film. The image effect is awesome.
• Dark and grainy. Context and font.
• Simplicity and the colours used.

House at the End of the Street:

• The use of reflection plus the view through the window adding effect to the poster. Plus giving you a better understanding on what the movie is going to be about. The colour is not just a simple black, the use of black, grey, and white makes the situation in the poster stand out, and those looking for something other than a dark, scary film will go straight towards the centre one without a look at the others.
• Simple, but it gives all the information needed. Doesn’t overwhelm you.
• Creepy.
• Because it looks scary.

The Possession

• The image combined with the name suggests a narrative involving character possessed by the spirits/the devil; I prefer supernatural horrors and find them the scariest. The reference to it being based on a ‘true story’.
• The subject appears isolated, adding to the fear factor. The bright light draws your attention.
• Draws attention to one part of the poster. Simple.
• It’s very contrasty. The person isn’t standing normally, like they’re distorted.
• The character looks freaky/scary. The darkness creates scary mood.
• Stands out more than the other two. It’s not as typical as the other two.
• Looks appealing and seems horrific
• Shows a solitary figure in dark which creates interest. Isn’t as cliché.
• The lighting. The person has no human elements.
• The lighting hides any human features and the font is effective.
• The lack of colours gives it a creepy feel and combined with the light and her clothing makes her seem ghost like.

The posters of this question were chosen as they each show a different method to present the film they are advertising. Amityville shows the main antagonist and the location, House at the End of the Street shows the mains protagonist and the location, and finally Possession shows the main protagonist with no background, utilizing darkness. By having the prospective target audience commenting on the most successful features in each, we can then create a poster that appeals to them most.

Question 10: What do you think is most effective in a movie trailer?
From the table that is shown here, you can see that the most effective feature in a movie trailer is the sound track. This informs us that we should add and focus on the soundtrack as an important element of our trailer as it will draw in the target audience.

Questionnaire

For our questionnaire, we examined the task with efficiency and practicality in mind. What was the best way to send our questionnaire to 20 of our target demographic in a quick and easy way that wouldn't turn them off of answering and would make our understanding of the results easier? We found our solution on through an online survey creator (freeonlinesurveys) that provided a quick and easy creation process and only required us to send a link in order to share the survey. For this research, we decided to not only send to our target demographic, but people who may not like horror films so as to understand what it is we could do to appeal to a wider audience. By doing this, we were able to form a better understanding of what it is that turns people away from the horror genre, and how we can make our product more successful.

       Which age bracket do you fall under?

a.       15-19

b.       20-24

c.       25-30

d.       30<

       What is your gender?

a.       Male

b.       Female

       Out of this selection of film genres, which other than horror do you prefer?

a.       Romantic Comedy

b.       Comedy

c.       Action

d.       Action and Adventure

e.       Crime & Thriller

f.        Historical

g.       Documentary

h.       Drama

i.        Science Fiction

j.        Musicals

k.       Other (Please specify): __________________

       What is your favourite horror movie?

 ________________________________________________________________________ 

       Please state two reasons for your choice.

a.         

b.        

       What influences you to watch a movie?

a.        Poster

b.        Trailer 

c.        Advertising in magazines and other media

d.       Other (Please specify):  __________________

       If anything, what makes horror movies less appealing to you?

________________________________________________________________________

       Which of these film posters are most effective?

 

a.       Amityville Horror

b.       The House at the End of the Street

c.       The Possession

       Please state two reasons for your choice.

a.         

b.        

       What do you think is most effective in a horror trailer?

a.       Lighting

b.       Soundtrack

c.       Sting (Short clip at the end of the trailer)

d.       Other (Please specify): _______________