PILOT QUESTIONNAIRE:
Main Questionnaire:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/7MVJTS2
Feedback on questionnaire:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/XQDFMWW
FINAL QUESTIONNAIRE:
After several of my target audiences members filled in the initial questionnaire and gave feedback on it, I decided to create another questionnaire with additional improvements based on their feedback.
Overall they thought the questionnaire itself was very good, and correctly structured, however some aspects they felt could be improved include:
- Adding more options on some of the questions e.g. costume.
- Having the option to select more than one field on questionnaires e.g. music sound.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/8523BS2
SOCIAL NETWORKING:
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QUESTIONNAIRE FEEBACK:
I feel that the results collected by the questionnaires and the focus group have had a significant influence on the design on my media product. The influences are:
- Use teenage actors so that the target audience can relate to them and feel immersed in the plot themselves.Additionally use a group of teenage friends to incorporate subtle references of comedy and banter in a similar style to 'The Inbetweeners,' this will therefore appeal to the audience's need for humorous elements.
- Using a dark and secluded location e.g. large field, woods, abandoned house or potentially a grave yard.
- Dress the main protagonists in casual clothing to reinforce the verisimilitude of the setting and subsequently making the film trailer seem more believable. Additionally, casual clothing from top high street retailers is a factor that interests my target audience members, many of which enjoy buying new styles of branded clothes.
- I may include a prop of a mobile phone as it will accurately represent my teenage characters whilst also appealing to the teenage target audience.
FOCUS GROUP:
Transcript:
Date: 01/12/15
Time: 9:20
Location: English 7
Starring: Dan
Creese (DC), Lennon Ford (LF), Dan Brown (DB), Liam Nixon (LN) and Jack
Munn (JM).
DC:
“Can we go around the
room and can everybody please introduce themselves?”
LF: “Hi, I’m Lennon Ford, I’m 17 years old and I study
Maths, Business and ICT.”
DB: “I’m Dan Brown, I’m 18, and I study Media, Business
and ICT.”
LN: “I’m Liam Nixon, I’m 17 and I study Media, Business
and History.”
JM: “I’m Jack Munn, I’m 17 and am currently studying
Media, ICT and Food Science.”
DC:
“What do you enjoy doing
in your spare time?”
JM: “I enjoy
playing football with my friends, at the local club, and playing on my games
console.”
LN: “I also enjoy playing football and interacting with
friends.”
DB: “I enjoy socialising with my friends.”
LF: “I enjoy playing football and going for beverages with
my friends.”
DC:
“For my media film
package, I am doing a horror film, can you rate the overall genre out of 10 for
me (10 being the best) and give me a reason why?”
LF: “4/10, as I don’t really see the point in them.”
DC:
“So what would you watch
instead then?”
LF: “Comedy films like ‘The Hangover’.”
DB: “I’d give it an 8/10, I enjoy the thrill of watching
them.”
LN: “7/10, I enjoy
the suspense and action shots.”
JM: “I’d
probably give it a 3/10 because I just don’t find them scary.”
DC: “In
response to the previous question can you describe the horror film genre in one
word for me please?”
LF: “Rubbish”
DB: “Suspenseful”
LN: “Uneasy”
JM: “Bad”
DC: “Now Dan and Liam, you said that you quite
enjoy watching horror films, so what is your favourite film from the genre?”
DB: “Friday the 13th”
LN: “The Purge”
DC: “And for Lennon and Jack, can you tell me
what you would look for in a good film?”
LF: “Lots of action and fast-paced shots to be used
frequently”
JM: “Something that you can have a laugh with friends
about”
DC: “We’re now going to look at horror film
conventions, Lennon what would you expect costume to be like?”
LF: “Quite dark and I’d expect make up to be detailed and
thorough”
DC: “Dan, what about setting?”
DB: “A dark, remote location”
DC: “What about sound Liam?”
LN: “Suspenseful music and also wind sounds and screams”
DC: “And finally Jack, what about a specific
location?”
JM: “Somewhere quite isolated like an abandoned house or
an empty street”
DC: “I am now going read some potential horror
film plots to you and I want you tell me which one sounds most appealing?”
DC: “The first one concerns a group of teenage
friends who uncover the location of a supernatural antagonist. The second one
centres on a family who move into a new village and discover it to be haunted
by a legendary ghost. The third one goes back to the concept of a teenage group
and they find a mystical object that causes them to have nightmares more
frequently and will eventually bring those nightmares to life. The final idea
looks at a teenage group who uncover a camera that holds the ability to murder
people captured on the lens.”
LF: “I would say the first one as there is a lot you could
do with the storyline”
DB: “I would say the second one, I know it’s been done
before, those sorts of horror films, but the existing ones are really good and
it’s the sort of horror film I enjoy watching and it just sounds good”
LN: “The first one as there is lots of potential to make
it scary”
JM: “I would also say the first one”
DC: “Looking back at those potential horror
film plots, three out of the four contain teenage actors, would you be more
willing to watch a film with actors your own age group?”
LF: “Yes, I think it makes the film more relatable”
DB: “Yeah I think I could relate to at least one of the
characters if they were the same age as me”
LN: “Yes I agree”
JM: “Me too”
DC: “What would be your favourite horror film
sub-genre?”
LF: “I’d probably choose the slasher horror film as I feel
it could be the scariest”
DB: “I would choose supernatural as they tend to include a
lot of jump scares which is what I enjoy in horror films”
LN: “Action horror, as I enjoy the fast paced shots and it
would be more interesting”
JM: “Comic horror, I enjoy laughing about it”
DC: “What would you expect to see in a horror
film poster?”
LF: “Dark colours and a brief description as to what the
film’s about”
DB: “A mixture of good and evil to show who the
protagonist and antagonist is, but traditionally in supernatural horror films I
would expect to see the protagonist as the main centre piece of the poster as
they’re seen as the main character”
LN: “I would like the poster to ask a enigma to the
audience to see what they think”
JM: “I would like to see a bold title so I know what the
film would be about”
DC: “Do you think there should be a link
between the film poster and the second ancillary, the film magazine front
cover”
LF: “I would expect them to be linked”
DB: “Probably more or less the same thing just something
that draws you in to wanting to watch the film, maybe a tagline”
LN: “I would expect them both to focus on the protagonist
and give the audience a motive and incentive”
JM: “I would like the poster and magazine front cover to
have a relationship between one another so that I know it’s for that film”
DC: “Do you take much interest in film posters,
would you go to the cinema to watch a film based on the film poster?”
LF: “Not as such they tend to be dark colours.”
DC: “So how are you yourself kept up-to-date by
new films being released and what draws you in to wanting to watch new films?”
LF: “Id more likely want to watch a film if I had watched
a TV advert for it.”
DB: “I don’t pay much attention to film posters and I don’t
really see them around for horror films, as they’re not really advertised as
much in a poster format. I agree with Lennon in the sense that if I saw an
advert or trailer of a new film at the cinema, that is want would entice me to
want to watch it.”
LN: “If the
poster caught my eye and held my attention, then yeah I’d want to watch the
film, maybe if the protagonist and antagonist were on it.”
JM: “I don’t really see posters around much, and I think I’d
need to see a bit more, like an advert or trailer, as I don’t know what the
actual film would be about.”
DC: “Looking at the second ancillary task, the
film magazine front cover, firstly do you read film magazines? If not why not”
LF: “No not really, I’m not drawn to them as it’s a subject
that doesn’t really interest me, if the front cover was particularly
interesting then I might pick it up and have a flick through in the shop but I don’t
think I’d actually buy it”
DB: “I don’t really read them, I feel magazines are
outdated and films should be advertised differently, maybe by having their own
website.”
LN: “I don’t tend to read magazines as it’s time consuming
but maybe if it had a catchy front cover or a title I might have a look at it
like Lennon would do.”
JM:”I do read film magazines, I like to know what films
are coming out in the cinema and I enjoy reading about them
DC:
“What would it take for
you to want to read a film magazine, talking specifically about the style of
the front cover?”
LF: “I’d probably say that if it featured a
heavily advertised and promoted film on the front then I might have a look as
it’s obviously more interesting and I’d want to know more about it.”
LN: “Again, if I heard more about it and it looked interesting
then I might have a read through.”
DC:
“That’s the end of the
focus group now, thanks for all you answers I’m sure they’ll be beneficial when
I come to create the products for my horror film package.”
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH:
Fonts used in movies:
This is a font used by Universal Pictures since 2014 on films such as 'Ted 2,' 'Minions' and 'Jurassic World.' The font is easily legible for an audience and could also fit the conventions of a horror film.
The second font has occasionally been used by film company Sony Classics since 2013, on films such as 'Magic In The Moonlight.' The lofty style of the font makes it more suited to a social realism or a romantic comedy film, perhaps used to introduce the cast and individuals working on the film.
This font is used by the film company Clarius Entertainment and, like Universal Pictures, has been in place since 2014. This font is taller and more spaced out, it could work for a horror film, the style and typography make it more suited for an action film.
The final font is wide and bold and looks like the sort of text used to display the film's title either on a poster or at the end of a film trailer. It would stand out to an audience drawing their attention to the title, maybe persuading them to watch it. The font is used by Millennium Entertainment.
More realistic fonts that could be used:
Whilst researching popular fonts used in horror film trailers and posters, I discovered that they are owned by the film companies mentioned and therefore require payment to use. Therefore, I did some additional research into free fonts that could be used as more appropriate alternatives.
AR JULIAN
Elephant
Bell MT
Candara
Eras Bold ITC
These fonts are all available free of charge and, I feel, would all be appropriate for a horror film. So I asked several members of my target audience which one they prefer.
FINAL PITCH:
General outline of the idea:
I have decided to produce a slasher/supernatural horror film which revolves around a group of teenage friends uncovering the existence of a supernatural antagonist: The group of male adolescents visit a dark and isolated location (as yet undecided, either a large field. woods, abandoned house or a graveyard outside a church) following rumours of it being haunted and discover the presence of a legendary supernatural being named Solebat (Latin for nightmare). This spirit possess the power to bring people's nightmares to life. The protagonists each look directly into his eyes and start to have recurring nightmares about Solebat, who has the ability to morph into their greatest fears, the nightmares get progressively worse each night until their darkest fears eventually materialist.
Applying TODOROV to my horror film trailer:
Equilibrium: The trailer will begin with several shot variations of a church and graveyard area, the camera will pan around the location before various close ups are used on important parts of the scene. In the mean time a radio news announcement will be heard over the top of these shots, explaining to the audience that recently a male teenage boy has been found dead in the village but the reason for his death remains clouded in mystery.
Disruption: The trailer will then cut a school location where various friends of the victim are discussing what has happened when another student at the college informs them of a legendary supernatural being called Solebat who supposedly haunts the place where their friend was found dead.
Recognition of disruption: The trailer will then cut back to the original location of a graveyard and church where the group of friends attempt to investigate what has happened when. Several types of shot variation will be used to track their progress as they walk through the location before they encounter the supernatural antagonist.
Attempt to repair: The next section of the trailer will be a montage of various shots as the group of friends learn more about this legendary supernatural antagonist, close up shots will be used on computer screens and books as the group attempt to discover what this creature is capable of. They then discover that once people come into contact with him, they begin to have frequent nightmares about their worst fears, numerous close up shots will show them waking up in their sleep to emphasise this fear.
New equilibrium: I will not give away the ending of the film in the trailer as a way of enticing the audience in to watch the whole film. The final sequence of shots in the trailer will focus on one of the main protagonists picturing the antagonist Solebat in a nightmare, he will then wake up, shaking in fear, look around the room, assuming it to be empty and attempt to go back to sleep. Then, suddenly, he will see the antagonist actually in front of him, realising that aspects of his nightmares are becoming reality. I am hoping this jump scare will frighten the audience before the film's title is displayed and various social networking links are displayed on the final shot.
Film poster:
As a general idea for the film poster I am looking at having a dark, extreme long shot of the church and graveyard setting, as seen in the trailer, then having the group of male teenage protagonists standing in front of it, like they are walking towards. Then I plan to incorporate a faded, translucent image of the main antagonist standing over them. The title will be displayed at the top and slogan next to the protagonists, whilst names of actors and directors etc will also be displayed on there, so as to apply to forms and conventions of film posters.
Film magazine front cover:
For the film magazine front cover I am considering a main image of one of my protagonists sleeping and then a faded backdrop image of the main antagonist behind them, reinforcing the themes of the film and giving a visual representation of the plot.
FILM NAME:
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