Evaluation of Audience Research

We created a questionnaire to help us understand what the audience expects from a horror film. We used a variety of open and closed questions to give us a range of qualitative and quantitative answers. We asked questions about what the audience expects the typical conventions to be.

Out of our list of films, Jeepers Creepers was the most enjoyed followed by 28 Days Later. This may be because Jeepers Creepers has many conventions of a horror film such as supernatural monsters, murders and gruesome events. We then found out that the most important aspects of a horror film are camera shot and music shortly followed by location and characters. This could be because camera shots and music, when used effectively, help create suspense and tension. The two most important sound conventions were eerie music and loud jumpy sounds. In response to this we have found similar sounds on Youtube which have these qualities and have helped us in our choice of music. We then asked what two words are best associated with a psychological horror and they were 'troubled people' and 'twisted'. We then asked people to list 4 words that they associate with horror. The most common answer was death and scream. We have incorporated both of these elements into our piece as we have an iminant death present. The two main characteristics of a male villain were mysterious and clever. The two main characteristics of a female victim were fragile and confused. We have tried to involve these elements in our opening sequence to satisfy the audience's expectations. We asked how scary the opening sequence should be and the response was very undecided. We then gave a list of possible titles for our opening sequence and the most popular one was 'The Last Breath' and we will therefore use that as our title as it was also our personal favourite.

From the audience research we gathered, we got a better idea of exactly what the audience wants and expects and we have used this to influence our piece.

By Tally & Mandy