Audience research

Audience Research

I am going to produce a questionnaire with around 10 questions which will all relate to horror films and peoples preferences. This will help me with creating a horror film opening because I can get ideas from what majority of people who complete the questionnaire prefer. Finding out what is most popular amongst people can show me whether I need to change my plans as well.

Horror Film Questionnaire

1. Gender:

• Female [   ]
• Male [   ]

2. Age:

• Under 16 [   ]
• 16-18 [   ]
• 19-21 [   ]
• 22-30 [   ]
• 31-40 [   ]
• 41+ [   ]

3. Do you watch horror films?

• Yes [   ]
• No [   ] 

If you chose 'No' why? .......................................................................................................................

4. What do you like about horror films?

• Gore [   ]
• Anticipation [   ]
• Storyline [   ]
• The supernatural [   ]
• Other (Please State) [   ] .........................................................................................................

5. How many horror films do you watch a month?

• 0 [   ]
• 1-5 [   ]
• 6-10 [   ]
• 11+ [   ]

6. How do you watch your horror films?

• Online [   ]
• Cinema [   ]
• DVD [   ]
• Subscriptions (such as netflix etc) [   ]

7. What is your favourite horror film? And why? 

.............................................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................................

.............................................................................................................................................................

8. Which horror film type do you prefer?

• Psychological horror [   ]
• Supernatural horror [   ]
• Action horror [   ]
• Other (Please State) [   ] .........................................................................................................

9. Do you prefer happy or sad endings in a horror film?

• Happy [   ]
• Sad [   ]
• Either [   ]

10. Who do you prefer to be the main character? (such as hero or heroine)

• Strong male character
• Strong female character 
• Other (Please State) ...............................................................................................................

This is a photograph of one of the people I had complete my questionnaire:

I used a hard copy of the questionnaires so it was more accessible for people to complete and I could hand them around easily.

These are 3 of my questionnaires I had completed:

 

 

These are charts with results from my questionnaire:

 

 

 From this task I have learnt what my audience like in a horror film and which parts are most reoccurring favourites, this will help me know what to include in mine to appeal to the right audience. It also meant that if I included things that people do not like, I now know that I need to change that and what would be good as a replacement. It can also tell me what to include as its been chosen by some audiences but not too much if its not the most popular.

Audience targeting

Audience Targeting

From audience targeting I hope that I will be able to come to a conclusion of who I am trying to attract from my film because I can then include different ideas which will appeal to a certain audience rather than trying to cover a lot of different audiences. 

For my horror film opening, I think my target audience would be:

• Teenagers
• Male or female depending on their interests

I have chosen teenagers for my target audience because they're more likely to be curious and interested in being scared and find the terror and the suspense enjoyable. Teenagers are seen to be quite naive and always curious of the unknown. Where as older generations usually enjoy more realistic and relate-able films. Teenagers are quite easy to attract to by advertisement because they usually want to try and see the most recent and up and coming films. They are also easily attracted by colours and features such as reviews.

I chose either males or females because it depends on their interests, for example not all females are as curious and interested in terror and suspense as some males. The same could be said for some males that aren't as interested in horror films as females.  
 

These are examples of my target audience:

This is an example of the type of girl I would like my film to appeal to because she is the right age as she is a teenager, this example is 17 years old, she is very modern and into a lot of different type of media, for example her music taste is indie and rock, she is interested in horror films and sci-fi films but she dislikes action films and mainstream chart music. She has interests such as walking, especially with her friends or boyfriend, enjoys going to the beach and swimming.







 This is an example of the type of boy I would like my films to appeal to, he is similar to the type of girl I am targeting, they both are very modern and are into more abstract ideas. This example is 15 years old, he likes listening to rock and metal music. He likes horror films, psychological films and fantasies but he dislikes romantic comedies and doesn't like country music. He has interests such as playing guitar, reading and going out with friends. He also similarly enjoys walking.








I think these two examples would like my films because they both enjoy watching horror films, films with a psychological twist and their music taste is very similar which I think would match the kind of audience for my film. Their interests are also quite similar which I think would reflect well with watching a psychological horror film.

From this task I have learnt that my film needs to include features that will appeal to a certain audience which I have decided will be teenagers, male or female in the social class of C2DE. 
From deciding who my audience is I can now choose different features which will appeal to them such as language such as swearing, props, what characters will wear, the setting etc.

Textual analysis

Textual Analysis

Evil dead 2013

Evil dead 2013 is a horror which is the genre I am going to make a two minute opening for. I have watched the first two minutes of the film in order to analyse it. It starts in a dark woods with a small amount of light shining through which tells us it is night time and you can see a figure walking through the mist. The shot then changes to show a woman slowly walking through the woods looking very scared and breathing heavily. The camera then focusses on the blood dripping from her hand showing us she is injured. Whilst the camera is behind the woman watching her walk slowly away, a dark figure runs behind her without her seeing. She then turns around quickly but doesn't see anyone. When she looks forward again there is a dark silhouette standing in the clearing of the woods. She then starts to walk and stumble quicker till she gets behind a tree and leans on it, breathing heavily and starting to panic. We then hear sticks and bracken breaking which sounds like footsteps. The camera moves around the same side of the tree as she looks around showing 

nothing there but the dark woods and mist, the camera then turns to look at the woman again who is still looking around the tree and stood behind her is an aggressive looking man who grabs her by putting a thick bag on her head and pulling her to the floor. He wrestles her on the floor, her making breathless and choking noises. Then another person walks over and watches whilst the man restraining her says "I got the bitch!" and the second man then hits her on the head with a gun/rifle. After this the 

screen goes completely black. The next shot is from the woman's perspective looking through the bag with small amount of light shining through. The camera then starts to focus more and we can see a person walking towards her. The camera then switches back to filming the woman with the bag on her head and we see that she is tied up on a pole, handcuffed as well which she tries pulling against. She desperately says "Please don't hurt me!" An old looking woman in the room is holding some kind of dead cat and says something which sounds like a different language. We then see a desk with pliers and knives on it. The woman who is tied up pleads and says "Who are you?" The other woman is still busy with dead animals. We then see the dead animals hung on the ceiling. The old woman opens a book and starts speaking in another language. The book has contains blood and sinister

 looking pages. The old woman still reciting a different language. This is 

what happens during the first two minutes of the film. 

• We know that it is late into the night because it is very dark in the woods and has very little light, apart from what looks like moonlight lighting up the clearings in the woods.
• At the very start of the opening of the film there is a close up of her feet when she is walking slowly through the woods. This creates a scary effect because you can hear every step she takes as the sticks and leaves crack under her feet.
• The camera also does a close up of her hand which is by her side because it shows the blood dripping from her. This creates an eerie atmosphere because the blood drips slowly and the audience can hear the sound of the blood falling from her hand.
• We also see her walking and the camera slowly focussing on her facial expressions which shows how frightened she is. 
• When the dark figure runs behind her without her seeing, the music changes very suddenly and becomes loud and fast which builds up tension and makes the audience jump. 
• After that her breathing speeds up and becomes heavier which builds up the suspense and has the audience on edge. 
• The music changes again when we see the dark figure in the clearing as it becomes more eerie and intense. 
• When she speeds her walking up and tries getting away, the music slowly gets faster and higher pitched which again makes the audience feel more on edge with a built up suspense. 
• When the man puts the bag over her head quickly all the sounds become louder and clearer which is a lot intense. 
• When she is tied up on the pole, the camera is filming from a low angle looking up at her which makes the situation look increasingly intimidating and dangerous. 
• The dead cat is very gory looking as it is sticky and bloody, you can even hear the sound of it pulling on the stickiness. 
• Also in the room, the only light source is candle light which gives a dim light and makes the setting gloomier and gives the impression something spiritual is occurring.
• All around the desk of implements, there is puddles of blood around them which tells you they have been used, this could build up the audiences terror. 

In the first 2 minutes of the film Evil Dead 4 different characters are introduced:

• The woman who appears to be a main character as she is in most of the shots. She is dressed in an old, dirty looking pale dress, possibly a nightdress which reiterates the  dea it is night time. Her hair is very messy and also wearing pale dirty shoes. Her clothing gives the impression she is innocent and her facial expressions show her clearly which appears to be scared. 
• The man who puts a bag over the woman's head. He is dressed very dark and in wild  ooking clothing such as brown leather looking clothes. He is also very dirty and he appears to have cuts over his body. His facial expressions are very angry and aggressive which matches his stern appearance. 
• Another man who hits her over the head. This character does not appear very much in the  irst two minutes but we see he has scruffy long hair and dirty clothes. He also has an aggressive facial expression.
• An old woman who is in the room once the main woman is tied up. She has old looking features and wears dark clothing. She has dark bracelets on both wrists. Her curly hair is very wild and big which reflects the wild look in her eyes. She has a very crazed facial expression.

The audio in the first two minutes of Evil Dead is very effective because it helps set the scene and build up different effects such as suspense. 

At the very start whilst the woman is walking through the dark woods, the only sound we can hear is her heavy breathing which builds up the tension because it tells the audience that something is making the character feel uneasy which makes the audience curious to why she is unsettled. When the camera moves to a close up of the woman's feet walking over sticks and leaves, we can only hear the sticks breaking under her feet, this shows just how silent the woods is as we can hear sticks breaking. When a dark figure runs behind the woman without her seeing him, the eerie music changes from faint/quiet to a load fast change in music and it becomes suddenly more rapid, this is quite a jumpy moment. After this the music gradually gets louder without the audience realising as its very slightly changing, this builds up the suspense without the audience noticing, this creates another eerie effect.

A lot of props are used in the two opening minutes of Evil Dead, the choice of props are very important because they can make the audience believe it is more realistic. 

At the start of the opening, the man puts a bag over the woman's head, the bag is one of the first props used. It is a very simple prop but proves effective as he comes from no where and manages to get it over her head, this creates a good effect as it makes the audience jump. 

Also a prop is the gun another man hits the woman with, this is what knocks her out in order for the next shot when she wakes up in a new setting with a new character therefore the prop is very significant. 

The old woman has a dead cat in her hands which is covered in blood/sticky, she then hangs it off of the ceiling which seems spiritual or similar to a ritual, this is the first signs that the film has a supernatural theme. 

After this, the supernatural theme is continued and a spiritual book is shown, this is the book the old woman opens whilst speaking a foreign sounding language like reciting. The book has pictures and words inside saying phrases such as "Cut the motherfucker" and "Cut him into pieces". It also has pictures of a unique looking star. 

From this textual analysis I have learnt what makes a horror film successful. Watching the opening two minutes to Evil Dead meant I could examine the smaller details which influence the film largely. When I looked at the audio, characters, props etc in the first 2 minutes of the film it helped me understand what impact they had on the film. I can use this when I create my opening to a horror film so I know what to include and what the audience want. 

Film Synopsis

Synopsis Of Film

Writing a synopsis for my film will help me to make my first two minutes more realistic because I can understand what the rest of the film would have been like. It will make our film ideas clearer because we will know what the characters are like and what we need the atmosphere to be like. 

My film synopsis 

Eliza walks into her kitchen after having dinner and washes her dishes. Once she had finished washing the dishes, her dog fidget runs up to her and jumps up at her leg. She looks at her dog affectionately who she then takes outside into the yard. Eliza and Fidget are outside when they hear a repetitive banging noise coming from the barn. Eliza walks up to the dark barn and as she opens the door the banging stops, Eliza then goes inside the barn, Eliza shouts out to see if anyone is inside. A music box starts playing, whilst Eliza examines the music box we watch her from someone inside the barns perspective. The music box stops and something falls from the other side of the barn. Lights start flickering and scaring Eliza, the banging starts again.  Whilst Eliza is panicking she trips and falls down a step and is knocked out. When she awakens we see a ghost child above her head, Eliza screams. (Opening 2 minutes) 

The lights now completely black out, Eliza still screaming. After a few seconds Rose, Eliza's sister comes running from outside the barn and turns the lights on to reveal Eliza on her own in the barn. Eliza throws her arms around her sister and they slowly walk back into the house. Both sisters go to sleep and when they wake up the next morning, they find the front door wide open which had been locked previously. They call the local police to explain the previous nights events and the front door. An old police man comes to  he house later that day where he listens to what Eliza's statement about what she saw in the barn. He then tells the sisters about a family who lived in the house in the late 1800's, he tells them that the family separated themselves from the rest of the community and that the rest of the community didn't like them and found them strange. He explains that one night there was a big fire in the house and when the police and fire brigade arrived they found the daughter tied up and on fire in a satanic ritual and the parents watching her burn, later that night the parents were arrested but the daughter couldn't be saved and

 had died on the way to hospital. Elizas description of the girl she had seen matched the photo the policeman had of the child. After a couple of nights of paranormal activity around the house such as one night Eliza had been pulled out of bed and seen the girl again, Rose also woke up in the night to find everything in her room had been broken and thrown across her room, the sisters finally have had enough and seek advise from a religious group who believe they can rid the girls of the evil presence in their house. Once a few from the group started an exorcism on the house things turn from bad to worse, as Eliza's sister Rose becomes possessed and becomes very aggressive. The exorcism continues whilst Rose is trying to hurt Eliza. Eventually everything goes quiet and we see the little girl how she looked before she had died and explains what happened to her when she was younger and that her parents were in a cult. The group then help set the girl free. We next see the sisters living happily in their home with no disturbances. 

Writing the synopsis made my film idea a lot clearer in my head which has helped me to gather my ideas better. I also have a better understanding of what I hoped to achieve from my film and how to make it successful. Although before this task I knew my ideas and had a plan, this has now made it a lot more solid and clear in my head.

Codes and conventions

Codes and conventions

First I am going research my chosen genre of horror and the conventions. This research will help me when it comes to me creating my opening to a horror film as it gives me ideas of what people look for in a successful horror film, I can use these ideas such as setting and characters. My research will be about stereotypes of a horror and general conventions. Although I already had some ideas about conventions of a horror film, this research will help me learn and understand more.

Horrors are usually set in dark, remote places this is to create a tense feeling and atmosphere among the audience because the 'unknown' creates the effect of fear. Isolated settings can create an eerie feeling because there is no one else around to help them or hear them. There are many common settings used in horror films such as:

• Dark woods.

• Psychiatric hospitals/mental asylums/general hospitals.  

• Haunted houses.



• Ghost towns.

 

• Historical places with a past.  

• Basements.

• Isolated places such as islands.

• Abandoned schools.

• Castles.

A lot of props are used in horror films, these can be used to give the effect of terror such as weapons or they can be used to scare people such as fake blood, body parts and masks. After researching ideas of props, I could use:

• A music box which could play eerie music.

• Fake blood.

• A knife as a weapon.

• A key to open a door which leads to the unknown.

• A door swinging.

• A torch to show what is hidden in the darkness.

There is a lot of typical action in horror films which the audience expects a successful horror to have, such as; they often use chases where a 'villain' or evil character tries to capture the hero or a good person. An evil character such as a ghost, a villain, a zombie etc attack innocent people and try to kill them. A hero saves innocent people such as children from the evil character. Usually all filmed in dark, gloomy remote places so the characters can't be helped or escape easily. Use music to set the scene such as slow tense music when someone is in trouble or something is about to happen and fast paced music when there is a chase etc. Often use camera shots such as close ups to show the intensity of the evil characters bad intentions and can show the terror or other intense emotions of the characters in the film. 

         

There are a lot of common characters in horror films, these are some of the usual stereotyped characters: 

• Vulnerable female character, usually a victim who is attractive but doesn't seem very intellectual and makes silly decisions.
• A character who does not believe what is happening such as they do not believe in the supernatural or they do not believe the theory behind the story.
• A male hero who saves the vulnerable female, he is usually strong, attractive and masculine.
• An unstable female who builds up suspense by panicking and jumping a lot.
• Evil character or villain such as a ghost, a spirit, a murder  a zombie, a vampire etc.
• An innocent person who isn't involved such as a child, pregnant woman or a passer by like a police officer.

There are a wide variety of typical story lines that occur in horror films regularly, for example:

• A vulnerable woman/girl gets possessed by a dark spirit and the parents and a priest attempt to exorcise the spirit.
• Woman is attacked or victimised by a villain and an attractive, masculine hero saves her. 
• A hero or heroine saves the the world from an alien species or monster who threatens the safety of the world. 
• An outbreak of a disease causes a zombie apocalypse and there is only one uninfected hero who saves the day and finds a cure, usually helping vulnerable people as well that are left.
• A scientific experiment goes wrong causing an outbreak of a new disease. 
• A 'mental patient' believes they are possessed but no one else believes them and they are put into a psychiatric hospital where someone else possessed seeks help from them. 

From this task of researching typical horror films and the codes and conventions I have learnt more about what people expect of a horror film and what makes them successful. I now know what is expected of my opening of my horror film. I have learnt that there is a a lot of typical or stereotypical features of a horror film such as story lines or characters which can make a horror successful because they are what the audience are expecting. I also learnt that props are an important part of horror films as they can create effects which will scare the audience or create a sense of terror and audiences that choose horror films expect to be scared or terrified.