Quantitative Data, Secondary Data, Audience Profile

Quantitative Data
Jasmine Kato

Do you watch horror
films?
The first question we asked our audience was to get a sense of the
proportions of how many people on average enjoy horror films. From this
question we are able to get an idea of how large our prospective audience
are. Out of 45 people, 37 said that they do watch horror films, which is
82.22%. In terms of marketing for our film, this allows us to aim our film at
a large, mainstream audience and know how popular our genre is to the
demographic we are aiming our film at. Most of the people asked to fill out
the questionnaire were between 15-25 and of both genders, so we can be
sure that their responses are reliable. In accordance with film genre-cycles,
the knowledge that films tend to become popular and die out before
becoming popular again allow us to understand that horror tends to be a
genre that does not completely die, and is currently going through a cycle
of popularity as many films like “Annabelle” and “Dracula untold” are
currently being released.
Horror films also apply to our age demographic- many film critics such as
BK Grant argue that slasher films depict puberty in a metaphorical and
dramatised way, which is why they so often relate to teenagers.

What do you find
scary?The purpose of this question was to gain an understanding of what type of
horror films, or horror film villains, are currently perceived to be scary. In
recent years, the release of many vampire films and television series like
‘Twilight’ and ‘True Blood’ have sexualised vampires and presented them
as more human and relatable characters, meaning that they have
essentially been shunned from the horror genre. Interestingly, ghosts and
murderers turned out to be the most popular. Recently, the release of
some TV dramas and films that surround the theme of ghosts/spirits and
murderers have become very popular (therefore more of which have been
produced) which may have led to the success of these subgenres in
particular. Furthermore, many of the horror films considered to be classics
include a central murderer/villain, which may also contribute to why people
today still regard murderers as a horror favourite. It is also conventional to
horror for the villain to also be a murderer, meaning that the ‘murderer’
category crosses over with the other categories in the survey. For our film,
we have decided to have a central murderer that is not shown to be a
vampire/ghost/et cetera, so that it will appeal to a wider audience.

Do you find horror films more exciting
when the killer is seen or unseen?

Do you find horror films more exciting
when the killer is seen or unseen?
To get a sense of what our horror movie trailer should look like, we asked
some questions to find out what the most popular narrative technique in
regards to the presentation of the antagonist was. Views were mixed,
however the fact that ‘unseen’ came out on top allows us to have an idea
of how to successfully market to our audience, as well as approach the
presentation of the killer in a more creative manner. As a group we decided
that we would conform to the expectations of the audience and portray our
killer as hidden and unseen, however we have also in some sense
subverted the expectations of the audience. Rather than having the villain
as a masked character, the audience will be placed in point-of-view shots
of them, closing the gap between the villain and audience, in order to
induce discomfort and a heightened sense of thrill in the viewer. The
bringing together of these binary oppositions (Claude Levi-Strauss) will
represent the conflict that may happen within the viewer themselves, and
therefore fulfil their own Uses and Gratifications, their need for excitement
through the characters on screen.

Should horror films have a
resolved ending?

Should horror films have a
resolved ending?
A large percentage of the answers to this question answered ‘no’, which
shows what the audience expect of narrative conventions. In this way we
can also see how little horror movies change in terms of the basic
narrative. Whereas films of other genres are expected to have some sort of
resolution in Todorov’s classic narrative theory, in the horror genre people
do not expect a particular outcome, Todorov’s classic narrative pattern can
be heavily disrupted and so the narrative pattern is flexible, as long as all
the codes and conventions of the horror theme are met. If the film has a
younger age rating, it may be necessary for the film to have a ‘happy’
resolution, however for older audiences it would be more interesting (and
challenging) to have an ending that is either futile, unhappy or simply a
mystery. For our trailer, the outcome of the film will not be revealed,
however through the editing pace, sound and narrative of our trailer, we
will use dramatic tension to subtly draw the audience to what the outcome
of the film could be. The mystery of how the film could end is what will
encourage our audience to watch the film in order to satisfy their curiosity.

Horror movies should always have
a cliff-hanger

Horror movies should always have
a cliff-hanger
This question again links to what narrative conventions that our target audience may
expect from our film. From a marketing perspective a cliff-hanger in a film is
beneficial, as it allows for a second film to be made and still work with the narrative
of the previous film. Although an audience may expect films to have a resolution as
Todorov’s classic narrative pattern does, subverting this by using a cliff-hanger will
not only leave unanswered questions as to what happens to the characters to wrap
up the plot, but also allow a creative gap- allowing the audience to discuss what the
ending of a film, or the continuation of the film may be. This means that they are
more likely to actively engage with the film, using social media platforms such as
Facebook and Twitter, which also helps to promote the film. In order to attract the
engagement of our audience, we will allow for our trailer to also have the effect of a
cliff-hanger, for example insinuating that a death may or may not have happened, or
suggesting the identity of the murderer without truly revealing it. We will also use
social media platforms in order to encourage audience interaction, possibly posing
questions to these social media platforms, or polls, in order to draw in a crowd and
start an online fan base. As an independent film, it will rely heavily on the support of
crowd donations as well as online interest, as it will not be able to compete with
major film producers and distributors in mainstream media. A succession of viral
hints and teasers for our film released online may also add to the cliff-hanger effect
that we would like to induce, to create a buzz for the release of the film itself.

With whom do you watch
horror films?

With whom do you
watch horror films?
This question allows us to understand the context that people watch horror
films in and by what sort of social groups that our film would be watched.
This allows us to understand what content and marketing approaches to
factor in to the making and release of our film and trailer. If we were aiming
to sell our film as a family movie, the themes included would have to be
more child friendly and less sinister. However, as our results showed that a
large proportion of people watch horror films with their friends, partners or
alone, we will be able to use this data to come to a decision as to what sort
of age rating and themes we can include in our film. The Uses and
Gratifications theory suggests that horror films relate specifically to
teenagers, so it is understandable that teenagers would watch horror films in
groups, as there is typically a group of relatable teenagers in them. We will
also include a group of teenagers in our film as it will make our film more
marketable and satisfy the needs of our audience. As well as entertain, our
film will make our target audience (young adults and teenagers) feel that
they have gained a sense of satisfaction and excitement through watching it.
As a result, the age rating for our film will likely be 12a or 15.

Do you think Children should be allowed to
watch horror films?

Do you think children should be
allowed to watch horror films?
We asked this question in order to find out what we could about the
general opinion of our target audience on the effect of horror films, in
particular in relation to younger audiences. Although our film is primarily
aimed at teenagers and young adults, in order to come to a suitable age
rating for our film we decided that we, like the BBFC, would ask our
audience what their opinions are in relation to this topic.
As well as the statistic opinions we also left a box open for survey-takers to
comment on their choice, and to give a reason for their choice.
Interestingly, many people suggested that horror films would have a
traumatic effect on young people and that they are not appropriate, despite
there being no solid proof or evidence that horror films have the ability to
directly affect the mentality of a person.
These comments will allow our group to regulate and judge how much
violence, swearing and sexual allusions should be included in our film, and
in our trailer, in order to meet the guidelines for the age rating we would
like our film to have.

Evaluate the Following
Statements

Evaluate the Following
Statements
Prior to results of this question, we predicted that most of the answers
would show that a suburban setting would be considered to be scarier than
an isolated setting. Despite this, the majority of the audience answering
our survey felt that an isolated setting would be scarier, with suburban
settings for horror films being rendered neutral. As time goes on, social
attitudes towards horror and what is considered to be ‘scary’ changes, as
genres are cyclical, and change over time.
For our trailer however, we will use both settings for different purposes.
The action will start in a suburban setting, to make it closer and more
reliable to the audience (in a sense, ‘bringing it home’) and making what is
usually considered a safe place to somewhere that the protagonists
become vulnerable. It will then move the narrative to a more isolated
setting, emphasising the vulnerability of the characters and suggesting that
no help is available from society. This will also incorporate Levi-Strauss’s
theory of binary opposition, the contrast between these two settings will
emphasise the conflict between the protagonists and the villain.

HOW DO YOU ACCESS
HORROR FILMS?
For this question, we wanted to find out the most effective ways to target our audiences in terms
of multi-media platforms. Interestingly most people said that they watch horror films on a
computer/laptop and/or online, rather than in the cinema or on a DVD. Of course with the
introduction of a Web 2.0, allowing people to access films for free, it is expected that many
people do not want to spend money to see a film in the cinema every time they wish to see a
film. However despite this, cinema has survived economically, not only because movie files
are larger, take longer to download and take up more space, but also because the cinema
experience is entirely different to watching a film at home. The combine sound and image
quality is almost always better, and any fans of film are willing to pay in order to have this
experience.
Despite this, as video on demand and similar home film services become increasingly popular,
the cinema industry must keep up as audiences become more fragmented due to these
multiple media platforms. In terms of our horror film, we must take into account what sort of
platforms we should use to show our trailer and release our horror film. Because of recent
developments in film downloading services, we will be able to sell our film for download after it
has left the theatres, for example on the iTunes store. This will allow for our film to not only be
widely available and accessible, but also to be promoted across many media platforms and
become more talked about on online communities, such as Facebook, Twitter and other social
media platforms.

As this was an open question, we gathered the most popular results using
a tally.
Most popular:
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Original and Remake)
The Ring
Second Most popular:
Sinister
Paranormal Activity
Nightmare on Elm Street

The purpose of this question was to find out what kind of slasher films were the
most popular with audiences. The two most popular horror films, The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre and The Ring, are both very conventional to the horror
genre, as they both include a typical basic narrative of a horror film: a group
teenagers become victims of an evil force or villain.
Despite this, all these films also subvert some of the conventions of horror films in
order to attract audiences and introduce them to what may seem new; however
we know that because the horror genre is particular is cyclic, some subgenres of
horror will be more popular than others over the years.
We will use some of the ideas from these films, such as the use of everyday
technology in ‘The Ring’ as inspiration for what content we will include in our own
film. We will also subvert the conventional villainous character that is used in both
of these films, instead of having a masked or mysterious physical characters, ours
will only be known through first person shots- the audience will essentially
become the killer.

Sourcing
The secondary data I have collected have mainly come from the
BBFC’s website, as well as from similar surveys conducted.
The BBFC conducts frequents national surveys in order to find out
how audiences want films to be rated, and change their guidelines
in accordance with the law. The BBFC is therefore a reliable source
of secondary information.
Other surveys however, may not be as reliable, as their survey data
may be biased or not represent a fair proportion of society- with
less people answering their surveys, it is not clear whether their
surveys are reliable or not.

The previous graph shows the percentage of admissions for 5
different age groups: 7-14, 15-24, 25-54, 55-44 and 45+. It is
clear in this graph that the age group that holds the highest
percentage of admissions in cinema every year are the 15-24 age
group. Teenagers of this age are likely to have a disposable
income, and therefore are more likely to spend their money on
leisurely activities such as going to the cinema, so it is no surprise
that this age group is the biggest consumer of film in the market.
This is advantageous for our horror film release, as horror films
are typically aimed at this age group and are attractive to this age
group. The main reason for this is that a conventional horror film
represents the hardships of puberty, and the characters in horror
films are often teenagers and young adults, directly relating to an
audience of 15-24.

Looking at how the popularity of video on demand has changed over
the last decade is important when considering how we would like to
market out slasher film. As new technology is released and
companies such as Netflix and Lovefilm make film more accessible to
audiences (both on television and online), the way in which audiences
consume film media also changes, and audiences become fractured as
they choose the way in which they access films.
It is also important to look at how use of online video on demand
chances in comparison to television based video on demand. It seems
that in the last two years, as online video on demand has increased in
market, so has television video on demand, which shows that more
and more people are using both methods of video on demand in order
to suit the way in which they view television and film.
The rise in value of both these markets show how valuable it is to begin
to use these video on demand platforms in order to increase the profit
made from release and distribution of a film.

Audience Profile
Age: 15-25
Gender: Mixed
Occupation: Student
Not ABC1, but likely to have some
disposable income.
Music Taste: Metal/Rock
Regular user of social networking.
Watch films often and as a social group.
Thrill seekers.

Quantitative Data, Secondary Data, Audience Profile

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