Questionnaire evaluation[2]
- 1. Gender Differences 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Male female Gender QuantityofIndividuals Surveyed tity of individuals 13-18 19-24 25-30 31-36 37-42 43+ Quantity of individuals 13-18 19-24 25-30 31-36 37-42 43+ Evaluating Results from Horror Questionnaire Venetia Sharma. Question 1 -After completing the draft of my questionnaire, I ensured that I surveyed an equal amount of both male and female individuals. This would enable me to distinguish between gender choices. I chose to survey 15 individuals of each gender as I felt that, although it may not be a large sample group, it is big enough to generate results which can be differentiated -in order to obtain conclusions regarding the most appealing horror movie aspects to everyone. Question 2- This pie chart represents the contrasting age differences I encountered whilst surveying the public. A very large proportion of these were between the ages of 13-18. This has led me to the decision that there is a high probability that my group trailer will be targeted at a teenage audience. Additionally, the next largest percentage was 19-24, which is still a relatively young target group. The middle aged groups (37-42 and 43+) were the less targeted groups suggesting that my group trailer will not be aimed at a younger audience. I believe this is beneficial as the contemporary generation of this time period seem to be much heavily influenced by the new convention of horror movies. For example the introduction of 3D movies such as Saw was more widely spoken about by teenagers and younger adults. Question 3- When I approached the public, I first asked them if they were interested in horror movies. This allowed me to recognise if they were a suitable candidate to answer this questionnaire which is fully horror based. Therefore, the results for this question were 100% yes’s. Favourite Film From The Following 0 2 4 6 8 10 Scream TheOmen Paranormal Activity1 DragMeto Hell Film Title Numberofindividuals whovotedforeachfilm Public vote Question 4- I chose this question to gain an insight in to the type of film that intrigues the audiences. I chose films of differing genres such as slasher movies, religious movies and supernatural movies. Furthermore, these movies were released during different years, so some of them (scream for example) are not as modernised as other films- in a sense that they have not been able to benefit from improvements in technology as Paranormal Activity did. This enabled me to establish the type of iconography, effects and storyline which could be incorporated into my group trailer.
- 2. Favourite subgenre of horror movies. Slasher Religious Possession Supernatural Sci-fi Zombie Monster Once a week 3 Twice a week 4 Twice a month 13 Hardly ever 10 Favourite subgenre of horror movies. Slasher Religious Possession Supernatural Sci-fi Zombie Monster Question 6- I generated the highest percentage for supernatural and slasher movies. This emphasises the teenage mentality as slasher movies are usually targeted at teenagers. Scenes from supernatural movies will be more difficult to shoot due to the lack of technical support; however, as this was the most popular option, my group and I will try and incorporate supernatural aspects into our trailer. The least popular subgenre obtained was a tie between science-fiction, zombie and monster movies. Question 7- As this was an open question; I did not receive the enthusiasm I was expecting. The majority of people suggested that the thrill that horror films cause to the mind was an important factor which attracted them to horror movies. Other explained that the storyline of certain horror films such as the original version of Halloween and Friday the 13th were very appealing. Furthermore, another popular response was the psychological aspects associated with horror films that “stirs feelings” in the viewers stomach. Others explained that special effects and editing were the attributes to horror films that appealed to them the most. Although the lengths of these responses were not all detailed, they still provided important opinions and advice which has been helpful in shaping the style of my group horror trailer. Question 8- The most popular favourite horror movies listed included Friday the 13th (original version), Paranormal activity, Saw, What lies beneath, American Werewolf, The Omen, The Happening, Drag Me to Hell, Chucky, 28 Days Later and Halloween. Paranormal Activity was extremely popular as it was mentioned as a favourite film on over half of the questionnaires. Individuals justified this response by referring to the realism portrayed in this movie and the fact that the storyline was revolved around a couple. I believe that people felt that they could relate to this movie as it was shot as a real life documentary. 0 5 10 15 20 25 Number of Votes Paradigms The Most Poplular Horror Movie Paradigms Darkness Killing weapons Death Isloated Settings Revenge Sound effects Question 9- Darkness, sound effects and isolated settings were the most popular chosen paradigms for a successful horror movie. My group trailer will implement some, if not all of these to maximise attraction from the target audience. I found the question and answers to be very helpful as it has provided essential knowledge as to what the public are after in a horror movie. However, an issue that may be raised would be surrounding the difficulties associated with shooting in darkness. Isolated settings would not be difficult to locate, which is a benefit to us. By including key paradigms into our trailer, we would secure a golden rule for a successful horror movie such as “make them jump.” Question 5- I asked the public this question to gain an insight into the amount of time they spend watching horror movies. I believe this is important because it enables parallels to be made between the horror movie knowledge individuals possess which is an important aiding mechanism as it helps to mould ideas for my group trailer.
- 3. Poplular Methods of Watching Horror Movies 0 5 10 15 20 Cinema Pirate DVDs Original DVDs Internet Television Method numberofvotes Question 10- The cinema and television were the most popular responses regarding methods of engaging with horror movies. This suggests that the responders’ like to gain a maximum experience and thrill when engaging with horror movies. However, 8/30 people answered that they watched horror movies on pirate DVDs. This immediately reduces the effectiveness of a horror movie. As 13-30 individuals responded to the internet being a means of watching horror movies, I could link my group trailer to the internet which would hopefully attract my target audience. Number of people who do watch trailers. Number of people who do not watch trailers Number of people who do watch trailers. Number of people who do not watch trailers Question 11- 24/30 of the people surveyed, explained that they did watch horror movie trailers. This is beneficial to us as a group, as our product is not a horror movie but the trailer. Question 12- Chainsaw Massacre; Drag me to hell, Shutter and Paranormal Activity were some of the most persuasive horror trailers seen by the responders. Reasons for this included the editing shown, the suspense created and the sound effects. Todarov’s narrative theory can be related to the suspense being created as it does not reveal the conclusion of a horror movie which causes the audience to become distressed in the sense that they are eager to find out what happens next. Different ways of advertising horror movies 0 5 10 15 20 Posters Internet Billboards Newspapers/ Magazines Television Commercials methods publicvote Number of votes Question 13- The responses to this question obtained very helpful results. To begin with, the most popular methods of haring about the release of a new horror movie included TV commercials, posters and the internet. This has led to the suggestion to create a poster which highlights the significance of our group trailer. These posters could be displayed in various places to attract the audience. Additionally, the in my group and I can use viral marketing to advertise our trailer on the internet on YouTube and social networking sites such as twitter and facebook. Avery small fraction of my sample chose newspapers/magazines as a method of becoming aware about the release of a new horror movie. This could be due to the fact that a minority of my sample were middle aged/ older; this age group are more likely to read newspapers. Question 14- 8/30 individuals from the sample chosen, answered that they had downloaded horror movies from the internet. They explained that their experiences were less efficient as the special effects and editing was not as thrilling as it would have been had they seen the film at the cinema. However, some answered that watching the movie online was a cheap and easy method which decreased classification restrictions.
- 4. knife Axe Chainsaw Poisonous gas saw Yes No 20 10 Specal effects plot setting characterisation sound effects props Question 15- The most popular horror movie attributes were special effects, setting and plot. This has given me an outline of what the audience’s expectations are when watching horror movie trailers. I believe that these three attributes are very important as they would engage the audience’s attention. The plot would provide the audience with a basic outline of what the horror movie is about. This is effective as it enables a wider audience range. Question 16-17: 20/30 people in the sample group answered that they trailers did encourage them to watch the full movie. This is a very large proportion of individuals which shows that trailers heavily influence the audience. Some of the elaborations included the idea that trailers are filled with suspense which leads to a great eagerness to watch the movie. Those that answered “no” explained that some trailers they had seen were extremely frightening for them, which put them off watching movies. Additionally, others argued that trailers release too much of the story line to an extent that it becomes predictable. Specal effects plot setting characterisation sound effects props Popluar lead character for trailer 13 13.5 14 14.5 15 15.5 16 16.5 male female Chracter's gender Numberofvotes Question 18- According to my results, male lead roles seem to be very appealing to both the male and female audiences. Some of the females exclaimed that if “the man was good looking,” they would prefer to watch him fo throughout the trailer rather than an unattractive individual. The results reject theorists such as Clover who suggests that female lead roles dominated by internal male misogynistic thoughts. As the results are quite close the lead character in our trailer can equally be of any gender. knife Axe Chainsaw Poisonous gas saw Question 19- The most popular and common weapon that was chosen was a knife. This would be more likely to be used in our trailer as it can be obtained easily unlike a chainsaw. Knives are an effective weapon of killing in horror films because they cause a slow and painful death.
- 5. Villain's fate decisions 13 13.5 14 14.5 15 15.5 16 16.5 Die Survive number of individuals Question 20- A majority of my sample voted for the villain to survive. I found this quite unusual as generally everybody wants the “baddie” to die. However, this has many benefits. Firstly, the suspense and thrill is heightened. Additionally, it leads to suggestion of a sequel being made.