Audience Research.

Our Audience Questionaire

Age:
15-18
18-20
20-25
25-30

Gender:
Male
Female

Favourite type of thriller film:
Action Thriller
Psychological Thriller
Technological Thriller
Serial Killer Thriller
Sci-fi Thriller
Other _____________________

What type of characters do you expect in a thriller film?



Do you prefer a male or female baddy? And Why?



Do you like unpredictable endings? And why?



What tense to you prefer your film to be in? And why?



Do you prefer stereotypical or unique characters? And why?



Do you prefer 15 or 18 certificate? And why?



Target Audience

As a group we decided that we didn't want the certificate of our film to be lower then a 15. We also decided that we wanted a thriller that targeted mainly young adults. Therefore, we set our target audience at 15 - 30 and gave our questionnaire to a range of people within this age range.

Completed Questionnaire

Results Of The Questionaire

Using our audience research we found that most people (male and female) aged 15-20 preferred psychological thrillers. This is useful as we now know what subgenre of thriller we should use to appeal to our audience. However this also subjects that there are already lots of psychological thrillers made for this age group. To avoid this we could make a less popular sci-fi, serial killer or technological thriller to ensure there is a gap in the market.

Most people aged 15-20 preferred a male ‘bad Guy’ to a female ‘Baddie’.
Reasons why included;
They come across as more dominant.
Seen as more controlling.
Seems more realistic and believable.
Seems scarier.
They are stronger, less vulnerable.
Seen as more superior.
Typically seen as more violent than women.
However, some would also rather a female victim as it is more unsuspected and shocking.

Everyone who took part in our questionnaire agreed that they wanted an unpredictable ending. This is because it makes the film more interesting, shocks the audience and builds suspense. As they said predictable films are boring and so our film will have an unpredictable ending.

Almost an equal number of people like flashbacks and present tense. People liked flash backs as they give the story depth and are creepier. They also liked present tense as it involves the audience more and is more scary. Based on these results we decided to use a mixture of present tense with some flash backs so to please all our audience.

Most people preferred mix of stereotypical and unique characters. This is because the unique characters keep the film different and interesting while the stereotypical characters are easy for the audience to relate to. Based on these results we have decided to use a mix of unique and stereotypical characters.

Though the results are almost even, most people preferred a 15 certificate. Reasons given where;
Less violence means more focus on the storyline
Less scary
More people can watch it.

However, others preferred an 18 as it would have darker storylines and an 18 certificate makes it seem more exciting and scary.

Action Points

* 18 certificate.
* A mix of stereotypical and unique characters.
* Unpredictable ending.
* Include flashbacks.
* Psychological thriller.
* Male "baddie".