AO3 & AO4 Audience Questionnaire, results & summary

I devised a questionnaire in order to research what my audience prefer watching and what interests them most. This will then help me produce a catchy opening sequence that corresponds to their wants and needs and satisfies them to the fullest. My first question was based on their favorite genre. I found that the majority of my participants enjoy Action as well as crime which are tied at 26.7%. This gives me a brief insight of what genre I should focus on. Personally, I would focus on crime and add elements of action in order to intrigue the audience and create an intense atmosphere that allows the audience to endure watching the film. In terms of the uses and gratifications theory, my audience would watch my film (opening sequence) for diversion, to get away from everyday situations and zone out. It may be a distraction of their everyday life, watching crime/action movies may entertain them and help them relax and create an anti-stress ambiance for the audience.

Adding on to the previous question, I asked my audience this question in order to search deeper in what they are expecting. I found that 46.7% of my participants were interested in murder crimes. Interestingly, I also found that the next most popular sub-genres were Mystery and psychological crime. This emphasizes what the audience look for in movies and what they mainly enjoy watching. In my opening sequence I will incorporate elements of murder and mystery.

I asked my audience this question to understand what kind of films/series are they interested in as well as get inspiration from other films/series that relate to the genre that I am investigation. This will help me get some insight of what interests my target audience and gives me a chance to pick out some elements in the film that I can add into my opening sequence in order to satisfy my audience. Most of my targeted audience enjoy the show ‘How to get away with murder ‘, this may be because of their intense focus on murder and mysteries, in which I found in one of the previous questions my audience enjoy.

The majority of people would like to see plot twists, murder scenes and plot twists. By implementing these, my opening sequence would include enough conventions that classify to the  murder genre. I would find it difficult to incorporate a plot twist because I am only working on an opening sequence which lasts for 2 minutes and therefore a plot twist would not be presented at the beginning of the opening sequence. However, I am able to add a flashback of a murder scene in order to create enigma as the audience will want to find out what happened before/ after.

Audience profile

Many people enjoy watching crime movies as a way of entertainment and escaping their day to day lives. I aim to create a crime based opening sequence that targets both genders. Crime thrillers are usually targeted to a mature audience due to the strong language and scenarios (for example violent murder scenes). The main age range that I am targeting would be from 15 to 40 years old. The younger audience (15) enjoy watching thriller movies because they like feeling the suspense, mystery as well as plot twists and unexpected events happening. Males are interested in thrillers due to the action as they like to see something that gets their heart beating, and females are usually attracted to thriller because they like to watch something that plays questions in their heads, wondering what will happen next.

Demographics:

Age: 15 to 40 year olds, however older ages may still be interested to watch crime movies, the secondary target audience would be 40+.

Gender: Men and women. Men are usually interested in the action aspect of the film, they look for exotic things happening. Women are interested in the main plot of the story. How the story goes and plot twists or flashbacks.

Residence: In certain counties, there is a higher crime rate than others, therefore people who are interested in crime movies are more likely going to be from countries with a low crime rate as they do not see criminal activities as often as other countries.

Income: people who have high income are more likely to go to the cinema or have a Netflix account in order to access movies. However, people who earn a lower income are less likely to go out to watch a movie and would rather spend their money on something more necessary in life.

Psychographics:

Personalities: people with outgoing personalities are more interested in crime movies. People who have elements of darkness in themselves and enjoy watching disturbing scenes as well us psychotic stories.

Lifestyles: usually socially active people who enjoy going out for movies with their friends. People who have very active lives and enjoy the feeling of the adrenaline building up as the tension in a crime/mystery film increases as well.

Social Class: Psychological thriller may not appeal to the E code as they could be less educated if they are unemployed (lower class) so would not see the appeal in a psychological thriller.

Audience theories:

The desensitization theory is often evident in horror films because if somebody is exposed to this type of film more often than the less effected they will be by it.

The uses and gratifications theory is clear in this genre of film because some people’s ideas of entertainment are being scared. It comes under the ‘entertainment’ title of the theory because it allows people to escape and relax from their daily troubles and woes of life whilst they enjoy a tense suspicious film.

The Levi - Strauss theory also applies to horror films as they often contain a battle between Sane and Insane. In this case it would be Lady G who is the sane character, and Roy who murders her and is portrayed as a psychotic and insane character. They are total opposites which are often defined as ‘binary opposites’ as it is necessary for that person to have an opposition.