Focus Group Video

Analysis of my Focus Group:

I had 5 student participants in my focus group, aged 17-18, which fits within the age group my trailer is going to be targeted at. I included a mixed group of males and females, to avoid gender bias and instead analyse both answers in order to make my trailer appeal to both genders. The focus group were great discussing and voicing there opinions and this will really help me in the planing and production of my trailer, I will analyse each of there answers below to give me a clearer picture of how the results have been summarized.

1- Do you prefer horror or thriller films? Or a hybrid horror/thriller?

This question was important to see if i was targeting my questions at the right mixture of people, because they had different opinions and answer i felt the hybrid genre was a good choice and suitable to question this group of people. They commented they preferred the narrative of a thriller because it was more psychological, giving them things to think about and consider. They felt horrors could get boring, as they're all quite the same, which makes horror films quite predictable. 

2- Do you prefer the trailer to give away a lot or a little?

The main answer here was that the focus group preferred the trailer to give away a little, but would like to include some of the peak bits of the narrative in order to excite and engage the viewers. Overall it was decided, the right balance needed to be acheived for the trailer to fulfill its purpose of attracting the audience. 

3- What codes and conventions do you expect to see in a horror film?

-Intense music-

-fast pace editing-

-blood and gore-

-low key lighting-

-colour representation- dark, dull gloomy colours (reds/blacks)- 

4- Do the codes and conventions of a horror differ from a thriller?

-horror conventions more set-

-differentiate one thriller from another-

-editng is different-

-they both however often have dark, sinister storylines-

-low key lighting-

-colour representations,dark, dull gloomy colours-

5- What locations do you expect to see in a) horror b) thriller?

Horror:

Abandoned houses

Road-Trips

Isolated Locations

Woods

Graveyards

secluded mansions

Thriller:

more modern story line so locations need to be more realistic, fit into everyday life so the narrative becomes more believable and has a sense of realism.

6- Is the film rating important when watching these genre films?

Overall, people found the age rating only meant the content would be deemed inappropriate for younger audience and this mainly included violence and language therefore they felt the age rating of an 18, wouldn't be any more scary then a 12. 

7- Favourite films!!

-Sinister-

-The Shining-

-The Conjuring-

-Silence of the Lambs-

-Psycho-

-Dr. strange love-

8- What do you expect to see in the narrative of these genres?

Jump scares!! 

Fake scares, to build the audience up to put them on the edge of their seat.

Varying opinions of whether it should be based on a true story

Progress Log- Reviewing genres

I have recorded myself reviewing genres options and posted it online onto sound cloud, here is the direct link to the audio: https://soundcloud.com/user695666251/reviewing-genres

Distribution and Marketing Trailers

My Target Audience...

Despite this being a small sample, their is one outstanding result which doesn't fit in. So, this has shown me I wont be directing my trailer at older people, e.g Nicole who is 38 and upper class and doesn't show a particular interest or curiosity in horror or thriller films but does state she prefers a psychological thriller narrative to stimulate her mind. My choice to direct my trailer at middle/working class people isn't based on this factor however I just feel I will be able to appeal and attract a larger audience if I create a trailer for middle/working class. I also would prefer to direct my trailer to younger audiences, as they're much more up to date with sites and programmes you can use to watch upcoming films so are more likely to show an interest and watch the trailer. Its also because I can base a lot of my audience research on people around the age group 16-24, because these are the majority of people that surround me in my school and work environment therefore giving me lots of opportunities to ask for their feedback and opinions as to what appeals to them. I also feel I can use my own knowledge more, to create a trailer for a younger age group as i'm in that category therefore my expectations are likely to be similar to other peoples expectations.

Progress Log- Initial Ideas for my Trailer

Here are some of my initial ideas for my trailer:
https://soundcloud.com/user695666251/initial-ideas

Now, I'm going to create a brainstorm which should help further my understanding of what I'm going to be producing and what i need to plan it. I hope to communicate my ideas through a thought-web. 

Coursework Timeline

I've created a timeline on an excel sheet, which should ensure I stay on track with my tasks and get everything completed in time. I'm currently in the stage of researching my target audience and have started designing and planning a story board for my trailer. As I complete things I'm able to keep track of my progress which is really useful. 

Thriller Mood Boards

As part of my research for the production of my own trailer I have created various mood boards in order to explore sub-genre within Thrillers in more depth and I aim to spot out typical codes and conventions so I can decide whether or not to use or challenge them in my own production. I created the mood boards on Microsoft Publisher.

Trailer Analysis; Cabin in the Woods

Analysis presentation:

This trailer has inspired me to use masks, i think they're so creepy and will play on people fears. The fact they hide the characters identity, making them completely unrecognizable is effective to give a sense of enigma, which will help fit to Roland Barthes theory. I also fit to one of Jeremy Tunstalls character roles for women due to the fact my main character who is kidnapped and is the victim will be a female. I want to do this because the pre-built association will help my audience familiarize themself with the horror concept. I will not however present this female in a certain way of being sexualised or domestic as i think this is a wrong stereotype so i don't wish to promote it.