Questionnaire Analysis

How old are you?

From the results of my questionnaire, It looks like the target audience that I will most likely to appeal to 17-21 year olds, with 12-16 year olds as the second audience I will most likely appeal to. This means that I should research some popular horrors and thrillers that appeal most to this audience and that I should look at my questionnaire as mostly a representation of an audience aged 12-21. However I should also consider that a good chunk of my interviewees are also 42+ so I should also research my other audience on the side.

 

What is your gender?

My interviewees are mostly half male half female so I should interpret the data as a good representation of all of the genders so that it can appeal to all audiences. However, the fact that there are 2 more female interviews then male interviews is a fact I should consider since this could have changed the results drastically.

 

Which of these genres do you prefer?

The most popular genre that I presented for the interviewees was the crime-thriller, with psychological thriller in a close second. This suggests that my audience wants a more action-filled movie or at least one set in real-life. The fact that Body Horror was the least popular suggests that when I am making my Horror/Thriller that I don't need to focus on gruesome special effects to thrill and scare my audience which will make costs less expensive.

 

Which of these Horror icons do you recognise?

The most recognised character from the selection availible is Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs. This may not be a big of a shock since the movie that he starred in has become so popular but it gives us an idea about how we should design our antagonist. If we give him a unsuspecting look to him, like hes a normal person, people seem to identify him better since he looks so human.

 

Which of these Horror icons would you be most afraid of?

The character that scared the majority of the audience the most was Samara from The Ring. This icon might have scared people because of the fact she is just a child and the fact she has features that disturb or confuse the viewer. This means that our antagonist must have an iconic unique appearance and a feature about them that rubs the audience the wrong way so that I can appeal to my audience. The fact that Jason Voorhees was the least popular leads me to believe that old-fashioned giant brutes are not what my audience is afraid of and are afraid of the unsuspecting and the disturbed.

 

What do you believe to be the most important elements of Horror?

The most important thing that my audience looks for in a horror movie is suspense. This tells me that my movie must have atmosphere and tension-building moments to be successful and popular with my audience. The two other most popular elements is death and darkness which means my movie should have some dark undertones and my mise en scene should incorporate a lot of darkess or at least shadow.

 

Which of situations would you be most afraid of?

From the situations that I have presented, the most scariest situation in the eyes of 12-21 year olds is being chased by a serial killer or at least a malevolent force. This means that my movie should have scenes where characters are being chased or at least running to build up tension for the viewers. The other two most frightening appear to be insanity and the super-natural so including some psychological aspects to it might make it more interesting for my audience.

 

Select three aspects that make a Horror protagonist

The three aspects that people seem to think make a horror protagonist is that they have to be strong, courageous and intelligent. This means my character needs to brave to face whatever adversary is in his/her way, but she must also be intelligent so he/she can outsmart and better the villian but must have some sort of mental/physical strength. What I thought was strange though was that people didn't think he needed good morals which means I should create a more morally questionable character otherwise known as a anti-hero to make the story more interesting. 

 

Which setting is best for a Horror movie?

The most popular setting that people considered to be appropriate for a horror/thriller was an abandoned location. This is quite interseting since I now have to search for abandoned or rundown areas for my horror movie to be the most popular or I could choose the second most popular one and set it in a Wooded area which would be much easier. It seems populated areas, like suburbs were the least popular among my target audience, suggesting i should find more places where I can film in isolation.

 

Which type of music is more suited for Horror?

The type of music that my target audience though would be more suited for horror was orchestral music. This means I must find a way of obtaining big music scores in easy and, if possible, a cheap way. There was almost a tie between orchestral and ambience so I think I should search for ambient music as well as orchcestral so I can please both sides of the argument.

 

What should be the power balance between hero and villian?

The majority of the vote was on the protagonist and anyagonist have equal shares of power so that they equals. However some people commented that they would like to see shifts in power so that it would make the plot more interesting. If I do have shifts in power, I need to make sure the villian is not overpowered by the hero too much since that was the least popular set-up from the selections availible.