In order to obtain market research I gave 20 people a

questionnaire that got their opinions on a variety of

elements concerning my trailer, film poster, and film
magazine cover

How old are you?

Age

17 - 20
21 - 29
30 - 40

My questionnaire results show that

out of the 20 people I asked, 14 of
them were 17 20 years old with the
second largest group being 21-29.
My sample group consisted of
people who were available for
interviewing in the day at college;
despite arguably being a slightly
biased setting due to the high
number of students, it was the most
accessible setting to gather a lot of
data from. Taking this into account,
Making my target audience between
the ages of 17-25 provides me with
readily attainable information that
further helps me tailor my media
products to their specific age range.

This information helps me cater my film trailer to be more appropriate for its target
audience. For example, I can apply knowledge of popular themes and common
likes/dislikes of the age range, and reference the BBFI age ratings to apply its
guidelines concerning content material if necessary.

What is your gender?

Gender

Female
Male

My results show that

eleven out of the twenty
people who completed the
questionnaire were female,
making them consist of just
over half the sample size.
Therefore it would be ideal
to make the protagonist
female for my trailer so to
be as relatable as possible
to the majority of my
audience.

How important are the actors involved in

encouraging you to watch a film?
Level of importance
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Not at all

A little

Very important

Level of importance

Vital

The actors involved

are of clear
importance to my
viewers, and
therefore their
names must be
obviously
advertised; in the
film trailer, on the
poster and on the
magazine cover.

I can reinforce this with the main image on the poster being a medium close up
of the main actor playing the protagonist - this further advertises who is
involved and will attract the viewer as clear from my questionnaire. It is also
consistent with the conventions for psychological thriller posters I have
analysed and promotes the theme of the film of centring around the psyche of
a particular person.

What is something you particularly enjoy about

your favourite thriller film?
Out of the answers I received, I identified the commonly occurring elements that
are appropriate for incorporating into my film trailer. A few of these were
An element of mystery to the characters and plot line that keeps you
guessing'. This will play a heavy role in my trailer due to its genre, however the
audience will not be aware of the specific nature of the real mystery so not to
reveal the plot twist at the end. There will be evident hints and foreshadowing
though that encourage the audience to engage with the narrative and hopefully
inspire intrigue.
Good cinematography. The filming itself is just as important as what is being
filmed and I will integrate the style of camerawork into the storytelling. I can
draw from James Hawkinson for this, one of my inspirational practitioners, and
hopefully use interesting composition and editing to make the trailer visually
appealing as well as creating a desired effect.

What is something you particularly enjoy about

your favourite thriller film? (contd)
Interesting characters This was the most frequently mentioned aspect and

is a key element to any film regardless of genre. However due to the nature of
psychological thrillers being centred around the psyche of the main character,
this is an especially important point to focus on for my film trailer - the
audience must be able to empathise with the character and be interested in
their story if they are to find the film engaging. I can increase chances of this
by creating my main character in detail (making a profile, a backstory etc.)
and even if only a small portion is used in the trailer itself, it forms the
foundation to a three dimensional, emotionally involving character.
A major deterrent of thriller films that kept occurring in the answers given was
the predictability of the script. If the events within the film are too commonplace with no factor that makes them unique then nothing distinguishes them
from any other film with a similar plot line. Similarly with plot twists, if the
audience can guess what happens then the film ending has not done its job;
a key part of plot twists is that they should not be expected, so if there is
obvious lead up to the twist then people wont be inclined to watch it.

Do you prefer film trailers to set the atmosphere

for a film or to be more plot expository based?
Preference

Plot heavy

Atmosphere based

The majority of the people who

answered my questionnaire prefer
trailers to focus on setting the
atmosphere for the film rather than
exposing plot. Many concluded that
as long as there was a clear
identifiable main character, then it
is more important to convey the
tone of the film and leave the rest to
unfold later upon watching. This
also encourages them to go see the
film. Music has a major role in
creating an atmosphere which is
why I will research and try to record
parts of my own tracks so they are
specifically tailored to the ambience
I want to create in my trailer.

Do you prefer film posters that include a lot of

information, or ones that are more simplistic?
Preference

Information based

More simplistic

There is a clear preference for more

simplistic film posters, with only a
quarter saying they liked them to be
more information based.
I noticed that the two people I
interviewed who were aged 41 years
or over both specified that their
preferred film posters were more
information based. This could be
because minimalism as a style is
much more popular now than it was
around 20 years ago and so a more
old fashioned style is what they are
used to. My target audience are 17
25, so to cater to my demographic I
will be aiming for a more simplistic film
poster design.

What is it that attracts you to a film poster? Is

there anything that deters you?
The actors advertised My questionnaire showed that having certain actors

involved in a film is a key element in encouraging people to watch it. If someone

has a good reputation or is associated with a particularly popular piece of work
they often bring high expectations to other projects they work on. So for my own
film poster to be effective in drawing viewers attention I should include the
names of the key actors who would hypothetically be well known.
Colour scheme A large portion of the answers given indicated that a clear
colour design made a poster more appealing to look at than one with a variety of
bright colours that distracted from the focus of the film. With my film poster I will
aim to have a clear in-house colour scheme that compliments the films theme.
A main image The majority of the answers said that they preferred film
posters that had a single main image as it was more attractive than several large
subsidiary images that cluttered the space. I aim to have a single, strong, clear
image that conveys my films central idea
Unclear/unreadable font A deterrent that was identified was overly
complicated fonts that were hard to read so quickly lost the viewers attention.
Therefore on my poster I should make sure I have a clear font that is readable at
a glance and make the title obvious.

How often do you read film magazines or

watch DVD extra content?
Frequency
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Never

Sometimes

Regularly

Frequency

A lot

My results show that the

majority of the
interviewees regularly
watch or read extra
content, either via
magazines or DVDs.
Therefore this is an
important feature to
advertise on a film
magazine as it appeals to
the majority of my target
audience and would
make them more inclined
to read it.

What sort of extra content do you

read/watch?
Content

Behind the scenes

The making of

Director commentary

Interviews with cast/crew

Out of the 20 people I asked,

only one person said they
never watched or read any
extra content. The remaining
19 people had to pick the 2
most common elements that
they said they read or
watched the most, and the
most popular answer was
the making of followed by
Behind the scenes. This is
useful to know as it tells me
what to advertise on the front
of my magazine cover to
make it appealing to my
target demographic and
increase the chance of them
buying it.

In your opinion, what qualities in a protagonist

make them likeable?
They have to feel like real people From my questionnaire, most people

indicated that an important aspect of being drawn to a character is for them to

seem relatable. It is key that my protagonist has flaws that humanize them,
making them more nuanced and sophisticated than the simplistic hero on a
quest. If they are too stereotypical or two dimensional then the audience are
not going to feel engaged with their narrative. In everyday life they are no
clear cut heroes and villains and I feel that people are demanding more
detailed and more real feeling characters than before in cinema. Modern day
film has developed massively with technological progression; effects such as
sound mixing, CGI and motion capture have allowed for more creative
potential (E.g. Digital head replacement/face projection in Captain America
that allowed the audience to see a realistic performance of Steve Rogers
before he became Captain America). I think this has advanced the
authenticity of film, and as a result the characters have had to maintain the
same level of authenticity over the years for the film experience to remain
immersive for the audience. Even the superheroes of the Marvel universe
have had extensive backstory building, often in the form of entire films
dedicated to fleshing them out to be relatable people instead of merely
symbols.

In your opinion, what qualities in a protagonist

make them likeable? (contd)
Develop somehow between the beginning of the story and the end

Progression of the character and story is important in advancing the plot and
the two are majorly intertwined. This is usually shown briefly in trailers by the
contrast between the equilibrium shown at the beginning, an inciting event
and the build up to a climax.
Active agents in their own story arc The main character must be pushing
the plot forward themselves, influencing happenings around them instead of
being passive and acted upon. This is useful to know as I can cater my trailer
to the preferences of my target audience better by showing the protagonist
actively engaging in the restoration of the equilibrium.

How do you hear about new films you will

potentially go to see? What medium exposes
you to new films the most?
Method
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Film posters

Trailers

Magazines

Method

Word of mouth

As shown here, trailers

are the predominant
method of exposing
people to new films.
These results are
consistent with the film
institution I have chosen to
distribute my film the
partly internet based
Film4. As well as their
website, they have their
own YouTube channel that
shows their most recent
trailers and media content
available to watch

Based on your previous answer, where are you

exposed to new films the most? Please choose UP TO
two answers
In a majorly digitalised
Method

10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Facebook (or
other social
network site)

Cinema
adverts

Billboards/bus
banners

Youtube

Television
adverts

It is also arguable that banners, posters and billboards

around town are so common and often neglected that
we have become jaded to their presence and so when
we notice them as we pass by, they do not stand out in
our memories.

world, people spend a

lot of time on the
internet and trailers are
shared across social
media and archived on
YouTube. In todays
society with
technological
convergence, all this
information is readily
available on a
smartphone and if
someone is waiting at a
bus stop, it is likely they
are on their phone
rather than looking at
the bus shelter walls.