Audience research interviews

What key points have you learned from the interviews?

I think the major point that I have learnt from interviewing everyone, no matter their age they all commented on the impact of the sound and how that important when they watch a film, not just in the cinema but also at home. Another important point which was spotted was a good plot. I think most people said there has to be a twisted to the story line, as that what makes it exciting to watch. I also learnt that a lot of people do really enjoy thrillers and do look for this genre when choosing a film, most commonly for teenagers, they what these when they are with a group of friends. 

Do different aged audience members go for different films or do they enjoy different aspects of watching films?

I was able to determine that all aged groups agree that sound is an extremely important aspect. However, middle-aged women are more interested in having a good plot with interesting and surprising twists, suspense and an over all really good story. In contrast, for teenage girls it is more about having well known actors and a film that is new and not dated. It was also highlighted from these interviews that teenagers do not decide on a film based on the awards that it has won, they do however, care about the films reviews and will decide on films based on whether or not it had a good review. 

Who do you think the target audience for your thriller sequence will be?

I think the target audience for our thriller would be more for teenagers as from the research, it has been made aware to me that teenagers seem to enjoy thrillers and watch them a lot especially with groups of friends. I think our thriller, as it will have an intense atmosphere and an exciting plot may catch the attention of a 
middle-aged audience, however our main audience will be teenagers as this genre is more appealing to them. I feel that because of the atmosphere within the cinema and the suspense and atmosphere that it provides we will get a range of audiences as from the interviews I was able to conclude that the thriller genre, as well as the action genre, is the genre that people enjoy most to go to the cinema for.

What do you think are the key things you have included in your thriller that will appeal to your target audience?

I think the theme of isolation and suspense is a key element as to why this will appeal to our target audience: teenagers because this will create a tense atmosphere which is what appeals to this age group. I also think that our use of sound will appeal to our target them because when we did our pilots and we didn't use sound - or sound wasn't one of our key elements that we focused on- we found the opening sequence was awkward and didn't create the tension or suspense that we had wished. We now understand how important sound is to establish our theme and how valued it is by audiences in every age group.