Research Rationale

Target Group:

The audience I have access to are from the ages of 11-18 as there are younger years in my college, however looking at the BBFC website my target audience will be in the age range of 15-20. This way my trailer can include strong language, strong threat and horror content, sex/nudity in minor detail and strong violence if need be. Therefore, I would have fewer restrictions on content when creating my trailer because I have aimed it for a higher aged audience.

Research:

The first piece of research I will be conducting is an audience reaction video. This will show me what parts of trailers scare my target audience the most and I will be able to ask members of my target audience what they think of each one, how it scared them, their opinion of the trailer and what they liked most about it. I will have a group of 3-4 people from my target audience watch a selection of horror trailers from different sub genres within horror.

My second piece of research I will be conducting is a questionnaire based around my target audiences opinions on horror films. I will create a survey/questionnaire and send it out to members in my target audience. I aim to get at least 15 responses. I will ask questions about the horror genre in general, favourite and least favourite film etc. From this I hope to gain useful information into the types of horror my target audience likes so I can consider this when I create my trailer.

The third piece of research I will be doing will be a focus group. I will ask two people what they think of a selection of movie posters. I will ask questions about what they like about each poster, does it relate to what the film is actually about etc. This will help me when I come to create my poster as I will be able to link it my film effectively and add in elements that my target audience like.

Resources:

To carry out my research I will need:

•          Camera - minimum 1
•          Tripod – to make sure filming is steady and not shaky
•          Willing volunteers
•          QuickTime Screen recorder

Conclusion:

I think my research will help me understand my target audiences feelings and opinions towards the horror genre. It will help me when I come to create my own trailer as I can make it suit to my target audience preferences.