Questionnaire Results Analysis

I have collected a total of 15 responses from my target audience, and will now process these into graphs/charts to present my results more clearly. I will also discuss how these outcomes will affect the production of my opening sequence.

Question One Which of these horror sub-genres would you prefer to watch?
20 15 10 5 0 Psychological Gore Slasher

This pie chart is representative of the horror sub-genre preference of all the female contributors. The chart shows that all 15 of the participants avoided the more graphic options of gore and slasher, and chose the psychological sub-genre, demonstrating that this is definitely the most popular of genres amongst my target audience. Since my results are completely one-sided, I will be sure to produce a horror opening sequence that includes conventional psychological elements in order to satisfy my audience.

Question Two

Which of the following elements do you think is most scary in a horror film?
Young children Unseen/unknown Hooded/masked entities Other

The pie chart shows the responses of my target audience, as to which element, in their opinion, is the scariest in a horror film. The option for young children, receiving 8 votes

(over 50%), is evidently the most popular choice for the most frightening fundamental of a horror film. Following close behind with 5 votes was the unseen/unknown, then 1 vote for hooded/masked entities and 1 vote for other. These results signify that I should include a young child as a principal role in my opening sequence, with a possible addition of the unseen/unknown as well I feel that a combination of these two conventions would also enhance the fear factor felt by the audience.

Question Three

Do you believe the establishment of character or location is more important at the start of a film?
Character Both Location

From these results, I can gather that just under of the target audience opted for the character selection (7 votes), 5 votes for both, and just 3 votes for location. This shows that a significant third of the partakers believe that not one establishment can be without the other both location and character are important in the setting of a horror storyline. However, seeing as character gained the most selections, I will choose to focus mainly on the establishing of my main protagonist rather than the location; though there will still be a strong indication of the characters surroundings.

Question Four

In order to create suspense effectively, do you believe the time-length of a shot should be...?
15 Varied 10 5 0 Varied Endured Short + fast Endured Short + fast

The majority of the answers from the audience lie with the varied option for the greatest effect for creating a suspenseful atmosphere, with a total of 11 votes. The endured choice is the next popular, with a sum of 4 votes, and short + fast paced editing gaining no votes whatsoever. This outcome demonstrates that my opening sequence should utilise a variation of shots that obtain differing time-lengths some more endured, some much more snappy to add to the tension built in these first 2 minutes.

Question Five

Which of the following locations do you think is best suited for the set of a horror film?

House Forest/woodland Subway

The doughnut chart presents the best-suited location for the set of a horror film, in the opinions of my female target audience members. It shows that 10 people opted for a house as the setting for a typical horror movie, 4 people agreed that a forest/woodland location would be apt for the genre, whilst only 1 person chose the subway. I will consider this end result, and incorporate a house as the predominant location in my opening sequence, conforming to the common desires of my audience.

Question Six Describe the sounds/music you would expect to hear in the background of a horror film.
Some of the feedback I collated from this question included quotes such as: Short, sharp and eerie Distorted piano and jagged chords Noise to absolute silence Build up to a crescendo Slow, creepy with a heavy base Slow tone that suddenly gets sharper at the climax of a shot Overall, there are two main expectations the audience seem to have when anticipating a horror film: the first expectation is to hear short, abrupt sounds that are eerie and creepy

created by the use of jagged chords and distorted piano notes. The second is the complete opposite: they expect to hear slow and intense music that builds up to the climax of a shot. Bearing this in mind, I think the best way to overcome these split responses is to merge the two together using various foley and non-diegetic sounds to help create a sense of atmosphere whilst watching the images.

Question Seven

Do you believe the pace of editing or the sound/background music has a more important role in a horror film?

Pace of editing Sound/background music

9 audience members (more than 50%) believed that the sound/background music in a horror film possesses a greater role than the pace of editing (only 6 votes). There was an opportunity for the participants to elaborate in more detail exactly why they chose the option that they did: the bulk of the females that chose sound/background music, justified their answers along the lines of the music having to be present to help develop the visuals further. The choices for pace of editing were justified as horror films are very visual, so the pace of editing is key. I will aim to make sure that both the editing is correctly-paced, and the sound/background music is paid more attention to in order to reinforce the visible images on screen.

Question Eight

Which of these two lighting features do you believe is most successful in creating an eerie-feel to a horror film?
15 10 5 0 Dim lighting Bright lighting

14 of the participants were in favour of low-key lighting being most successful in creating a spooky atmosphere in a horror film, whilst only 1 person suggested that high-key lighting could possibly be used in the right circumstances. Consequently, I will make sure to integrate dim lighting into my opening sequence to ensure that the audience experience the maximum amount of scare as possible. Subsequently, there was a space for people to explain exactly why they chose the option that they did those that opted for dim lighting gave reasons such as that darkness is more unnerving, intimidating and there is the fear of the unknown ever present. This conveys to me that in order to achieve the aims of a psychological-genre horror, I should often include features of low-key lighting.

Question Nine

How much dialogue do you feel should be present in the opening sequence of a film?

Hardly any use None Heavy use

With 67% of the target audience (10 votes) opting for hardly any use, it is apparent that this is the most popular choice for the amount of dialogue present in an opening sequence. The second most prevalent answer given by the participants was none (4 votes) they agreed to an extent that there should be little use of dialogue, but they took it further by saying no speech should take place at all. The heavy use option was clearly not common amongst the partakers, communicating that too much dialogue can distract the viewer from the action on screen, which is not the purpose of the opening sequence. Therefore, I will consider the prominent view of my audience, and use little dialogue in my opening.

Question Ten Please write down any further ideas or suggestions you have for the making of a horror film.
I collected some of the following additional ideas and suggestions from my target audience, to possibly include in my opening sequence:

Do not reveal too much too soon Suggestion and implication are more frightening Silence is very effective for me Odd things that make you think what on earth was that? An everyday object being used for a darker purpose These ideas include potential props, characters, sound effects and the storyline itself. Personally, Im really fond of the last opinion using an everyday object for a darker purpose. I will be sure to ponder this recommendation and think of an appropriate prop that could have a darker sub-meaning. I will definitely be utilising silence as opposed to noise in the opening, in order to make the experience for the viewer more intense.