Bradley Smith

Questionnaire analysis
Understanding my audience
The genre of film that I have chosen to make is crime. I have chosen this
genre as it is a mix between two genres (drama and action) and this
means that I can use the best parts of both genres to create the best
opening scene possible. My target audience is mainly males ages
between 18 and 24 and therefore this is the perfect genre.

The target audience of a crime film is usually a more mature audience of

about 18 years old due to the nature of some of the events that happen in
the film for example murder. Most crime films have an age rating of an 18
for example The Godfather and Scarface. This appeals to people of this
age due to its mature content. The majority of cinema goers are under the
age of 24 so most production companies base their films at people
between the ages of 18 and 24.

From this graph we can tell that the average age of regular movie goers is 18-24.
Followed by 25-24 years old, then 35-49 and lastly 50+ years. This means that
targeting my film at people ages 18-24 will increase its success.

Crime films are mostly targeted at a male audience due to the violence,
justice system and villains in the film. We can see this by the examples of
Reservoir Dogs and The Godfather as in Reservoir Dogs the primary
audience is male with 433222 votes compared to the 58310 votes females
received. Similarly The Godfather had 759202 male votes compared to the
107533 female votes. From this we can clearly see that the male audience
is more predominant when it comes to crime films. Therefore the
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protagonist of the film must appear strong and dominating so that the
target audience can relate to the film. It is well known that stereotypically
women tend to enjoy more light-hearted films that often come under the
genre of comedy or chick flick. This is why most crime films are generally
based at a male audience.

My main target audience for my film will follow the general structure of
most crime films. The film will be mostly aimed at males between the
ages of 18 and 24. This is because I want to create a film for more mature
audiences with mature content. I also want to create a film with a darker
and more menacing tone.

This is a user review of the well-known

crime film Reservoir Dogs. The primary
audience of this film is males with 9 times
more viewers than females at 433222
votes this shows that this film is heavily
based on a male target audience. The
main viewing age of the film is between
18 and 29 with 239945 votes, this is the
highest demographic and is probably due
to the certificate being 18+. The second
most being between 30 and 44 years old
with 197245 votes, this is due to the
higher disposable income as the individuals get older.

This graph is a user review of the film,

The Godfather. This film also appeals
to a majority male audience with
759202 as opposed to the 107533
votes which the female category
received. Both categories 18-29 and
30-44 years old are both highly voted
for with 430401 and 327922
respectively. However the category of
45+ drops in votes considerably and
this may be due to the content of the film not being aimed at an older
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audience. There arent many people under the age of 18 that have
watched the film with 8389 votes and this is probably due to the 18+
certificate.

Both these graphs help support the idea that the main target audience of
crime films are males from the age of 18 to the age of 24 however shows
that the films are still popular with viewers up to the age of 44.

Crime films have many different codes and conventions. These inclued the
use of weapons, police intervention, a protagonist with a tough
upbringing, an emphasis on mental and physical challenges and they also
often portray characters with very little money.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

The use of weapons for example guns, knives or blunt objects. This
is to show the dangerous lifestyle that they live in. Weapons are also
essential in crime films as they are needed for the action aspect of
the film and are present in the life of a criminal and therefore could
be seen as relatable as many criminals use them.

Police intervention
Police intervention - including trying to arrest or intimidate the
protagonist. This is used to show that the criminals are breaking the
law and to show that their lives are full of risk. This is done in films
to create a sense of tension and suspense when the characters are
breaking the law as them being caught is a high risk.

A protagonist with a tough upbringing

A protagonist with a tough upbringing. This helps the viewer to
understand the reasoning behind the characters actions rather than
them just being some random action. This helps to create a
connection to the character and also helps to create a bit of
sympathy towards them. It also helps to develop the character so
that they feel more real.

Mental and Physical challenges

Often emphasising the mental and physical challenges faced by the
protagonist. This is also done to help to justify the characters
actions as the audience needs some form of backstory to
understand the characters actions. It also humanises the character
rather than showing them as perfect it shows that these characters
have flaws.
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Poor Protagonist
British crime films often portray characters with very little money.
This is to make the character more relatable to the audience as they
can imagine someone with no hope resorting to crime. This helps to
make the feel more realistic however it also helps them to
empathise with the character as they could imagine themselves in
that situation.

Audio in the genre of a crime film is often very dramatic and is used to
create tension between characters. It is often comprised of music created
by an orchestra, this is so that it is more dramatic and helps to create
suspense throughout the film. The audio also changes depending on the
pace of the scene. For example if there is a car chase the music will be a
much faster pace to make the scene seem more intense.

My Target Audience
My target audience for my crime film are males aged 15 to 24. This is
because this is who is most likely to enjoy and watch the film. This is due
to the mature and violent content that will be in my film throughout. I
have chosen this audience as I want to create an intense film with lots of
action and violence and this audience will be the most likely to enjoy this.

In my opening sequence I will attract my target audience by creating an

eerie tone that is full with tension. I will also include some violence but
also create the idea that there is more violence to come. Hopefully this
will intrigue the viewers as my target audience is aged between 18-24 and
therefore are the most likely to be interested. To attract my audience I will
use people who fit my demographic to be the victims of the murderer, this
is so the audience can identify with some of the characters.

For my film I will aim for an age rating of an 18. This is due to the mature
content that would be involved in the later film despite the fact that my
opening sequence could be rated at a 15.

The demographic itself will appear in the film and therefore should draw in
my target audience as they can relate to some of the characters in the
opening sequence. The costumes will also be relatable as many of it will
take place in suits (the work attire for many people) due to the fact that
much of the film is set in offices.
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My preferred target audience are mainly males aged 18 and above. This
psychographic will break down the different elements of my target
audience.

Either going through full time education or in full time work

Someone with little free time due to work or education so the main
character(murderer) can be more relatable to the audience
Small friendship groups, people who enjoy their own company are
preferred as they are also then more relatable to the main character.
Being single
Part time job

My opening sequence will appeal to my target audience at it will contain

violence which will appeal to a male audience. It will also be of a mature
nature and therefore will appeal to an older audience as well. The
costumes will also be relatable by many of the audience as the main
character will be wearing a suit and this is relatable as many people have
to wear suits for work. Another relatable element is the props used, for
example the use of a mobile phone and headphones. This can be seen as
very relatable as many people use these multiple times a day, this could
trick the audience into thinking that the protagonist is a normal person
and therefore creates a bigger surprise when it is finally revealed that he
is the murderer.

Questionnaire Analysis
The following graphs were created from the results from the questionnaire
that I created to find out the preferences of my target audience. These
were created to find an insight into my target audience. This means that I
can tailor my opening sequence to suit my target audience.

The first question in my

questionnaire was what is
your gender? From the
results I can clearly see
that the majority of my
responses were from
males with 76% and
females only accounting
for 24%. From this result I
can tell that the rest of the
answers will be of a
majority male perspective.
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By having these results it

means that I have got the
correct target audience as
the two minute opening
sequence is based on a
more male target
audience. Due to these
results I know that I can
alter my idea for my
opening sequence to
satisfy a more male based
audience.
This data shows the
results for the ages of the
respondents. From these
results it is clear to see
that the majority of people
who filled out the
questionnaire are aged
between 15 and 18 with
this category making up
for 96%. Whereas there is
only 4% taken up by
people aged 23+. Much
like the first question this
coincides with my vision
for my opening sequence
as I want to base it on
people aged 15 and
above. This means that
the data from the rest of
the questions will be
relevant as they are from
my target audience.
The third question in my
questionnaire is what the
preferred genre of film is.
The majority picked Action
with 32% followed by
Comedy with 28%. Only a
small proportion of people
chose my genre of crime.
This data doesnt correlate
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with my idea for my

opening sequence
however I can now
develop my opening
sequence to relate to this
data. For example I can
add in more action or
include some more
comedic elements to
create the best experience
for my target audience.
This data may mean that I
dont get the desired
answers in the later
questions as they are
targeted at a 15 year old,
male whose favourite film
genre is crime.
This is question is asking
the participants what
gender they would prefer
their ideal main
protagonist to be. The
majority, 84%, chose male
whereas only 16% chose
female. This is positive for
my opening sequence as
my main protagonist will
be male. This may be due
to the fact that the
majority of participants
were also male however
some females must have
chosen a male protagonist
as there are a larger
proportion of people who
picked a male antagonist
than participants that are
male. This means that
some females would
prefer to have a male
protagonist, widening my
target audience. I
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personally picked a male

protagonist due to the fact
that it is more believable
and due to the
stereotypes of a murderer.
However from these
results it is clear to see
that many people would
also prefer a male
protagonist.
The fifth question in my
questionnaire concerns
what scares people in
films. From the data we
can see that both the
unknown and jump scares
evoke the most fear with
an audience as the both
have 28%. This will be
useful for the making of
my opening sequence as I
intend to create a sense of
fear and now know how to
accomplish that. However
I will only use the
unknown to scare my
audience as despite jump
scares having the
capability to scare people I
believe that they arent
very successful at doing
so as they dont leave a
lasting effect. They also
add nothing to the quality
of the film and if not
portrayed in the right
manner they can appear
cheesy and not scary.
This data shows the result
for the question how
easily you are scared on a
scale of 1-10. As we can
clearly see most people
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are not very easily scared

as the majority of people
36% voted 4/10. Therefore
I know I need to use the
most effective techniques
to scare people, which I
discovered were jump
scares and the unknown
from one of my previous
questions. Despite this
question not directly
linking with my opening
sequence I can still alter it
depending on these
results as I know it will be
difficult to create
something that will appear
scary to the audience. For
this reason I will make
sure that my main focus
isnt to scare the
audience.
This question was based
around the amount of
films watched on average
per week. From the data
we can see that most
people watch 3 films a
week or 6 times a week
both with 33.3%. This data
cannot be directly linked
with the opening
sequence however it can
be used as a good insight
into how frequently people
watch films. From this
data I can see that the
majority of people that
completed my survey
watch films on a regular
basis. Therefore this
validates my results as it
shows that the opinions
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given are those of a

regular film watcher.
These results show what
keeps the audience
interested at the start of a
film. From the graph we
can clearly see that fast
paced action keeps the
most people interested at
the start of a film with
44%. Despite this I will
continue with my idea
which will be mostly slow
paced. This is because I
want a mysterious
atmosphere to be created.
This will be good as a
mystery was the second
highest in the graph with
20%. I think this will be
the more successful for
the genre and by including
some fast paced action
elements I think I will be
able to achieve an
opening sequence that will
satisfy my audience.
This question was asking
what the preferred sub-
genre is. As we can see
this is quite evenly spread
however action is the
highest with 24% and
Comedy being second.
These are the same as the
most popular genre and
therefore I the changes I
make by adding more
action and comedic
elements will correlate
with not only this question
but also the previous one
on favourite genres. Also
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as most of the participants

originally chose action and
comedy as their favourite
genre this means that
they arent my target
audience and therefore
may be the reason behind
these results.
What's the most important part of a film? (24 This is the only open
responses)
ended question in the
9 questionnaire and it is to
8 find out what people
7 regard as the most
6
important part of the film.
Due to this being an open
5
ended question it means
4
that I got many different
3 responses. However
2 despite the fact that they
1 had the freedom to choose
0 any answer many people
thought that the plot is the
most important factor of a
film. These results are
very beneficial as they
show that the general
thoughts of the audience
are the same. This means
that I now know to apply
the most effort into the
production of the plot as I
know that many people
regard it as the most
important part of the film.
However I still need to
consider the rest of the
responses and create
appealing and relatable
characters.

In conclusion, my opening sequence is going to be from the genre; crime.

Therefore I have chosen the target audience of males aged 18-24. This is
stereotypical of a crime film due to the mature content involved
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throughout. I will also have mature content throughout so my target

audience must be 18 and over.

Most of the codes on conventions of a crime films will be followed in my

opening sequence however I may divert from using some. For example a
crime film often has many fast paced scenes however I will strive to only
have a few really intense scenes with longer and eerie scenes. In my film
many of the victims will be ordinary people. This is so that the audience
can relate to them and their stereotypical natures. The main character
(murderer) will also have relatable aspects for example a boring and
mundane work life which he loathes.

In my opening sequence I intend to use multiple codes and conventions

for example I plan to use weapons. I will include the use of a knife in my
opening sequence to display the fact that the antagonist will be murdered.
I also plan to emphasise the mental challenges faced by the protagonist
by showing a compulsive and obsessive nature of the protagonist.

My titles will appear bold, in capitals and very simple. This is to represent
the main character; rigid, formal and boring on the outside with a deeper
and darker personality on the inside. The colour will also be white to
further the simplistic idea but also will be used so that the murderer
contrasts with the connotations of purity that the colour white has.