Research into target audience - Miss Miller

In my group we can up with 10 questions specific to the thriller genre and asked them to 40 members of the public. We done this primary research so that we can find out what we should include in our thriller and what common things people think create tension and suspense within a thriller. Also so we was aware of our target audience and what BBFC guidelines we would have to follow. We asked 40 people because we needed to get a range of views from different genders and age groups as different people have different opinions. This research will help us to create our thriller sequence because we will know what content our target audience wants and therefore we will know what we have to include within the sequence to achieve ultimate tension, surprise, shock and suspense.

As a group we discussed the questions that we wanted to ask, these consisted of a range of open and closed questions so that we could get as much information as possible. The first question that we decided to ask was the age of the person as we wanted to no was sort of BBFC guidelines we would have to stick too. Also what age rating we would make our sequence. Following this we asked the gender of the person so that we could see if males and females had different preferences, which may result in us developing our content to suit a certain gender. After these two closed questions we decided to ask a open question which was what their favourite thriller was and why. From this we could see what films are most popular and what made them the most popular. Also what sort of films not as many people liked. After this, we asked what sub-genre people preferred and this would give us a good idea of what the most popular one is which would result in our sequence being more successful. Following this, we asked what iconography people would expect to see in thrillers, as this allowed us to see how other people identified the genre. This could also help to shape our narrative. Questions 6 was related to sound, as this is what massively impacts the tension built up within our sequence. This gave us an idea of what sound we should use in our sequence, it also shows us what sort of sounds create the most fear and suspense within our audience. During research for our opening sequence we saw that many of the victim were women or children, therefore we asked if our audience found women and child victims more vulnerable. This will help us to decide what victim we are going to have. Then we asked another closed question, which was whether they thought chase scenes created suspense. We asked this as a closed question instead of an open one as we wanted to know whether to include one or not. Similar to this we then asked whether they feel masked antagonists are more threatening as we wanted to know whether our killer should wear a mask. Then we asked whether an isolated setting makes them feel like the victim is in more danger, as we wanted to have our setting as something isolated such as a forest.

Our first question that we asked is the age of the person answering the questions. We asked this so that we know the age classification we should have and therefore we will know the content allowed within out thrillers. From this we can see that 18+ is the most popular age range with 40% and 12 to 14 is the least popular age range with 25%. Therefore we have decided that we are going to give our opening sequence a 15 age classification. This is because is will give us some guidelines to follow whereas an 18 is very open and there would not be any guidelines of what to put in. We didn't want to go as low as a 12 because the content is quite restrictive and we do not think our thriller would create as must tension and suspense if the content is that restricted. It is helpful that 35% of our audience is 15 to 17 as this is the age group we are aiming our film at so their feedback will be helpful for us. 

The next question that we asked we the gender. Although we have got some box plots which allow us to see the gender of the audience, we are not doing this for everyone. Therefore this shows us the percentage of males and females. This questions allowed us to find out whether more males or females watch thriller films, so that we could adapt our narrative and content to be more appealing to males or females. But as we can see from the 50/50% which shows an equal gender balance. Meaning, that we do not have to adapt our narrative and content to suit any specific gender. Additionally, we asked an equal amount of males and females as we did not want to have biased results. As males and females like different thrillers conventions that they enjoy to see in thrillers.

The third question that we asked the public was what was their favourite thriller film. We done this research so that we can look into what the favourite films where and then find out why. This would lead to us being able to look into the more popular films to gain influence for our opening sequence. From this pie chart we can see that the most popular film was the conjuring with 15% of the vote, and Halloween is the lowest with on 2%. This has shown us that the sample of people asked prefer films with more effects and like paranormal and physiological thrillers. Therefore we have decided that we are going to follow the physiological thriller route as we have found through this and previous research that this is a popular theme. Where as Halloween creates its tension and suspense by a plot twist and a sense of enigma through out.

From our 'why' bar graph we can see that 27% of people favour a thriller that made them jump, therefore i now know that i need to include many shock elements to make my thriller successful. Also a plot twist had 22% so this would be good to include, however it will be hard to portray this as i'm only doing an opening sequence. Although only 13% of the people said they favored a thriller because there is gore I still think that i should include some of this in my opening scene so that my film is successful with all suitable viewers. However i will not focus on this. Also even though the others do not have as high percentages i will still included them in as they are all thriller conventions.

This is the next question that we asked of surveyors, we asked this so that we know what theme our thriller should follow.  A massive 52% prefer a psychological thriller, which shows me that i need to create a sense of enigma within my thriller and have an antagonist with psychotic features to appeal to the audience. A gory thriller was the lowest (23%) which supports the results from my last question. Although a paranormal thriller has a quarter of the percentage it will be hard to add the correct effects to make a successful paranormal thriller therefore there will be no focus on any paranormal happenings.

We asked the public what iconography they would expect to see in the thriller, this will allow us to know what we should include in order for the sequence to be successful. Our results show us that murder weapons are highly expected in thrillers with 35% of the vote. This has shown me that the murder weapons create suspense and tension within the audience as this is what they expect to see. Because it shows them that something bad is going to happen but the audience don't no what. Although the other weapons are not as expected in thrillers, i will still try to incorporate them as they are still conventional iconography. 

The next question we asked was what sounds they found most effective. From the results we can see that a stabbing sound was the most effective sound with 25% of the vote, therefore it would be vital to include this in my opening sequence. The second most effective sound is a heart beat so it would also be important to include this, it also helps to create tension within my thriller. Although the other sounds not as many people find them effective, i would still include them as i want the film to be effective for everyone, even the 10% that found screeching the most effective sound.

 Another question that we asked the public is whether they find women and child victims more vulnerable. A huge 92% said yes that women and child victims are more vulnerable. This has confirmed to me that i am going to have ether a child or women victim in my thriller as it will have a bigger emotional effect on the audience. Also because i asked my questionnaire to both women and men, the women could just say no because they felt embarrassed to say yes and they didn't want to appear like the weaker sex. This could make up for the 8%.

 The next question we asked is if they think chase scenes create suspense. We asked this questions as in most of the thriller films we have watched there is a chase scene between the antagonist and the protagonist. This always created suspense with us when we was watching. So we wanted to know if this is something that we should incorporate in our opening sequence. Way over half (72%) of the people we asked said that a chase scene creates suspense, therefore i will definitely incorporate this in my opening sequence.

The following question we asked was if they find a masked antagonist more threatening. We asked this as from previous research we found masked antagonist are a common thriller convention so we wanted to know whether to include this or not. From our results we can see that over three quarters (80%) said that they find masked antagonists more threatening, therefore i will use these results to see that i should definitely include a masked antagonist to create a sense of suspense and mystery.

Our aim in our thriller is to create as much suspense and tension within the audience as possible therefore, the next question we asked was if they think that an isolated setting would make them feel like the protagonist is in more danger and why. 87% of people said yes it does, therefore our group has decided that we are going to include this in our opening sequence. Isolated settings that we could include is a forest, abandoned house or warehouse. 

We wanted this to be an open question so we could find out why people thought this. 32% of people said because no one else is around, this will help to create tension and suspense. The lowest was 22% of people said it was creepier,. which engaged them with the film. These results show that an isolated setting is something we should include in our opening sequence as it will help to create tension within the audience.

Each member in our group then went and did three vox pops each, as proof of our questionnaire. A vox pop is an interview with a member of the public that is usually recorded. This allowed us to analyse there answers.

From Marnie's answers we have found out her favourite thriller is saw because there is a lot of gore, however upon analysing the overall answers to this question my group and I are reluctant to use a lot of gore in our opening sequence. However, she supported our idea that expected iconography in a thriller are murder weapons which has encouraged us to insure we include them.  

Cara's vox pop shows us that she prefers the psychological sub-genre, this is mirrored within our overall results, therefore we have chosen this as the sub-genre we are going to follow. Another popular answer that is supported by Cara's answers is footsteps being an affective sound therefore we are aiming to use them in our sequence. 

The person answering in this vox pop is not the targeted audience for our thriller sequence and we can see this as her answers differ from the others. Unlike Cara her sub-genre preference is paranormal, which is not the one my group and I have chosen.


This questionnaire has helped me and my group as it has allowed us to see what the public find creates the most tension, suspense, surprise and shock. I found that the questions regarding sub-genres, iconography and chase scenes most useful, this has all made it easier for me and my group to decide what our opening scene should focus on and include. Also because of the clear percentages from my pie charts, we can shape our narrative and content to suit the results. The vox pops gave me a more elaborated view from the pubic making it easier to analyse. The thing that I am definitely going to include after this research are elements such as a masked antagonist, an isolated setting and a young female victim, because the questions to do with these elements support the use of these three things. If I could do anything differently, I would ask more detailed questions which would ensure our sequence was even more successful.