Audience Research for our Thriller opening

For our Thriller introduction we did a lot of research into our target audience's preferences. This was so we could use this information for our Thriller opening to make it as realistic and so our target audience would want to see it. We did a soundtrack questionnaire which was qualitative research along with a quantitive questionnaire that could give us their opinions in numerical data making it easier to see the preferences.

This is our soundtrack questionnaire that we tested on 10 media students in year 13 who were aged 17-18 which is roughly the age of our target audience. They listened to the soundtracks above and were asked to write which one they preferred to hear in a Crime Thriller film so that we could use a soundtrack that was similar to the one of the student’s choice.



This is the quantitive questionnaire we wrote so we could see what our target audience prefers to see in a Thriller film.

 1. What are your expectations of an independent thriller film?

[ ] Best selling story [ ] Not well known story [ ] Glamorous locations
[ ] Unglamorous locations [ ] Well-known actors [ ] Unknown actors
[ ] Special effects [ ] Soundtrack [ ] Award winning director
[ ] Unknown director [ ] Other (please state)………………………………........................................................................

2. Which genres of a thriller do you prefer? Please pick up to 3

[ ] Action [ ] Crime [ ] British Gangster [ ] Conspiracy
[ ] Crime [ ] Disaster [ ] Erotic [ ] Legal [ ] Mystery
[ ] Political [ ] Psychological [ ] Religious [ ] Supernatural
[ ] Other (please state)
……………………………….........................................................................

3. What are the connotations of these locations?

Cities – [ ] Dangerous [ ] Busy [ ] Isolated [ ] Lonely [ ] Intimidating
[ ] Other (Please state)
…………………………………………………………………………….................

Towns – [ ] secluded [ ] empty [ ] Lonely [ ] Gloomy [ ] Dark
[ ] Other (Please state)
……………………………………………………………………………….............

Countryside – [ ] Isolated [ ] Open space
[ ] Other (Please state)
………………………………………………………………………………….........

Housing estates – [ ] Crowded [ ] Friendly [ ] Hostile
[ ] Other (Please state)
…………………………………………………………………………………........

Car parks – [ ] Dark [ ] Enigmatic [ ] Claustrophobic [ ] Dangerous
[ ] Other (Please state)
…………………………………………………………………………………........


Prisons – [ ] Dangerous [ ] Scary [ ] Isolated
[ ] Other (Please state)
………………………………………………………………………………….......

4. In a thriller film, what kind of sound do you think is most effective?

[ ] Music [ ] Sound effects [ ] Both [ ] Other (please state)
……………………………….....................................................................

5. In a thriller film, what kind of sound do you notice the most?

[ ] Music [ ] Sound effects [ ] Other (please state)
………………………………......................................................................



 
Below is the qualitative questionnaire that the students filled out to see which soundtrack should influence us or we can use something similar to.

Write what the following soundtracks connote to you:


Psycho soundtrack:



Red Road soundtrack:

The Third Man soundtrack:


Witness soundtrack:


Once Upon a Time in America soundtrack:


The Good the Bad and the Ugly soundtrack:


Inception soundtrack:


Which one of these soundtracks would you prefer to hear in a Crime Thriller film?


Why have you chosen this soundtrack?



This is a piechart to show the favourite sound clips from the sound investigation amongst the students.

 

After asking the media students what the different music samples from the films connoted to them, we can conclude that:

·         The music from Psycho connoted fear, disturbance, terror, eeriness, tension and suspense amongst all of the students.

·         The music from Red Road caused anxiety amongst the students, as well as connoting disorientation, tension, loneliness and disconnection.

·         The music from The Third Man connotes hopefulness, satirical, comedy and irony. 

·         The music from Witness connoted the sense of adventure, progress, anticipation, peacefulness and tranquillity.

·         The music from Once Upon A Time in America was eerie and unwelcoming, creating a sense of isolation and loneliness.

·         The music from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly suggested a battle, pride and glory.

·         The music from Inception connoted suspense, tension, the idea of a fight, a nightmare, eeriness, action, and anxiety amongst the students.

We can use this information to build an idea of what our music will be like in our thriller opening. We can use the aspects of the music from different thrillers that work with our genre, themes and action.