Questionnaire Analysis An analysis of the questionnaire in order to research demographical trends Errol Anderson

Introduction In order to maximise the appeal of both my trailer and magazine front cover, I compiled a questionnaire This questionnaire was handed out to a varied demographic so that I could then pinpoint my target audience Here, I aim to spot key trends using both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis My sample contained 18 individuals

Quantitative Information from closed questions that provides numerical data

Gender Are you male or female? 10 males, 8 females On evaluation, I reckon that I should have possibly asked an equal amount of each gender in order to get a more accurate overview Age Group What age group do you fall between? The majority of the sample were aged between 16-24, with just a small amount being over 35 (3)

Ethnic Origin How would you describe your ethnic origin? All of the people questioned were of British ethnicity, the majority of which were Black British (8) Industry Sector Which industry sector do you work within? In correspondence to the amount of candidates, there were a similar amount of unemployed people A large amount of those asked were students Interestingly, the high ranked professionals I asked did not like films, and so were not included in the questionnaire

Film Genre What genre of film do you prefer to watch? Horror and romance movies were the most popular choice of genre Not many people enjoy watching drama, historical or adventure movies Therefore, choosing a genre such as these would not appeal to a large amount of people Social Realism Would you be attracted by a social realist approach to teenage romance? ⅔ of the sample would be interested in seeing a social realist take on the romance genre I will take this into consideration when formulating the rest of my ideas

Preferred Marketing Method What marketing method do you believe is most effective in providing information for the public? Posters were generally the most effective marketing method Trailers were also very popular within the age bracket – bearing in mind this will probably become the target audience, I must take this statistic into consideration Early Cinema Goers How often do you deliberately reach the cinema early to view trailers from upcoming movies? Not many of the sample felt the need to go to cinemas early for new trailers Only 17% would deliberately go to the cinema earlier

Effect of Famous Cast How much further would you be attracted by the involvement of a recognized actor/director? Surprisingly, the involvement of recognized cast had little or no effect on the attraction to the film itself This is ideal because the cast for our trailer will not feature high-profile actors I assume that the quality of the film is much more important than the cast itself Film Magazines How often do you purchase film magazines? 50% of the sample never bought film magazines, with a further 16.7% reading them on rare occasions only This may severely affect the success of this type of marketing; meaning a lot depends on the aesthetic appeal of the poster and trailer

Magazine Front Cover Organisation Do you prefer magazine front covers that include lots of information (option 1) or those that focus on the main film, with little information (option 2)? Only 9 people answered this question due to the amount of people that actually read film magazines The majority of people preferred a simple magazine front cover design, which ultimately has an effect on my choice of layout The idea for option 1 may have been less because a busy layout takes the focus away from the main film

Qualitative Information from open-ended questions that provides a detailed description of a situation

Qualitative Questions Do you enjoy watching teenage romance comedies? If so, what do you enjoy about them? Please state what you enjoy about trailers made in this genre. What do you expect to see in a teenage romance comedy? If so, which ones do you read? (in terms of magazine) Although a few respondents did not nominate anything they liked about the genre, the most common reply that participants mentioned was the element of comedy. They felt that a major part of the trailer/film would have to be humorous as well as romantic. Other things participants noted included the inclusion of an on-screen kiss, a young couple and the inevitability of a happy ending. Again, the importance of comedy within the trailer was consistent in many responses. It is then paramount that some sort of humour is evident along with some familiar conventions of the trailer genre that also appeared in the sample, including: dramatic music, a specifically British voiceover, interspersed dialogue and a range of locations. As noted before, only 50% of the sample actually read magazines. On examination, few of the age range read established film magazines, opting instead for the monthly Sky magazine, or Metro reviews. Of the older age groups, more liked Empire and Sight & Sound.

Conclusion In conclusion, the sample elicited the following information: Horror and romance are the most popular genres I will therefore choose one of these genres in order to attract a larger audience. I will have to research them in more detail in order to both conform and subvert their genre conventions appropriately. A social realist approach to a teen rom-com would be embraced This aspect could definitely act as a USP in terms of the film/trailer itself – such a twist would possibly attract a younger audience because of their ability to relate with the themes and dialogue of the narrative. Posters were generally the most effective marketing method I will have to consider this in my poster design, as this may again be most effective. I will have to research engaging conventions of the poster. Trailers were popular amongst the unemployed (student) demographic Bearing in mind this will probably become the target audience, I must take this statistic into consideration and modify the trailer itself in order to cater to this demographic. Only a small percentage of people actually go to the cinema early for trailers alone The involvement of recognized cast had little or no effect on the attraction to the film itself This is ideal because the cast for our trailer will not feature high-profile actors due to our budget. Few of the age range read established film magazines This could assist me in my plan to make my own magazine, which with further analysis could specifically target this younger audience in terms of house style, featured models etc. People preferred a simple layout for the front cover I will ultimately then choose such a layout for my front cover in order to attract a larger readership.

Evaluation Although I felt that the questionnaire was a constructive choice of analysis, I could have improved my data by: Using a larger sample – this would have given me a more accurate overview of the intended audience Asking an equal amount of people from each gender Refining some of my quantitative questions – by being more detailed, my responses could have been more specific