Questionnaire & Audience Research

We decided to create a questionnaire that we then gave to our target audience ( young/middle aged women) in order to see what appealed to them so that we would be able to focus on making our own teaser trailer, as well as the magazine successfully appeal to them. We included questions that asked them personal questions about films (eg. what is your favourite film and why?) along with more specific questions related to our chosen drama genre. (eg. What is your favourite drama film and why is it so successful?)

What did we find out about our target audience and what appeals to them?

• Most said the storyline and actors are the main elements that make a film successful. Our target audience also said that a 'thought provoking' story is something that would appeal to them.
• Alot of the age group liked drama films (a vast majority voted for a drama genre as one of the top 3 films genres that they would watch) so we knew that our film would successfully appeal to our target audience.
• Nearly all people said that moderate use of strong language would be most suitable, which meant that we knew how far we would be able to go with the violent language if it came to making our film for real.
• All thought that a trailer made a big impact on the viewing of the film.
• Most said they'd pay £2.51 for a film magazine. Our magazine was going to be issued by 'Total Film' and their magazine prices are usually in that price range anyway, which, to us meant that we had the right magazine publisher/distributor in mind.
• Most people said that the actors, director, film review and genre were the biggest things that attracted them to the film.

Our questionnaire helped us immensely when it came to getting in touch with our target audience and understanding exactly what they wanted in a film. There were sections of the questionnaire that had a variety and mixtures of answers when it came to personal prefrences, however, there were also questions that enabled our group to accurately pinpoint the main elements that appealed to the audience. Because of this, I would say that producing and distributing a questionnaire was extremely benefitial.