Recently I conducted a survey to find out who my target audience is and what they want from my horror teaser trailer. The survey was created online, the web link was shared on various social media platforms. I asked a number of thirteen - fourteen questions so I can get the most information to find out exactly what my audience want in order to benefit the production of my horror teaser trailer.
My first question was about people's gender and the reason I asked this was because different genders have different tastes in films. The results I got back were: 27% male and 73% female. This shows that females are the ones I should focus on because they are the ones who answered the questionnaire, mostly.
The second question I asked was what age people were. I made this a close ended question and gave people a range to answer from because people would feel sensitive to answering with their real age and thus a range was provided. The results are as followed:
The most popular result was 15-18 with a high percentage of 67%. My horror teaser should only be made to suit 15-18 year olds. This makes the job of making the horror teaser easier because these are the age groups who are constantly chosen and targeted for well-known horror movies and so I will ensure that my horror teaser will be just for this age group.
The next question asks about the setting of my horror teaser and the most popular result was an abandoned building (15%) and isolated area (19%). These results help to to narrow what the atmosphere of the building is. The teaser is set in an isolated are to show to the audience that no one will help the protagonist of the teaser.
The eighth question asks the audience on what the best features of a trailer are. This question is necessary for it will help provide a focus on the production of my trailer to ensure the best out of my entire trailer. The survey came up with the result that originality, suspense and jumpscares were crucial for a horror trailer. These factors help to sell the genre of the trailer, that is horror. Originality is so that the horror trailer is selling something new and unique. Knowing this, I can ensure that I pay close attention to these elements to create the best horror trailer.
The ninth question I have asked is where people access their trailer. how people access their trailer means that I can select the correct render format for the teaser trailer to be shown for different media platforms. Different media platforms have layout requirements for videos to be presented. Majority of the votes lean to YouTube which shows that the video format has to meet YouTube upload requirements. I will make sure the teaser is uploaded to YouTube where everyone accesses videos.
The following question, I asked was regarding the character types people wanted to be portrayed on screen. Majority of the votes go to ghosts and female killer which means that the audience would like to see a female antagonist take the centre of the screen and so I will go for a female ghost killer. In terms of protagonists, a female protagonist is more popular for I assume it is due to the fact that most horror films have a female play the victim. I however will go against this because it will make the horror teaser unique and different compared to other horror trailers. I will also make my protagonist have an ethnic background because my research has shown me that ethnic minorities are killed first in a horror trailer and having an ethnic minority survivor would engage audiences even more into my teaser and be a diverse trailer. I will make sure to have an ethnic survivor and female killer.
Overall I have discovered that my trailer should be suitable for YouTube and targeted to a female audience in their teenage years. I set the teaser trailer in an abandoned building and would have an ethnic minority protagonist go against a female ghost killer. The genre of the trailer would be a cross of slasher and supernatural and the trailer would involve mystery, jumpscares and originality. Finally I would ensure that the trailer would include dolls to play on the fear of the audience and show that the teaser is truly terrifying.
My first question was about people's gender and the reason I asked this was because different genders have different tastes in films. The results I got back were: 27% male and 73% female. This shows that females are the ones I should focus on because they are the ones who answered the questionnaire, mostly.
The second question I asked was what age people were. I made this a close ended question and gave people a range to answer from because people would feel sensitive to answering with their real age and thus a range was provided. The results are as followed:
The most popular result was 15-18 with a high percentage of 67%. My horror teaser should only be made to suit 15-18 year olds. This makes the job of making the horror teaser easier because these are the age groups who are constantly chosen and targeted for well-known horror movies and so I will ensure that my horror teaser will be just for this age group.
The next question I asked was what genre of horror do people like to watch. This multiple choice question was because not everyone likes one specific genre of horror; allowing multiple choice gives me a wider scope on what genre do people prefer the most:
The results varied but the top two genres were Supernatural and Slasher horror. This would make sense because these are the two most popular genres with great films i.e. Supernatural has films like The Conjuring and Insidious whilst Slasher has great films like Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street. So taking the results, I will make my trailer a hybridised genre in order to gain the most audience and in terms of production will be very easy to produce. My horror teaser will just be a hybridised genre between Slasher and Supernatural.
The next question I asked was people's fears. It is very important for me to know because most horror movies play on the idea of fear. Using people’s fears in the trailer allows for a really effective and scary horror trailer. This also was a multiple choice question because it gives me a wider view to see what people are really afraid of:
The most popular result were dolls with a high score of 13%. The reason for this vote could possibly be due to the fact the the fear of dolls is a common phobia. In addition to this, many films are beginning to include dolls as a fear factor e.g. Annabelle. This high percentage along with blood and claustrophobia ensures that I should try involve dolls and blood to heighten my audiences' fear as well as getting the best out of making a perfect horror teaser.
The following question inquired what kind of monster, people would like to see. The pie chart accumulated results and I revealed that the top three results are Other 15%, Unknown 15% and Ghosts/Spectres 12%. The first two results are ambiguous that I can use any monster I want to portray yet it still made it difficult to decide what to use. I used the third highest which is a ghost/spectre which had 12%. This helps to create a focus for my trailer and I am able to use ghosts to make my horror trailer.
The next question asks about the setting of my horror teaser and the most popular result was an abandoned building (15%) and isolated area (19%). These results help to to narrow what the atmosphere of the building is. The teaser is set in an isolated are to show to the audience that no one will help the protagonist of the teaser.
The eighth question asks the audience on what the best features of a trailer are. This question is necessary for it will help provide a focus on the production of my trailer to ensure the best out of my entire trailer. The survey came up with the result that originality, suspense and jumpscares were crucial for a horror trailer. These factors help to sell the genre of the trailer, that is horror. Originality is so that the horror trailer is selling something new and unique. Knowing this, I can ensure that I pay close attention to these elements to create the best horror trailer.
Overall I have discovered that my trailer should be suitable for YouTube and targeted to a female audience in their teenage years. I set the teaser trailer in an abandoned building and would have an ethnic minority protagonist go against a female ghost killer. The genre of the trailer would be a cross of slasher and supernatural and the trailer would involve mystery, jumpscares and originality. Finally I would ensure that the trailer would include dolls to play on the fear of the audience and show that the teaser is truly terrifying.
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