Primary Research
Posted: 02/11/2010 Filed under: A2 Media, Advanced Portfolio, Primary Research Leave a comment »Today I finished off the design of the surveys/questionnaire, then printed out 20 copies. After refining the design, I distributed 20 questionnaires out around the college area. 10 were given to males, and 10 to females, because our target audience is aimed at both sexes. 75% of the participants were of our target age group, 16-20. This is advantageous to us because we can analyse whether our target audience is suitable for this genre and products, and also gain the perspective of others outside the targeted population. We plan now to reach a conclusion of the findings, and we will use the conclusion to base our secondary research upon, in order to make the secondary research more relevant to the products we plan to make.
Primary Research consists of data [quantitative or quantitative] collection or analysation by the researchers themselves. For this, we wanted to find out if our target audience was appropriate for the genre we chose, and to see the levels of interest in various aspects of this genre. By creating a survey/questionnaire, we have been able to collect both statistical [quantitative] and written, rich [qualitative] data which we have analysed. We chose this method of research because it is easy to design and distribute to a relatively relevant sample of participants. The questions are listed below;
Comedy Horror Film Questionnaire
1. What is your age group?
Under 16, 16-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 50+
2. Are you male or female?
Male, Female
3. How much on average do you spend on cinema, DVD’s and films per month?
£0-£9.99, £10-£19.99, £20-£29.99, £30-£39.99,
£40-£49.99, £50+
4. Are you interested in the horror comedy film genre?
Yes, No
5. If yes, what examples of these have you previously seen or want to see?
Ghostbusters, Shaun of the Dead, Scary Movie (1, 2, 3 or 4),
Teeth, Zombieland, Piranha 3-D,
Other
6. Would you be interested in a new horror comedy film, set within a college?
Yes, No
7. If yes, why? And if no, why not?
8. If this film was produced, how would you prefer to watch it?
Cinema, DVD/Blu-Ray, Online
9. Do you use online media websites, for example YouTube, or social networking sites such as Facebook?
Yes, No
10. Would you view a trailer of the film on one of these sites?
Yes, No
11. If yes, would you become a fan etc. on Facebook, or subscribe on YouTube? If no, why not?
12. Do you buy/read film magazines?
Yes, No
13. If yes, which magazine(s) do you buy or read?
However, this was not the only primary research which we had conducted. We asked each participant more questions focusing on the film magazine aspect of our package, because we decided that there was a lack of depth of these in our actual questionnaire. The questions focused on how much per month was spent on film magazines, if any subscriptions were made, and if magazines were followed via a converged source, e.g. Facebook or Twitter using internet or mobile internet devices.
A report is enclosed as a Word Document, which investigates the findings which we collected, along with the raw data and charts which we created as an Excel document.
Analysis & Evaluation of Primary Research Questionnaire
History of the Horror Genre
Before conducing research on specific horror/horror comedy film trailers,we decided that it would be useful to gain some background information on the horror genre alone. We did this by viewing a documentary – A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vcwm7].
Film Trailer
This refers to viewing existing products similar to that of our product. In our case, we decided to look at film trailers or various horror comedies, using YouTube as our main source of information. Before viewing any examples, we decided to create a mindmap in order to identify and narrow down which trailers to potentially view. The mindmap is linked below;
The first film trailer which we decided to view was Shaun of the Dead [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfDUv3ZjH2k]. This trailer begins with a high sense of versimilitude alongside eeriness, which leads the audience to believe that it is going to be a conventional horror film, emphasised by the fast-paced editing effects, and the use of static imaging, which can be seen in a huge majority of conventional horrors, for example Paranormal Activity. The trailer is introduced with the irony of the main characters panicking, when told not to do so by the main news report. The humor is emphasised by the music muting completely, making the audience focus on the situation of the main characters. The trailer continues to use this theme, showing various comical moments of the film, for example when the narrator details how to use weapons to defend oneself, the main characters use vinyl records to throw at the zombies. The pace which has been built up is maintained through the use of many short clips being shown immediately after one another, mostly funny clips. The final moment lasts around 12 seconds, where they run over a zombie, and ironically go back to check if he is okay, then complain when he is still alive.
The second trailer we decided to view was Paranormal Activity 2, on the official website [http://www.paranormalmovie.com/index.php]. There are 2 aspects to analyse with this trailer, firstly the trailer itself. The whole trailer uses a handheld ‘amateur’ camera effect, which allows the audience to view it through the eyes of the characters, and also therefore adds to the versimilitude. We will definitely include this in our trailer, as it will build up the horror within and make the audience believe that they are going to view a complete horror film, thus emphasizing the shock when it becomes a comedy. The second intriguing aspect of this particular trailer is that it includes an interactive element – if the viewer rewinds the trailer to a certain point, then it shows a unique other piece of footage, same as if the viewer fast forwards the trailer to the end. This creates a whole new experience for the viewer, which we wish to achieve in our trailer too, but in a different way.
The final trailer(s) which we decided to analyse were The Grudge [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMpg6BdHrkI] & The Grudge 2 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fsOsguf0iA&feature=related]. We chose these because they carry many of the typical horror conventions, which we can apply to our trailer. Firstly, suspense is built up excellently, mainly through the use of sound – specifically the non-digetic rising pitch noise leading to the climax of the trailer. Another convention would be the use of rapidly flashing, almost subliminal images of the main character’s [the possessed girl] face, which further emphasises upon the suspense which is present. The final blatant convention which we found within this piece was the dark colored, traditional horror themes to the mise-en-scene. We will also look to include this in our piece in order to make it seem as a traditional horror initially, which will cause further emphasis on the comedy elements.
Magazine Front Cover
As initial activities in order to allow me to understand the typical conventions of a magazine, I completed some exercises to understand the very stereotypical audiences of various magazines first, followed by looking at the typical layout of a magazine. The files have been uploaded below;
Existing Magazines Audience Research – Cosmopolitan
Existing Magazines Audience Research – Men’s Vogue
Shown in the following document is the most typical format/layout for a front cover of a magazine to take form of - Magazine Front Cover Template – Using this we can establish to what extent film magazines will replicate this, thus altering how much we will decide to follow the typical conventions in terms of the layout in our piece. We can additionally analyse the themes which are common within film magazine front cover, and spot typical genre-specific conventions.
The first film magazine we decided to analyse was very genre-specific, emphasised by the title: Gorezone. An image of the cover is shown below;
This magazine specialises in the horror genre, which is the basis of our trailer. However, we will look to emphasise many of the horror conventions but with a twist of humor within the main image, which in this example does accord to the typical conventions of a magazine in general, because it is central, large and ‘strong’. We will definitely use this in our piece and look at taking influence from the gory make-up of the main character. Another element in this example which conforms to the typical layout would be the position of the barcode [bottom right]. We will also consider replicating this in our magazine, mainly because the focus of the potential reader is typically drawn to the left of the magazine when it is placed on shop shelves, because it is the side which is showing, therefore it would be more beneficial for the reader to include information on that side which is more relevant, i.e. coverlines. The inserts box is positioned on the traditional side, but however is lower than that of the most typical form of magazine. There are conversely quite a few elements of the layout/design of this magazine which do not conform to the typical layout. A prime example of this would be that it does not actually feature straplines, but places a slogan at the top and up the left-hand side of the cover instead. This is perhaps because of the placement of the coverlines, which also do not exactly conform to the traditional design as they tend to overlap the main image more. The slogan is also included instead because it is there to emphasis on the popularity and/or success of the magazine – “WORLDWIDE No. 1 HORROR ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE” and “THE WORLD’S MOST UPMARKET HORROR ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE”. It will definitely be considered to make use of a slogan instead of straplines in our piece, with a funny quote/statement. to emphasise upon the comedy aspect of our film more, as the audience may not realize the comedic elements of our main image therefore creating the need for them to almost be ‘reminded’. In conclusion, although only around 50% of the content layout does accord to the traditional design, other elements challenge it and we may look at doing so in our magazine, because in the trailer we will effectively be challenging the horror genre which should be reflected and emphasised in the magazine front cover.
The next magazine we decided to analyse was Empire, and issue featuring ‘Hellboy 2′. We chose to analyse this because we were intrigued in the effects used on the masthead. The cover is shown below;
We can see that many conventions of magaznie layout are challenged within this cover. Firstly, there again is no strapline above the masthead, because of the effects of the masthead [flames] ascending into that area. The main coverline is also featured at the bottom of the page, perhaps due to the main image sizing and positioning, if a main coverline were to be placed in the ‘typical’ position on this layout, it would overlap the main character’s face, which is an integral representative and informational part of the image. The coverlines are featured on the left-hand side, but are absent on the right, which again challenges the traditional layout. Similar to that of Gorezone, the insert is placed on the right side but however slightly lower. We will therefore look at replicating this convention in our magazine cover, to further add verisimilitude. We will also strongly consider creating genre-relative effects within the masthead, in order to engage the audience and prepare them for the conventions of that genre.
The final magazine cover we reviewed was Total Film, an issue featuring Harry Potter. The cover is shown below;
Firstly, within this magazine cover we can see a representative theme it shares in common with the other two: the colours of red, white and black. These colours are typically reprasentative of gore, blood, horror, darkness, blandness, etc., which will bring a certain emphasis on the comedy aspect of our piece, because of the contrast between these colours and the typical comedy elements. In terms of the design/layout of this magazine cover, it conforms more to the typical conventions than that of the previous magazines. This is possibly because it is more generally themed , i.e. less genre specific, which means that the layout must be more universal and less diverse. For instance, the masthead, coverlines, main image, and bottom strapline are all in extremely similar places to that of the typical template. The only elements which vary are the use of a slogan instead of a top strapline, and the inserts & barcode are positioned differently.
Poster
Before analysing genre specific posters featuring our film, we decided to examine a drama film poster in general, and take note of the conventions which are and are not present within it.
The first film poster we decided to analyse was ‘Freedom Writers’, shown below;
Firstly, we can see that obviously the title is present. There are many factors to consider, which can be clearly identified within this example, for instance – the title is yellow, perhaps to symbolize optimism & hope, which is certainly present and a core, key part of the narrative. The font is also quite bold in style, perhaps to indicate the strength & bold mentality of the characters within. Another interesting aspect is that the majority of the font aside from the title is in a recognisable hand-written style, which emphasises upon the writers within the film. This is definitely what the font denotates, however, when investigating the connotation we can see that there is a contrast between the optimistic colour of the title font, and the darkness & de-saturation of the main character portrait image and the black background. This perhaps subtly suggests then that there will be a ‘roller coaster’ between success, blind optimism and failure within the complex narrative. The image across the centre of the poster of the 5 characters is also intriguing, as the characters are staring just below the viewer’s main point of interest (rule of thirds), almost ‘inviting the viewer inside’, emphasising upon the tagline – “our story our words”. The billing line is also visible at the bottom, but is layed-out around the “COMING SOON” featurette, which actually draws attention to it as it stands out from the billing block. In terms of other features/elements present within this poster, we can see in the top-right both an award which the film has achieved along with the main starring actor, Hilary Swank.
The second poster I have decided to analyse is of the horror genre, in order to gain an understanding of the typical conventions within this sub-genre. The chosen poster is from ‘The Uninvited’.
Firstly, we immediately notice the lack of saturated (coloured/colourful) colours – particularly black, which appears to be a common convention within the horror genre, because it indicates darkness, death, lack of knowledge, emptiness etc., typical themes throughout. This is because black is not actually a colour, but the lack/absence of it. The only other colour which this poster really utilizes is white, which represents purity, security, perfection etc. This then questions the extremely dark theme, suggesting that within the narrative there may be ‘shreds’ of hope and peace, among the darker side to the story, which almost makes us re-contemplate the apparent demonic appearance of the character. If the rule of thirds is applied to this poster, we notice that the main character’s eye line is not actually visible, yet we expect it to be laying on the top third horizontal line intersection, where it is conventionally placed. This then makes the audience slightly uneasy, as there is a sense of mystery to whether the character is observing us or not, making us feel a sense of insecurity, which can be argued to be key within the horror genre. However, security is ‘re-installed’ almost by the use of the main image being ‘contained’ behind a window, however, a relatively fragile looking window, again emphasising upon the insecurity. In terms of the fonts used for the title and the tagline, we can see that it is more of a hand-writing based text, which can be identified by looking at the 2 ‘n”s in the title, which do not match, and are therefore reprasentative of human based writing, not standardised, computer based lettering. This is conventional within the horror genre, as it adds a further sense of mystery, eeriness and makes it more ‘spooky’. This also applied to both the tagline – “fear moves in” and the conventional ‘from the producers of…’ section just below the centre of the piece. We will look to draw inspiration from the main image used here, as the character is similar to that of what we wish to develop. We can look at the posture, gesture, body language, physical appearance, and make-up of this character, and look to include similar elements in our poster. However, we may look to alter and exclude some of the horror elements however, because we want our poster to focus more on the comedy aspect of our piece, engaging the audience in the humor within.
In order to gain an insight into elements of comedy within film posters, we decided to analyse a horror-comedy classic film poster – ‘Shaun of the Dead’, shown below;
Many aspects of this poster are very intriguing. Beginning with the colour themes, red is the most prevalent and dominating colour within this poster. Red tends to denote themes of blood, gore, anarchy, danger, anger etc., which are typical of the horror genre. However, it can connote passion, romance, and love. This is cleverly utilized then in this poster, as it suggests the blood & violence which occurs, the danger of the zombies, and the anger which is actually made to be comical, as well as connoting the love story between 2 characters within the film. The romance aspect is further emphasised by the use of clever wording, seen in the slogan – “A ROMANTIC COMEDY. WITH ZOMBIES”, and also even in the website address – “romzom.com”, because ‘romzom’ is associated with the genre of ‘romcom’ (romantic comedy), however with the theme of zombies inducing the comedy. In terms of the main image, firstly, the use of lighting is integral to attracting attention to the image, along with the rule of thirds. The top & bottom of the poster actually fade from red into black (or vice versa) in order to draw the viewer’s eye into the light, which is where the main image is situated. The main image is also very integral to the poster’s meaning, as it emphasises both upon the horror with the zombies – very pale skinned, white-eyed, dull clothed, almost ‘soul-less creatures’, but then this is disturbed by the ‘normal’ man in to our left in the elevator, holding a bouquet, which immediately engages in comical elements of the poster. The expression upon the man’s face suggests that he is majorly concerned, but not actually scared, of the zombies, emphasised by the fact that he is still holding the flowers, and has not either dropped them in an attempt to escape etc. He is essentially having a normal, mundane time, apart from the zombies of which he is slightly worried about. When this comedy aspect is ‘initiated’ within the viewer’s mind, it then leads the viewer on to investigate the image further, and seek out other funny aspects. When the audience does this, they may even find comical aspects to what they initially thought was scary – i.e. the zombies. We can see that they are most definitely intended to be scary, however when studying further we can see (for example) that the zombie toward the bottom-right section of the elevator wearing the orange hooded jumper is actually pressing his face against the glass of the lift, which can be associated with almost childish humor, as he has a slightly hysterical aspect to his facial expression, because it is ‘squashed’ and restricted from the scary expression which would most likely be present normally. Aside from the image, the tagline at the top is also very interesting. It denotes a metaphor to the audience – “EVER FELT LIKE YOU WERE SURROUNDED BY ZOMBIES?”, which is metaphorical because one would not literally imagine being surrounded by zombies, but in a more subtle form. However, the image depicts the character LITERALLY surrounded by zombies, a comical aspect of this poster. In terms of the title, the font is relatively conservative, however we can see the ‘bits’ missing out of the letters emphasise the zombie theme, who have perhaps ‘chewed away at the title’. The hand inside the ‘A’ also further emphasises the aspect of the zombies within this film. Much like the previous 2 posters, the title block is very conventional – placed at the bottom third, in a subtle font. Finally we can see that even the cinema release date has a comical aspect, relevant to the poster. The word ‘SHUFFLING’ is used because of the ‘shuffling’ occurring within the main image on the poster, again as perhaps a synoptical link.
