Audience Research
I started by creating the questionnaire using Microsoft word, which consisted of a series of questions. Some of these questions were multiple choice questions, while others asked for their opinions. The screenshots below show the document that was handed around to students in our sixth form, during numerous tutor times, allowing as most forms to be completed as possible. Although some teachers and staff members participated in completing our questionnaire, most were completed by students aged between 16 and 17, making this our target audience.
After most of our sixth form students, (including me and the rest of my group), completed our questionnaire, we put all of the hard copies together, allowing me to insert all of the data into Microsoft Excel, so that I could create visual representations for each of the individual responses for the questions. Below is one completed questionnaire, this would be the layout of answers that all the candidates answering the questionnaire followed.
I went through each answer one by one, and tallied the information or data into Microsoft Outlook. Below is the data collected, and visual representation for the first question, asking the person answering whether they are male or female.
The results show that 75 people completed the questionnaire, 45 of which were males, and 30 were females. This gives us with exact percentages of 60% male, and 40% female, as shown in the pie chart. This is a fairly balanced percentage to balance gender, giving us valid results for an audience of both genders.
Below is the data and visual representation for the second question, which asked how often that person watches action films. They had the option of selecting either: never, sometimes, often and always.
Are you male or female?
How often do you watch action films?
The results show the options that the people completing the questionnaire selected, as a percentage. The highest percentage was 53.3%, which was for the ‘sometimes’ option, and the lowest selected option was chosen at 16%, which was ‘never’. The majority of people completing our questionnaire most probably chose sometimes because they must enjoy a variety of genres, action being one of them. This means they are likely to watch an action film, but will judge it on other factors, excluding its genre. In contrast, I believe that the smallest percentage chose ‘never’ because the Action genre is quite well established, and fits its reach into many modern titles.
Below this is the data and visual representations for the third question, asking the audience for their three favourite action films, in order of most favourite to least favourite.
What are three of your favourite action films?
Most favourite:
2nd favourite:
3rd favourite:
Above are the results for the 3rd favourite action film, consisting of ‘Die Hard’ as being the most selected (picked 7 times), then the ‘Fast & Furious series (6 picks), followed by ‘Avengers Assemble’ (5 picks). I believe that ‘Die Hard’ and the ‘Fast & Furious’ titles are popular amongst our audience, due to the reasons discussed above. However, the third most popular title was, ‘Avengers Assemble’ which has not occurred in the previous two selections. I believe that the film, ‘Avengers Assemble’ is probably more popular for males, especially for those who fit into the age group of 16-18, and enjoy superhero films.
Below is the data and visual representation associated with the fourth question, asking the candidates for their favourite action film, from a small selection of films, which were: ‘The Dark Knight,’ ‘Avengers Assemble,’ ‘Terminator’ (series), ‘Fast & Furious’ (series), ‘Taken,’ ‘Mission Impossible’ (series), ‘The Matrix’ (series), and the ‘Die Hard’ series.
The people who completed the questionnaire wrote down a verity of action films for their favourites. I tallied these up, and the results below show the 3 most popular films for 1st, 2nd and 3rd favourite.
The results above show that for the most favourite action films from the respondents, the ‘Fast & Furious’ series was most popular (14 picks) second being ‘Taken’ (11 picks) and the third popular being ‘The Dark Knight’ (7 picks). I believe that these films are amongst the most popular as they have strongly conveyed the codes and conventions of the action genre, while gripping the audience through an adventurous and exciting storyline.
I believe that the ‘Fast & Furious’ series tallied the highest, because not only has it been around for a while, and people know what they are expecting, it also creates a new dimension where the audience feel as if they are a part of the protagonists, and seek excitement from daring action sequences, or feel relieved and a sense of completion, when the characters in the series have accomplished their goals.
Secondly, I believe that ‘Taken’ grossed the second most picks, because it is a film that creates a sense of fear and achievement through accomplishing a major task. Additionally, I believe that this film is highly preferred with females at our audience’s ages (16-18), because I have confidence in that they build a relationship with the teenage daughter who gets taken, and can put themselves in her position, being empathetic towards her, therefore having a strong connection with the overall film.
Thirdly, I believe that ‘The Dark Knight’ scored the third most favourite, because it is a really intense film, in terms of psychological mysteries and merciless action, which must be really interesting to most people who enjoy action films, especially for males, as they may have a tendency to become motivated by a character such as Batman.
Above are the results for the 2nd favourite action film, which has four films, as two of the films were equally tallied up. Similarly to the most favourite action film, the ‘Fast & Furious’ series tallied the highest at 8 times being chosen. The second most tallied response for this option this time, was the ‘Die Hard’ series (6 picks), and ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Hunger Games’ share third place, at (4 picks each).
Again, I believe that Fast & Furious tallied the most for the same reasons previously discussed. ‘Die Hard’ was a bit of a surprise, as I thought that many people would disregard it as a popular action film, with so many newer titles taking up the market. However, it does display codes and conventions of the action genre very thorough and well, and I think that Bruce Willis has provided that title with great recognition for an audience of our age group (16-18).
Yet again, I feel ‘The Dark Knight’ has done well in third place, as previously discussed, however it shares its place with ‘Hunger Games’. I feel that the hunger games is a popular title, because it subverts many common stereotypes associated with gender, as the main protagonist is female. This may be a key element that I and my group could have in our film opening.
From the list below, what is your favourite action film?
Similarly to the previous question, I believe that the ‘Fast & Furious’ series tallied the most, being circled 24 times, due to the same reasons I described previously. In contrast, ‘Mission Impossible’ was the least selected, chosen only twice, which was quite strange as it is a well know film, which uses the action genre quite effectively. However, ‘Mission Impossible’ is also tightly linked to espionage, which seems to be less attractive towards an audience aged from 16-18 years old. From this, it is important that I and my group think about what we should consider involving in our sequence to make it attractive to this age group, and a film that they would enjoy, based on its opening.
Below is the data and visual representation for the fifth question, which was a yes/no question, asking if the action genre was in the top 3 genres for the candidates completing the questionnaire.
Would you say action films are in your top 3 film genres?
The results show that a large amount of people who completed the questionnaire selected the ‘Yes’ option (63 picks, 84%), while a mere (12 picks, 16%) of people selected ‘No’. I believe that the action genre is really well established, and has a massive audience, which is what led 84% of the respondents to pick yes. This also heightens the validity of the questionnaire, as most people who completed it will generally be interested in action films. I also believe that some people said no, as they may not be interested into the action genre, but may still enjoy a very limited amount of action titles. Consequently, from this information, it can be said that action is a suitable genre for this audience, which leads me and my group into the right direction for creating a film opening based on the genre of action.
Below is the data and visual representation for the sixth question, asking the candidates what attracted them the most to watch an action or thriller film, with the following selections: the title, the actors, the producers/directors or the storyline.
What attracts you the most to watch an action or thriller film?
The results show that the most popular element which attracts the people who completed this questionnaire is the storyline of the film, as this was selected 41 times. This really goes to show that it is important to plan out and sequence a gripping storyline that people can easily follow, and indulge in. The actors also attract an audience, as from previous titles, people can understand how good they are, in terms of becoming the character, and if they poses certain skills or traits for particular genres.
In contrast, the Directors and Producers were selected the least, with only 6 picks. This is not a bad sign, it just means that the storyline has to be strong to grab the audience, also allowing the production company to experiment with different crew members, to come to a final output. From this information, I and my group can learn what we need to focus on creating a great story, and that we should also focus on a backstory which flows into a wider focus than just the film opening which we will be creating.
Below is the data and visual representation for the last question, which asked the candidates about what they would like to see in an action or thriller film. This question was based on opinion, and so the respondents had space to write in what they felt was most appropriate. The people who completed the questionnaire wrote down a range of different answers, as shown below. However, the graph below the data shows the five most popular answers, that the candidates wrote down.
What do you like to see in an action or thriller film?
Lastly, these results show that once again the storyline of the film is the most important element that our candidates look for in an action film (selected 21 times), as they seek to see a unique storyline or a strong plot. However, many of these codes and conventions that the respondents stated are vital for an action film, and the most popular agree with that statement. Not only do our audience want to indulge in a deep storyline, they also want to experience fast paced fight scenes, and explosions and the use firearms, all coming together forming one great feature. From this, I and my group have been reminded of the important codes and conventions which follow the narrative of an action sequence, and the most popular amongst the age group of 16-18 years old. This information will be considered during planning, to help us to display the action genre in our film opening, as impactful as possible.
Overall, this information is ideal for research into the action genre and what our target audience feel is vital to have in such titles. During planning of the film opening, I and my group can look back at this data in order to decide what would be the most effective codes and conventions to show in our film opening that will be based on the action genre. Without completing audience research, I feel that our opening may not be as strong as it would, now that me and my group understand and have analysed this additional information.
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