Audience Theory and Research

Questionnaire

We asked 50 people to take part in a questionnaire to help us understand who watches short films. This will benefit us when it comes to planning and making the short film as we may begin to understand our audience. Knowing the target audience will help us when it comes to relating the film to the viewers. By doing this, we asked questions such as, what they look for in a short film, what genre they prefer and how they like to watch the film e.g. at the cinema, online, on t.v or at a film festival. These questions help us as we know where to focus when making a short film. Also this helps as we will then know what our audience likes to see in a film. We can make representations using semiology, to relate the film to the audience.

Question1: Male or female

who took the questionnaire, it is still a mixed gender as its not a large amount more. This also might mean that we may have to consider and make our film relate to both genders.

There were 28 females and 22 males who took the questionnaire. Even though there are more females than males

Question 2: Age GroupThe second question asked the audience their age group. The results below show there were 8 people who were 12 to 18 years of age, 17 people who were 19 to 25 years of age, 12 people were in the age group 26-32, 9 people who were in the 33 to 39 years of age and lastly, 4 people who were of the age 40+ who took the questionnaire. This question combined with

the next, will help us figure out what age group watch short films. After finding this out, we can then know the age group of our target audience.

Question 3: Do you watch short films?This diagram shows that in total, 29 people watch short films and 21 people don’t. As we got the questionnaire sheets back the results came back as followed in the diagram, the most people who watch short film are the age group 19 to 25. this will be our target audience as they are the people who would watch and be interested in

our film. In the 12 to 18 age group, 6 watch short films and 2 don’t. in the age group 26 to 32, four people watch short films and 8 people don’t. also, in the age group 33 to 39 4 people watch short films and 5 people don’t. which brings us to our last age group of 40+ years of age and 1 person watches short films whilst the other 3 ticked no. after this question was asked, all those who ticked no, did not carry on with the questionnaire.

Question 4: what attracts you to a short film?

Overall, 12 people said they are attracted to a short film by the storyline, 8 of which were in the age group 19 to 25. 2 that preferred a storyline were from the age group 26 to 32 and 2 more people from the age group 33 to 39 are attracted to a short film because of a storyline. Seven people said they are more attracted by the cast who are in the film. 4 of whom were in the age group 12 to 18, one person preferred this factor in the age group of 19 to 25. one person from the age group of 26 to 32 prefers the cast aspect of a short film, as well as one more person from the age group 33 to 39. 8 people preferred the genre aspect of a short film. 4 of which were in the age group 19 to 25. also one person from the age group 12 to 18, one person from the

age group 26 to 32, one person from the age group 33 to 39 and one person from the age group of 40+. Lastly 2 people were attracted to a short film because of the producers. One of these people were from the age group 12 to 18 and the other was from the age group 19 to 25. however not one person ticked the other box.

Question 5:what Genre do You Prefer?

These results show that, six people preferred short films with horror content, 2 of these people were 12 to 18, 2 were 19 to 25 and the last two were in the age group of 26 to 32. only 2 people preferred a comedy genre, one of these people were in the age group 19 to 25 and the other was In the age group of 33 to 39. 19 people preferred the drama genre, 2 of whom were in the age group 12 to 18, 11 of these people were in the age group of 19 to 25, a further 2 people from the age group of 26 to 32, preferred a dramatic short film as well as 3 other people in the age group of 33 to 39 year olds. Lastly, the remaining one person in the age group of 40+ preferred a

drama genre. One person preferred a romantic genre and they were from the 12 to 18 age group, Lastly one person ticked the other box and listed that they preferred a documentary but it was only one person, which makes this irrelevant compared to our other results.

Question 6: Where do you watch them?The result of this question told us that the easiest way for people to access short films and the most popular way to watch short films. This is proven as 20 people out of 29 chose watching short films online as their preferred option. 5 of these were preferred by some people in the age group of 12 to 18 year olds. In the age group 26 to 32, 1 person prefers to watch short films online. 12 people in the age group 19 to 25 prefer to watch short films online, leaving 2 people in the age group of 33 to 39 who prefer watching films online. Only 3 people prefer watching

short films online. One of these people were from the age group 12 to 18 and the other two are from the age group 26 to 32. 6 people prefer to watch short films at film festivals. 2 of whom are in the age group 19 to 25, one person from the age group 26 to 32, two people from the age group 33 to 39 and one person from the age group 40+

Our Target AudienceOur film would predominantly appeal to the age range of 19-25 year olds and can appeal to a mixed gender audience. We picked this age range as, we asked students in sixth form and younger years in secondary school if they watched films and it became clear that there is a vast majority of students who don’t watch short films unless they are celebrity endorsed as the majority of 12 to 18 year olds in the questionnaire said they prefer the casting element of a short film as many short films with iconic celebrities to them in whom they admire, have been released. The best example to use to explain this would a short film called “break free” starring celebrity Ruby Rose, who grabbed a lot of student attention with her short film on gender roles. This is why we are not targeting short films to students under the age of 19. On the other hand, people who are in the age range 19 to 25, may be more influenced by short films and may enjoy them. They may also be at the age where they can afford to go to film festivals which show a variety of short films. As people come out of their teens, they may become more independent and not follow trends or social norms like students do by only going on social networking sites. Meaning this age range may be more open to exploring other sites such as short film show cases. We have also got a mixed gender target audience as the film is not set to one gender as it is a psychological drama which is appealing to both genders. Also the younger side to this age group may mean they could be studying in higher education, such as university, which could mean they may begin to look for new hobbies such as watching or making short films as they take a break from their student/working life.

Our target group is between the age of 19 to 25 and this age group mainly watches short films through the use of the internet. This represents the youth of this age group as the internet is easily accessible for them . Also, the most votes for what genre would you prefer to watch was drama followed by horror for this age range. This lead us on to think about our genre and we would like to make a psychological drama. This takes the horror element and adds to the drama to make it more intense and slightly spooky, without being a full on horror film. Question 4 (what attracts you to a short film?) relates to this as most people in this age range preferred a good story line, which would be found in a psychological drama. We decided to target our audience at a mixed gender as dramas don’t seem to relate to just one gender, unlike a romance as it may be seen as more feminine as opposed to an action film which alternatively could be seen as more of a masculine genre. We will guarantee that our short film will not follow stereotypical gender roles, making it relatable and relevant for both genders to watch and enjoy.

Refined…