5)HOW DID YOU ATTRACT/ADDRESS YOUR AUDIENCE?

Evaluation.

We attracted our audience in a number of ways, this was done by putting much more emphasis to the questionnaires filled out by the age range appropriate in the audience research.

They mentioned how they were much more fond of having teenagers/young people in horror films, so we made sure we included people aged 16-19 in our film by having, mostly, members of our group. Like this, it would appeal to our target audience as well as they can identify with the characters. Moreover, it is very effective in showing that the film is aimed at them. However, to make it appeal to our audience more and make it much more obvious it is for young people, I could have shot a scene in a location such as a school or park, where many young people are located to make it seem more of a typical film targeted at for teenagers as well as more obvious it is targeted for them.

We also noticed that the young people enjoyed horror films in natural places such as graveyards and to a lesser extent churches; therefore, the main places in which we shot were in Saint Paul’s Cathedral and a graveyard. My group and I thought that that would be very good in appealing to our target audience as that is what they thought was the spookiest for horror films. I do believe, however, that all of our scenes could have been done at this location as there would be more tension and fright in the atmosphere, which would have made it much more enjoyable for our target audience. The scenes that are not shot in these locations bring down the suspense and undermines the frightful affect it is supposed to have on people to a certain extent. Also, instead of shooting in the church it could have been a house, which seemed haunted, in order to appeal to the audience more as most proffered that rather than a church.

We also used music, which they thought would be appealing. Most people in the questionnaire said they liked classical music in horror films, so we added that in our flashback. We also added church organs in the scene in Saint Paul’s Cathedral, which also quite sinister in a horror film as well as deep dramatic music throughout which many said they liked as well. However, I believe the classical music could have been much slower to accompany the pace of the film, which would have appealed much more to the audience as they said they would have liked it to be dramatic and deep, which wasn’t completely achieved. However, I believe the deep music playing throughout did achieve what the target audience was expecting, therefore would have appealed to the audience in the same way.

Audience questionnaire on music

Our target audience also said that they liked films which had dark lighting in them, preferably done at night. We tried to include that as much as possible in our film, such as in the cathedral, the apparition of the evil creature and the hero reading the letter. However, I think our entire film could have been done in the night, especially in the grave yard, which would definitely make it appealing to our audience as it would combine two aspects they said they liked which were dark lighting and graveyards. We did shoot most scenes in the dark, which, I believe, would still be appealing to them.

Our target audience also said they preferred females in the horror films, so I made sure that all the characters in the film were female, so it would appeal to the majority of our target audience.

The questionnaire showed us that our target audience pays the most attention in the surroundings of horror films. This is why we decided to shot in many different locations and have a variety, therefore, it would have been more likely to capture their interest as well as increase tension. However, some places didn’t achieve this much. For example, the scene of the apparition of the evil creature could have been done in a graveyard as well to be more sinister. However, I still believe it will be appealing to the audience as it is done in many locations that will capture their attention as they said that is what draws their attention the most.

The name of our film is a rhetorical question which links very closely to our film. As the protagonist can hear voices that only she can hear, it links to the idea of only her being able to hear it and no one else such as the protagonist. I believe this rhetorical question adds mystery to our film and would persuade our target audience to watch it as it sounds sinister and typical of a horror film.

We also made sure that the scary character appeared straight away in the opening sequence to make sure it would draw the attention of our audience right from the beginning.

Also, we attracted our audience by improving our film through the feedback given to us in the screening of our film.

Many of the people mentioned how is was a bit complicated to understand our narrative. Therefore, I decided to add another scene, containing a hero who would, in a way, narrate the storyline and explain what is happening. I do believe this scene could have been done in another location that could look much more frightening, to increase the tension.

They also mentioned how the titling sequence wasn’t very effective and didn’t tell them much about the film. Therefore, as the editor I decided t change it into a more dramatic one and add another name. I believe this has made our film more appealing to the audience.

They also mentioned how the music wasn’t very effective in the opening sequence. So I decided to create another sound, which is more dramatic to run through the film. I believe this has increased the tension in our film and make it more enjoyable for the audience.

HeroTitling sequence

In conclusion, I believe that we have done many things that would appeal to our target audience and persuade them to watch the film. Even though we didn’t make everything which would appeal to them, such as shoot in a haunted house scenario, we still used most things which would appeal to them such as music and other locations. Therefore, our film hasn’t failed in appealing to our target audience.