Focus Group

Creating a focus group has enabled me to establish what the audience really wants and expects to come from a psychological horror film trailer. I asked a group of ten people, made up of six females and four males (finding males is difficult when you go to a girls school). I asked them questions based on horror, varying from "what scares you most about psychological horrors?" to "Do you like a voiceover on a trailer?". It is important that I reflect upon the results so that i can ensure that my trailer relates to my audience as much as it can.The Questions
1) What type of horror movie scares you most?
2) What is your favourite horror movie?
3) What scares you most about psychological horrors?
4) Do you prefer gore to suspense?
5) What type of characters do you expect to see in a psychological horror?
6) What do you expect a horror trailer to show?
7) What persuades you to see a film at the cinema after watching the trailer?
8) In general, what do you find frightening?
9) Do you prefer it when suspense builds in a trailer rather than it all being 'thrown' at you from the beginning?
10) Do you like a voiceover in a trailer?

The Results 

Analysis Of Results

The participants of the focus group usually reacted similarly to the questions, this could be due to the fact that they may have been influenced by others and not want to go against the majority. I found the answers extremely helpful, as it gave me an idea of what the audience expect to see from a psychological horror. I now know what to do about the features I was unsure of including, and have gained inspiration from them adding additional     ideas. 

Overall, I found that psychological horrors were deemed the most 'scary', this is due to the fact that the audience feels as though they can relate to the characters, as they are often young and lead similar, 'normal' lives. Additionally, although plots are often based on stories that are relatable to urban legends and myths, the audience will often feel as though "this could happen to me", a few participants added that this was due to the fact that we are brought up to fear the unknown, that bad things often happen when you least expect it. A number of people added that they find the best psychological horrors have a plot that will stay with them, and "mess with their head". It is important that i make my trailer as memorable as possible, so that the images and sounds on screen stay with the audience. Making my trailer as memorable as possible also links to the participants that stated that they find the memorability of the trailer the thing that influences them most to continue to watch the film at the cinema. 

I also asked questions about trailers in general, participants stated that its important for a trailer to have fast editing, memorable characters, and good sound effects. I asked them about their opinion on voice overs, and 100% said no, this was an interesting find as I thought that voice overs were iconic of trailers. They added that they much prefer when clips of the characters speaking works as a much better method of portraying the plot. 

An interesting point someone made was that they find the best horror trailers "lure you into a false sense of security", again I found this to be true. As mentioned in my 'analysis of psychological horror trailers' post, a trailer will usually start in an upbeat manner, introducing characters and setting is a must. 

Finally, when asked "what else influences you about a trailer to watch a movie at the cinema?". 30% said that it was the fact that a movie had famous actors in, this will be impossible to include in my own trailer so it is important that i focus on other things they said, such as including: cliff hangers, good plot and that it's memorable.