Film Opening Research-Demographic

Film Opening Research-Demographic

A Demographic is a particular target audience/ population that can range from ages, sex, culture, ethnicity, the social classes, etc. 

For our film opening it revolves around the genres of horror, and the psychological-thriller sub-genre. The usual demographic(s) of these genres would be adolescents and adults. Example, the crime-thriller/horror "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991) revolves around a female protagonist from the FBI tracking a dangerous serial killer with the aid of an intelligent and evil male criminal behind bars; the target audience would mostly focus on adults, possibly more focused to middle-aged adults. The social classes focused towards would be middle to upper class because of the representation of specific characters e.g. the films' character Hannibal Lecter, a monster of a man who enjoys the finer things; the film doesn't focus on a particular sex but rather both.

One other example would be "Se7en"or "Seven" (1995), where two homicide detectives who become greatly involved with the case of a sadistic, calculating killer who is modeling his murders after the Seven Deadly sins. The target audience yet again focuses adults, mainly middle class and males.
For the Coursework, another student and I intend to target an adolescent audience, about age 15 and up. To prepare/search for what our target audience desire in our film opening and genre, we have designed some questionnaires and have taken multiple samples.

Here is the design of the questionnaire I used:

Questionnaire for Media Studies AS Coursework

1. How old are you? Please write down:

2. Are you Male or Female? Please circle one (M/F)



3. What genre of film are you most fond of? Please write down:
4. Have you ever watched a Horror film or it's sub-genres?

5 What do you look for in a Horror film or

6. Why do you watch horror films?

7. What do you believe makes a horror film great?

8. When was the last time you watched a horror film?

9. Do you prefer to view a horror film alone or with other people?

10. What do you hope or expect from this Coursework Opening?

11. What type of villain, monstrosity, or any other atrocity are you interested in?

Sample 1: Age 16, Female, favorite genre is Sci-Fi, has indeed watched horror films and it's sub-genres; looks for a dark plot, jump scares, good-acting and no clichés in a horror film. Claims to watch horror films to sample a different genre, believes that a good plot and original twists/turns make a horror film great; most recently seen a horror film on 31st of October 2013, prefers watching with others, hopes for an attention- grabbing opening and prefers a chaotic villain with a twisted morale compass.

Sample 2: Age 16, Female, favorite genre is Action, doesn't enjoy horror films, searches for jump-scares and violence in a horror film. Has viewed a horror film by accident, believes a horror film that subverts from norms and clichés makes a horror film great, last viewed a horror film two months ago, watches with other people, expects conventions of horror in opening, and prefers a clever psychological villain.

Sample 3: Age 28, Male, favorite genres include Comedy, Drama, and Sci-Fi; has viewed horror films, and looks for suspense and gore in a horror film. Views horror films to be scared, believes suspense makes a horror film great, has last seen a horror film six months ago, prefers watching with other people, expects suspense and fear in the opening, final question was not answered.

Sample 4: Age 16, Male, favorite genre is Sci-Fi, has viewed horror films, searches for 'scares' in a horror film. Has viewed horror films because she enjoys the genre, believes the narrative and fear conveyed makes the film great, has viewed a horror film last month, enjoys viewing horror films with others, hope the opening has suspense, and prefers a villain that is psychologically deranged.

Sample 5: Age 16, Female, favorite genre is Fantasy, has viewed a Horror film and searches for a decent storyline with creepiness in a horror film. Watches horror films for amusement and frights, believes a horror film with a story and scares is great, viewed a horror film last month, prefers to watch a horror films with others,  expects a gripping story with originality; and prefers the villains to be mutants, zombies, or paranormal.

Sample 6: Age 16, Male, favorite genre is Comedy, has viewed horror films, searches for "mental confusion" in a horror film. Watches horror films for the thrills, believes that the fear factor(s) within the film makes it great, has last seen a horror film four months ago; prefers to view horror films with friends, expects the film to entice him to watch the film, villain for horror film(s) that sample finds interesting are scary doctors.

Sample 7: Age 16, Female, third question was left unanswered, has watched horror films, searches for the psychological terror in a horror film. Watches horror films because often has viewed those well made, believes the coherency of the story makes a horror film great, has viewed a horror film last summer, prefers to view horror films with others, expects a protagonist struggling internally and externally, and finds a villain that is an unseen force interesting.

Sample 8: Age 17, Female, favorite genre is Action and Adventure, has viewed horror films most often psychological-thriller(s); searches for jump scares, tension and slick camera movement. Enjoys watching horror films because of the apprehension, believes jump scares make a horror film great, has last seen a horror film two weeks ago, prefers to watch with other people; tenth question was unanswered and finds a psychological villain interesting.