Target Audience Interviews

Megan and I conducted interviews with people in both our primary and secondary target audience:

• Primary: Males over 35
• Secondary: Females under 35

We had constructed a series of questions:

1. What are your opinions on fantasy films?
2. How do you feel about special effects?
3. Do you think added suspense to a fantasy film makes the film more interesting, and why?
4.  What aspects of fantasy/thriller do you most enjoy, and why?
5. What is your favourite fantasy/thriller film, and why?
6. What would you like to see more of within fantasy/thriller genre?
7. What are you tired/bored of in fantasy/thriller films?
8. What character types do you like most?

...and a few impromptu questions were added to receiver the best possible answers from our interviewees.

We had chosen two males and one female from our school to interview - these people told us a lot about what to include and exclude from our film opening according to their knowledge and opinions on our genre, in order for our target audience to enjoy it:

One of these people being Mr Hotchin who is of the age of our primary target audience (learned from our secondary research). However, he does not enjoy the aspects of fantasy/thriller films nor the already released popular fantasy/thriller films - for the only fantasy/thriller film he remembers he has watched is Lord of the Rings, which he found too long, too many killings and unrealistic. He felt fantasy/thriller films were boring, although he believes a good storyline can make it worth watching. He thinks a good fantasy/thriller should not be too reliant on special effects.

Another being Mr Johnson, who is also of the age of our primary target audience. He loves fantasy thriller films because it's less serious aspect makes him feel like a younger person at heart. He feels the storyline and the types of characters; heroes and villains make the film worth watching. He wants fantasy films to have more special effects, suspense and more 'fantasy' - over-the-top unusual ideas. He does not watch fantasy/thrillers for escapism but for the simple enjoyment and relaxation that comes with. He wants to see the villain have the positive outcome for once in a fantasy/thriller.

We also interview Miss Waterfall, who falls under the category of our secondary target audience. She likes fantasy/thriller films because it gives her a sense of escapism. She loves Harry Potter, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - their involvement with being adapted from books contributes to the reason why the storyline is always interesting. She did not like Oz: The Great and Powerful because the storyline was rather 'messy.' She likes fantasy/thriller films which are filmed as if the audience is following the protagonist on an adventure, for example: The Hobbit.



The outcome of these interviews had taught me:

• not all males over 35 would want to watch a fantasy/thriller film
• our film opening should be straight to the point, this can be done by filming it in a quick pace - but should not exactly end at the point, instead add suspense at the end.
• our audience should get familiar with the villain's character
• our storyline should be well organised to avoid confusion and frustration of our audience
• our special effects should be minimal, but not easily forgotten
• we should avoid clichés, and overused ideas
• a mystical location aids to the escapism factor of fantasy/thriller films
• we should avoid the idea of mass killings and gore