Thriller Film Audience Research

What I want to find out:
The audience expectations of independent/ mainstream films
Which age group prefers the thriller genre
Which sub-genre of thriller do people prefer
Do the audience prefer a male or female lead
What locations are most thrilling to the target market

What costumes would you expect to see in the film noir genre?

How I am going to find out:
Questionnaire/ Research

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Questionnaire

Show images of various locations and get people to choose which one they find most thrilling

Show images of various costumes and get people to choose which one/s they think fit the film noir genre best

What I expect to find out:
The differences between the two types of film and what the expectations for an independent film are
Adults prefer thriller films- most likely to be young adults (age 16-30)
Action/ Thrillers, Crime/ Thrillers and Horror/ Thrillers are most popular
I suspect that a male lead will be favoured because the majority of films use a man as the main character, however a female lead will probably be popular amongst women
The audience will probably choose locations that have been utilised a lot in various thriller films

Classic costumes like trilby hats, long coats, high heels will be the most common answer from the audience as that is what is seen in old film noir thrillers

Independent Film:

It is a film produced mostly outside of a major film studio; they are produced with a low budget and unfamiliar actors and heavily rely on word of mouth and awards for their success. They are usually exhibited and distributed on limited release but their main appeal is the quirky unusual way in which they are filmed and the narrative of the film.

Examples: Cube, Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Blair Witch Project, Lost in Translation, Mememto, Clerks, Donnie Darko, The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs

Mainstream Film:

It is a commercial film made by a major film company with a high budget. They are distributed to cinemas across the world and rely on famous actors to boost viewings. The narrative is often predictable and a big feature used in mainstream is special effects.

Examples: Die Hard, Transformers, American Pie, Avatar, Twilight, Pirates of The Caribbean, King King, Indiana Jones, Toy Story, Harry Potter

Questionnaire and Results:

From looking a the results of my Thriller audience research, I have found that "mainstream" films are more popular than "independent". This result was expected because "mainstream" is what most people are used and they feature famous actors. Their hight budget and use of special effects wins over the audience also.

Crime and Action were the most popular sub-genre followed by film noir; action and crime are both utilised quite a lot in thriller films and are very fast paced when done "mainstream", meaning that they keep the audience engaged. The crime sub-genre generally has tension-filled moments throughout as well.

The results from the questionnaire show that the audience prefer a male lead rather than a female lead. This shows misogynous behaviour and perhaps a superior view of men; this sexist view would have, however, been sub-consciously created by the audience. This is because they would have witnessed a large majority of male leading roles for years.

When researching into Thriller films, I looked at locations quite a lot. The questionnaire shows that a wet, damp, dark street and basement were found to be the most thrilling. This is quite an interesting set of results because they contrast; a basement is isolated and streets are very open. However, they are both dark and have places for people to lurk behind. Shadows can be created in both and the two locations have been utilised in various Thriller films.

The majority of people that took part in my questionnaire circled the right costumes foe a Film Noir. This is good because it reassures me that the sub-genre can be easily recognised and that the audience has an understanding of it. It also makes planning for my Thriller opening easier because I can now look at my target audience's opinions and views and take them into consideration.