Research survey

Are you male or female?

Male

Female

What age are you?

Under 12

12-18

19-25

26-32

33-39

40-50

50+  

Did the last movie trailer you watched make you want to see the movie? If so, what Movie was this?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

In your opinion, what is the most important factor when you watch a thriller movie?

The plot

The film pace

If it’s based on a real event

The actors

The soundtrack

Do you think that the character roles in thrillers are too generic? E.g – A male playing the lead roles in most thriller movies.

Yes

No

Above shows a survey I created in order to get an idea of what my audience wants to see in my trailer. This helped me gather information and know what I need to include in my trailer in order to be effective. Below shows some of the responses from my survey.

From this information I am able to identify in which areas I need to focus on perhaps more than others. The surveys are all almost identical which makes it easier for me to identify the area of development I need to work on and what conventions I need to stick to and what conventions I may challenge.

In the first picture, the survey shows the person is female, aged between 19-25 and the film trailer from Insidious (2010) made them want to watch the film. When I watched this trailer I was able to identify that the trailer started slowly, showing a family in their home. The dark/dimmed lighting shown 0:44 into the trailer is effective as it sets the dull, mysterious mood. At 1:20 into the trailer the pace starts to build as voiceovers and face paced editing is used. The trailer also uses a lot of fades to black and flashes which adds to the drama. In this survey the person couldn't decide what was more important out of the film pace and the plot of the film which is represented in the trailer. This shows me that the pace of my trailer needs to be fast paced, not showing too much for too long so that the audience is intrigued to watch it. Also the plot needs to be exciting and interesting and perhaps slightly different to other thriller films. The last question on the  survey was answered by all four people "Yes" this tells me that I need to include a variety of rolls in my trailer and perhaps challenge stereotypes.

In the second survey, the person answered "The girl on the train" to which trailer made them want to watch the film. After having watched the trailer I can see that like other thriller trailers I have watched, it has a slow beginning, showing an extreme close up of a women's face followed by an establishing shot of a house on its own. 1:40 minutes into the trailer the pace starts to get faster, at this point the lighting has got darker and intense, dramatic dialogue is used "I'm not the girl I used to be" in my trailer I will use dialogue and voiceovers to create this very dramatic eerie effect. 

The third survey shows the person was intrigued by "World War Z 2" trailer. Having looked at this I can see the trailer although doesn't have a very fast pace, uses other editing skills. One of these is 0:58 seconds in there is a truck shown driving at a fast pace away from trouble, at this point the editor as slowed down the shot where the truck is in the air and then slowly hits the ground. This is effective because it shows the audience closely and in detail of the pace, and recklessness of how the driver is driving. The trailer shows an attacked city where smoke is still present and cars, houses and buildings have been destroyed. The lighting is dimmed in order to create a mysterious effect. The trailer uses a lot of slow motion throughout the trailer.

The last Survey shows the person was excited by the "Split" trailer, this trailer starts off slow, showing a man staring at some young girls. 0:20 seconds in the pace starts to pick up as the man is sat in a car with the girls as they realise he is not who he thought he was, at this point he turns around and sprays the girls in the face making them pass out. Throughout the trailer the lighting is dimmed in order to create an unknown effect. The pace really starts to get faster 1:40 into the trailer showing the very frightened girl trying to escape from the man. What I think is effective in this trailer is that the pace builds and then all of a sudden everything goes quiet, then an important and dramatic dialogue/voiceover is heard and the pace then picks up again. This is something I will be trying to se in my trailer as I think it is really effective in the way it draws the audience's attention.