Analysis of Salem (Video Project)

Mary, Sinead, Zoe

Focus Group/Questionnaires

We asked four people as part of our focus group, which was anyone over the age of 15, since the age rating for our film is a 15. We asked two boys and two girls, so there was a 50% feed back from each gender. The people we asked were members of our media class.

Do you Like Horror Films?

Yes, but not the extreme 18 ones.

YesYes

Not personally Question 1

Analysis of Question 1Out of the people we asked around 90% said

they did enjoy horror films. This was great as the film opening we are creating is horror genre. This gave us a good idea on how our script would go down with our class mates, since the majority of them had a interest/enjoyed the horror genre.

Question 2

What do you like to see in a horror film?

I like psychological horror with jump scenes.

I like to see suspense.Real life situations that

could happen to anyone.

A good story, lot of plot.

Analysis of Question 2This question gave a variety of different type

answers. A lot of people we found liked to watch a suspense or physiological horror story more than horror stories with gore and blood in. This gave an idea that we could create our story to become more physiological so that it can have More realistic effect, and a long lasting affect on the audience.

Question 3

What is your opinion on Horror witch films?

I think it’s a good premise, but requires a lot of affects.

I like them. Magic is cool!

I’m not really drawn to them, probably because as a male, I do not identify with the characters.

Witch horror films can be interesting when the horror used is psychological for example, the Blair Witch Project

Analysis of Question 3We asked this question because of the idea of

our film being based about witches. The feedback we had was good as the majority of people we asked liked the idea of witches, as they enjoyed the physoicolgal effect it gave along with the dark image behind magic. 

Question 4

Can you give us feedback on our plot?

I like the plot as it has a very sinister feel.

I think the plot works for me, it’s too linear…to create an enigma you might want need to create uncertainty.

Plot is really good, enigmatic a good development/

The reasoning behind why the witches/girls are there isn’t hinted to.

Analysis of Question 4The feedback we received from our focus group

about our plot were overall very positive. There were some comments which suggested ways in which we could improve the script by, which was very helpful when we came to finalizing our script.

Question 5

Do you think this film is suitable for it’s age rating of 15?

Yes.

Yes.Yes, no scenes of graphic violence.

Yes as the Horror does not appear to be too intense.

Analysis of Question 5When asking if our script/ film opening was

suitable for the age rating of 15, we was happy to see that all four people agreed that it was. Some left detailed comments saying that because it wasn’t graphic or gory that it defiantly suited the rating of 15.

Question 6

Name a particular film that you like and what is your favorite part of it?

My favorite horror film is the Women in Black, due to it’s sinister feel and interesting plot.

Alien- The part with John Hurt having an alien burst out of his chest.

The Call- When Hale Berry finds out where the girl is and when the girl is in the boot.

Analysis of Question 6We asked this question as we wanted to find out

if the people we asked as part of the survey actually enjoyed horror films. We were happy to see that 90% of the focus group actually had a favorite horror film, and were able to describe their favorite parts of the film.

Question 7

Do you like dialogue within a film opening or just background music?

Dialogue

I think it depends on the genre i.e lord of the rings/Avatar(fantasy)= Yes. Horror = No

I think that horror films are best with no or low levels of dialogue in their opening sequences as it builds tension.

Usually just background music, but the dialogue of the chanting works well.

Analysis of Question 7We choose to ask this question because we were

undecided on wherever to have Dialogue in our opening or just creepy music. The feedback we received was 50/50. Two people thought that dialogue worked best and two people thought that background music in a horror film opening, worked best, This helped us decided to not have any dialogue in our opening, so that the atmosphere would be more eerie.

Question 8Have you seen American Horror Story: Coven, The Blair Witch Project or

The craft before? If you have, what is your opinion on any of

these?

I have seen the Blair Witch Project. I like the fact that it is a purely psychological factor

No

No them in their entirety. So can’t comment

No

Analysis of Question 8We choose to ask this question because we each

had focused on Analyzing these three horror films/ TV series (Zoe= Blair Witch, Mary= AHS:Coven, Sinead= The Craft ). We had also chose to craft our ideas from these three films/TV series into our own plot.

Question 9

Would this film opening make you want to carry on watching?

Possibly. There are many unanswered questions.

Yes, but I think there needs to be some changes. 1. Might have a parallel plot, of the girl saying goodbye to parents from within the kitchen and then leaving, and closing the door.

Yes.

Definitely!

Analysis of Question 9The feedback from this question was great. We

were each very happy that the focus group would want to watch the rest of the film if we was to make it. However the feedback we received from one, made us debate on if we wanted to change the start of our opening to have two parallel. In the end we decide against this, as we still felt that our opening was eerie and mysterious enough without the parallel.

Question 10

Do you have any additional comments?

Nice Job, You’ve made a very interesting script here.

NoNo

No

Analysis of Question 10This question was to just seen if the focus group

had any additional comments that they may have wanted to make out about our opening. We was happy with the feedback on this question.