Questionnaire of audience expectations
To research more into what the audience would expect from a horror genre I created a quick questionnaire and asked ten different people from different age groups. This gave me a wider understanding of the expectations needed. I asked 8 questions to find out more information the questions varied from emotion felt to lighting used.
What do you expect in general from this genre?
When I asked what was to be expected in general, the expected narrative of the film. 7 answered death, the commented that there would be a murderer and a victim. They felt this was the typical storyline of a horror film. 2 answered the horror could be psychological; they referred to the ‘SAW’ films and said it could mess with your head and have an eerie atmosphere. One out of the ten people asked said that from a horror he would expect a monster or creature escaping and causing mayhem. All of these answers refer to death being a main part of a horror film.
Where do you expect it to be set?
The participants did not see this as a valid question they felt as long as the lighting is dark the setting does not matter, however a couple of them commented that the surrounding and setting must look broken down, old and eerie, they said the woods or streets and night is a very effective setting for a horror genre.
Do you expect blood in a horror genre film?
When this question was asked all of the participants answered yes, they feel blood must be included in a horror film. They also commented that they feel there must be lots of it and see this as quite an important factor of a horror genre.
How do you expect the lighting to be?
The participants answered all the same, they feel the lighting will have to be dark in a horror genre as this has the effect of a more eerie scary place, they felt the protagonist appears more innocent at night in dark whereas the opposite effect on the killer, the antagonist will appear more threatening.
Do you expect it to be fast paced?
The results of this question varied once again some participants felt a horror has got to be fast passed as this will have a good effect on the audience it will keep them in suspense and this is what is needed in a horror genre, however others felt that a horror is best suited at slow pace, they felt this way the audience is constantly in suspense wondering what will happen and involved in a dark atmosphere also with slow pace the ability to shock and make jump the audience is easier to achieve.
What pitch music do you expect?
The answers to this question varied by coincidence 50/50, 5 of the participants answered that the pitch needs to be high pitched and create a eerie atmosphere whereas the other 5 disagreed they said they feel the pitch needs to be low as this has a much more worrying and scaring effect on the audience.
Do you expect to see much dialogue?
At first the participants did not understand this question, but once I explained the meaning of this question as to whether the starting of a horror film the characters talk much I got a clear set of results, they felt there should only be a brief dialogue usually of an innocent girl and the killer has no dialogue and has a much greater impact on the audience if remains silent.
What emotions do you expect to feel?
The results were once again all the same to this question, all participants felt they need to feel scared and worried, they need to be left hanging and wondering what will come, they need to be made jump and just overall need to feel frightened, one participant commented that they want to still feel scared once the film is over.
Through carrying out this questionnaire I now have a clearer understanding of what an audience expects from a horror genre. It has helped us to consider where out film shall be set the lighting we need to use and other various importance's. Through doing this and using the information we have obtained we shall be able to create a successful film opening that follows the expectations of a horror genre.
Jess Wilding
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