FOCUS GROUP RESULTSThis set of results is taken from the questionnaires handed out to our focus group.

THE FOCUS GROUPAfter creating our film trailer for Defiance we decided to show a

focus group our trailer to see if we had been successful in targeting both genders and the age group we set out to target. We also left some open questions where members of our focus group could give us any suggested improvements. We had a total of 7 people within our focus group which filled in a questionnaire and

then took part in an open discussion. We also asked the focus group their opinions of our movie posters and how they felt they

could be improved.

QUESTION 1The first question we asked was what gender did our focus group what gender did they feel our trailer targeted. We aimed to target both genders with our trailer, and it seemed we did this successfully as 100% of our focus group said that they felt the trailer targeted both males and females.

QUESTION 2 The second question of our questionnaire asked our focus group to identify the age group the felt our trailer targeted. We aimed to target people aged between 14-25 predominantly however, we did suggest the we could potentially target people aged 12 with our trailer. However, 86% of people within our focus group said they felt the age ranged was 14-25, which is what we wanted to achieve. The other 14% said they felt it targeted people aged between 12-20. so no one said 25+ suggesting we successfully targeted a younger audience.

12 to 2014 to 25

QUESTION 3The third question on our questionnaire asked our focus group what genre they felt the trailer represented. We aimed to create a Post-apocalyptic trailer, we wanted to see if our audience felt we fell under any other genre. 86% of our focus group said they felt the trailer was Post-apocalyptic. So we successfully represented this genre. The other 14% said Action saying the trailer was an “action packed adventure with a bit of romance.”

Post-apocalyp-ticAction

QUESTION 4Question 4 asked our focus group what 3 shots in our trailer stood out for them. It was easiest to tally these shots up and see how many people said one shot. We then looked to see if any of these shots were the ones we wanted to stand out. One of the most popular shots was our Opening Scene, where the character Connor read the note. This was not one we planned to have as a stand out shot. The others were predominantly what we wanted to stand out.

Conn

or rea

ding n

ote

Olivia

again

st the

tree

Nate ta

king t

he ax

e from

Conno

r

Conn

or's w

ounded

leg

Nate sh

outin

g Oliv

ia

Nate 'sh

e's al

l I have

left'

The jum

p acro

ss the

river

Fight

scene

Nate ru

nning

throu

gh a

field

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

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QUESTION 5 We were intrigued to see who the focus group saw as more as a villainous character in our trailer. Although we did not really create a ‘villain’ as such, we did make our ‘scientists’ out to be the ‘villains’ in our trailer. However, we wanted to see who the audience identified as the ‘bad guy.’ There was a mixed response to this question. However, no one saw the character of Olivia as a villain. Some said they felt the scientists were “doing what they had to” and were “sterile professionals”

The Scientists Nate Connor0

0.51

1.52

2.53

3.54

4.5

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QUESTION 6Question 6 looked at how well the soundtrack worked with the trailer. We asked our focus did they feel the soundtrack complimented the trailer. 100% of our focus group said they felt the soundtrack worked with the trailer and provided a sense of tension and urgency. However, someone did say it was missing a “dramatic flare,” this was for us a main focus in terms of improvements for our trailer. This was the main focus after our focus group as we felt it was the main area to improve.

QUESTION 7Question 7 looked at what ideas members of our focus group pulled from the trailer. We asked our focus group to explain what they felt the film was about based on the trailer. There was mixed responses with regard to what they felt the film was about. 57% of our focus group said it was “a fight to the death” situation. One member of our focus group said its “a fight for survival and the best team wins.” A few of the members of our focus group picked up the idea that there was “a bit of romance” in our trailer. One member of our focus group summed up our trailer as a “post-apocalyptic world where humanities survival is based solely on the teenagers of the generation.” Our trailer was also described as a “Hunger Games-y sort of place where teens are selected for a sort of eugenics programme for the future, others are killed” these quotes suggested to us that there was a clear narrative within our trailer and what we had originally planned in our film plot had come through in our trailer.

QUESTION 8For question 8 we asked our focus group after watching our trailer what did they feel would happen at the end of the ‘movie’ if it did in fact come out as a movie. This was because we wanted to see if we had a predictable ending. However, the fact a number said they wanted to “see how it ends” suggested to us we had left it ambiguous. The end of our original plot was left ambiguous as although we had planned for ‘Nate’ and ‘Olivia’ to survive, we did have them separated. 2 people within our focus group suggested that “many characters would die” another member suggested that “one team will win.” Three suggested that “the boy and girl survive” and the final member suggested that “the girl is captured and one of the boys saves her.” With the mixed response it is suggested that the trailer gave no real clue to the ending of the plot and did in fact leave our audience wanting more.

QUESTION 9Question 9 focused upon if our trailer did its job as a promotional tool. We asked the members of our focus group if after watching the trailer would they in fact go and watch the ‘film’ if it was to be released. We wanted to see if our trailer worked as a promotional tool and if we had in fact succeeded in creating a promotional film trailer. 100% of our focus group said if the film was to be released they would go and watch it in the cinema. Which showed us we had succeeded in creating a promotional film trailer and that our trailer worked well in promoting the film ‘Defiance’

QUESTION 10

Question 10 was probably the most important question for us. We asked our focus group to give us any suggestions with regard to improvements, or how we could perhaps enhance the narrative of our film. There were a few suggestions. Someone said we could perhaps have “more context on who the couple are.” The main area focused upon for improvements seemed to be the soundtrack, where we were told to perhaps “slow the tempo” or “make it slightly quieter.” This was the main area we wanted to improve after looking at the feedback. So after the focus group the soundtrack was the main area of improvement. It was also suggested to us we could maybe “edit the trailer to make it more darker and scarier” so we looked at scenes which could perhaps use a filter to make it look more threatening and build more tension amongst our audience. This helped us gain feedback from people within our target audience to see what they would like to see within our trailer.

POSTER FEEDBACKFrom our focus group I also gained feedback on the movie poster I created.

MY POSTERAs a part of our focus group, we decided to show our ‘Movie Posters’ we created as a part of our promotional film package. We decided to get feedback on our posters to see if our focus group felt there were any ways in which we could improve our posters to make the more appealing.

This feedback helped prompt any improvements which were necessary to our posters so that they would appeal more to our target audience.

The positive feedback I had on my poster was that 100% of our focus group said my poster was effective in advertising the film and would intrigue them to go watch the film. One member said I represented our female lead as “a strong positive female role model, shows females can survive on their own.”

I only had one suggested improvement, which was to make the writing of my tag line easier to read, which I did immediately after our focus group.

WHY USE A FOCUS GROUPThe benefits of using a focus group.

BENEFITS OF A FOCUS GROUP A focus group helps you to decide if you achieved what you

initially set out to achieve (i.e. successfully fit the correct genre, target the correct age group and both genders)

Help you spot what it is in particular stands out for your audience (e.g. three shots the remember most)

It tells you if your trailer is a successful promotional tool (e.g. 100% of our focus group would go see the film Defiance after seeing the trailer.)

Helps you to see what areas you can improve upon to make it more appealing to your audience (e.g. “slow tempo of soundtrack”)

Also helped with individual improvements, like with my poster making the writing slightly easier to read.