A2 Media Poster Questionnaire

Do you enjoy watching films?This was my first question as it provided me with a basic understanding of the amount of film fans taking my survey. This is important as film fans who regularly watch movies are more likely to view other aspects of marketing within the film industry such as posters. The information I obtained from the participants who took my survey shows most of them enjoy watching films. 10 out of the 12 participants said yes they enjoy watching films, this was expected. The film industry has been growing every year with more and more films are being released and now theirs millions of mediums to obtains these films on.

Do you Enjoy Looking at Film PostersWe have already confirmed that most of my participants enjoy watching films. This is further shown as the same percentage enjoy looking at film posters. This is surprising as a lot of participants within my Vox Pox argued that film posters are not important in marketing a film. The high percentage of participants showing they enjoying looking at posters provides a solid reasoning for creating a poster for my short film. This question would have been more effective if I had a larger amount of participants to give a better percentage and a more reliable outcome.

Where do you most often see film posters?Posters are distributed to attract attention for the film but they can only do this if they are viewed by the public. This means the posters must place into areas which would attract the most attention. The most common answer for where my participants have seen film posters was the Bus Stop. This is a very common area to see posters as most bus stops have poster size advertising space which will be seen by all members of the public getting off and onto the bus. The second most common answer the internet. With the creation of film websites such as Empire and IMDB more people are turning to the internet to find their wanted movie news. When a review for a film is released there is normally a poster attracted to the review. Posters also get distributed over social media websites to attract attention. These posters can also be used as advertisement on paid websites.

Do film posters often influence you to see a film?The main target for a poster is to attract an audience to watch the film. The participants I had asked have previously stated that they enjoy looking at film posters however this question shows that they arent influenced to see the film from it. Just over 50% said no, this links with my VOX POPS as they agreed that posters do not influence them nearly as much as a trailer would. Even if a slightly larger percentage of the viewers wouldnt be influenced there is still a large marked that would be so posters are still a credible part of a films marketing.

What is the first thing you notice on a film poster?A film poster needs to attract attention and draw the eye of the audience. This can be done in many different ways. When asked what is noticed first the majority stated that the main image is the first thing viewed. This makes sense as the main image is usually the largest aspect of the poster meaning it can be spotted at a distance. The main image is also commonly the main actors which would attract even more attention for an audience viewing the poster as they recognise the actor. The second most viewed aspect of the poster was the title. This again is designed to stand out and will be larger than the other text. The main title is commonly in bold and has a different font style to the rest of the writing to make it stand out as the main title. The most not noticed parts of a poster is the production companies and the age rating. This is because these aspects are normally very small and placed to the side of the poster. They are seen but not the first thing noticed as the eye is instantly attracted to the main image of the title.

When you think of film posters, which film poster initially comes to mind?

I asked the participants which film poster is the first to come to mind. This would give me a few examples of film posters which stand out to the audience. I received a diverse range or posters, from the old classics to the modern thrillers. Once gaining the recipients views I researched these posters to find out whats makes them so stand out. Studying these posters gave me inspiration for my own. The most common posters were films by Christopher Nolan. Who is specifically known for modern thrillers.