Survey Monkey Results

Leeza Ah-wanCandidate Number: 6593

I intentionally sent my survey to 5 females and 5 males as ‘Upon Thames’ is trying to attract both a ‘male’ and ‘female’ (Hartley) audience. Hence, I wanted to see how both genders responded to the trailer.

Half of the sample asked stated that they believed ‘Upon Thames’ would appeal to 16-20 year olds. The other half believed that the soap opera would appeal to 21-25 year olds. These statistics denote that based on this survey, ‘Upon Thames’ is successful in appealing to its target audience of ‘18-25’ (Hartley) year olds. No one believed that the soap would appeal to 10-15 year olds. This is likely to be due to the fact that the plot of the trailer is murder and therefore most people viewing the trailer are likely to believe that the soap isn't appropriate for people in this age bracket because of some of the bloody scenes that would be expected in the soap. Interestingly, no one believed that the soap opera would appeal to 26-30 year olds or those who are over 30. The cast members in the trailer are all teenagers and therefore people filling out the survey probably realised that those around the age of 30 would be more interested in an alternative soap such as Eastenders or Coronation Street, as they are less likely to be able to “personally identify” (Katz) with characters who are of a younger age.

Everyone who completed this survey stated that the guess who theme is original. The fact that 100% of participants believed this theme was authentic is extremely encouraging. A guess who theme has not been utilised before by any existing successful soap operas and I believe by offering this “difference”(Neale) ‘Upon Thames’ is advertised as a unique and original soap, which can offer audience members with a completely different type of viewing experience that other soaps cannot provide.

Furthermore, 100% of people who participated in the survey said they had not seen a shallow focus shot being used in another soap opera trailer before. I believe that using a variety of camera shots such as close ups, mid shots, a low angle shot, two person shots, an over the shoulder shot and a shallow focus shot is one of the reasons why our trailer has received so much positive feedback. The camera angles work effectively in denoting the emotions of each character depending on the situation they’re in. When gathering qualitative feedback on my trailer, one person commented on how the use of a shallow focus shot was extremely effective, whilst the others commented on how using such a diverse range of camera angles created suspense and helped to “signify” (De Saussure) the importance of certain characters.

Everyone who completed this survey also agreed that the colour red was effective in providing symbolism. Red was used to connote the bloodshed that takes place. However, after collecting these results I was suspicious over whether participants gave desirable answers to please me and simply said yes for the purpose of not wanting to offend my trailer. So, I asked the participants who did this survey (some media students and others not media students) what they believed red symbolised. 5 gave the same response to our initial idea, which was that blood connoted bloodshed. 4 other participants believed the red connoted fear and danger. 1 person believed the red symbolised the negative emotions of the characters as in the trailer some characters are presented as angry, annoyed or scared. Asking participants the reason behind there answers was important, as it has allowed me to conclude that the colour red was truly effective in offering symbolism and participants were not just lying. When gathering audio feedback, many people picked up on the prevalent use of the colour red and its effectiveness.

Out of the 10 people who completed the survey, 8 gave the soundtrack a effectiveness score of 5. 1 person gave it a score of 4 and another person gave it a score of 3. This gave a weighted average score of 4.70. Therefore, overall the choice of soundtrack was successful. When gathering qualitative feedback one person pointed out that the music paralleled with the shots in our trailer, as we used slow paced shots and a slow paced soundtrack. Similarly, when gathering audio feedback, there were multiple occasions where different people made reference to how using this soundtrack was extremely effective. The general feedback was that it was emotive and highlighted the fear and anger in the trailer. As well as, captivating the audience and creating tension due to its intense and slow place. I was pleased to gather this positive feedback as this was the outcome we were hoping for. Although many soap opera trailers use a fast paced soundtrack, we wanted to offer “difference” (Neale) and use a slower soundtrack that would create suspicion and overall a sense of wonder about what is to come.

When asked which theme was more prevalent, 40% of people believed it was murder, whilst 60% believed it was secrecy and lies. No one believed that the representation of “strong women” (Feasey) was the most prevalent theme. Although there are instances in our trailer where the role of a strong women is denoted, such as when the girl is arguing with her boyfriend, I agree that there are other themes that are foregrounded more. There are many instances where the theme of secrecy is explored. For example, the close up shot of the note that reads “I know what you did it makes me sick” and also the verbal code: “I know what you did”. The theme of murder is also foregrounded through the pan of the victims dead body at the beginning of the trailer.

100% of people who completed the survey said that ‘yes’, the non diegetic heartbeat at the end of the trailer was successful in creating suspense. When gathering qualitative feedback, when asked about the use of sound, two out of five people commented specifically on how effective the heartbeat was. One of these respondents claimed that “the non diegetic sound of the heartbeat builds tension as audiences can feel the incrementum building”. Similarly, when gathering audio feedback, many people said they really enjoyed the dramatic impact that was created by the heartbeat. Therefore, it’s clear the use of non diegetic sound in this instance was effective in creating tension and offering viewers a form of “diversion” (Katz). We believed including the sound of a heartbeat would not only make our trailer original, but it would be successful in connoting the emotions of the female character. She is evidently extremely scared or frightened which creates suspense as the audience begin to wonder ‘what of?’

When asked on a scale of 1-5 how far Upon Thames fulfills BBC’s mission statement, 1 person gave it a score of 3, 5 people gave it a score of 4 and 4 people gave it a score of 5. Upon Thames successfully “entertains” (Reith) through a gripping and thought provoking storyline, which will leave viewers contemplating who the real culprit is after viewing the trailer. The arguments that take place between the various characters also offers entertainment. It also “educates” (Reith) viewers of how a community can be filled with lies, secrets and deception. Whilst the trailer, “informs” (Reith) viewers of the relationships between the different characters, what they are like and what viewers can expect to see in the upcoming episode.

Everyone who answered this questionnaire believed that the transition from black and white to colour at the beginning of the trailer was effective. None of the trailers I analysed did this and by offering this “difference” (Neale) I believe my soap opera trailer stands out from other existing trailers in the genre. Black was used at the beginning to connote the idea of judgment and to emphasise the importance of the characters faces on the board. As the trailer progresses, viewers realise all these faces are important as one of these characters is the culprit behind the ordering of the murder. I also made the BBC 2 Ident at the beginning of the trailer black and white. This is because I didn’t want the use of colour to clash with the black and white colour scheme of the scene behind it. Using black and white for the opening sequence also connotes the importance of the guess who board game, as this theme is what makes our trailer unique and original.