Audience Research

Audience research can be conducted in many different ways and it can help establish what the audience would want in a film. It is also an important part in the production of the film.

Surveys/ Questionnaires are questions in relation to a certain topic. In this case if we were to make a horror film, we would ask questions like 'what would you want to see in this film' or 'what type of soundtrack would you expect.' A survey can be yes or no questions, they can be multiple choice or they can be questions that involve the viewer/ potential audience's opinion. This method is both easy and simple to do, and it might be the most effective way of knowing your audience.

Just like a survey or questionnaire, interviews are more personal and straight forward. Interviewers can witness interviewees body language and facial expressions which can help establish what aspect of a film they're passionate about. Another advantage of having an interview would be that its more in depth compared to a survey or questionnaire. Therefore, whats bad about interviews would be that its time consuming.

Open Forums is online based and is open to the public. It is an open discussion that allows people to debate and express their opinion. Unlike a survey or an interview, an open forum can consist of questions in relation to the main question or it could be a reply to someone's comment. However, forums can tend to go off topic and comments may not be related to what is being asked. depending on the person typing the comment, it may not be in depth, making it harder for the film maker to understand its preferred audience.

Focus Groups is where people come together in a room or place and discuss the film that they're interested about. Here, you can take notes and talk about whats relevant and irrelevant.