Before creating our Audience Research Poster we decided to create a questionnaire that included Quantative and Qualatative questions.
Due to already outlining who our target audience are, we decided to send this questionnaire to a sample which is an equal mix of genders, and also fit into the age category of ‘15-34’. We felt this would ensure our results were the most reliable, as we are only analysing feedback from an audience that we are specifically targeting.
We used Facebook to distribute our questionnaire equally between both age and gender to ensure our results were fair and unbiased. Kwik Survey had already produced a range of links in which we could copy and paste into an email that we sent to friends, family and colleagues.
The majority of the people in mine and Haydens sample answered 'no' in that they think titles should not all be the same colour on a film poster. Looking back at my film poster deconstructions different coloured titles where used in all three if them; this is a common trait in film poster conventions used for a film of any genre, as it was used in all three of the existing media products that i previously deconstructed.
Our group should definitely consider using different colours for the titles on our film poster, to ensure that our film poster will be comparable to existing media products and has a real sense of realism.
By observation you can clearly see that the top three chosen colours, which an audience feels best reflects the genre of our film, is black, red and white. This question gave the potential audience a choice to give their views on why they chose a specific colour. Below are some anomalous quotes from people who answered the questionnaire about why they chose either the colour red, white or black:
"Black is a very dark colour, and has connotations such as evil, pain and death. All of these connotations could be associated with the tragic and psychological thriller aspects of your genre."
"The colour red has connotations such as; love, pain, blood and danger. All of these connotations reflect different aspects of your genre and therefore makes it a good colour to use."
"White doesn't have a specific set of connotations associated with it due to being a very neutral colour. Therefore using the colour white would easily reflect each aspect of your genre."
These quotes are another example of where; 'The Active Audience' has taken its role in the development of media products. These quotes are an example of where the audience have informed us of the connotations that they associate with these specific colours, and then relating them to the nature of the film. Therefore finding the hidden signs and meanings within these colours.
From analysing this question, looking at the results and aspects of audience theory, I can conclude that when our group come to produce our film poster we need to think about every little detail. 'What signs and meanings do all these colours portray?' This will help us create a more successful film poster by using the right material in order to convey the exact nature of our film through our film poster.
From analysing this question, looking at the results and aspects of audience theory, I can conclude that when our group come to produce our film poster we need to think about every little detail. 'What signs and meanings do all these colours portray?' This will help us create a more successful film poster by using the right material in order to convey the exact nature of our film through our film poster.
90% of the people in my sample answered 'yes,' in that they think it is important to create a sense of brand identity between our products.
Looking back at the film poster deconstructions from The Butterfly Effect noticeable similarities are seen between the film posters and film trailers for these three.
Overall, our group need to make sure that in some way our products create a sense of brand identity. We will be able to accomplish this by giving both our film poster noticeable similarities to our film trailer.
80% of the people in my sample answered 'no,' in that they think titles should not all be the same size on a film poster.
Looking at my film poster deconstructions from; different sized titles where used in all three if them. This appears to be a common film poster convention used for a film of any genre, as it was used in all three of the existing media products that I previously deconstructed.
This impacts how we as a group colour our titles on our film poster because:
- Different sized titles appears to be a common film poster convention,
- The audience's feedback from this question shows that they prefer titles on a film poster to be different sizes.
Furthermore, my group should definitely consider using different sized titles on our film poster, to ensure that our film poster will be comparable to existing media products.
75% of the people in our sample agreed that white would be the most suitable background colour for our film poster. This question gave the audience a choice to give their views on why they chose a specific colour. Below is an anomalous quote from someone who answered the questionnaire about why they chose this specific colour:
In conclusion to my analysis of this question I feel that using a plain coloured background may make our poster more successful because it will cause it to stand out from other film posters as using a plain coloured background doesn't seem to be a common film poster convention. We believe that as a group if we create something original and effective that it then does not need to have lots of money spent on it's production."White is quite a bland colour and therefore it wont distract the audience, keeping there attention on the main focus points of the film poster, such as the imagery and titles."
80% of the people in my sample answered 'yes,' in that they think titles should all have the same font on a film poster. Using the same font in everything of the poster appears to not be a common film poster convention used for a film of any genre, as it was only used in one of the existing media products that i previously deconstructed.
This impacts how we as a group colour our titles on our film poster because:
- Different sized titles does not appear to be a common film poster convention,
- However the audience's feedback from this question shows that they prefer titles on a film poster to be in the same font.
Looking closer at the two film poster deconstructions that did not use the same font for all there titles, it appears only the title showcasing the name of the film has a different font. The use of a different font for the main title on the film poster causes it to stand out, capturing the audience's attention which may be one of the purposes for the use of a different font. Me and my group now must decide whether to acknowledge our audience and use the same font for all our titles, or to be influenced by existing media products and use a different font for the main title of our film poster.
All of the people in our sample answered 'yes,' in that they think that the imagery used for our film poster should reflect our films main themes and genre. This may not be shared by other people whom make up the audience of those particular media products. I can clearly state though that the results received from this question it is clear that an audience expects to see imagery used on a film poster that reflects that films main themes and genre, therefore as a group we need to create an image that meets this purpose.
Conclusion:
After analysing each question from my questionnaire thoroughly, I can come to the conclusion that I now understand more about what an audience wants to see on a film poster. I feel I have a now have knowledge in how film posters are designed and why techniques are used. My group will consider using some of these techniques in our own media product in order for our media products to compete with what is already out there. Additionally we aim to meet our audiences expectations. This will hopefully cause us to create a successful film poster that meets its purpose and looks very effective.
