Audience Research - Reaction Filming and Discussion

I decided to conduct an observational study by filming a number of participants whilst watching a variety of different horror trailers. In doing this I was able to see the sections of the trailer that caused the most obvious reactions which has been useful in helping me decide on the content that I will be putting in my own.  After the participants had watched the trailer,  I discussed with them in more detail how they felt  asking them a series of questions in order to deduce useful information which will help guide me when making my own horror trailer and confirmed the definite target audience that I will be aiming my trailer at.

When looking at the obvious reactions in both footage, I found that music and sound plays a major part in setting the scene and causing the audience to react in fear and shock (e.g.jumping, covering eyes etc).  From this,  it is clear to see that soundtracks help to heighten suspense and horror and create an uncomfortable atmosphere that fans of the horror genre look for, and without,  the scariest most uncomfortable footage can be made bearable to watch.

I decided to research even further into this and came across a study from professor Daniel Blumstein  from the university of  California, Los Angeles which also involved composer Peter Kaye from Kingston University London. Professor Daniel found that  horror films had a higher than expected number of abrupt shifts up and down in pitch and came to the conclusion that the use of non linear sounds were not random - but used to 'enhance the emotional impact 'of scenes. From these findings, I will now be very careful and thorough in the selection process of choosing the music and sounds for each and every moment of my trailer in order to portray and enhance the horror and shock elements correctly and to the fullest.

When speaking with one of the students, she expressed her interest in the film as the story line was unique and different to anything else she had seen or heard before. This highlights that people of this age group find originality an important factor when trying to attract viewers as many may argue that horror films have become too predictable over the years and fans of the horror genre (such as she) can usually predict what will happen in certain scenes. 

All the participants agreed that even though the trailer they watched was not 'gory' as such (The human centipede) it was still very disturbing to watch as part of the promotion package of this film was that the surgery is 'medically accurate' meaning that this could actually be carried out in real life. This has showed me that film classed in the horror sector do not have to be all about blood and gore to be eerie and that people find realistic scenarios more frightening because they fear that there is more of a chance of it actually happening to them. 

Lastly, one of the students noticed that the actors and actresses used fit and portrayed the characters in the film perfectly. I also agree that this is very important as using someone who does not fit the role will make the film seem very unrealistic whether in a horror film or any other genre. I will now cast my actors/actresses very carefully when deciding what characters they will play in order to ensure that the actors are character appropriate. 

In the second session, one of the students mentioned that she feels the trailer would have been scarier if it had followed Todorov's narrative theory as there was no build up because equilibrium was never present at any point; just chaos right from the start. This has showed me that audiences of this age group enjoy watching a horror that builds up tension and doesn't just get straight into the blood and gore. I will now ensure that I myself will do the same by leaving the gory parts (if any) more towards the end.