Focus Group And Analysis

For our focus group we showed The Devil Inside movie trailer, a magazine front cover and a film poster. We asked the audience questions on each of these elements. The purpose of the focus group was to determine what our target audience would like to see in our promotional package, what could be improved and  to use the feedback to make our promotional pieces as effective and appealing as possible. Our focus group included two females and two males  from the age of seventeen and over. As an addition to our focus group, we also had additional students within the classroom who also watched the trailer as we played it. This was not planned but it helped us analyse the reactions because they were unaware they were being filmed. For our focus group we chose to use The Devil Inside movie trailer because we feel the narrative is very similar to our narrative, and the film influence our own ideas. The structure of the trailer is also very similar to ours, therefore we needed feedback as to whether the trailer was effective in all aspects. The film poster we showed was selected because we like the simplicity of the layout, and we are also not doing a magazine that is purely based on the horror genre. The possession poster was chosen for our focus group because it used grotesque imagery and this is an element we plan on using for our poster.

1) What did you like about the trailer?

-"Nothing, it was too demonic"

-"I thought it was very realistic"

2) If you could change anything, what would you change?

-"I wouldn't show too much of the movie"

-"Not much, I thought it was a good trailer"

3) Does it make you want to watch the movie?

-"no"

-"yes, I thought I was really graphic, which interests me"

-"I would go and watch it because I enjoy possession movies"

4) What was the most effective element within the trailer?

-"The graphics used"

-"The fact that it said it was based on a true story"

1) Does the main image appeal to you?

-"Yes it is really mysterious"

-"The main image is a well known actor so it appeals more to me"

2) Would you expect to see more sell lines on the front?

-"I like it how it is"

-"No because the image becomes more eye catching without too many sell lines"

-"No it doesn't give away too much"

3) Would you read the magazine?

-"Yes"

-"Yes, because there is not too much writing on the front"

4) What is the most eye catching element on the front cover?

-"The sell line Shutter Island, because it stands out due to the colours used"

5) If you could change anything, what would it be?

-"I would add something in the bottom right hand corner because it looks too empty"

1) What is the most effective element on the poster?

-"The main image because it is so unusual"

-"The main image because it makes you wander if this could happen in real life"

2) Is there a link between the main image and other elements on the poster?

-"Obviously she is possessed by something, which is the name of the film"

3) Do you find the 'based on a true story' element effective?

-"It is more chilling"

-"It is more scary"

-"Even though it looks unrealistic, it makes you think maybe it could happen"

4) Do you like the front used?

-"Yes the whole scratched out look shows us that there is a disruption"

5) If you could change anything, what would it be?

-"There is not much to change because it is an effective poster"

-"Make the slogan stand out more"

6) Does it make you want to watch the movie?

-"Yes, if you are into those types of movies you would watch it"

Overall, our feedback has shown us that from existing movie trailers, we should not show too much of the movie footage, because this will give away too much of the plot. The fact that the trailer said it was based on a true story allowed the movie to seem more realistic, which is something that we are considering adding into our trailer for effectiveness. From the magazine front cover feedback, we are most likely going to make our front cover image heavy, because the less writing was more appealing to our male participants, which shows men respond better to visuals. Bold colours will also be used on our front cover, because they seem to catch the most attention when it comes to buying the magazine. The film poster feedback was the most helpful, because the audience feels that a graphic and unusual image is very eye catching, which is something we plan to do for our poster, something very grotesque. The font on the poster is appealing, which is something that we are going to take into consideration when choosing our font for our poster, and once again, based on a true story will most likely be included on our poster.