RESEARCH RATIONALE

For my audience research I will be using a target group of teenagers around the age of 15-19. I have chosen this age category firstly because my horror trailer would most likely be rated as a 15 as I doubt that it would have the elements that are included in an 18 rated film (e.g. illegal drug use, explicit images of sexual activity, etc.) I have also chosen this age range as my target audience because I attend a sixth form at a school with students from the age of 11-19 and therefore these people are easily accessible for me.

The research that I plan to conduct will be in the form of questionnaires and focus group interviews. I’ve chosen to use questionnaires as a method to collect data from my target audience as I will be able to use closed questions with fixed categories which will make it easier for me to compare responses. The questions included in my questionnaire will be about what elements in horror people enjoy the most and also what they find most intriguing to watch. I’ll create my questionnaires on survey monkey and distribute them through social media e.g. Facebook and Snapchat and also messaging services such as Whatsapp and Gmail. I’ve chosen to do focus group interviews as part of my research into horror films as it’ll allow me to gain in depth, qualitative data which will help me to make important decisions when creating my own horror trailer.  

The resources that I’ll need in order to complete my research consists mainly of technology. I’ll need a computer that has internet access in order to make and distribute my questionnaires. I’ll also need the computer to show my focus group clips of horror movies. I’ll need a camera and a tripod and/or a smart phone in order to film my focus group interview and also an empty and quiet space. I’ll need people within my target audience age range who are willing to take part in my research. Lastly I’ll need questions to ask my target audience in order to actually conduct my research. All of these resources that I have listed are accessible for me as I have many of these things at school and at home.