Monday, 23 November 2009

Distributing Questionnaire

To distribute my questionnaire quickly and effectively, I decided on using Facebook. Facebook is a social networking site that is operated and privately owned by Facebook Inc.


Over the years, Facebook has become the leading social networking site and has taken over main competitor Myspace in April 2008, which is another well known social networking site. The popular networking site is also available on smartphones which offer access to Facebook either through their web browsers or applications.The Facebook Iphone app was launched by Apple in August 2007 and as of July 2008 over 1.5 million people use it regularly.


Facebook has a huge popularity with the general public, which is why I decided to distribute my questionnaire by using this particular site as many of school friends use it on a daily basis which means I will get a much quicker and easier response than carrying out any other method of distribution. For example


To send my questionnaire to people on Facebook, I simply created a new note and typed up my questionnaire. People then responded and left their answers below in a comment box.


Sunday, 15 November 2009

Questionnaire Results

I have received the results of my questionnaire and have analyzed the data and produced a variety of pie charts and bar graphs to effectively see my results in a clearer manner. This data is shown below along with what I believe each result has told me.


The majority of people who answered this questionnaire mostly watch horror movies once a week or every fortnight. This result has proven that horror movies effectively have an increasing popularity with the public.



A twisted plot is what mostly grabs the attention of the audience and lures them into watching the movie. This shows that the story line of the movie has to be effective and unique and somewhat terrifying to the viewers. Tension, characters and dynamics all have the same result, which shows that the public will also want tension to gradually build within the movie as the story unfolds, a variety of characters who have the purpose of different roles and, dynamics, which includes music, sound effects, setting etc. Overall this is what makes a horror movie successful within its construction.



Overall the participants of this questionnaire mostly answered all the above. The various emotions of feeling scared, tense, excited and suspicious are all beneficial for the horror movie itself as again, this will prove its success of its construction. Many viewers will be eager to watch a movie will make them feel scared, excited and suspicious and provide them with an adrenaline rush.


The most popular horror film proved to be Saw. Saw is a major successful horror movie which belongs to the slasher genre as there is constant brutality of each victim that is preyed on by the masked killer named Jigsaw. My Bloody Valentine 3D followed in being second most popular. This movie was released on January 16th 2009 and has received excellent reviews. This shows that 3D horror is also gaining popularity with the public and suggests that other horror films may follow with the same 3D theme.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has demonstrated to be the most frightening out of the given list of movies. Much like Saw, this movie falls under the slasher genre. This shows that the public are mostly interested in movies that show images of gruesome and bloody killings of the chosen victims. The second most frightening movie is The Ring which falls under the category of psychological horror. This sub genre focuses on not just on the character but also on the viewer's mind and preys on their fears. This effectively creates tension within the audience.


An audience watching a horror movie, mostly expect to see gore and blood within the narrative. This clearly demonstrates that gruesome and bloody images are what makes a horror movie successful with the public. Blood and gore are typically associated with horror movies and is the main element that is effectively used by many film directors when producing a horror movie.


The killer, Leatherface, from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, has resulted in being the most menacing out of the given list of villains. Hannibal Lecter from The Silence of The Lambs is second most frightening. Both of these villains are wearing a mask, which ultimately shows that using a mask to hide the identity of the killer portrays them as being more fearful. This frightens the audience further.


The theme that is feared mostly, are dolls and clowns. Dolls and clowns are normally associated with very young children and portrayed to be innocent and loving. However, this representation is changed within a horror film and are displayed as terrifying and unfriendly, this creating fear within the audience.


Chase sequences is the major convention that has changed over the years, followed by the killing and violence within a narrative. The brutality of a horror film has effectively evolved in order to please each new generation in order to keep them content with the images that are going to be displayed within the narrative. A good example of this would be Saw. With every Saw movie made, the violence and killing becomes more brutal in order to scare the audience and place fear within themselves.



Case 39 and The Final Destination are the most effective trailers with the participants who opted to take part in my questionnaire. The trailer for Case 39 shows fast and gripping clips of people being slaughtered and attacked, which shows that there is blood and gore within the narrative. The Final Destination is in 3D, which is possibly why the film and the trailer itself is effective.


Sunday, 1 November 2009

Horror Movie Questionnaire

I have produced a questionnaire based upon what entices a person when watching a horror film, which will allow to me to gain a better understanding of what I will need to include within my trailer to frighten the viewer(s) watching. Below is the questionnaire that I created.

1. How often do you watch horror movies?


a. Once a week

b. Every fortnight

c. Once a month

d. Not often


2. What is it that you mostly like about a horror movie?


a. Tension

b. Characters

c. Twisted plot

d. Dynamics


3. How do you normally feel when watching a horror movie?


a. Scared/jumpy

b. Edgy/tense

c. Excited

d. Suspicious

e. All the above


4. What is your favorite horror movie out of the following?


a. Saw

b. Drag Me To Hell

c. Scream

d. The Grudge

e. My Bloody Valentine



5. Which of these horror movies frighten you the most?


a. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

b. The Ring

c. Haunting In Connecticut

d. 28 Days Later

e. 1408


6. What sort of things do you expect to see when you watch a horror movie?


a. Gore and blood

b. Prosthetics and masks

c. Stormy/bad weather

d. Mirrors

e. Weapons


7. Every horror movie has their own representation of their killer/villian, out of the following given below, which do you find to be the most menacing?


a. Jigsaw (Saw)

b. Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

c. Kayako (The Grudge)

d. Samara (The Ring)

e. Hannibal Lecter (Silence Of The Lambs)


8. Which particular theme do you fear the most?


a. Possessed and psychotic children

b. Based on real life events

c. Supernatural

d. The living dead

e. Dolls and clowns


9. What conventions (elements) do you personally think have changed and developed over time in the horror genre?


a. Settings and environment

b. Villain/killer

c. Weapons

d. Chase sequences

e. Killing and violence


10. Out of the following trailers given below, which movie appeals to you the most?


a. Case 39

http://www.youtube.com/wat


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b. Jennifer's Body

http://www.youtube.com/wat


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c. Haunting In Connecticut

http://www.youtube.com/wat


ch?v=MRJA3lN0xCQ


d. The Final Destination

http://www.youtube.com/wat


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