Focus Group Analysis

Focus Group Analysis

To finalise the idea that I will use for my short film, I conducted a focus group with a range of people from my current target audience. This allowed me to find out what they wanted to see in a thriller, and allowed me to make a decision on what idea to choose.

I started out by reading each of my three ideas to my focus group, and asking them what they thought about each. The first question that I asked was what they liked about each idea, allowing me to find out parts that worked well, so that I could incorporate them into my final idea.

For my first idea (run-away Dad), I found that they liked the idea of a younger person trying to track an older person, as it would make the movie more ‘thrilling’. However, my target audience seemed to be drawn more towards my second idea (twin girls), as they found it much more frightening. They also liked the twist that was involved in my second idea, and the fact that it was a psychological thriller. My third idea (mountains) also had an unclear ending, similar to my second idea, which my target audience found appealing. They also liked the fact that this idea was a tragedy, and thought that it would be a good ending for a follow on movie. This showed me that my target audience prefer the ideas that are in my second idea, although there are also elements of the other ideas that are appealing to them.

I also asked my focus group what they would change about each idea, so that I could consider this when creating my short film. For my first idea, my target audience decided that they would change the age of the young girl to someone who was slightly older, as a very young girl wondering around a city may be unrealistic. They also considered the fact that some people may find this idea offensive as it involves an adult with mental disabilities.

For my second idea, my target audience decided that they liked the storyline and the way that the movie was set out, so they did not want to change anything in particular. However, for my third idea, they didn’t want to change anything in particular, but said that they would want to see lots of action shots showing the location, which would be mountains. Although my target audience liked both my second and third idea, my second idea would be more feasible, as action shots of mountains could cause issues with health and safety. Asking this question has allowed me to find out what kind of storyline my target audience would prefer, so that I can use the information for deciding on my final idea.

I also asked what they liked about the characters in each of my ideas. Although my characters were similar in each idea, the context that they were in affected how suitable my target audience thought that they were. For my first idea, the majority of the people in my focus group thought that the characters involved would be a difficult mixture, as it involves a young girl looking after an adult with mental disabilities, but effective. They also thought that this would become quite a ‘deep’ movie, because of the age gap and the circumstances.

In my second idea, my target audience felt that the combination of characters would be good, and that it would make the film scarier. They also liked the fact that the idea involved a family twist, as they found this more interesting. My focus group liked the characters involved in my third idea as well, as they felt that it made it very realistic as it could happen in real life. This has shown me that even with the same types of characters, it is the storyline and themes involved that can depend on whether it works well or not.

The next question that I asked was what they thought about the actual storyline of each idea. My focus group said that they felt my first idea didn’t have a solid storyline, but that the audience might associate the themes with their current lives and circumstances. In my second idea, my focus group liked the twist in the storyline, and they also liked that the tension builds as the time gets closer to midnight, and that the characters would be locked in a room. In my third idea, the main comments on the storyline were that they thought it would be a good movie for the time that I would be filming, as it would be a snowy location, and they also liked the fact that it could realistically happen, yet no movies have been made about this idea before, making it unique.

The last question that I asked my target audience about each of my ideas was whether or not they thought the themes involved in each idea were suited to the thriller genre, as I wanted to ensure that my short film was appealing to my target audience who liked thriller movies. There were a range of opinions on my first idea, with some people saying yes and others saying no. This shows me that this idea would only appeal to some of my target audience and that I would have to modify it further to make it more appealing.

In my second idea, my focus group thought that the themes included were definitely suited to the thriller genre, and they all agreed. This showed me that this idea could realistically work well, and be suited to my genre as well as my target audience. My target audience also had similar opinions on my third idea, which were that the themes didn’t really match the typical thriller genre style. However, they felt that if I included lots of fast-paced shots, and set the film up in a certain way, that this idea could also work.

After I had asked my target audience about each individual idea, I asked them questions about all of the ideas as a whole, to help me to finalise my thriller storyline. The first question that I asked was which idea that they thought would be most successful. The majority of the people said that the second idea would be the best, and some also agreed that the third one would also be good. This question helped me to judge which idea had the best storyline, and which would appeal to my target audience.

I also asked which idea would be most feasible, as i had to consider the reality of filming each of these ideas, and the implications that I would have. My focus group thought that the second idea would be most feasible, and some also thought that the first idea had a possibility of working. This outlined that my third idea could cause many problems due to the location and themes that I intended to include.

As I had to ensure my final idea would appeal to my target audience, I asked them which idea they would most like to see. The majority of the focus group agreed that they would find the second idea most interesting and appealing, and a couple of people also said that they would enjoy watching my third idea as well. However, due to the implications that I have outlined from my third idea, I think that the second would be more suitable.

I also had to ensure that my ideas were fitting to the thriller genre, so I asked my focus group what ideas they thought were suited to the thriller genre. They all agreed that my second idea was the primary one that appealed to the thriller genre, which showed me that a psychological storyline was perhaps more interesting to my target audience.

Another area that I had to consider about my short film was the music, as it plays an important role in the majority of thriller movies. I asked my focus group what type of music that they would expect to see, and they said that they would expect dramatic music that is lightly haunting. One person also said that they would expect the music to be upbeat and loud. Another member of the focus group also said that screeching worked well in thriller movies, which I will consider when making my own.

The last question that I asked was what they would improve about their favourite idea, as I wanted my final idea to appeal to my target audience. Answers that were given on my second idea included making sure that I get the right actors. Although I do not have a wide choice when casting for my short film, I can still ensure that the actors are appropriate for the role that they are playing, and ensure that they are prepared with the script well in advance, as this should improve the acting quality. They also agreed that setting is important to my idea, so I will make sure that I consider this when planning my filming.

Completing this focus group has helped me to finalise my idea that I will be using to create my short film. I think that although my first idea would work, it is not appealing enough to my target audience, as the themes involved did not interest everyone. This idea could also prove to be difficult as it would involve filming at night, along with other complications such as health and safety and the possibility of having to hire out locations.

I also think that my third idea could be very successful, and that it has a unique selling point that my target audience would find appealing. I think that the storyline is fairly strong in this idea; however, in order to create the effects that I would want to do, health and safety risks could cause problems. This would affect the overall quality of this idea, which is why I am also going to eliminate this idea.

This leaves me with my second idea as my final short film storyline. I think that this psychological thriller idea will prove to be successful with all of my target audience, as it contains all of the elements that my previous research has shown to appeal to them. This idea will be feasible, as I am using locations that are safe, and easy to film in. I think that overall, this is my strongest idea, and I think that it will be a successful short thriller film.