Summary of audience research

Age

• 100% of those who answered my first questionnaire were between the ages 16-20 which reveals this is the specific audience I should be targeting in terms of context of the film. My plot and characters should be of a similar age in order to appeal to my audience so they are able to sympathise or understand the situations that the characters are in to some extent.

Gender

• 50% of males and 50% of females answered my questionnaire which suggests despite romance being associated with female leaning, some of the films within the genre may also appropriately appeal to a male audience also. This suggests I will needs to make a trailer that to some extent will appeal to both genres in some way.

Hobbies and interests

• Hobbies and interests of those who answered my questionnaire included jointly some form of exercise and also listening to music. Therefore the music of the trailer needs to be clearly thought out in order to meet the expectations of the audience in terms of age and gender. Meaning it needs to be well recognised by its audience. Some of the participants also stated that they enjoyed reading which suggests they may read the books associated with the film which means the film should incorporate elements of the book and show clear understanding of the plot.

Favourite romantic film

• The answers to this questions gained a varied bunch of results including The Hunger Games, The Notebook, Fault in our Stars and 10 things I hate about you. All suggested it was because of the emotions within the film therefore the trailer needs to reveal these emotions and make the storyline appear dramatic and sincere so that it can appeal to the audience. They also made comment of how the female finally finds the man she wants revealing there support for the typical ‘boy meets girl’ scenario.

What do you expect to see?

• In the trailer the participants focused strongly on the romance between the characters and the symbols which demonstrate that. They also focused on the use of dialogue and backing music which emphasises what the characters are saying and what they mean. It reveals that the audience believe the trailer should be dramatic and have an appealing impact to make the audience want to see the film.

What type to you enjoy most?

• 100% of the audience said that they preferred romantic comedy over any other type which suggests the most effective type of romantic films is one that has a happy ending so that the audience feel content with a narrative resolution at the end despite any catalyst situation that may occur within the film.

What do you expect to see in a romantic film trailer?

• The film trailer should give a basic overview of the plot and introduce the main characters within the story. The editing should be fast paced and enable the audience to understand the storyline but not reveal enough to ruin the film. It should suggest what love is about and intrigue the audience to believe the relationship between the characters.

What should the characters be like?

• Both gender should be happy and males should be associated with an attractive female which the audience suggested should be blonde. Example for males such as Zac Efronwhere given, suggesting they should be attractive and conform to stereotypes such as ‘cheesy’ lines and romantic gestures.

Focus group survey

• 70% believed that close-ups where the most effective shot. This suggests that the audience place importance on the emotions of the character in order to read the storyline.

• The impression of the music in the film trailer my target audience watched suggested it was a romantically devastating film. The audience also suggested it connoted the passion between the characters.

Editing and conventions.

• The target audience suggested the soft fading techniques made the trailer effective as it built up to an unexpected accident happening. The fade to black showed the severity of the accident which was sad for the audience to witness.

• 100% believed it was conventional for a romantic film genre because it had the typical ‘boy meets girl’ scenario where the women is oblivious to what is going on.

Conforming to gender stereotypes.

The target audience commented on how masculinity was shown through the use of clothing such as the suit and femininity by the use of a white wedding dress. The use of clothing also distinguishes the social class of the characters.

Fonts

• 70% of the target audience believed the use of fonts in the trailer where very effective. With the other 30% stating they were average. This suggests the fonts should have been more thought out in order to conform to masculine or feminine stereotypes. The colour of the fonts used also were said to connote purity which was synonymous to a wedding dress, this is effective as it shows a simple but powerful message.

Lighting and use of language in a romance trailer.

• High key lighting was suggested to be most effective as it connotes happiness and the use colours during the accident where commented on. They were dull and low key lighting suggested the build up to something bad happening.

• ‘I love you’ was the most recognised use of language by the audience to be used in a romantic trailer. The word ‘vow’ used in the trailer epitomises the meaning of love as when you vow something you make a promise and love is about making and keeping promises between each other.

• 100% of the audience stated that red was the most effective colour associated with love and romance. The comment on colours suggests colours such as red and white are most effective for a romantic genre.