Questionnaire summary

The questionnaire was carried out to twenty-five students who attend Birmingham Metropolitan College aged between sixteen and eighteen. We felt that the age range of our targeted audience was appropriate as teenagers are the most popular age group that tend to be more sociable and outgoing more than the rest of the other age groups. The survey was centrally focussed on the horror genre of films as our group's final continuity piece concept evolves around the themes based on the genre such as tension and fear. I hope to use the questionaires as a basis for producing innovative ideas to which they can be built and expanded upon in the progress being made towards completing our final concept.

When asked how often they attend cinemas each month, the majority chose the first two options from not going to the cinema at all to up to five times. Only one person visited the cinema more than five times with most teenagers preferred to visit just the few times per month.

Sixty percent of the students stated that the suspense helped to create the fear within them in the response to being asked what they enjoy about watching horror films. This had captured their intentions to think and experience what might have happened next as the suspense creates a precursor that is waiting to happen at any given moment. This was the opinion that frequently appeared when asked about the purpose of the horror genre to which they claimed most of their favourite films are classified in the genre. Seven students said that they would search for the reviews of the horror films via the internet, magazine or brochet before considering whether to watch it or not either. This seems a sensible decision to make as you are informed of which horror films are worth paying for to watch, but ultimately it is your choice at the end of it all. Only one person did not answer the question because she stated that she only intend to watch films whilst being accompanied with friends at the same time which is completely understandable taking into account that going to the cinema is preferably suited to a group activity by teenagers rather than a solo activity, which is also an option but it is thought of as being a far less popular choice. Two students noted they would not be attracted to horror films that starred fewer well-known actors/actresses due to the lack of emotive influence less-known actors/actresses may have through their small reputations during inspirational moments. For example if a less-known character acted whilst being an emotionally driven moment of the film was developing into a climax, he/she may not have the same eminent presence as Tom Hanks or Penelope Cruz for which members of the audience can aspire to.

When asked about favourite and non-favourite horror films, twenty out of twenty-five students opted for 'Halloween' due to the central reason that 'everything about the film was scary', as quoted by one of them.
The least favourite horror films were 'Saw' and 'Final Destination'. With 'Saw', some teenagers thought that despite the theme in violence being highlighted as one of the popular features that make films enjoyable and deeply satisfying in horror genres, it became far too excessive on certain levels to their own liking on frequent occasions.
Favourite actors/actresses included Kurt Russell's role for a helicopter pilot role in 'The Thing'. Jack Nicholson's impressive role as Jack Torrance in 'The Shining' also inspired eleven out of twenty-five surveyors.
Based on where they like to watch their films, nineteen students preferred experiencing them in cinemas as the sound effects were used to greater influence to create a tense atmosphere in an enclosed environement.
To conclude, the majority of students enjoyed watching horror films of an eighteen rating due to the greater satisfaction withdrawn from the the depth of the gore in the content and the increased level of vulnerabilities and paranoia to which they felt exposed to.

Practice opening sequence

Storyboard for practice continuity piece

The production of our group's opening sequence surpassed my expectations to how it would be delivered through fluency and content. The group had to film the entire scene without the benefit of a tripod which surprisingly enabled steady progress on producing the different types of camera shots, from close-up to medium close-up, that we decided to use. I felt that the use of a tripod would have prolonged the delays to deliver the scenes because the equipment was not entirely reliable to use and that we had the fear that it was prone to jamming which would be an unwelcome addition to the production. With the camera being hand-held we felt that a sense of uneasiness is easily created as the perspective is being drawn from behind the character.
At times there have been minor disagreements over when to deliver which type of camera shots, but overall I felt the progress we made as a group over the course of the continuity project fared well with the amount of time that was given to meet the deadline.
To improve the performances in the future, our group must amend for the mistakes that we had initially been unaware of making and ensure they are to be not to be repeated. It would be recommendable that practice comes first before filming a camera shot or scene for the final time so this enables the group members to acknowledge what they are doing in their roles in the process and this avoids any further interferences, such as deciding which type of camera shot to use or deciding to place one scene before or after the other.

Continuity video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d6BW3dDIok