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Audience research
- 2. The British Board of Film Classification (or the BBFC) is an independent, non-governmental organisation which is funded by the film industry, and assigned the responsibility of classifying and censoring films within the United Kingdom. It’s aim is to inform the general public on the appropriate viewing age of different films, however, due to the Video Recordings Act passed in 1984 their ‘recommended’ age ratings are to be legally enforced (e.g.: no one under the age of 18 can buy or see a film at the cinema rated ) therefore they are regarded more as age restrictions. The organisation was set up in 1912 and was originally known as the British Board of Film Censors; and although being legally appointed to classify films, ultimately statutory powers on film remain with the local councils, who may -if they deem necessary- overrule any of the BBFC’s decisions by either banning films they pass, passing films they reject or altering the categories some films may put in and exhibiting them under their own licensing jurisdiction. The BBFC submits films into the following categories: The category in which a film is placed in depends on the content a film holds and how much of a certain element (which may be seen as mature) it may have. I researched the BBFC so that I could obtain a better understanding of it’s guidelines, as I recognised that inevitably I would have to apply them to my own film. I needed to know, when rating my film, which age rating would be the most suited in regards to its content as well as (after researching the BBFC and the trend between films rated a 15/18 and its gross) whether or not I would base the explicitness of my films content on a specific age rating, in order to gain a larger audience and therefore make a large amount of profit. I learnt that the minimum age rating for a horror-slasher film was 15; and whereas films under this category could contain violence, films with an age restriction of 18 are far more flexible with its mature content, as horror films in this category are freer as this age ban allows the use of very strong, gory, and/or sadistic violence. This is an effect which could be beneficial for directors trying to cater to fans of the slasher genre. I also noticed that either age rating allows me as a director to convey a sexually active girl, who in slashers is usually the first to die. This convention is important as it is a moral message to sexually active girls and the repercussions of their behaviour. Both 15 and 18 rated films are allowed sexually content however, 15 rated films are only able to have a mild amount of sexual content.
- 3. Advantages Disadvantages Larger audience/ wider demographic therefore the film has more of a chance of becoming popular. Budget is larger compared to 18 rated films as it depends on the large audience, the budget has more flexibility as there is no need to pay for gory effects e.g. blood. More profit/revenue due to large audience. Would not attract hard core horror- slasher fans, due to the lack of gore and violence. There is more of a restriction of the things (as a director) I may want to do e.g. cannot add too much violence and gore. I would also nee d to be careful with the films content and language. There is no restriction on the amount of gore, mature content or bad language that can be used. The film/trailer can be more controversial which may result in a viral effect or word of mouth. Negative feedback that it may receive will only create a buzz and publicise the film, resulting in more people wanting to see what all the commotion is about Budget is affected as 18 rated films are not accustomed to getting a large demographic audience and therefore do not receive a large budget. As I have eliminated the core audience within the cinema industry (15) my film is not considered to get a large profit as my audience will be smaller. May attract the slasher genres more hard core fans, hopefully this will help me get back lost profit through all the teens. As teenagers are not able to see the film in cinemas or buy it in the shop, it may result in them downloading the film illegally. This would then impact on my DVD sales as people would have the film at their finger tips.
- 4. Psycho (1960) • Release Date (UK) – 04/08/1960 • Budget – $806, 947 • Gross – $32, 000, 000 My Bloody Valentine (1981) • Release Date (USA) – 11/02/1981 • Budget – $2, 300, 000 • Gross – $5,672,031 Orphan (2009) • Release Date (UK) – 17/08/2009 • Budget – $35, 000, 000 • Gross – $41, 573, 740 I Know What You Did Last Summer • Release Date (UK) – 12/12/1997 • Budget – $17, 000, 000 • Gross – $72, 219, 395 Halloween (1978) • Release Date (USA) – 25/10/1978 • Budget – $320, 000 • Gross – $47, 000, 000 Scream (1996) • Release Date (UK) – 02/05/1997 • Budget – $15, 000, 000 • Gross – $103, 001, 286 SAW (2004) • Release Date (UK) – 01/10/2004 • Budget – $1, 200, 000 • Gross – 455, 153, 403 Friday 13th • Release Date (USA) – 09/05/1980 • Budget – $550, 000 • Gross – $39, 754, 601
- 5. The film ‘Scream’ originally was age restricted 18 however, the most recent film from the franchise: ‘Scream 4’ was made under the guidelines of an age rating of 15. Scream already had a large fan base, and bring it back would trigger the sense of nostalgia for many however, they made it a 15 to allow those of the most recent generation the opportunity to see it, widening their audience and gaining a larger profit. All the release dates can also be recognised to not have been during the Halloween season, as this is when the major films are released therefore creating competition within the audience market. Instead they were released during/around Valentines Day and Christmas. This prompts me to think about when I would like to release my own film, as mine is an independent film it would be wiser to release it during Valentines Day where there is a short supply and high demand of horror films. As you can see, the audience does affect the budget. Knowing that films with a 15 age restrictions has more of an audience the films within this category are given a larger budget compared to the films with the age restriction of 18. However, in saying that I have noticed that although starting with a low budget the films rated 18 gained back a far more larger profit compared to the films restricted 15. This can be due to their flexibility with the explicit content they were able to use, which ultimately gained them publicity (bad/good) their controversial statue allowed them to come to a worldwide audience awareness through ‘word of mouth’ . Take for example ‘The Blair Witch Project’ which although is not seen as a ‘Slasher’ but a horror, rose to worldwide success through viral advertising. Having a budget of only $60,000 the film grossed over $140 million. Although, being a 15 which can be argued to opening itself up to a large demographic this may also work in favour of me choosing my film to be an 18 rather than a 15, as it too may start of with a low budget but with the right marketing scheme I may be able to achieve global success.
- 6. In order to get an idea of what film trailer I wanted to make I had to first understand who my audience were and what they wanted. I created a questionnaire on a site called ‘QuestionPro’ and posted the URL onto the social networking site ‘Facebook’. This enabled me to attain a large sample (55 people) as my questionnaire received a lot of attention due to its viral ‘advertisement’. Using these questions below I was hoping to identify some key trends which could point me in a certain direction when it came to the films narrative, the audience and the way in which I was going to exhibit the film. Which age category do you fall under? 12-14 15-17 18-25 25+ What gender are you? Female Male How often do you go to the cinema? Once a week Twice every two weeks Once a month Once every three months Other How would you usually consume the films you watch? Cinema DVDs Other What is your favourite film genre? Western Horror RomCom Adventure Fantasy Action War Science Fiction What is your favourite ‘Horror’ sub- genre? Slasher Supernatural e.g.: ghosts Zombies Gothic e.g.: vampires and werewolves What is your favourite horror film? SAW Friday 13th Halloween The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Paranormal Activity Scream Who is your favourite Slasher Villain? (Open-ended question) What is your favourite murder weapon in horror films? Kinfe Gun Axe Garden Sheers Hammer Which horror location do you consider most terrifying? Graveyard Basement Alley Castle Woods Abandoned house, school, warehouse etc Would you prefer to see a female or male hero/survivor in films? Male Female
- 7. Although it is evident that the age group with the most representation is 15-17 years, I have decided to aim my film at 18 year olds as this will give me more freedom to add as much gore and violence as I would like.
- 8. Males are more prominent on this graph compared to females. This can explain a lot as males tend to like slasher film more than females. Regardless of these findings I am going to aim it at both genders.
- 9. The fact that ‘other’ has the higher percentage suggests that the cinema is hardly visited nowadays. This could be due to more people buying DVD’s rather than going to the cinema. Cinema visits have shrunk due to the substitution of DVD’s.
- 10. My previous slide is reinforced with the results of this graph as DVD’s are seen to be the way in which people consume films most. The ‘other’ 24% could suggest illegal downloading.
- 11. It is obvious that the genre in which I have chosen to base my coursework on has a pre-existing audience which will help me in my distribution of the film. This makes the results of the questionnaire more reliable as they are more prone to have the genre in mind.
- 12. This result reflects the influence the horror genre has on todays society e.g. The Blair Witch which is the cause for the many supernatural films which have recently been released, Paranormal Activity. However, the fact that slasher is the second highest reveals that it is still popular transcending time.
- 13. This reinforces the previous slide as Paranormal Activity (supernatural) is first and Halloween (slasher) is second.
- 14. A common trend can be found within slasher villains as they all posses a mask. Freddy Kruger received the most amount of votes and although not having a mask his disfigurement can be argued to represent one. Within my film trailer I will attempt to not show the villain using shadows and smart lighting so that he is always in the dark.
- 15. This result informs me that my audience enjoy gore as the weapons which were chosen are a more brutal method of killing. Therefore I will try and use a weapon which will enable my killer to kill people as well as produce as much gore as possible.
- 16. These are conventional horror locations , the most popular was abandoned houses, schools etc, this could be because it depicts isolation as if the victims have nowhere to go, they are alone. The graveyard and woods received an equal amount and is also the most accessible location which is why my film is going to be primarily/majoritly based in a graveyard/woods.
- 17. The results are very close, therefore I could go with either. Even though females are conventionally known to be the hero/survivor I could break this convention and use a male.