Graph analysis for questionnaires

By Meli Arif

Main Product Short film

Are you Male or Fem ale?

Male Female

50%

50%

This pie chart shows that the same amount of males and females were given this questionnaire. Both males and females are our target audience, so giving the same amount of questionnaires to both will allow us to obtain information on what each likes and therefore tailor our product to suit their needs. We need to therefore produce a product that will appeal to both genders and this questionnaire will give us a rough idea as to what they would like to see.

How old are you? 0% 0% 12--14 15--17 18--20 21+ 70% 30%

As our questionnaires were distributed during school hours, the main participants of the questionnaire are teenagers. Our target audience answered our questionnaire so their opinions and inputs will be most helpful when considering what to do with our product as it is aimed at appealing them. From the chart it is clear that no one above the age of 17 answered this questionnaire as our product will aim at the younger generation. The age that dominates the questionnaire is the category 15-17 which is our target audience, ensuring us that the information we receive will be useful indeed.

What certification of a Drama film would you prefer watching?

0%

A 12A A 15 An 18

40%

60%

From the chart it seems that our target audience would enjoy watching a short film drama that is a certification of a 12A as it is over half of the votes. After the 12A, the certification of a 15 got the second most amount of votes and an 18 coming in last place with no votes at all. It is understandable that the certification of an 18 achieved no votes as no one over the age of 17 participated in the questionnaire, meaning that they are not legally allowed to watch the films associated with that certification as they are underage. The certification of short films is run by the BBFC, which gives guidelines as of what the film must not contain to have that certification. We will need to make constant reference with the website as it will give us the content of what to include and what not to include to keep our film at a 12A. As our target audience preferred this certification over the others, we will make our film a 12A so our drama short film will appeal to them. A 12A allows a child slightly younger than a 12 to see it if in the presence of an adult. The adult is responsible for making the child watch the film and it is their decision of whether the child may handle the plot, as it can be quite emotional at times. According to the BBFC website, a 15 is much stronger than a 12A as it can include strong language, strong violence, drug taking and discriminatory language or behaviour. This content is not suitable for any child under or the age of 12, therefore meaning that to maintain our product as a 12A we cannot include any of this content, such as drug taking. As our product will be a 12A, a mass audience can enjoy our film as the younger audience can easily see it and not be restricted. Even though the majority of the audience who answered this questionnaire is aged 15-1, the results of this graph show that they would prefer a 12A as opposed to a 15. A 12A short film can ensure that our audience will be maximised to target the 1214 years olds as well as the teenagers. New curriculum guidelines have been set by the British government to focus and emphasise on British history. Our short film can therefore possibly be an educational film for younger students studying PSHE, as it will show how families dealt with the war and how it affected them emotionally, as well as showing some statistics at the start to educate them. Our film can be used as a means of education purposes for the audience, which is part of the uses and gratifications theory, but will mainly be for entertainment as the audience can enjoy the film and feel connected to the characters emotions.

What type of camera angles/shots would you like to see in a drama short film?

10% 0% Long shot Close ups POV shots Low angles High angles 30% 20% 40%

This particular pie chart shows that our audience would like to see a wide range of camera angles and shots because of the almost evenly spread out opinions. The camera work is one of the most important of the technical codes as it shows the mise-en-scene and can project certain messages and meanings to the audience. As all of the shots mentioned scored high this means that we will need to incorporate all these shots and angles into our work because the audience seems to be appealed by them. The shot however, that just did slightly better than the others is the Long shot. The use of long shots are very important as they show how the characters react to their environments and can show a lot of information about the location or people through mise-en-scene, most notably costume and props. As it obtained the most votes, we need to ensure that we include frequent long shots as the audience can see how the characters react with their environments and thus be entertained by the characters reaction. Close ups attained the second most amount of votes which is not surprising as it is one of the most important shot as it represents the characters emotions and feelings in a situation, meaning that the audience can empathise with them. We will need to include these shots also so the audience can relate to our characters and feel emotions with them. POV shots and Low angles achieved less than the other two but still had some votes meaning that we will need to include them in our product as thats what some of our audience members would like to see in a drama short film. Lastly, high angles did not achieve any votes but may still be included as it can represent vulnerability for one of the characters creating empathy. Our product needs to include a wide range of camera shots to fully capture the scene. If a wide range of camera angles and shots are applied correctly to a scene it can inform the audience of the characters feelings and emotions to their surroundings. For example, constant close ups of a characters face shows their emotions to the audience and if it keeps focusing on a particular character the audience are informed that they are the focus and the hero of props 8 stock characters because the director is putting the attention on to that character.

Do you think mise-en-scene is important?

Mise-en-scne is an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production Wikipedia's definition. Mise-en-scene is undoubtedly important as it is everything that is in a shot and communicates certain messages to the audience and reveals information about the narrative and characters, while setting the mood for the film. The audience members who took this questionnaire also feel it is a very important aspect as it got full votes. This means that we need to take extraordinary care when looking at the different elements of mise-en-scene and making sure that everything in the shot works with the characters and the narrative in order to create verisimilitude. The different elements to mise-en-scene is Lighting, Props, Costume, Location and Characterisation. All of the different components are useful in setting the tone for the film and the pie chart below shows the audiences preference on what element they feel we should focus on. The chart shows that the audience feels we should focus on all of the elements as they all got similar numbers in votes, with some being slightly higher or lower than others. Lighting and Characterisation received the most amount of votes. Lighting influences the audiences understanding of the characters mood, meaning that we will need to plan the lighting before hand so as to achieve the desired effect on the audience. For example, low key lighting can create tension and mystery, while representing the character being in a dark mood. Dark lighting can also create the narrative theory of the enigma code as the audience are in suspense and make them focus on a particular character if the light is on them. Characterisation is also important as it is the characters that the audience relate to and empathise with, therefore meaning that we need to make sure our characters are represented in a positive light and are likable and relatable to the audience through their actions and emotions. The final three being Location, Props and Costume are also important as they establish the scene as it shows the time period. Even though they never achieved as many votes as the other two, attention still needs to be paid on them as they also contribute in creating a sense of verisimilitude. Overall, our target audience seem to think mise-en-scene is very important and thinks that all the elements need to focused on thus informing us that when creating our product, we need to make sure we concentrate heavily on this technical code.

0%

Yes No

100%

Which elements of mise-en-scene do you want us to focus on?

21% Characterisation Lighting Location Props Costume 19% 12%

23%

25%

What type of narrative would be most conventional to our short film?

30% Simple Complicated Strong impact 70% 0%

The pie chart represents that the majority of our target audience would want a strong impact narrative. In second was a simple narrative and last with no votes is a complicated narrative. A drama films purpose is to move the audience emotionally and present them with realistic situations and characters. The purpose of the film therefore, shows that the narrative needs to have a strong impact because it need to move the audience emotionally. Our film will need to therefore contain a narrative that has a strong impact in order to fully capture the audiences attention and make them entertained and engaged by the film. It also is very conventional to the Drama genre to have an immersed and emotional plot, again reinforcing the results of the chart. As Simple came in second place, it may be wise to consider that as a choice for a narrative and it can be combined with strong impact to get the best results and create a narrative that has a very simple storyline, yet has such an emotional impact on the audience. This would appeal to our target audience as it is combining the two highest scorers that are very similar and work coherently. The complicated style storyline obtained no votes, thus informing us that we should not produce a product that has a complicated plot as it may confuse the viewers and therefore disengage them from watching the film. It is not surprising that the complicated storyline received no votes as our audience are quite young of age so they wont fully engage and understand the plot, therefore not being entertained and enjoying the film. Many narrative theories can be included in our short film to achieve what the audience wants, which is a strong impact narrative. The narrative theory enigma code can create a strong impact storyline as it keeps the audience on edge of their seats and immersed in the plot from the questions that keep the audience watching. Todorovs equilibrium theory can also affect the audience emotionally if all doesnt end particularly well. Not all narratives end happily and the new equilibrium is not necessarily for the better. If a narrative ends sadly or not in a conventional way, this will shock the audience and therefore get a reaction out of them as what they hoped for and expected did not happen. Levi- Strauss theory of binary oppositions may also be explored to create a strong impact as the audience will witness the struggle between good and evil. The chart therefore tells us that we need to produce a narrative that the audience will understand and get something emotionally out of it as they want it to have a strong impact.

Would you like there to be an equilibrium at the end, or to end on an enigma code?

Equilibrium Enigma code

40% 60%

The pie chart implies that our target audience would like there to be an equilibrium at the end of the narrative over the enigma code. The votes were close as can be seen in the chart, so an enigma code for an ending may be considered as it did get a lot of the votes. Both the options have their strengths in terms of impacting the audience emotionally which is what the purpose of a Drama is. An enigma code creates tension and suspension on the audience and makes them eager and engaged to watch the film. An equilibrium on the other hand, offers an ending whether happy or sad for the audience instead of leaving them waiting which is what an enigma code does. From the chart it shows that we need to end our narrative on an equilibrium but there is no reason not to use enigma code throughout the narrative as the audience are appealed by it, which is implied through the results of the questionnaire.
Themes are important aspects of narratives because it gives the story meaning and challenges the characters emotionally and physically. This graph therefore, shows us the audiences preference on what themes they would like to be most dominant in our product which are all conventional to the genre. The option that achieved half of the vote is Family. The theme family is highly emotional and shows characters relationships with one another, which engages the audience as everyone can relate to the theme. The theme Journey achieved the second most amount of votes and is also a very important theme as it shows how characters grow and develop emotionally through time, a very conventional theme to the drama genre. Conflict and Death also achieved votes but the emphasis is on the themes Family and Journey. This means that in our production we need to focus our narrative on these themes and enable the characters to go through a journey and heavily emphasise family in the narrative as well. Throughout all of time these themes have been in peoples lives as they are a part of life. These themes are also emotional which will therefore engage the audience and make them feel for the characters as they may have been through the same events or felt the same way, thus creating a connection between the audience and characters.

Which of the following themes would you like to be most dominant?

10% 30% Conflict Family Death/Tragedy Journey 10% 50%

What gender/age would you like the main protagonist to be?

20% Young male Young female Adult male Adult female 60% 0%

20%

The hero is the most important character as it is the character the audience experiences happiness and adversity with, as well as watching their character grow. The hero is part of Propps 8 stock characters and needs to be relatable and likable by the audience in order for them to watch their narrative. The results for this question is not surprising. The option that achieved the most votes by our target audience was Young female. As our questionnaires were distributed to fairly young people, it is clearly a contributory factor to the results because the audience would like to see a character that is relatable and is like themselves in any possible way, including age. So the audience voted for a character that would be around their age in order for them to relate and see parts of their own personality in them, or even aspire to be them in a particular trait, e.g. adventurous. Young Male and Adult Female received the same amount of votes but Young Female clearly dominates as seen through the chart. From the chart, it implies that the audience would like the Hero to be a Female as overall, the options that had female combined is considerably larger than the ones that had male combined. Our production therefore will ensure that the Hero is a Young female who contains the stereotypical personality traits of a hero, e.g. brave, emotional and determined, in order for the audience to like them and also would want to aspire to be them.

What type of colour filter would you prefer for our genre?

10% 0%

Colour Black and White Sepia

90%

The chart shows that the majority would want the colour filter to be in colour and with just one person voting black and white; No one from the results voted for Sepia. As the colour for the filter was most dominant, we will make our product in colour as that is what our target audience wants. With the context in mind, the reason why Colour may have dominated the other two options heavily is because our target audience and the occupants of this questionnaire are quite young. They may feel that black and white films, along with sepia are not entertaining for them and will thus disengage them from the plot because there is no colour. In order to keep the attention of our young target audience we need thus to keep the natural colours.
Soundtrack is also another important technical code as it can affect how the audience feels. The graph shows that half of the votes wanted a slow, eerie soundtrack, which can create tension as there is not much music and just the diegetic sounds in the shot, thus giving the impression to the audience that something bad is going to happen because of the stillness. Mid temp, suspenseful and intense then received the second most amount of votes and high tempo, thrilling received the least. Depending on the situation the characters are dealing with, different soundtracks would work best. A high tempo, thrilling soundtrack would work best in an action sequence with lots of events happening at once, whereas a slow and eerie soundtrack will be apparent if not such is happening. Our product will need to include a slow and eerie soundtrack as that is what appeals most to the audience and has some of the best effects on them emotionally. The soundtrack will also comment on the narratives tone on being quite emotional and depressing.

In terms of the soundtrack, which of the following would you prefer?

Slow, eerie

10%

Mid tempo, suspenseful and intense High tempo, thrilling

50% 40%

For the typography of the titles, which do you feel will be most conventional to the genre?

30% Simple Fancy Bold 20% 50%

This chart shows that half of the participants want Simple font for the typography. Whereas BOLD and Fancy received around the same number of votes slightly below it. The font for the titles is slightly important as it can represent the genre. Simple font can represent that the narrative is very simple and the film will contain no fancy special effects, but will focus on the emotional and deep plot. From the information on the chart, for our titles we should use some form of simple font as that is what our audience would prefer from the amount of votes cast.

Ancillaries - Poster

Are you Male or Fem ale?

Male Female

50%

50%

This pie chart shows that the same amount of males and females were given this questionnaire. Both males and females are our target audience, so giving the same amount of questionnaires to both will allow us to obtain information on what each likes and therefore tailor our product to suit their needs. We need to therefore produce a product that will appeal to both genders and this questionnaire will give us a rough idea as to what they would like to see.

How old are you? 0% 0% 12--14 15--17 18--20 21+ 70% 30%

As our questionnaires were distributed during school hours, the main participants of the questionnaire are teenagers. Our target audience answered our questionnaire so their opinions and inputs will be most helpful when considering what to do with our product as it is aimed at appealing them. From the chart it is clear that no one above the age of 17 answered this questionnaire as our product will aim at the younger generation. The age that dominates the questionnaire is the category 15-17 which is our target audience, ensuring us that the information we receive will be useful indeed.

For a film poster, what would you like to see as the primary image?

20% Locations Characters Mixture of both 40% 40%

The chart shows that our target audience would like to see a mixture of locations and characters as it achieved more than locations just on its own and the same as characters. The primary image of the poster is important because it informs the audience of the genre of the film because of the settings and characters. For our product we need to ensure that the poster contains both elements and it represents the genre easily to the audience.

If the film poster was of a main character, what camera angle/shot would you like to see?

20% Low angle Long shot Mid shot 40% 40%

As with the previous question the results for this question are almost even as well. If the film poster contained a shot of a character, the graph suggests that the audience would like a long shot or low angle, with mid shot getting slightly lower. As there is no clear winner with this graph, a choice can be made on what shot or angle the character can be represented by. We will implement this in our design by making the characters part of the primary image and put them in the middle of the rule of thirds. Half of the votes cast by the target audience thought that black should be used on the poster. Black can connote darkness and hard times, as well as death, therefore representing to the audience what the narrative may contain depression of war. As all the colours received a vote that means that we may use a variety of earth colours on the poster because the audience seem to like that being prominent on the poster

What colours should be the most prominent on the poster?

10% Black Grey White Brown 20%

20% 50%

Where would you like the title to be placed?

0% 30% Top Middle Bottom 70%

The results received from this question are not surprising. Not one person voted for the title of the movie to be at the bottom of the poster because it isnt very easy to see from far away and also conventionally for film posters, the institutional information is at the bottom. For the film title to be in the middle of the poster received more than half of the votes, therefore our poster will have to have the title of the film in the middle of the poster. As it will be in the middle of the poster, it would be the first thing the audience sees as its in the middle third of the rule of thirds therefore they wont be able to miss the title, especially if its slightly large typography.

Ancillaries Magazine review page

What type of colours would you like to see?

0% 30% Dark colours Pastel colours Earth colours Bright colours 40% 30%

The results from this question show that our target audience does not want to see any dark colours on the review page as it received no votes at all. The colour category that achieved slightly more than the other two is Earth colours, therefore earth colours should be included in the magazine review page, such as Green and Brown to appeal to the audience. Pastel colours also received high votes meaning that they can also be included in the review page with colours such as Cream. The use of these colours will also link this product with the poster, connecting them.

How many images and screenshots of the film would you like to see?

0%

A lot Some Hardly 60%

40%

Our target audience clearly wants to see some images and screenshots of the film whether that would be characters or certain scenes as the option Hardly received no votes. It can be implied therefore from his information that the audience wants to see pictures of the film that they are reading about in the review page thus informing us that when we create our product, to include images. Having images on the page will allow the readers to connect more with the article as the information will make more sense if they have visuals. The option Some achieved more votes than A lot, meaning that we cannot overflow the double page spread with pictures as everything will looked compressed and hardly any room for the actual article itself.

When reading a review page, which do you pay most attention to?

20% Layout, colours, presentation Information and content Mixture of both 40% 40%

The results from this question inform us that we need to pay attention to both the layout, presentation as well as the actual content and information to appease our target audience. The options Information and content as well as Mixture of both received the same amount of votes in top place, revealing that our audience would like the layout to look neat and organised, with the information being informative of the film.

Would you prefer if a fun trivia box was included?

0%

This question shows that our audience would like a fun trivia box in the magazine review page as everyone voted yes. This may be because it offers exclusive information about trivia of the film, whether it would be about the actual day of filming or actors/actresses, thus entertaining the readers as they are getting fun information out of it.

Yes No

100%

What season would you want the film to be featured in the magazine?

30% Autumn Winter Spring Summer 20% 0% 50%

The distribution of the time of month/season of the magazine is important because it is a contributory factor to who reads it. We asked the audience what season they would like the film to be featured which got mixed reviews. Half of the participants voted for Autumn, informing us that our target audience buys films magazines during the autumn, meaning that we should release our issue in the Autumn because thats were the market is at. The season Winter received no votes, ensuring us that we should not release our magazine then because no one will buy the magazine. Even though Summer and Spring received votes, it did not receive as much as Autumn individually and needed to be combined to match it, therefore showing that the target audience wants our film to be featured in an Autumn issue. The autumn issue will be distributed in September and will link in with the British Film Festival to which our short film will be a part of shortly after, making the readers excited for the film.

Conclusion

Overall, this questionnaire has been very useful in finding out the necessary information of what our target audience would like to see in our production and thus if we apply the information found out to our work, create a product that would be appealing to them. Firstly, in terms of the main product itself, the audience would like to see a Short drama film with the certification of a 12A. As this is what the audience wants, we will have to familiarise ourselves with the bbfc certification of a 12A and make sure the content that will be in our product is age appropriate and will not break the guidelines, otherwise our film will turn into a 15. The questionnaires inform us that we need to focus heavily on the technical codes, especially the mise-en-scene as everyone who received a questionnaire thought it was important and each element of mise-en-scene was voted quite high. There were some elements which received slightly higher votes than others, e.g. Lighting and Characterisation, meaning that we will need to focus on them when planning and filming. Specifically, lighting can represent characters emotions and feelings, for example, dark lighting around a character with light only being focused on them, can represent them in being in a dark mood while also making the audience focus on what that character is doing or saying. The results for each question show us a number of opinions as to what the audience wants and the broad amount of questions give us even more information. When planning our production we will need to care for the narrative as our audience will want a strong impact one. This can mean that it may focus on real life events or real life characters to make them feel that more emotional as it has happened before to people. The narrative theories, enigma code, equilibrium and binary oppositions will also ensure that the audience will be affected emotionally. The results and analysis from the graphs of the ancillaries are also very helpful for us when planning and producing our products as it gives us direct information from the audience as to what they want. The graphs inform us that the audience would like a conventional poster and magazine review page as no answers are surprising. For example, no one voted for the title of the movie to be placed on the bottom of the poster, which is not conventional as thats where the institutional information is placed. For the magazine review page, we must make sure that the final product is both aesthetically pleasing to look at and also very informative of the film because the majority shows that our audience would like to see both. Our audience would like our film to be featured in the magazine review page of the Autumn edition, giving us a choice of the months September, October and November. If we were to release it in the September issue it will link in with the British Film Festival which will follow shortly after, creating an audience and making them look forward to seeing the film at the festival. We will need to ensure when planning and creating our products that the ancillaries and the main product will be clearly linked, and this will be done through the use of earth colours, primary images of characters and locations, as well as simple, traditional font for the title.