Here is a compilation of the best responses from interviews with my desired target audience. Watching this back, I learned that most young people do enjoy to watch horror movies.
Usually this is once or twice a month. Halloween time is obviously more popular for films of this genre: one female teen
admitted to watching eight films around this season!
I plan to analyse a few of these movies for inspiration and look at the opening sequences in detail. From the descriptions given by the young people I gathered that most included some sort of death scene. However, some seemed to open simply setting the scene and giving the audience a glimpse of life pre-terror. This fits in with Todorov's narrative theory which suggests that all storylines begin with equilibrium, suddenly disrupted by some event. The balance is returned to at the end of the narrative. However, the newly established equilibrium differs from the initial calm.
I feel that my opening sequence should begin with my characters going through their everyday routines, however, the cliffhanger concluding my piece will act as the destruction to the peace. Perhaps, a death could work as an end to the equilibrium. Most 16-18 year olds interviewed stated that they would prefer a fast paced opening to the movie with gripping action and a death scene to immediately draw them in. Music (non-diegetic sound) and dull (low key) lighting were also highlighted as a key device in tension building.
My audience also seem to expect fast paced editing to keep the opening gripping and entertaining. For sound effects my audience seem to think either strings or piano music or, on the other hand, complete silence (this creates a lot of unease and anticipation for the audience) then disrupted by a sudden scream. Both techniques could be effective in making a piece that conforms to conventions of the horror genre. Another interesting idea raised was making every day noises sound sinister. For example, in The Women in Black the sound of a tap dripping creates a jump scare. That way, even after the movie, the viewers are haunted by the film when they hear these sounds in their own home. Interestingly, most of the young people expected a modern, realistic mise-en-scene. They seemed to believe that characters should be dressed in a way that is 'normal' and familiar in order for the piece to be believable (creating verisimilitude).
One teen did suggest dark clothing which I do feel is appropriate (black connotes death and fear), therefore, I will incorporate a dark colour scheme into my mise-en-scene to establish a negative atmosphere. The same teen suggested using an object that is supposed to be frightening; this inspires me to perhaps center my storyline around an object possessed.
Nearly all of the people interviewed seemed to believe that they could relate most to a 'damsel in distress-like' character (Propp's character theory). I must therefore include a young and relatively average teen as the main protagonist in my film. This evokes further fear in an audience who start to believe the horrific events could actually happen to them, seeing their own personalities reflected in the victims.
In response to my final question it seems that most people believe that characters should be introduced before the horrific events begin. The audience must be given chance to get to know and connect with the victims rather than the antagonists (perhaps the evil character should be of a different age group or wear abnormal clothing in order for them to be impossible to relate to).
Usually this is once or twice a month. Halloween time is obviously more popular for films of this genre: one female teen
admitted to watching eight films around this season!
I also realised that most choose to watch horror movies in a group or at the cinema. Audience reactions (e.g. screaming at jump scares) seem to add to the enjoyment of the horror movie. The Women in Black, Orphan and Sinister were popular choices for favourite horror movies amongst these young people.
I plan to analyse a few of these movies for inspiration and look at the opening sequences in detail. From the descriptions given by the young people I gathered that most included some sort of death scene. However, some seemed to open simply setting the scene and giving the audience a glimpse of life pre-terror. This fits in with Todorov's narrative theory which suggests that all storylines begin with equilibrium, suddenly disrupted by some event. The balance is returned to at the end of the narrative. However, the newly established equilibrium differs from the initial calm.
I feel that my opening sequence should begin with my characters going through their everyday routines, however, the cliffhanger concluding my piece will act as the destruction to the peace. Perhaps, a death could work as an end to the equilibrium. Most 16-18 year olds interviewed stated that they would prefer a fast paced opening to the movie with gripping action and a death scene to immediately draw them in. Music (non-diegetic sound) and dull (low key) lighting were also highlighted as a key device in tension building.
My audience also seem to expect fast paced editing to keep the opening gripping and entertaining. For sound effects my audience seem to think either strings or piano music or, on the other hand, complete silence (this creates a lot of unease and anticipation for the audience) then disrupted by a sudden scream. Both techniques could be effective in making a piece that conforms to conventions of the horror genre. Another interesting idea raised was making every day noises sound sinister. For example, in The Women in Black the sound of a tap dripping creates a jump scare. That way, even after the movie, the viewers are haunted by the film when they hear these sounds in their own home. Interestingly, most of the young people expected a modern, realistic mise-en-scene. They seemed to believe that characters should be dressed in a way that is 'normal' and familiar in order for the piece to be believable (creating verisimilitude).
One teen did suggest dark clothing which I do feel is appropriate (black connotes death and fear), therefore, I will incorporate a dark colour scheme into my mise-en-scene to establish a negative atmosphere. The same teen suggested using an object that is supposed to be frightening; this inspires me to perhaps center my storyline around an object possessed.
Nearly all of the people interviewed seemed to believe that they could relate most to a 'damsel in distress-like' character (Propp's character theory). I must therefore include a young and relatively average teen as the main protagonist in my film. This evokes further fear in an audience who start to believe the horrific events could actually happen to them, seeing their own personalities reflected in the victims.
In response to my final question it seems that most people believe that characters should be introduced before the horrific events begin. The audience must be given chance to get to know and connect with the victims rather than the antagonists (perhaps the evil character should be of a different age group or wear abnormal clothing in order for them to be impossible to relate to).
Overall I feel that this has been a very helpful piece of research. I am now looking forward to looking at some popular horror movie openings in order to gain inspiration and begin storyboarding.
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