BTEC Level
3 Diploma in Creative Media Production
Unit 3:
Research Techniques for the Creative Media Industries
Assignment
2/LO2: Be Able to Apply a Range of Research Methods and Techniques
By Sophie
Samengo-Turner
I have been commissioned to create a new idea for a film of
any genre. I chose the horror comedy genre and have researched for the
preproduction stages using primary and secondary research to help me. Research
is important to help understand what is going to gain a profit and what is not
by learning about who the audience is and whether the idea chosen is actually
popular or not. Here I shall show the results of my research using both
quantitative and qualitative techniques to explain appropriately and I shall
also analyse this data.
The horror genre has been going for years. The first
recorded horror film was in the silent, black and white film era. It is called The Golem (1920) created between
1915-1920. The first horror comedy subgenre was created in 1920 called Haunted Spooks. The subgenre only became
truly popular in the 1980s where fifty nine comedy horror films were created.
That record was only beaten in the 2000s in which seventy one comedy horror
films were created. The comedy horror genre is still popular with a market for
these films. I think this is still a popular genre because there are many
different ways to keep it interesting and fun. Also, if a new film comes out
that is similar to a previous film then if it is created very well then it
could still be successful.
I chose comedy horror because I find the genre interesting
and entertaining. I enjoy the genre because I don't enjoy being too scared or
tense all the time but when there is a bit of humour then I feel more relaxed.
This genre can be easy to film on a low budget but with more money it can be
made with better effects. I also chose this genre because it is a very popular
genre and from the table on page two you can see that profit margins are good.
This also proves that people are going to watch it meaning there is a market
for the horror comedy genre.
I began my research doing secondary research.
I went online and researched pre-existing products of this type using IMDb
(Internet Movie Database). I found films like: Black Sheep (2006), Shaun of
the dead (2004) and Zombieland
(2009). After reading some reviews on these films, I found that a majority
of people enjoyed these films and had positive feedback. I saw audience
responses on IMDb and then looked at critic reviews on the Rotten Tomatoes
website.
When creating my production I could use the
reviews and choose the most recurring reviews on what could have been done
better and I could use it to do better, for example, a reviewer for Shaun of the Dead said ‘Starts off great...,
but gets a bit sluggish towards the end. I have this issue with many
movies - too long. Shaun starts off great’ (IMDb). When creating my film I
could have a short film with a snappy humour all the way through so it does not
turn ‘sluggish’ at the end.
Using reviews I can also see what people
enjoyed and try and add those features into my film for example, one critic
says ‘Even when in danger of self-destructing, it cadges laughs with smart
lines, silly observations or blokish inside jokes about zombie movies, video
games and pub nibbles’ (rotten tomatoes). If I use this review then I could see
that smart lines in times of danger are popular and funny and I could interpret
that into the script.
For my market research I wanted to see the
amount of comedy horror films that already exist. As I mentioned before,
seventy one comedy horror films were made between 2000-2009. Between 2010-2012
thirteen comedy horror films have already been created. Although the genre is
not as large as it was in the noughties, there is still a market for the comedy
horror genre and people still enjoy going to see them. In 2012 six comedy
horror films have been created which is almost more then 2010-2011 put
together. This shows that the market might be growing once more making the
market larger than it is.
I also looked up the codes and conventions for the comedy horror
genre. I learnt that the codes and conventions of these films is that the film
starts with an unexpected situation, it is ‘mainly going to involve
character(s) that are carrying on with a normal day when an event takes place
which see them out of their routine’(Brad Westwood's Media Portfolio). The
characters are normally just ordinary people that are not special in any way
shape or form, one of whom is forced into being the hero. Their reluctance or
arrogance (which ever the character may choose) can be used to make comedic
moments. For example, using a simple storyline, a man is being chased by
vampires he thinks that he is now an amazing hero because he killed one, so
thinks he is strong enough to fend off the ten or so vampires chasing him.
After turning around with nothing more than a stick in his hand he realizes his
mistake, as they get increasingly closer and runs away screaming in a high
pitched voice.
For this film to be classified as a comedy horror there has
to be a source of fear in the film, something that scares the audience. In the
film Eight Legged Freaks (2002), a
family involving a mother and her two children, one boy and one girl, have to
try and save the town and escape the spiders. There are comedic moments, for
example; when a human sized jumping spider jumps on a man on a motor bike in a
comedic way. This is funny because even when you are frightened and excited by
the chase, the way the man is pulled off his bike releases the tension a little
bit but keeps you frightened. But, the whole film is based about oversized
spiders which is very scary, especially since arachnophobia (fear of spiders)
is one of the largest fears in the world.
Film
|
Budget (estimate)
|
Opening weekend
|
Gross
|
Zombieland
|
$23,600,000
|
$24,733,155
|
$75,590,286
|
Paranorman (2012)
|
$60,000,000
|
$14,087,050
|
$54,664,352
|
Shaun of the Dead
|
$6,416,160
|
$2573152.37
|
$13,464,388
|
Braindead (1992)
|
$3,000,000
|
$88,290.82
|
$242,623
|
Black Sheep (2006)
|
$45,580
|
$395,022.06
|
$82,987
|
(All information in the table above was gathered from
different pages on IMDb)
I also looked up information on the gross profit of several
comedy horror films. This shows the film, budget, money gained on the opening
weekend and the gross of each film. The box office films such as Shaun of the Dead, created a larger
income than the fringe films such as Black
Sheep where they had less of a budget. There appears to be a positive
correlation between the film budget and the gross profit. This is hardly
surprising because with a larger budget you can invest in more extensive
marketing. There are sometimes exceptions to this, for example a low budget
film such as The Blair Witch Project 1999 generated a lot of gross income.
Conversely some box office films with big budgets have flopped.
During the production stages I would have to have crew to
help with the filming. In this crew there would be cameramen/women, a director,
assistant director, sound recordist, runners, lighting technicians, make-up and
background artists, a gaffer and a grip and more depending on your budget. I
would also need talent to film. These people would all be chosen in the
pre-production stages.
I then moved on to primary research. For my primary research
I handed out a questionnaire to one female and five male candidates asking
about their age and where they live. I used the questionnaire to do primary
research and learn what they thought of comedy horror films and their different
views on the genre. Each came back with different opinions. For example ‘What do you dislike in horror comedy?’,
one candidate said ‘romance and poetical stuff’ while another answered ‘CGI’.
Out of just those two answers I now know that some people dislike romance in
horror comedy film whilst other do not want CGI graphics, they want more
realistic detail. Using the same question, someone else answered that they do
not like ‘poor script, slapstick. Relying on blood and gore to carry the film
rather than a good story’. Another dislikes ‘repetition as the same joke
concept can be overused within films of this genre’.
This information is useful to learn what people do not want
added in a comedy horror. If I use this when creating a film I can try and not
add in any of what people dislike but with so many different people out there,
there will always be people who are unhappy with something I include.
For my geodemographics research I asked a question about the
post code of where the people live to get a general idea of whether the
different areas they live in made them have a different opinion on comedy
horror films. I have found out that it doesn’t make a difference. Both
candidate 1 and candidate 5 chose Zombieland
as their favourite film for question five. They gave slightly different
answers as to why they liked the film but both enjoyed the lead actor and the
humour. Candidate 1 lives in London and candidate 5 lives in Bristol. Also,
candidate 4 and candidate 6 both chose Rocky
Horror Picture Show as their favourite comedy horror film for question
five. Candidate 4 lives in Blandford Forum and candidate 6 lives in London. Also,
for question 8 ‘Which of the following
do you prefer/which scares you most in a comedy horror?’ four out of the
six interviewees chose Zombies and they were from different parts of the
country. I believe that it doesn’t matter where you live in this category.
I believe that age is the same as geodemographics.I asked my six candidates to give me an estimate of
their age. I wanted to see if age affected their opinions on films. If I were
to use the same examples as I used with geodemographics you can see that
candidate 1 and candidate 5 both enjoy Zombieland
although candidate 1 fits into the 41-60 category and candidate 5 fits into the
13-19 catagory. Similarly, candidate 4 and candidate 6 like Rocky Horror Picture Show yet one fits
into the 13-19 category and the other fits in with the 41-60 category. If I had
asked more people I may have had more detailed results but with only six
candidates answering my questionnaire I only have six answers. I believe that
your age doesn’t have to matter. The only thing age may affect is how many
comedy horror films you have seen or which ones you have seen depending on when
they were made.
Candidate
|
Favourite Film
|
Why?
|
1
|
Zombieland
|
Great humour, good lead actor (Woody Harrelson) and plenty
of blood
|
2
|
Scary Movie (2000)
|
This is because it was the first film I had seen in this
genre and I found the satire they used to be very humorous
|
3
|
The Evil Dead (1981)
|
Classic
|
4
|
Rocky Horror Picture
show (1975)
|
-
|
5
|
Zombieland
|
It was funny and had Bill Murray in it. It wasn’t very
scary and had a great plot
|
6
|
Rocky Horror Picture
Show
|
Great characters, vibrant spoof on classic story
|
This table shows the answers people gave to question number
5 in my questionnaire. The films that have been mentioned more than once are Zombieland and Rocky Horror Picture Show. This shows that they are popular. If I
use the information in the Why? box
then I can learn that the audience likes good humour, plenty of blood, great
characters and spoofs. This will be useful when creating my film because I can
see what is popular in films from these answers.
If I look at both question 5 (What is your favourite comedy horror and why?) and then look at
question 7 (What do you dislike seeing
in a horror comedy?) I can see what people do and do not like. For example,
one candidate said that they enjoyed a film because it was humorous for
question 5 and then in question 7 they said that they did not like repetition
of the same joke. By combining the two answers I learn that humour is good but
using a really well known joke or repeating the same joke constantly then this
person will not like it.
The results to question eight of my questionnaire.
This result was used to learn about the different things that people prefer in
a comedy horror film. The result with the most people choosing it was Zombies.
I received similar results from both the teacher interview and the student
interview. If I analyse this pie chart then I can learn that although Zombies
are a popular genre, people also enjoy other types of horror factors, for
example, children or psychopaths. This result shows me the different types of
people out there. Psychopaths are a realistic genre as are children in a way.
By circling either one of these two I can see that this audience member enjoys
realism in their film. Zombies and Porcelain/china dolls, on the other hand,
are unrealistic and imaginative. It is hugely unlikely that a china doll would
run around the house waving a carving knife, but it is realistic to believe
that an insane psychopath would do that.
After finding out that the most popular horror comedy genre
is zombies I did some research on them. Some comedy horrors including zombies
have their own specific genre. The first film to have this new title was Shaun of the Dead (2004). This was known
as a ‘zom-rom-com’ (Genre research) or a zombie romantic comedy. This was the
first success in combining zombie horror films with the comedy genre.
Another successful ‘Zom-com’ is Zombieland (2009). The zombies in this film are faster moving, each
containing a scientific virus that converts them into zombies. This film does
not focus on each character individually but looks in overall on the friendship
between all four main characters.
Zombie horror is becoming a massive franchise not only with
films but other media too such as games, books and TV shows such as the Walking dead. The walking dead (2010) was originally a comic book series which was
adapted into a TV series.
There are going to be a large amount of Zombie films coming
out in 2013 such as World War Z and
there are also parody books such as Pride
and prejudice and Zombies and Zombie
Survival Guide. Zombies are the biggest franchise of horror at the moment.
This ensures that there is a market for them.
From this graph you can see that the main answer to number
10 of my questionnaire is ‘thrill/adrenaline rush’. This means that the
audience are uninterested in the resolution of the story and more interested in
the fear factor, the thing that puts them on the edge of their seat or having
them hiding behind their hand. I believe that people are uninterested in the
resolution because they are more fixed on the here and now of the film. For
example, using Shaun of the Dead,
when they are being attacked by Zombies when they are trapped in a pub, the
audience may be having a thrill/adrenaline rush. At that point the audience
members are wondering what is going to happen next, how are they going to get
out of this? Or, the audience could be watching the blood and gore that is
going on; they might be laughing at the way a Zombies head just exploded.
In question 13 ‘Which
actors who star in this genre of film do you recognise? (list all)’, the
only recurring answer was Simon Pegg, suggested by four people who answered the
questionnaire. The only other recurring name was Woody Harelson suggested in
two questionnaires. This shows that there are not many people who specialise in
this particular genre. Simon Pegg has been in five comedy horror films and is
mainly recognised for Shaun of the Dead.
People may not know a large amount on this genre because it is not widely
known. There are many films created in this genre but many people signal them
as just being comedy because they don’t find anything scary about it or they
categorise it as just being horror because even with a few lines that make you
chuckle the horror factor outweighs the comedy factor. Although there are lots
of films in this genre there is no specific actor/actress who stars mainly in
them. For example when someone mentions Jason Statham one might think action
films because that is what he is famous for staring in.
I asked these questions to a variety of people. These
peoples’ occupations consisted of being: students, accountants, learning
support tutor and even a sound recordist. I asked the sound recordist to answer
my questionnaire to get an insight of someone actually in the industry who may
have been working on set of a comedy horror film. Their answers were simple but
consisted of more technical answers than the other candidate results. For
example, the answer to question 6 (what
do you expect to see in a comedy horror film?) he answered ‘bad bloody
fx’s’. This means that he wants realistic effects for blood and gore scenes,
not someone using red paint and splashing it about. For question 7 (what do you dislike to see in a comedy
horror film?) he answered ‘CGI’. Using CGI, computer generated imagery, can
be good but in many films CGI is bad. The computer effect can look unrealistic
which can destroy the whole film. Using CGI in a tense moment might cause the
viewer to release the tension because they can see how obviously fake this
creation is.
I asked a film student and a film teacher questions during
an interview and got many conflicting results. I asked them both ‘Would you normally choose to watch comedy
horror? If yes why?/ would you watch comedy horror films casually? If yes, why?’
the student answered yes and the teacher answered no. By having these two
conflicting results I could learn about people with completely different points
of view instead of people who had similar thoughts which would only give me a
limited amount of information because the answers would be similar.
Another example of how their answers conflicted was on the
question of whether they preferred realism or non realism. The student
preferred unrealistic story lines and the teacher said he preferred realistic
story lines. In contrast though, both said that they enjoyed films with Zombies
in them when I asked ‘what horror
villain category do you prefer?’. This tells me that most people, even if
they don’t enjoy or normally watch comedy horror films, enjoy watching Zombies.
If I use this information and the information from question 8 in my
questionnaire (Which of the following do
you prefer/which scare you most in a comedy horror?) then I find out that
most people who did my questionnaire and the two people who I interviewed
enjoyed zombie films, also known as zom-coms.
When I gathered the results on both my questionnaires and my
interviews I realised that depending on what setting the person answering
questions is in it could affect their answer. For example, three out of six of
my questionnaires were handed out one day and collected at another time. Two
that were handed out on the same day as they were collected were done on a
television set just before filming. One had been answered outside in the cold
and the other had been answered inside but using the wall as a flat surface to
write on. The other questionnaire answered on the same day was done over Skype
video chat with little time to complete it. These three questionnaires have the
least detailed answers since they were rushed and I was present when they
answered them. This means that these people probably wrote down the first
things that came to their mind and did not think the answers through.
My interviews were both done inside. When asking the
questions I tried not to rush answers and allowed my interviewees to talk or
asked them to add more detail if I thought it was relevant. My interview with
the film teacher was done in their office whilst we were both sat down. We were
interrupted twice during the interview. This could have caused my interviewee
to become slightly distracted or disrupt his trail of thought meaning that he
didn’t answer how he might have without any interruptions. My other interview
was conducted in a corridor. It was not a rushed interview and was thought of
more as a conversation. We were not interrupted and so all thoughts were based
on the interview. The fact that I was present and doing the interviewing could
have caused the interviewees to maybe make their answers in what they believed
would make me happy and therefore not giving a true answer but I do not believe
that is the case.
After using both primary and secondary research to find my
results I noticed some advantages and some disadvantages to them both. The limitations
with primary research are that it takes time to gather a lot of results. Also,
it is difficult to find the budget estimate of a film using primary research.
On the other hand, the questions asked can be more relevant than something you
might find using secondary research. Also, you can ask people to answer your
questions in detail whereas with secondary research it already exists.
Secondary research is limited because it could take a long
time to find some of the relevant data that you need when researching because
there is a lot of irrelevant information in books and on the internet. Another
problem is that if you research using books you need to be aware of whether the
information is up to date or whether there have been new findings since the
book was published. A problem with doing secondary research using the internet is
that some people might put up false data or might have made mistakes and then
published them causing you to be unsure of what is and isn’t true. The good
thing about secondary data is that you can get more information in less time
than using primary data. Also, using secondary data makes it easier to find our
information about things like gross interest in a particular film or the
estimate budget that they had when filming.
In my opinion, I find primary research more useful and
relevant when researching. I find that it is more to the point and that I can
get more useful information from it.
In conclusion, I have found out that the comedy horror genre
is popular and that there is an audience for it. I have also found out that it
is not preferred by any age group in particular. People seem to like the genre
for Zombies and thrills from the data I have collected. I have also found that
primary research can be more useful in finding out both quantitative and
qualitative data because it is more to the point and relevant but secondary
research is also good at researching things on a bigger scale. Secondary
research is also useful at looking things up that would be difficult to find
out using primary research, for example film budgets and the profit they gain.
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