Audience Research into short film.

I wanted to ascertain what a wide range of people thought about short film, film posters and magazine reviews. This would give me a more intricate idea about how to go I should go about creating these media products myself.

Firstly, I devised a simple questionnaire with just Yes/No and a few multiple choice answers and handed it to 5 people ranging from age 10, 17, 40, 54 and 78. I thought that this age range covered a broad enough audience for my results to be reliable.

Questions and Answers: 

1) How detailed is your knowledge of short film? 
Strong Knowledge 
General Understanding 
Brief Knowledge 
No understanding 

Age 40 and 78- Brief understanding
Age 17 and 54- General Understanding
Age 10- No understanding

2) Have you ever seen a short film? 
Yes  
No 

Age 10, 17, 40- Yes
Age 78- No

3) Would you ever choose to go and see a short film or series of short films over a feature length?
Very Likely 
Likely 
Unlikely 
Not at all 

Age 10- Unlikely
Age 17, 54- Likely
Age 40, 78- Very Likely

4) How often to you read film reviews? 
Frequently 
Often 
Sometimes 
Not at all 

Age 74, 54, 40- Frequently
Age 17- Often
Age 10 - Sometimes.

5) Where is the most common place you personally would find yourself reading a film review? 
Film Magazine (Sight and Sound, Empire, Total Film etc) 
Celebrity Magazine (Heat, Closer, Okay etc) 
Fashion Magazine (Elle, Vogue etc) 
Television Magazine (Radio Times etc) 
Internet 
Newspaper 

Age 10, 17- Internet
Age 40- Celebrity Magazine
Age 54- Television Magazine
Age 78- Newspaper

6) How influenced are you by film reviews? 
Extremely 
Moderately 
Hardly at all 
Not at all 

Age 40- Extremely
Age 17- Moderately
Age 10, 54, 78- Hardly at all

7) Would a bad film review stop you from going to see a film? 
Yes 
No 

Age 10, 17, 40, 78 - No
Age 54 -Yes

8) Does a film poster influence your choice to watch a film? 
Frequently
Often 
Sometimes 
Not at all 

Age 10, 17 - Frequently
Age 40, 54, 78 - Sometimes

9) What do you believe is the most important part of a film poster? 
Clear title 
Eye catching image 
Cast list 
Director
Release Date 

Age 10- Eye catching image
Age 17, 54 - Clear Title
Age 40 - Cast List
Age 78- Release Date

10) Have you got a favourite film poster? 
Yes 
No 

Age 10, 78 - Yes
Age 17, 40, 54 - No

11) Do you/have you ever had a film poster in your bedroom/house as decoration? 
Yes, Currently do
Yes, in the past 
No, never have 

Age- 10, 17 -Yes currently do
Age 40 - Yes, in the past
Age 54, 78 - No, never have

12) Do you believe a film poster is the most effective way of advertising a film? 
Strongly agree
Agree
Sometimes 
Disagree
Strongly Disagree 

Age 10, 78 - Strongly Agree
Age 40, 54 - Agree
Age 17- Sometimes

13) What is your favourite genre of film? 
Thriller
Drama 
Romance 
Romantic Comedy 
Comedy 

Age 10- Comedy
Age 17, 54 - Drama
Age 40- Romantic Comedy
Age 78- Thriller

14) Would you ever consider seeing a surrealist or more left wing independent film? 
Definitely 
Perhaps 
Definitely not 

Age 10 - Definitely not
Age 17, 54, 78 Definitely
Age 40- Perhaps

15) Generally what is your main reason to see a film? 
Great reviews 
Read the book
Eye catching poster 
Star Studded Cast 
Acclaimed Writer 
Acclaimed Director 
Award Nominations 

Age 10- Eye Catching poster
Age 17- Award nominations
Age 40- Star Studded Cast
Age 54- Acclaimed Director
Age 78- Read the book


These 15 questions enabled me to grasp the individual thinking behind these three aspects of film. It also allowed me to think about what target audience would be most effective for my own film ideas.