Target Audience Research - Results & Conclusions

After receiving the questionniares back that were dispersed to the proposed target audience, I was able to collate the results, and ultimately come to several conclusions.

Results

The results of the questionnaires are shown in the spreadsheet screenshot below:

As you can see, those questioned were a range of ages. However, those questioned were typically british, whether that be black, white or other. Generally, those questioned ranged from low-middle class to mid-upper class, all from the south-east of the UK. Overall, those questioned were from a range of backgrounds, ages & ethnicities, therefore giving a reasonably reliable set of results from which to gain an understanding of what target audience the Film Noir movie should be aimed at, what they expect from a Film Noir movie, and the sorts of elements I could put in the movie to make it more appealing to them specifically.

The information gathered could have been more reliable if there were an equal range of ages, locations, status, ethnicity & Gender. Especially as the final Film Noir product will be broadcast on Youtube, where almost all people of any ethnicity, gender, social status etc. will be able to view it.

The results of three of the vital bits of information required from the target audience research are shown in the graphs below:

Whether or not people like Film Noir; and if so, which style of Film Noir do they prefer is a question that must be asked purely to gain an understanding of what percentage of people will like the genre, therefore giving an understanding of how popular the film is likely to be. The age of those that do like Film Noir must be considered mainly however, as they are likely to be the age groups the film should appeal to.
As you can see, from the toal 15 people questioned, only 2 said they did like Film Noir movies, with 13 saying they didnt. This is slightly disappointing as the film is unlikely to appeal to a wide range of people. Of the 2 people that did like Film Noir movies, one prefferred the 'conventional' old style of film noir, with the other preferring the 'new' style film noir movies such as sin city etc.

Of the 2 people that said they did like film noir, 1 person was in the 18-27 age bracket, with the other in the older bracket of 58-67. I expected the voters to be more towards the older age brackets, but this shows that there is similar interest from younger audiences.

The audiences expectations of Film Noir must be considered, in order to understand which general concepts, themes etc. they are used to seeing in Film Noir, therefore knowing which of these work well, and which dont. From this, you can also understand which sort of things can be added in to make the film different and quirky, in order to set it apart from the others.

As you can see, all 15 people said that they would expect to see mystery & crime in a Film Noir movie, followed by 13 saying handsome men, 11 saying crime, 10 saying detectives, and 7 saying beautiful women. They least expected to see modern language with nobody expecting to see that, 2 people saying modern clothing and 3 saying violence. This indicates that Mystery, 50's cars & handsome men should be incorporated into the film when appropriate to fulfill the audiences expectations, while modernisation & violence should be steered clear of.
The low amount of votes for modern clothing/language also indicates that the audience dislike modern Noir movies in comparison to 'conventional' films with older settings.



Due to the fact a villain is a core character of any Film Noir movie, it should be taken into consideration what type of villains people prefer. From this, it is possible to understand which types of villain would go down well with the audience. This can then be incorporated into the plan of the film, creating a storyline that can incorporate this character, therefore increasing the likelihood of interest from the target audience.

As you can see, the majority of people said they prefer a cunning & clever 'bad guy', just under half chose this option, with 4 people and 3 people saying they prefer a super villain and killer respectively. A clueless & comedic villain was preferred by only 1 person, which indicates that this sort of bad guy shouldn't be incorporated into the film. From this, it is clear that the audience prefer a serious villain.

Conclusion:

Who is the target audience?
From the evidence of the questionnaire, I conclude that the target audience is for my Film Noir movie is people aged 28-67 with particular emphasis on those aged 38-67. They will be primarily white-british, but other ethnicities of British people will also be interested. The main socio-economic bracket will be middle to upper class people, with middle class & upper class people also being targeted indirectly. The audience will be a range of both males & females.

What will they require?
In order to meet the needs of the target audience, the film  should be a 'conventional' Film Noir movie with a typical 40's-50's setting, as this seems to be the 'safe option' in terms of what an audience wants from a Film Noir movie. It should however, have aspects of modern day life in which the audience can relate to, in order to increase their appreciation of the film.
The audience seems to prefer conventional themes, such as mystery, handsome men, beautiful women, detectives & crime, so including these in the film would increase the interest from the target audience rather than modernised themes. The audience show an interest in handsome men & beautiful women, so a typical 'femme fatale' should be included in the film, as well as a possibly good-looking male protagonist, as well as a 'cunning & clever' villain to prolong the mystery & excitement of the storyline.
Due to the age of the target audience, the film should have more mature themes in order for them to relate to.


The target audience for film Noir in general is very similar to the target audience for my film, with the socio-economic status, ethnicities, genders all being the same. The only differentiation is the age bracket, which may be slightly different. This is mainly because of the place the final product will be broadcast. If it were to be a feature picture, the target audience may be slightly lower in age, due to the age range of cinema audiences being lower. However, as my Film will be broadcast on YouTube, people of any age will be able to access it, with the main age group being adults, especially mature adults, who are accountable for a large majority of the sites usage.