Audience Feedback

I gave my questionnaire to 20 random people ranging in age from 11-54. I felt that by doing this, I would be able to adapt my product to suit a wider target audience. My questionnaire was completed by 10 males and 10 females. My data needed to be as unbiased as possible, so by asking both a male and female demographic, I was able to consider more varied points of view.
When asked how often they watched short films 80% (16) of the overall group said that they occasionally watched them, 5% (1) said they often watched the, and 15% (3) said that they rarely watch any short films. I found that, on average, more men than women watch short films. However, there wasn’t a significant difference between the two.
I then asked whether they preferred a linear or twisted narrative. Most of the people asked said they preferred a non-linear narrative. The only people who said they liked a linear narrative were at 11, 12 and 14 years old, the youngest of the group I asked. The target audience for my short film will be in their late teens or older. Taking this into consideration, it is obvious that majority of my target audience will prefer a twisted narrative. This, I believe, would make my short film more interesting for an audience to watch.
Next, I asked people what their favourite film genre is. Most of the women said that romance or thriller/suspense was their favourite genre. On the other hand, majority of the men said that they liked horror, thriller/suspense or action the best. As both the men and the women expressed interest in thriller/suspense, I believe that if my short film had aspects of this genre, it would attract a wider audience.
When asked what ending they thought was most effective, 90% (18) of people said that a shock ending would be better. The other two people said that a happy ending would be more effective. Prior to completing the questionnaire, I had already decided to use a shock ending, as I personally think they are better. Therefore, getting this feedback helped me make a definite decision.
I also asked whether people would prefer an ambiguous ending or not. 55% (11) of the people said that they would prefer an ambiguous ending. Most of these people were women. Everyone else said that they like an ending that had a more obvious meaning. Most of the short films that I watched for research had open endings that let the audience make up their own minds. I think this is a good idea as it can get people discussing their own ideas on the film and its subject matter.
The last question I asked was for people to, in their own words, explain what they thought the most important codes and conventions of a short film were. I got a varied response from all og the people asked. The most popular answers were:
- To have an underlying message
- Unpredictable/Surprising
- Shouldn’t drag on too long
- Relatable topic/subject matter
- Easy to understand
These are all things that I will have to take into consideration when planning my film.