Interviews

Interview Questions

We interviewed five people on 3 different products; Magazine, film poster and trailers to find out their views on things. Our idea was to take this information and produce our work according to what they say because they are the potential target market. However, we can also use this information and go against the standard norm and audience expectations, this would defy conventions which could make our products stand out and be successful.

The bullets points are the answers people gave us, five bullet points means everyone gave an answer, any less means more than one person agreed on that certain answer.

What type of genre or sub genre is your favorite?

1. Comedy
2. Factual//Documentary
3. Adventure//Fantasy
4. Documentary//Music
5. Thriller//Horror

By asking thus question we can get an insight to how popular a genre is, and more specifically how popular documentaries are. Two people out of the five we interviewed said they liked documentaries the best, even better, one said Music Documentary. So if one in five people like music category then our trailer could a potentially large fan base.  So now we know the 4th person we asked would know quite a lot about our chosen genre and so would possibly get the best information out of them.

What do you expect from a trailer?

• Information, like dates and time of release.
• Actor’s names, director’s names and company names.
• Shots from the actual film or production
• Reviews or ratings
• Information

Everything above we could include in our own trailer as this is the expectations of an audience, if we didn't include any of these things it could be a disadvantage but is highly unlikely, the answers to the questions cover everything that we would expect from a trailer and we feel in order to make a successful trailer then we must show expectations that our audience have like actors and information.

How long do you think a trailer should be?

• Couple of minutes maximum
• 1 or 2 minutes
• 2 minutes
• Between 1 and 4 minutes
•  No more than 3 minutes

Choosing the correct length for a trailer could be important because we want to hold the audiences attention but also keep them wanting more. If the trailer is too long then we could give away to much of the film just in the trailer, it would also become boring for the viewer which would then give the film negative connotations, however if it is to short then the viewers may not feel they know enough or be intrigued enough to want to watch the film.

What is it that makes you watch a trailer?

• Just for the sake of watching it
• The genre of the film
• The actors and directors
• The actors and directors
• Reputation of a film and rumours I’ve heard

This information is more difficult to work with as we are creating fictional characters and directors, but its the same concept. If we show off these 'stars' then it should attract the target market. With the stars being a band then their fictional fans will be the first thing they look for, perhaps we could have been more specific when asking the questions and ask specifically of a music documentary trailer. This idea of the audience looking for the stars because they can relate to them couples with Dyers star theory. We can create a synthetic personalisation between the audience and the viewers. Dyer believed that stars are constructed to what we want hem to be, with real emotions and real problems so we feel a connection to the stars.

Where are you most likely to watch a film trailer?

• Internet// YouTube
• Internet
• Cinemas
• Internet
• TV

If we were to advertise our trailer then, using the answers above, we can see the most effective places to advertise our product and so would gain the most views. Successful advertisement is key to any film whether its a blockbuster or not. The Internet was the most commonly chosen form of advertisement. This could be good as the internet can mean a plethora of advertisement from videos to pop-up ads.


Film Poster

What do you look for first?

• Title
• Just the image on the poster
• Recognisable faces
• The main image on the poster
• Actors//Actress

When creating our film poster we can take into account the above answers in order to create the best film poster. We know, from the answers that the image is a very important aspect that the viewers look for besides the famous figures. As our stars are fictional, we will have to focus more on getting a professional and effective shot.

What do you expect from a film poster?

• A big title or masthead
• Actors in the film (in character)
• Information (dates)
• Ratings and Reviews
• Star Rating

Having this insight means it would be easier for us to challenge or cooperate with conventions.

What is important and essential to a film poster?

• A big title or masthead
• Actors in the film (in character) 
•  Information (dates)
• Ratings and Reviews
• Star Rating

(Each Person said the same as above)

In your opinion, what is the best way to layout a poster?

• “Name or title at the top, reviews can be all round with a big main image where everything fits around”
• Everyone agreed with the statement above that was put forward by someone in the group.

Magazine

What do you look for first on the cover of a magazine?

• Pictures
• Colours
• Pictures of who is on the front
• The person on the cover
• Title

In your opinion, what are the main stereotypes of a film magazine?

• News and information
• Official Pictures

In your opinion, what is the best way to layout a film magazine cover?

• Things you can relate to all around, like feature films.
• Big main star in the centre
• Masthead at the top

We conducted this reaserched in order to gain an insight into public opinions on film trailers, posters and magazines. This information would aid us in creating our products and allow us to have a clear idea of conventions, which we can either challenge or go along with.