Focus Group 2: 35+

B : Tell me your names; First names will be appropriate.

J : My names Jill.

K : And I’m Kevin.

B : Brilliant! OK, im gonna ask you a series of questions, these will just be 5 questions, and they’ll require a bit of open thought, but just give your best opinion, OK? So, in general, do you like films that require more deep thought, so this is more of a plotline thing, where its more detailed than a plot that’s just fed to you.

J : Yes I probably do, as long as ive sat down long enough to concentrate properly.

K : Yeah, same as me.

B : So if you’ve got enough time to really concentrate-

K : If Ive got enough time to concentrate, yes.

J : Its better to think about it.

B : But otherwise it would be better to have a-

J : Yes, if your up down and in between then an easier to read plot would be good.

B : OK that’s perfect, that’s fine, perfect. Right, what is it that makes you, like, feel comfortable or feel content in your- in your home

J: The people and the animals in it.

B : OK, so being around your family, I’m guessing that means, and your pets?

K : Yeah.

J : Yeah.

B : OK, so you agree then, that’s perfect. So, apart from the last answer, since this is a very similar question; what makes you feel safe, what is it that makes you feel secure?

J : Again, probably the people in it.

K : Yeah, it would be the people in it, and the people around it.

J : Yeah, apart from, obviously, having security.

B: Yeah, proper security, so locks and stuff, yeah. Good answers, OK. Right, so its more of an in depth question, but in whatever event, you can think of right now, what would unsettle you the most? Just, straight off of the top of your head, what would be the most unsettling thing?

J : In everyday life?

B : In anything that you could see being used in a short film, or a movie.

J : Oh, so in a film?

B: Yeah, yeah, anything that you can think of. Or in everyday life, as long as it can be made into a short film.

J : Evil spirits, black magic, that type of thing.

B : Black magic, OK, that’s interesting. Yeah, brilliant.

J : Yeah, it terrifies me.

K : I would think more psychopathic killers with me.

B : OK, yeah that’s quite interesting. That’s some interesting answers, that’s all I need, that’s perfect.

The results from this focus group are actually quite useful, since it gives us an insight into how more mature audiences see psychological thrillers. One particularly interesting point i noticed was that they both agreed that for films that require more deep thought than, for example, an action film or a comedy, its better to sit down quietly and go through the film so that the audience can think about the film more. This means that psychological thrillers have to present very well written and directed scenes in order to keep the audience invested. This focus group has also sown us how other people being in a home makes people feel more secure, so we can use this information and play on that sense of security in order to make the film more tense and exciting for the audience. Finally, the idea of using an evil spirit or a group of spirits in the film, probably as the villain (Propps Theory), however i feel like this would be unnecessarily subverting psychological thriller conventions, since supernatural elements are very rarely used in the genre because they make the films narrative feel much less believable, which is important to use for building tension. Other than that, this focus group has given us some good ideas to consider for making the production more appealing to a more mature audience.