Audience Research (music choices)

We asked 15 people to listen to three thriller tracks, that we downloaded from itunes, and to choose which one was the best in their opinion. Then, after a little mix-up, we were going to decide from our results what elements we should include in our own soudtrack. Some answers were very simple and other comments gave us the answers that we were looking for.

The three tracks were:
1. Jack's Theme - Torchwood
2. Jagged Edge - I Am Ledgend
3. Agressive Expansion - The Dark Night

We played 30 seconds of the three tracks in that order, but didn't tell anyone where the tracks came from to make sure that the results would not have been altered from peoples judgements.

Our results were:

Track no.1 - 4 people liked this track. Some reasons included "because it's exciting and energetic", "I can imagine someone running away in a suspending way" (which was an answer we wanted to hear) and "it creates a tense feeling". We were fairly surprised that only 4 people preferred this track, but then I agree with the people that didn't choose this track that the music sounds more like it comes from an action film, rather than a thriller.

Track no.2 - 8 people liked this track. This track is seen as more of a thriller and people generally found the track more creepy and disturbing. Some wrote "it creates tension and makes me want to know what's coming next", "it creates suspicion and gets the audience ready for the big event" and "it builds suspence and uneasy tension". These results assured us that people were beginning to create a picture of our opening in their minds.

Track no.3 - Only 3 people liked this track. This was because it took ages to build up to a faster pace, meaning that people tended to get bored quite easily. The reasons why people preferred this track was because "it builds tension" and "its more 'actiony'", which to us comfirmed that these results were the least impressive and generally gave the impression that the people that preferred this track couldn't explain their reason easily.

To sum all this up, our opening (according to the survey) should include elements that were creepy but fast paced, with a quieter bits as well to build tension and suspense.