Quantitative Research

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research refers to information based on statistical and numerical data. Quantitative research represents a large number of a target audience. 

Quantitative research can be carried out through surveys, observations and figures. 

aDVANTAGES	DISADVANTAGES
-          CAN PROVIDE THE RESEARCHER WITH LARGE AMOUNTS OF FEEDBACK FROM MANY PARTICIPANTS – THE MORE FEEDBACK RECEIVED, THE MORE OF A GENERAL IDEA AND AWARENESS THE RESEARCHER WILL RECEIVE ON THE RESPONDENT’S NEEDS AND WANTS OF SHORT FILMS	-          QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH CANNOT PROVIDE RESEARCHER WITH DETAILED FEEDBACK, THEREFORE PERSONAL OPINIONS AND VIEWS WILL NOT BE DISCOVERED.
-          qUICKER AND EASIER TO CONDUCT, MAKING IT MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR PARTICIPANTS.	-          PARTICIPANTS MAY NOT BE AS HONEST ON SURVEYS AS THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO ELABORATE ON QUESTIONS.
-          CAN BE BASED ON DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.	-          QUESTIONS MAY NOT BE IN A SPECIFIC CATEGORY WHICH RELATE TO THE SHORT FILM.

Box Office Figures

(Found on IMDB)

Under the Sea:

Box office figures - $35,111,090

Born to be Wild:

Box office figures - $25,102,586

Haunted Castle:

Box office figures - $13,651,656

Quantitative research (the statistics gathered about these short films) helped me to quickly find out which short film is the most popular based on its DVD sales and box office figures. From my research, I have found that 'Under the Sea' has received the most box office figures as opposed to 'Born to be Wild' and 'Haunted Castle'. This can be useful to short film creators as they can see what type of films audience prefer to view. 

References:

http://www.imdb.com/search/title?sort=boxoffice_gross_us&title_type=short

Secondary Research

Secondary research refers to gathering data from different sources in order to gain a more in depth knowledge of the target audience. Secondary research can be conducted through the internet, journals, books, readership figures and DVD sales. 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Quicker and cheaper method for those on a small budget.	The information may not be tailored to the topic of the short film’s interest.
Results can be reliable as they have been used by others.	The information may not be reliable (out of date).

The Importance and Purpose of Secondary Research

Books

After researching into why research is essential in the short film production process I found that research is mostly required at every stage. This includes researching for props, locations, costumes or even real life events in order to make the story more realistic for the audience. 

"Research adds authenticity to any story".

When researching for short films, secondary research is vital as there are many different sources to retrieve information from, including books, journals, directories and websites/internet forums. 

The Importance of Research in Short Films

Peter Rea & David K. Irving suggest that conducting research and exploring with different methods will result in finding various results which can be useful to the researchers and the topic of their research. In their book 'Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video (2015), they also include "Your might need to do extreme research to determine whether the subject matter warrants making a short film." which provides researchers with a question they can ask themselves about how valid the story line is to the subject. 

"What is the underlying significance to me?" Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video, Peter Rea & David K. Irving (2015). Short film researchers must often consider this question as it can enable them to discover certain key elements of their topic such as its relevance to different features as well as gaining a more accurate view of the film and its genre. 

"Your research can be observational or based on others' observations and conclusions.". This quote suggests that with a large amount of conclusions that people gain when researching into short films, the more accurate and reliable the content will be for the researcher. Writing the Short Film by Patricia Cooper and Ken Dancyger (2012).


Forums

Forums can also be a useful source for researchers when attempting to find ideas for short films as it is a form of chat room where a range of people with similar interests, for example short films, can discuss ideas for potential short films. Forums can benefit the researchers as they can consist of many people from around the world, which can help researchers generate a range of short film ideas and reviews. 

Journals

Journals, which can be published online, are newsletters and magazines that cover specific subjects and topics, such as short film productions. Short film writers and directors can benefit from journals as they can research more into the subject through finding different articles and opinions from viewers and writers with different perspectives, enabling them to gain a larger understanding. 

Periodicals

A periodical is a magazine or journal that is issued at regularly recurring intervals. This can be linked to short film as the periodical itself can be targeted towards a specific audience who are interested in short films. Periodicals, which are regular, are useful as it its audience can be kept up to date with the latest short films and productions. 

Newspapers

A newspaper is a publication which can be distributed either daily, weekly or monthly. It consists of news and articles as well as advertisements, which is important as newspapers can enable readers to acknowledge any new films. This can also be useful for production companies when attempting to find out reviews or wants and needs their audience. 

Film Archives

A film archive is a collection of films that have been preserved, depending on their historical culture. This can benefit short film production as it can provide aspiring directors and writers with potential and similar film ideas that may have been created, in addition making the film more realistic with real footage. 

Photo Libraries

A photo library is a collection of photos that is held by a particular company. Newspapers, magazines and publishers can pay a certain amount of money to include the photographs in their publications. This can be linked to short films as it can help promote and advertise new short films that are in production.

Worldwide Web

The worldwide web consists of a range of different internet services that online users can use to access different web pages, these can include photos, videos, audio and documents. This can benefit short films as anyone around the world who has internet access can look upon particular sites, whether it be a simple advertisement or a web page dedicated entirely to short film productions. 

CD Rom Database 

CD Rom Databases are used to hold data, which is made up of using text and graphics. CD Rom databases can be beneficial as they are an easily transportable way to access large amounts of data, which is useful for short film researchers who often would like t gather all their research electronically rather than running the risk of it being easily damaged.  

Audio Material 

Audio material is where sounds can be recorded, stored and played back on an electronic device. Short film production can benefit from audio material as it can be portable, allowing content to be accessed from anywhere as internet access may not be required/available in some cases.  

Ratings

A rating is a ranking or classification of something, being assessed solely on its performance. Ratings can be a benefit to short film productions as it can provide writers with a realistic perspective of the target audience's opinions and needs. This can also provide open comparisons as viewers are allowed to have an opinion and interact with others on the subject. 

Circulation Figures

Circulation figures is where the total number of distribution is calculated per day, often used as a way of setting advertisement rates for the subject. Circulation figures can be of useful knowledge to short film creators as paying newspapers or magazines to advertise a short film may not be as useful if not many people are purchasing or reading them. 

Government Statistics 

Government statistics can be published by official agencies or organisations that can be used to present information about well established conventions. The benefit to this is that writers can write about societal and political issues which can then be publicly discussed, which can then result in them gaining more publicity. 

Bibliography:

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yNKTBwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=producing+and+directing+the+short+film+and+video&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiyhPyJ5avRAhVMSRoKHUFsBsQQ6AEIGzAA#v=onepage&q=research&f=false

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rzgqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=writing+the+short+film&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCj6ac5qvRAhVGPxoKHeKFCw0Q6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q=research&f=false

Primary Research

Primary research refers to brand new research which is carried out personally by the researchers, which can be tailored to suit the researcher's topic. 
Primary research can be conducted through questionnaires/surveys, interviews and focus groups. 

Advantages	Disadvantages
Results are more likely to be accurate and reliable when using direct questions. This means that the researcher will have more realistic answers	Time consuming as results will not be recorded immediately. Some short film researchers may need to find information within a short period of time.
Easily applicable to the researcher’s topic. This enables the researcher to alter the questions to the topic.	Is not cost effective. Some short films may have a small budget and may not be willing to go over for research.
Data can be collected that no other researcher could have access to. The researcher will have an advantage over its competitors due to having an expanded knowledge on their target audience.	Some participants may feel pressured to give a specific answer, therefore giving a dishonest response. Biased responses may not portray an accurate view of participant’s views and opinions which can affect the validity of the research.

The Importance and Purpose of Primary Research

Interview Techniques

Interview techniques can be separated into two different forms; formal and informal. Formal would be being required to wear a suit and give a much more professional impression, for example when going for a high level job interview in the film industry, whereas informal requires less of a effort. It is more likely that interviews in the short film in industry will be informal as most would have to use their creativity and relationships to further at a higher level. 

Observations

An observation is the process of someone recognising different facts of something occurring, which results in the observer recording, calculating or comparing the end results.. For example, a short film actor may try to identify the key characteristics of someone in order to be able to portray them accurately.  

Questionnaires

Questionnaires are a method of primary research that are quick and easy. They are a quicker way to obtain a large amount of responses from respondents in a short amount of time. Questionnaires are more likely to be a quicker way of gathering qualitative data as most questionnaires capture open questions. 

Surveys

Surveys are another method of primary research, which are similar to questionnaires. Some surveys can be conducted online which expands on the amount of respondents the researcher can receive. However, surveys are more likely to be a quicker way of gathering quantitative data as they capture closed questions. 

Types of Questions

Different questions can be categorised into either open of closed questions. Open questions require an opinionated response whereas closed questions limits someone's responses, such as 'yes' or 'no'. Through using open questions a researcher will acquire more of an elaborated and valid response. 

Focus Groups

Focus groups are small groups that are arranged to discuss a certain subject or matter. In short film production, a writer or a director can arrange a focus group with their target audience who have viewed it in order to receive valid feedback, they then can provide personal responses with what they did or did not like about the short film. 

Audience Panels

Audience panels can be useful as they are gathered to provide feedback of certain shows. Short film researchers can benefit from this as audience panels can represent different groups of viewers, which enables the producers and writers to gain a realistic insight of viewer's personal opinions of short films. 

Data Gathering Agencies

Data gathering agencies conduct research in order to collect statistical data of a product.

www.barb.co.uk offers a range of television viewing figures and audience statistics that online users can get access to. The website displays trend graphs and charts that represent the reports of weekly programmes list.

Looking at the statistics barb.co.uk have provided, between the 28th December and the 3rd of January BBC1 has been the most popular channel, with BBC2 being second and ITV being 3rd.

Short films can be more creative when gathering data as the more social media web pages, such as YouTube, Facebook, blogs and internet forums, they look at the more easier it will be for them to collect data. 

Self-Generated Research

Self generated research is research that is conducted and produced without any external help. The research that is gathered from this differentiates itself from other data as it has never been collected before. 

A short film producer can benefit from self generated research as they can tailor it to their own needs. They will also not have to rely on any outside sources as they are the ones that gather their own information, having full reliability on their data.

Advantages	Disadvantages
The researcher would not have to rely on anyone else, including external sources of information. The researcher is the source of the information, making the research more accurate and reliable.	The researcher would need a considerate amount of time and a fair budget to gather unique types of information of their own.
The information gathered is up to date.
The researcher can alter the questions and research to the topic, such as tailoring to find the needs and wants of the target audience.

Purposes of Research

Audience Research

Audience Data

Audience data is the capturing and measuring of the consumption or the reviewers of a certain product. This can be used as a marketing tool. An advantage of this would be that researchers would be able to review the overall viewing and ratings of a short film, enabling them to find out if their target audience does or does not watch short films. 

Audience Profiling

Short film creators can use audience profiling to identify their target audience's lifestyle. Audience profiles can be useful to researchers as it will enable them to gain a clearer and more accurate view of what appeals to their target audience. This can be based on:

- Race

- Age

- Gender

- Income

- Sexuality

- Education

- Occupation

- Interests

- Frequent Purchases

An advantage of audience profiling would be that short film producers can find out specific lifestyle characteristics about their target audience, which will enable them to effectively create short films to appeal to their target audience. 

Demographics

Demographics are the average characteristics of an individual. Short film creators can use the characteristics of their target audience to market any new products they want to introduce. An advantage of demographics would be that short film producers will be able to create short films that meet the needs and wants of their target audience. However, a disadvantage to this would be that the research would only be based on a group of individuals with similar interests. 

Geo-Demographics

Short film researchers can use geo-demographics to base characteristics of their target audience, however only locally. Geo-demographics focuses on the location side of 'demographics'. An advantage of geo-demographics is that researchers will be able to focus their research on a specific area, whereas a disadvantage is that the results can only be based on individuals in one location, it is not applicable to people in any other location. 

Consumer Behaviour

Short film researchers can study individuals and groups in their target audience in order to identify which sort of short films they watch and show interest in. This can be an advantage as the consumer's needs and interests are more likely to be met when their interests are frequently advertised to them. An advantage of studying consumer behaviour could be that researchers will be able to identify the interests and qualities of their target audience, whereas a disadvantage could be that it does not specify their exact interests. 

Consumer Attitudes

Consumer attitudes are often measured by researchers when trying to find out their reactions, including beliefs, views and behaviour, towards a short film. This can be considered an advantage as researchers will be able to obtain a clear view of the responses they get to their products, resulting in them gaining quick and opinionated answers.

Audience Awareness

Researchers can use online forums or internet surveys to find out whether their target audience have viewed or shown interest in a particular short film, and discover how many people do show interest. In order to create more audience awareness, researchers can put advertisements of their short films onto the side of a website or put YouTube trailers of their short films on there. Researchers can test consumer's ability to recall their short film without naming it through asking open questions about short film productions. 

An advantage to this method would be that the researchers would be able to find out opinionated answers about the audience's knowledge and thoughts of their short film, as well as statistical data, whereas a disadvantage would be that some of the audience may not want to participate in any online surveys or view any advertisements. 

Market Research

Product Market

Product market focuses on the qualities of a particular product, such as researching into innovation, which can affect how it appeals to the target audience. An advantage of product market could be that it allows short film creators to identify the ideal qualities of products that are desired by their target audience. 

                  Competition

Competitive advantage can be obtained through altering products to meet the consumer's needs specifically, making it more appealing to the target audience. Innovation can lead to a competitive advantage, as it can occur through regular product testing (ratings, reviews). An advantage to this could be that short film directors a unique image can be created through meeting and maintaining the target audience's interest. 

                    Competitor Analysis

Competitor analysis measures the strengths and weaknesses of different competitors, this allows short film writers and directors to identify any opportunities or threats of competing short films, providing them with an insight of what makes them appealing to the audience. This enables them to improve their ideas to appeal to audiences more. 

                         Advertising Placement

Short film creators can choose specific places to advertise their products which their target audience are attracted to/are more likely to come across. An advantage to this would be that they are directly addressing their audience, avoiding any unnecessary advertising through placing the advert where their target audience will be most likely to view it. For short film audiences, this could be sites such as YouTube, fanzine websites and adverts on the side of internet forums. 

Advertising Effects

Advertising allows consumers to view an advert without being forced to give an early opinion. Viewers can learn more and evaluate a short film trailer/poster if it were created to meet their interests, learning themselves that it is 'ideal' for them. 

Production Research

Content

Content can either be original or optioned, which require a substantial amount of research. 

Option: A contractual agreement between a movie producer, who can represent a production company, a movie studio or an individual, and a writer of a screenplay. 

If the film is not made within 2 years, the screenwriter has the right to sell the script. 

Filmmakers can also employ historians in order to be able to portray the real series of events, such as a film being set in WW2. 

Coming up with your own content will require you to conduct primary research. 

Owners of any written work can have their material Copyrighted. Copyright legally protects the owner from others using their material without having granted permission from the owner, the owners can license others to use their material at a given fee whilst still retaining ownership rights. 

Short film makers may not have the budget to pay for the actual song/soundtrack, they may only be able to approach independent music composers who are not attached to a label. This would not create major costs as their material is not copyrighted.

Viability

Production research allows you to demonstrate whether or not that your planned product is viable. It is ideal that viability is thoroughly tested on a product in order to determine its success, which can be through considering these factors:

These costs must be considered; is the product financially viable?

- Crew
- Locations
- Talent
- Props/costume
- Permissions
- Equipment
- Misc. e.g. catering

Do you have the required skills and qualities to undertake the production process?
Do you have the appropriate equipment and technology available?
What help and support will be required?
Is there enough time for the product to be produced?

                   Placement Media

Placement media refers to any type of advertisement used to increase awareness. This can include (for short films); radio and television adverts, magazine adverts, posters, billboards and newspapers. Short film distributors can use any of these methods to directly communicate with its target audience informing them of upcoming short films in order to increase as much viewing figures as possible. 

           Technological Resources

Technological resources can refer to any type of technology involved in the production process. This can include all the editing software required to make the film look as professional as possible. In addition to this, editing suites and actual filming equipment can also come under technological resources. This is why it is essential that a generous budget is set for this equipment as it is an important contribution to the production process. 




Finance & Costs

The finance and costs are one of the most essential part of shooting a short film - as without being financed, it is unlikely you can produce a successful short film. Ensuring that all costs are under budget is essential therefore the overall aim is to create a professional and successful short film as cheap as possible. 

                                       Software

A software is a program that can be installed within, which is essential in the post-production stage as it can be an editing resource. Editing softwares inclue iMovie, AdobePremiere Pro, AVID Media Composer and Sony Vegas. 



Hardware

Hardware refers to a collection of item that can physically be touched, which is what programs, such as editing softwares, can be used to install on.
These different tools are essential for recording and editing audio and moving image material, which may sometimes require a specific software for print and multimedia production. 

Costs may especially increase for the hiring of editing and recording crew, as well as the hiring or purchasing of additional equipment such as computers. 

Usually, independent producers hire equipment from companies fr the duration of the production process. However, some time may be taken for this process as some research would be required in advance, due to an appropriate budget for the cost of the equipment. 

To make it cost effective, a short film producer can pay license fees for softwares that can be installed on multiple devices. 

                             Personnel

A creative team of people will help you with research and develop on ideas and provide technical expertise in order to assist you in the production stages. Hiring a marketing team can also help you through selling your short film through generating income from advertising, sales and merchandising.



Locations

Location research should be conducted, location shots can help the filmmaker identify any health and safety issues. Thorough research into different venues can help the filmmaker decide whether the location is viable to the short film or not, as well as looking into the lighting and surroundings of the location for planning certain shots for the film. 

References:

http://techterms.com/definition/copyright

http://blog.signummedia.co.uk/?p=435

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000039.htm