Testing a new film before it goes to market can be a fraught experience. Having spent years and considerable money on a film, not to mention the blood, sweat and tears that goes into making it, to show your film to a test audience with the possibility that they might deliver a less than enthusiastic response is understandably confronting.
However, testing a new film (whether an edit in progress or the final cut), when done properly, can offer valuable marketing and creative insights.
Reasons you should test your next film
To better understand its market appeal
The audience for some films can seem obvious. "This will appeal to women over 50/males under 30/Millennials/sport fans/history buffs etc." And while these assumptions are often broadly right these market definitions are sometimes too general or may even ignore other important markets. ("Actually men over 50 really enjoyed it too...").
A well-chosen audience sample that reflects the core markets as well as others, combined with a well-constructed survey questionnaire can add extra layers to understanding a film's market appeal. Not only the specific demographics of the audience but which particular aspects of the film (characters, plot points, music etc.) drive this appeal (important for trailer development) and which channels you can use to reach the different audiences.
To optimise audience engagement and enjoyment
Feedback from an audience during the editing phase can be crucial in clarifying any areas of confusion and ensuring the emotional impact of key plot points are optimised. Having worked on the film for a long time, filmmakers can sometimes get ‘stuck in the weeds’, assuming that character development, relationships and plot lines are clear and impactful. By showing the edit to a fresh test audience, sometimes these assumptions can be challenged.
Is the relationship between character X and Y clear?
Is the chase scene too long?
How is the overall pacing of the film?
Do they understand why the son is angry at his father?
Is the romance between characters A and B realistic/emotional?
Have all the plot lines been sufficiently resolved by the end?
Do you want things tied up neatly at the end or do you want the audience to be left slightly hanging?
Some of these areas can be identified in the post-screening survey and then further explored during a focus group with a handful of audience members to discuss their reactions in more detail. Often an area of confusion or disengagement can easily be fixed through editing, adding additional footage, adding narration, changing the soundtrack etc.
Even these small changes can have a significant impact on the overall quality of the final edit.
Case study: The Dry
Pragmatic Research was recently engaged by Rob Connolly, director of The Dry, to assist with the final edit of the film. Given the many plot lines, flashbacks and character complexities it was important the audience was not distracted by any points of confusion, or if there was any ambiguity that it added to the suspense rather than detracting from it. By testing the film in front of a sample audience we not only realised that it was likely to have strong appeal amongst audiences (the box office takings attest to that), but that simple modifications to some of the characters backstories, for example, would ensure that these audiences would stay emotionally engaged with the film and enjoy it even more.
Audience testing is a lot more affordable and efficient than it used to be
Twenty years ago conducting an audience test of a new film was a significant undertaking. Finding a sample audience was hard work. There was no social media or easily accessible databases of moviegoers. The process involved hiring staff to stand out the front of cinemas and approach cinemagoers as they arrived or left, asking if they were interested in seeing a new film on a certain date and time, taking their details, making sure their demographics matched the desired audience profile, following up with them a few days before the screening to make sure they were still coming and then hoping they did.
Dropout rates were between 30% and 50% so you had to over-recruit to make sure you had a full cinema.
And that was just the audience recruitment phase.
Surveying the audience to gauge their reactions to the film was similarly laborious and expensive.
After the screening each audience member was handed a 3-to-4-page hard copy paper questionnaire to fill in. And a clipboard. And a pen. Often up to 300 of them. Hardly COVID-friendly.
Each paper survey had to be processed, with all data manually entered into a computer, including open-ended responses coded into categories.
Given most test screenings happen at night and editing deadlines are tight, this usually required a team of data entry people working through the night to have results available in the morning. And that's before you add time for extra analysis and report writing.
An exhausting and costly process.
Luckily these systems have been streamlined these days.
Access to moviegoers is a lot easier. Organisations such as Show Film First maintain large databases of Australians of all types who are interested in going to the movies. The database can be cut and sliced to find exactly the right types of moviegoer you want at your screening based not just on demographics, but also the types of movies they like to see and other personality and lifestyle factors. They can be provided with a description of the film (including images or video if necessary) and then simply have to click to say they would like to attend. Drop off rates are minimal. Everyone has to sign an NDA to take part.
And of course the surveying process has also become simpler.
After the screening, audience members can fill in the survey on their smartphones. An easy-to-use online platform allows them to rate the film overall, the characters, different elements of the film, favourite moments, areas of confusion and disengagement. They can also expand on their answers via open-ended questions to add more depth to the responses. It's all done in 15 minutes with all the results available on the spot for filmmakers to act on immediately.
Of course if need be, the whole process can be replicated online (as Pragmatic did during the stricter COVID restriction last year). Secure online streaming services allow audiences to watch a film, the same survey platform can be used and focus groups can be run using Zoom.
Whether in-cinema or online, the cost for film audience testing is around one third of what it used to be 20 years ago. The data quality is better, turnaround times much quicker and the whole process is a lot less resource-intensive and stressful than it used to be.
Contact us to see how we can help with your film.