Magazine Audience Feedback

Following the completion of our magazine cover, we devised a questionnaire which asked people what they thought about our magazine front cover, giving us invaluable feedback about features of our final edit that they like and dislike. By gaining this information, we can conclude whether or not we used our research and planning to create a successful production which our genre's target audience would buy alongside existing horror magazines such as Scream and Fangoria.

Results

Question 1: What is your favourite feature of the magazine front cover? And why?

• They liked the 'ouija' and 'crimson peak' fonts used, as they were the ones used for the film. They said this made the magazine look professional and similar to pre-existing publications, rather than just using a normal font. 
• They liked the photo, because it looked as though the antagonist was looking up at the audience, which conformed to the eerie nature of the genre.
• It has many film names dotted around on the page, which allows readers to easily identify whether the films included interest them or not. 
• The font used for 'UNCUT' was very professional and a good size.

Question 2: What is your least favourite feature of the magazine? And why? 

• The 'TORMENT' title font was said to look slightly less professional than the other features of the magazine. 
• They said the cover looked a little bare, as there would usually be more sub cover stories and images on horror magazines such as Scream. 
• The dark colour scheme may not stand out on a shelf alongside others with iconic house colours. 

Question 3: What do you think of the colour scheme? If not, what colours do you think would have looked more effective? *when filling out the questionnaire, we realised we made an error; it is meant to be 'Do you like the colour scheme...'?*

• The majority liked the colour scheme as they said it looked subtle, yet fitted in with the darkness associated with the horror genre. 
• Some said they would have liked one more bright colour, such as bright blue, to make the cover stand out more from afar. 
• The majority liked the use of amber, as it conformed to the red colour scheme usually associated with horror, however the amber looked more striking on top of the black background.
• More would have liked to see red on the cover, as that is the colour they think of alongside black, when they think of the horror genre. 

Question 4: In comparison to existing products, can you imagine this front cover on a real magazine? 

• They said it looked professional and would fit in on a magazine shelf alongside Scream and Fangoria. 
• The image conformed to what is usually on a horror magazine front cover, and her expression also draws attention as you feel like the antagonist is watching you. 
• Quote one participant - "I feel like I'm being watched, so I have to buy it!" 
• The majority said yes, as they thought the overall layout was good.
• They liked how we clearly communicated to a specific audience as of whether this magazine would appeal to them or not, by naming film names included in this edition. 

Question 5: Do you think it fits into the horror genre?

• All participants agreed that 'UNCUT' wouldn't look out of place on a shelf alongside other horror magazines. 
• They said layout, image and majority of fonts used worked well together to look eerie. 
• Ultimately the image and colour scheme of the image defined the genre of the magazine, when initially seeing the cover.
• They all agreed that this belongs to the horror genre. Although our trailer belongs to the psychological horror sub genre, our magazine would be featured in a general horror magazine. 

Question 6: What do you think of the main image that has been used? Please comment on the image itself, the effect used to manipulate the image and the overall effectiveness of it. 

• The main image was said to be a definite highlight of the production.
• They thought the image represented the psychological horror genre of the trailer very well, as the shot looked as though the antagonist was looked up at the reader, with an angry face.
• The majority of participants appreciated the use of a black and white effect, as it reduced the nature of a natural image, and made it look more artificial, similar to what a large magazine company would use to make their horror magazine.  
• They liked the size of the image.
• They liked how the effect added a visual haze around the girl, as it made her look more ghostly and therefore it looked more effective considering the genre. 

Question 7: What do you think of the fonts that have been used on the magazine? 

• Most participants liked the sub cover story fonts because they were bold enough to grab attention, however blended into the rest of the cover, allowing the main cover story to be the main focus.
• Sub cover story fonts worked well, as they conformed to the genre because they were serif.
• Half of them didn't like the font used for 'TORMENT' as they said it wasn't as professional as the rest of the magazine.
• The fonts used for the film names at the top were effective and a good size. 
• They create a unique house style, however look subtle on the page which doesn't draw too much attention away from the main cover story. 

Question 8: Do you think that there are any improvements that could be made to the magazine? 

• A new font could be used for the main cover story.
• Make the sub cover stories a little bit bigger to fill the page, and balance the attention of all cover stories alongside the main cover story.
• Add another colour to the colour scheme which will stand out on the black.
• Have more cover stories, or images to fill all space. 

Question 9: Overall, what is your response to our magazine? What do you think of it?

• The overall response was that they like the cover because it emphasises the films featured in the magazine, which would attract and persuade the audience when they come to buying it. 
• They think it conforms to the genre and would attract an audience interested in horror films.