Research Portfolio

 

Primary Research

Primary research is used to collect data directly, rather than depending on data collected from research that has previously been done. Some examples of primary research include:

·         Questionnaires,

·         Surveys,

·         Audience panels,

·         Self-generated e.g., own video, audio or photographic records of events,

This is an example of a questionnaire. Questionnaires allow you to find out information, such as facts, attitudes and opinions. They are a simple way to gather short responses and are easily kept anonymous. However, it can be difficult to gain in depth responses as they are not as flexible as interviews. This was for my screenplay project. A questionnaire was very helpful when looking at primary research, as it gave me an in-depth idea of what people liked about my screenplay and what they did not like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aPhab3B0G0

This is an example of an interview. An interview is a qualitative research method used to collect primary data. It involves asking one or more people about their opinions on a company, a product, or a topic. They are very helpful as you can get a detailed idea of your audience and their views. This interview was for my documentary project, it was very helpful as it gave me all the information I needed with a personal view, as the interviewees gave a personal insight into their answers.

A different form of interview I have conducted is a spoken, written down interview where I recorded their answer and their body language. I did this research as I was looking to see if people liked the idea of a pack I was creating. This interview was between two people who had played the game and knew the game in detail and therefore would have an in-depth knowledge.

A focus group is a research method used to collect opinions and feedback from a group of people about a specific product, concept, or service. This focus group was for my Game Development and was conducted in order to see how people felt about a game pack trailer for The Sims 2. From this, I found what they did and didn’t like and was able to develop this into my idea.

 

Secondary Research

Secondary Research is the complete opposite to Primary Research. It instead relies on research and data that has already been complied. Some examples of secondary research include:

·         Books,

·         Journals,

·         Newspapers,

·         Film Archives,

·         Photo Libraries,

·         The internet,

·         Government statistics,

This is research conducted for the TV Advert Analysis, where I analysed the Guinness - Surfer (1999, UK) advert in order to understand how adverts work, who they were targeted at why it was popular. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9ogzVyTtcw&ab_channel=TheHallofAdvertising

Researching into who adverts where targeted as was greatly helpful when I went on to create my advert. I researched a range of different sources from online to find out the adverts message, the target audience, when the advert could have been aired and why, the advert form and style, if the advert follows AIDA (A – ATTENTION (how does it attract the potential consumer), I – INTEREST ('low price', 'exotic location', 'recommended by experts', etc), D – DESIRE (how does the advert convince the consumer that they want/need it?), A – ACTION (how are the consumers guided to act? Advert might say things like 'Hurry, act now', 'limited time offer') and who the product itself is targeted at.

This is the planning and research I conducted for out DEPICT project. DEPICT is Watershed's short filmmaking competition that challenges filmmakers to create 90 second mini movie. In order to create this short film, research and planning had to be done and was very helpful when creating our final piece, such as what was popular, what people liked, researching and planning things such as when we could film.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is the process of collecting and analysing numerical data. It can be used to find patterns and averages, make predictions, test causal relationships, and generalise results to wider populations.

This is a past questionnaire, as mentioned earlier. It is a good example of quantitative data as it successfully shows a pattern in what was liked and what wasn’t liked.

During my script research, I looked into similar films and tv shows and their viewing figures to see how popular ideas held up in relation to mine. I looked at viewing figures and ratings when researching. This is a good example of quantitative data as it shows popularity in a number, data format.
During my research, I was specifically looking for the target audience of similar programmes so that I knew what to target my short at, and how I could go about doing that.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research involves collecting and analysing non-numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research.

This is a good example of some qualitive research, I was specifically looking for people’s views and opinions on an advert that I created, which helped me develop my final written piece evaluating the advert that I had made. As these questions where open and written, it allowed me to get a greater insight into people’s opinions. 

Market & Audience Research

During my research when rebranding a Unilever product, I especially looked into the target audience, knowing you audience is essential when creating something such as an advert, as it means the advert or show will directly appeal to those it is meant to.

When researching I looked into specific classes and how the advert appeals to them. I also researched how my rebranding of the advert would work. This is a good example of market and audience research as it looks into the specifics of the target audience, delving into demographics such as age, income, and status.

Production Research

The location sheet was used to give a solid plan of where we would film and at what time. By making this document it made us think about what we would be filming, what we'd need and what locations where suitable and fitted our ideas. We used this document during filming to make sure we were only filming at the agreed upon place and that we had been given permission by the owners of the land to film there. This document was extremely helpful when filming, as it gave us a time period of where we could film at what time which helped keep us to schedule. However, the Location recce and release could have been made more useful if we visited more locations and picked which location if our theme best after visiting them all.

The Talent Release document was used during production to recruit actors, making sure that they fit the criteria of the character due to their image/appearance, voice and profile wise and of the character that we were looking for. We created the document to also get any needed information from the actors, such as their name, age, contact and emergency contact and any dietary requirements that could affect their acting, by creating this document it meant that we would contact the actors anytime and got their permission to film them and keep any images/videos of them indefinitely. To make the document more useful we could have gotten information such as their emergency contact details and medical issues and what to do if anything arises. After all filming is done it would be safe to shred or blur any personal information to ensure that no information is unwillingly being released if there happens to be a data leak.

The budgeting sheet was used to help us as a group decide set limits on how much we would spend, how it would be split and how much we would spend on each item. The document was extremely useful when in production as we used it when buying things such as props and food to ensure that we did not go over budget or spend money on unnecessary things. However, we could have made it more useful if we complied all our budget sheets together as we created separate budgeting sheets for each person. Another way we could have made it more useful is by taking photos of our receipts and attaching them together - although we bought all our props and food on a debit card and can check how much we spent, it would have been helpful for future reference to attach the receipts to the budgeting sheet.

The production schedule was used to help create solid set dates on when we would film and what we would film. We used the production schedule during our production to help us stay on track with what we were filming and ensuring we filmed all the scenes for the given date.  The document was extremely useful as it meant that we knew exactly how much time we had each week and what we had to film in that time, it ensures that we stayed on track and that everything got filmed with no continuity errors. To make it more useful when making our production, we could have made an edited version where we wrote any changes so that in future so that on reflection, we could have seen anything that we may have done better, such as filming certain scenes first.

The risk assessment was created to ensure that all possible risks had been considered and ways to minimize these risks had been implemented. The document was used all through pre, post and throughout production and it was extremely helpful and put actors and the team at ease as it ensured that we knew what to do in the risk of an accident occurring - thankfully, nobody was hurt, and the risk assessment was not used. We could have made the risk assessment more useful during production by making sure the whole team and cast had thoroughly read through and knew exactly what to do if anything occurred.