Abstract
Who
are the documentary audience? This paper presents
research carried out between 2002 and 2007, in the
UK, Netherlands, Spain and Austria, which aims to
define this largely unstudied group. Evidence from
qualitative and sample quantitative analysis is
presented to argue that this group is not, as often
supposed, identical to the art-house audience. 442
questionnaires and sixteen focus groups are
reported, carried out in four countries, over five
years. Detailed results are analysed to demonstrate
the differences between rural and urban audiences;
audience expectations and realities of documentaries
screened in the cinema; and an accurate demographic
and psychographic picture of the various audiences
that constitute the people who watch documentaries
in the cinema. Strategies for encouraging bigger
audiences, and for increasing current audience
satisfaction are briefly outlined. The limits of
this research are clearly set out, and further
research recommended.
Keywords:
Documentary Audience Cinema Demographic Focus-group
Questionnaire
This
paper sets out the results of the audience research
that was carried out from 2002 until 2007, to
support and scrutinize the attempts to increase an
audience for documentary films. This research
formed the foundation of what was to become Docspace,
an organization (now a charity) that put its
research into practical application after a 2002
report (Hardie) arguing that there was an untapped
audience for documentaries on the big screen. The
report called for action, and international partners
to ride on the advancing wave of digitalization of
projection equipment, and launched as the UK partner
and co-founder of CinemaNet Europe, a network of
independent digitally equipped cinemas in 8 European
countries in November 2004.
A
picture emerged of an audience that was not, as
commonly supposed, interchangeable with the art
house audience. Using expert interviews, focus
groups and cinema audience questionnaires in 2002,
2004 and 2006/7, the research produced interesting
information illuminating an audience group that very
little was known about. This audience was made up
out of many audience segmentations, with very little
cross-over. Segmentation into rural and urban, on
one axis, and by subject interest on the other,
yielded the most internally cohesive groupings.
Common trends within the audience overall were the
following factors: they watched very little
television, and were highly educated and proactive
in seeking out films that interested them. There was
widespread uncertainty about what a documentary was,
and a collision of expectation and reality – the
audiences expected to be informed, but possibly
bored in the process. Their experiences, however,
were almost always of emotional roller-coaster
narratives and exhilarating story-telling. Perhaps
that is why, throughout the research, when around 50
% were coming to a documentary in the cinema for the
first time, and in each series of questionnaires,
after viewing the film, 80 – 90% wanted to see more
documentaries in the cinema.
First Steps
The
first research was an initial literature review, a
series of expert interviews and a sample
quantitative study in Scotland. It was motivated by
Grierson’s challenging statement from the 1930s -
“documentaries demand their own screening platform”.
(Grierson, John, National Film Board of Canada,
1939)
The
literature review was all too brief – the only work
I could unearth into cinema documentary audiences in
the UK before November 2004 was by Alex Cooke at the
University of Bristol as part of an MA and an MA by
Ana Vicente, Understanding Cinema Audiences (thesis
presented at University of Salford for MA), and a
paper by Thomas Austin, Senior Lecturer at the
University of Sussex. Vicente’s thesis stressed the
necessity of state intervention in documentary
production and exhibition if the documentary format
was to thrive. Austin’s work revolved around Etre et
Avoir, with a qualitative analysis of the audience
response.
These three studies were invaluable in scoping out
what was still needed, as well as providing a
baseline of information. Michael Reilly (2004), for
an MSc in Information and Library Studies, then
wrote a relevant thesis on D-Cinema and Some of its
Implications for Scottish Regional Film Theatres.
This became particularly useful when viewed in
tandem with the only substantial piece of original
research, the report created in 2003 in the
Netherlands, where Kees Ryninks celebrated a newly
created position as head of documentaries at the
Netherlands Film Fund with an interesting research
initiative. He asked whether the new digital
technology could not provide a window of opportunity
to get the documentaries funded by the Netherlands
Film Fund to bigger audiences. This research proved
invaluable, and the partnership with Kees Ryninks
was a key factor in the instigation of CinemaNet
Europe.
The
quantitative research in 2002 consisted of three
documentaries screened once in the GFT in Glasgow or
the Filmhouse in Edinburgh. Audience members were
asked to fill in a questionnaire after seeing the
film – ninety seven respondents in total. The films
were Mahmood Tariq and Ken Faro’s Injustice,
Nick Drake’s A Skin too Few and Judith
Helfland and Daniel Gold’s Blue Vinyl. These
films are quite different in subject matter and
attracted different audience segmentations – no-one
went to all three films, and only two people went to
two. The full report, including the questionnaires,
is available as a download from
www.docspace.org.uk:
Docspace Report). The results from this sample
indicated that:
-
70 – 85% of audience learns about the film
through the cinema brochure or a special
interest organization.
-
30 – 40% had not seen a documentary in the
cinema before.
-
90% were university educated.
-
90% watch much less than the average amount of
television (under 10 hours week)
-
90 – 97% would like to see more documentaries on
the big screen.
One
key factor that emerged was that there was no one
audience for documentary films: there were several
audiences, which self-segmented into subject
interest. There was little cross-over between
audiences for a music film, an environmental film
and a human rights film. The accepted wisdom in the
exhibition industry is that the documentary audience
is interchangeable (in terms of demographics and
attitudinal factors) with the art-house audience.
When attempting to locate documentary audience
research I was often told there was no need for
documentary specific research, since it could be
learnt from the art house audience research.
However, the picture that emerged was that audiences
looked for different things from documentary than
fiction screenings in the cinemas. This was to be
tested further as the research progressed, and is
articulated well by some of the focus group
participants.
These results were sufficient to intrigue the
Industry, specifically television producers and the
exhibition sector, to support Docspace in making a
pilot project to encourage these audience sectors to
come to the cinema for more documentaries. The
pilot project became a partnership between 8
countries, who applied for MEDIA funding under the
digital pilot project scheme. The exhibition of
documentaries using new digital technology was
underwritten by a research project. The application
was successful, and CinemaNet Europe launched in
November 2004.
The
launch of CinemaNet Europe with 8 documentaries
screened in 8 cinemas in the UK provided the
opportunity to develop the findings in the sample
research carried out in Scotland in 2002. Questions
designed to assess how similar the UK audiences were
to the Netherlands audiences were also incorporated.
The audiences were segmented and the segmentations
were analysed, yielding information about their
habits and preferences:
220
2 page questionnaires were filled in, in both
Edinburgh Filmhouse and Glasgow Film Theatre from
596 admissions, a sample size of 37%.
The
following tables are taken from the report produced
by Michael Reilly and Amy Hardie: Opening Festival
Research (2005). This took place in November 2004,
and a total of eight films, chosen by an
international jury, were screened over two days.
These were a selection of recent and international
premieres about a variety of subjects:
The White Diamond,
by Herzog, a madcap attempt to use a hot air
balloon to examine the Amazonian tree canopy.
The Power of Good
by Matej Minac, a moving story of a British
stock-broker who changed his life, and many
children’s lives, when he rescued 669 children
during WW11.
Peace One Day
by Jeremy Gilley, an inspirational story of one
man’s quest to establish a day of peace.
My Louis Armstrong Years
by
Mohamed Kounda. A 13 year old
musical prodigy and his mother.
I am From Nowhere
by Georg Misch. The effect of Andy Warhol’s
celebrity on the inhabitants of his birthplace.
Fleurette.
Sergio Trefaut’s film about his family.
The Damned and the Sacred
by Jos de Putter,
about a Chechen children’s dance ensemble
Bola de Nieve
by
José Sánchez-Montes. A biopic of
the sad man that always sang happily.
The
2004 research shows the opinions and findings of the
audience at the outset of a two year documentary
screening programme in Scotland. The first table
shown here, table three in the original report (Hardie
& Reilly 2005), examines the sources of information
that resulted in the audience choosing to go and see
the particular film.

Table
1:
Information Sources of Respondents
Clearly, cinema programmes are critically important,
followed by word of mouth. Although this corresponds
with the ways in which the Art-house audience obtain
the information allowing them to choose which film
they will see, later research shows that special
interest group, mainly accessed through the
internet, began to eclipse the Cinema Programme as
the major source of trusted information.
Further questions were asked of the audiences,
mainly to provide information to steer the
programmers of the documentary screening programmes.
The question and the answers are presented here as
table two:
3.4 It is sometimes difficult to classify films but
what types of cinema documentaries would you like to
see in the future?

Table
2:
Preferred Genres. Note * indicates a potential
Docspace Season.
It
should be first noted that the respondents were a
self-selecting group attending particular
documentaries. Nevertheless, issue-based
documentaries whether Social or Political are most
popular. Music and the Arts are also preferred.
Sports as a documentary genre fares worst, but with
the caveat that there was no sporting documentary
exhibited during the Opening Festival.
3.5 How important would
the following qualities be to a cinema documentary
you would like to see?

Table 3:
Important Qualities of Cinema Documentaries.
It
appears important that cinema documentaries are
Informative, Visual and Clear. Realism is not
considered to be the most important quality of a
cinema documentary. A noticeable number of
respondents considered Entertaining to be an
important quality, particularly at the Edinburgh
Filmhouse. The lack of enthusiasm for Controversial
documentaries suggests that a high-profile filmmaker
such as Michael Moore operates very much like an
auteur, or more likely, as a celebrity in his own
right. Complexity is considered relatively
unimportant, a finding that is accentuated when
compared with the high importance attached to
Clarity.
3.6 Tell us about you...

Table
4.
Composition of Respondents.
Assuming the responses received are representative
of the overall Opening Festival audience there was a
high proportion of Singles attending. There was also
a noticeable number of Couples with no children.
Improving admissions from Couples with dependent
children may require an effort disproportionate to
any increase in admissions. The age profile is
younger than that of arthouse audiences UK-wide –
the average for the 25-34 segment is normally 21%.
There is an interesting older segmentation at age
55-64. The ratio of females to males is also
untypical of arthouse audiences.
3.7 Which of the following newspapers do you read
regularly?

Table 5:
Newspapers read regularly by Respondents.
The
UK-wide ‘Guardian’ is by far the key newspaper among
those who responded. The category of ‘None of these’
should not be discounted as it may well refer mainly
to a popular free daily entitled ‘The Metro’.
3.8 During an average
week, for how many hours do you watch television?

Table
6:
TV viewing of respondents.
The
vast majority of the respondents watch less than 15
hours per week. Some respondents were adamant that
they watched none.
4.
Segmentation Analysis
NB:
Due to the often very small sample sizes of
particular segments any analysis in the following
section should be considered as indicative and as a
suggestion for a further and more representative
study.
4.1
Films Attended

Table 7:
Film attended according to segmentation.
The Female audience was
different from the Male audience, mainly in their
preference for ‘Peace One Day’ at the expense
of ‘The White Diamond’. The popularity of ‘Peace
One Day’ declined with age whereas ‘The White
Diamond’ audience increased, especially for
those aged 55-64. The very visual nature of this
Herzog documentary could have been a contributory
factor. ‘The White Diamond’ also gained many
of its admissions from Couples rather than Singles.
‘I Am From Nowhere’ was more popular with the
younger cinemagoers. ‘The Damned and the Sacred’
was especially popular with Couples with dependent
children, which is unsurprising considering its
content. ‘The Power of Good’ had an untypical
cluster at age 20-24 based on a recommendation by a
University Tutor in Glasgow, and this particular
film appealed predominantly to the older cinemagoer.
Couples with children declined to attend this
particular film – the subject matter was potentially
disturbing. The most eclectic segments were those
aged 20-24 and 55-64. Singles also seem more
eclectic than Couples.
4.2 Information Sources
Table
8:
Information Sources according to segmentation.
Couples with dependent children are an unusual
segment. They do not access the Cinema Programmes as
much as other groups and are especially reliant on
Word of Mouth. It may well be that they have to be
reached in conjunction with other means such as
E-mail lists and Special Interest Groups. The range
of information sources appears to narrow
considerably at later ages, which could be addressed
by Information and Communications Technology.
4.3 Preferred Genres

Table 9:
Preferred Cinema Documentary Genres according to
segmentation. Note * indicates a potential Docspace
Season.
The preference for the
Political genre is clustered around the 25-44 age
group segment. There are also preferences for
Environmental and Travel among the 20-24 age group
and Biography among those aged 45-64. The
Environmental genre also scores well with this
latter segment. The visual nature of any material
may be the reason why the Natural World is strong
with those aged 45 and over. The popularity of the
Music genre declines a little with age. Travel
appeals to those without dependent children. Couples
with dependent children are the most distinctive
segment of all: their preference for the most
popular genres of Political and Social Issues is
lower and their preference for relatively unpopular
genres such as Science (there are well-documented
worries UK-wide that children do not receive a
suitable scientific education) is higher.
4.4 Important Qualities for Cinema Documentaries

Table 10:
Important Qualities of Cinema Documentaries
according to segmentation.
Realism is less important for those with children
and more important for those without. Content that
is ‘Dramatic and Uplifting’ is requested by those
aged 45-54 more than any other age group, which to a
certain extent explains the attendance patterns of ‘The
Power of Good’. The age group 35-44 and 45-54
also seeks ‘Entertainment’ more than any other age
segment. The importance of ‘Visual’ cinema
documentaries becomes more marked with age, and this
is corroborated by the performance of ‘The White
Diamond’. The importance of ‘Entertaining’
documentaries is most pronounced in couples with
dependent children. ‘Controversy’ fares worst with
the key 25-34 segment. As there were no ‘Personal’
documentaries, apart perhaps from Fleurette, this
category was small, although marked out as an
important quality by the younger and older
age-groups.
Further Research
As
is apparent from the tables above, this
questionnaire at the opening festival of CinemaNet
Europe aimed to analyse the documentary screening
experience for these particular audiences in terms
of who the audiences were, as well as what they
liked. We were interested in the fact that again,
these audiences had some common preferences and
behaviour, such as watching very little television,
little interest in controversial films, and that
their preferences change with age and life stage. We
set out to discover more in depth information about
these largely unstudied people.
We
did this through setting up focus groups, and
arranging to have the same guidelines followed by
the remaining CinemaNet partners, ( apart from
Germany). Four countries were involved: Austria, the
Netherlands, Spain and the UK. The focus groups were
designed by Michael Reilly, based on the results of
the earlier attempts to increase the audience for
the documentaries that CNE was distributing every
month across all its member countries. The rationale
for the focus groups was to follow up on the
preceding quantitative research, to investigate
whether comparable attitudes existed amongst the
countries, and to find out as much qualitative
information as possible to build up a picture
showing who the audiences were that were coming to
the documentaries: who were not coming to the
screenings, and their reasons for staying away; and
whether it would be possible to increase the
satisfaction for those who were attending
screenings.
•
How might the attendance of the existing documentary
cinema audiences be increased?
•
How might the attendance of the potential
documentary cinema audiences to CinemaNet Europe
screenings be encouraged?
•
How might the attendance of existing art-house
fiction cinema audiences to CinemaNet Europe
screenings be encouraged?
The
four partners held four focus groups each between
September 2005 and June 2006. The aim was to spread
the focus groups between rural and urban venues.
Each focus group consisted of 4-8 participants plus
a moderator. The sessions lasted for 75-90 minutes.
The findings are available as a report from the
docspace website (Hardie & Inglis, 2006).
Organisation of the groups
Participants in the focus groups were mainly
recruited through invitations sent out to cinema
email lists. Advertisements in cinema programme
brochures and in foyers were also used.
|
Austria |
Location |
Venue |
Participants |
Viewing of documentaries in cinemas |
|
1 |
Urban |
Inst. for Media &
Communication Studies |
5 |
FEW
documentaries seen at a cinema
Arthouse cinemagoers |
|
2 |
Urban |
As above |
4 |
SEVERAL documentaries seen at a cinema
Arthouse cinemagoers |
|
3 |
Urban |
Filmmakers association |
3 |
SEVERAL documentaries seen at a cinema
Arthouse cinemagoers |
Urban
location in Vienna. (groups 1 & 2) and Salzburg
(group 3)
|
Nether-lands |
Location |
Venue |
Participants |
Selection criteria |
|
1 |
Rural |
Specialist cinema |
7 |
FEW
documentaries seen at a cinema |
|
2 |
Rural |
Specialist cinema |
6 |
SEVERAL documentaries seen at a cinema |
|
3 |
Urban |
Arthouse cinema |
7 |
FEW
documentaries seen at a cinema |
|
4 |
Urban |
Arthouse cinema |
6 |
SEVERAL documentaries seen at a cinema |
Rural
location in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Urban location in
Amsterdam.
|
Spain |
Location |
Venue |
Participants |
Viewing of documentaries in cinemas |
|
1 |
urban |
|
6 |
FEW
documentaries seen at a cinema |
|
2 |
urban |
|
6 |
SEVERAL documentaries seen at a cinema |
|
UK |
Location |
Venue |
Participants |
Viewing of documentaries in cinemas |
|
1 |
Rural |
Community hall |
6 |
SEVERAL documentaries seen at a cinema |
|
2 |
Rural |
Community hall |
5 |
FEW
documentaries seen at a cinema |
|
3
|
Urban |
Arthouse cinema |
7 |
SEVERAL documentaries seen at a cinema.
Arthouse cinemagoers |
|
4
|
Urban |
Arthouse cinema |
6 |
FEW
documentaries seen at a cinema. Arthouse
cinemagoers |
Rural
location in Carlops Village. Urban location in
Glasgow.
Findings from Focus Groups
In
all four countries, rural (and non-city) cinemagoers
have quite limited choices about where they can see
specialist films including documentaries. Often
there is a lack of information in the popular media
about the release of documentaries and cinemagoers
have to actively search for details of screenings.
However people in the Netherlands do not want to go
through too much trouble in order to go to a film,
they want to be able to see it at their local
cinema.
In
rural areas, family commitments and other local
activities at the weekend mean that many
participants in the focus groups want to go to
cinema on weekdays. Lack of time, distance from the
cinema, and lack of energy were cited as important
factors which prevent cinema-going. However in
Austria time constraints and personal commitments
were not significant barriers to attending.
Rural audiences often treat cinema-going as a family
event. Some go with friends who have similar tastes,
and the friendly atmosphere of a community event is
well liked. But if it’s a family outing a
documentary is unlikely to be chosen by UK
participants because most documentaries aren’t of
interest to children.
Generally most participants go to the cinema because
they want to see a specific film but short runs at
cinemas, especially for documentaries, were making
this more and more difficult.
Urban audiences
City
audiences felt they had relatively good
opportunities to see specialist and documentary
films. There are many opportunities to see quality
films in major cities such as Amsterdam. ‘As soon as
one festival ends, the next one starts’ noted one
participant.
Documentaries, more so than most fiction films, were
seen to offer something to talk about with friends
who share the same tastes, although it was
recognised that it was sometimes difficult finding
friends who would be willing to see a documentary. A
significant number of participants preferred to
watch films on their own: ‘Once I got past the idea
that it was ok to go the pictures on your own life
has been different…’ and ‘I prefer to go on my own
because you don’t have to talk to anyone.’
Generally urban audiences would probably not choose
a documentary at the weekend when they are looking
to relax and reduce stress. ‘It would depend on the
documentary and if it’s something you know is going
to be quite heavy then I wouldn’t leave that for a
weekend. I’d generally like to be more entertained
and see something a bit more relaxed.’ And
‘sometimes I think, I am not going to put myself
through this [experience].’
Lack
of information in newspapers and the limited release
of documentaries (in Austria) were felt to be
barriers to regular viewing. In the Netherlands the
price of admission was felt to be too high.
Participants can understand why major blockbusters
might cost more since production costs are high, but
they cannot understand why tickets for low budget
documentaries need to be that high as well.
General issues
The
single screening or short runs of most documentaries
was widely considered a problem which often resulted
in people missing films they would have liked to
see. ‘I find that you’ve got to be really organised
about going to see stuff’ and ‘you don’t
accidentally find out about documentaries.’ In
Spain, festivals were felt to provide important
opportunities to see documentaries, and that
festival prizes acted as a good form of
recommendation about the quality of films.
Participants in Spain were generally indifferent
about when to attend screenings – weekdays or
weekends. One person said they often went alone
during the week and with others at the weekend. All
preferred a cinema near to their home and all cited
‘escape’ as the main experience they seek
Expectations
Some
participants said they went to a particular film to
gain a personal experience. Company was not required
as they were totally immersed in the film. In all
cases participants in the Netherlands expect to be
able to see a film in relative quiet and to learn
from documentaries.
Participants in all four countries had expectations
that cinema documentaries would provide a high
quality, visual, cinematic experience: ‘A
combination of beautiful images and information on a
subject.’ Some felt that the production standards of
cinema documentaries should be comparable with
fiction films, ‘…although they don’t have to be
slick productions in order to grab attention.’
However others felt that if the story or subject was
compelling enough then lower production qualities
could be ignored. Participants in Spain liked good
stories, artistic qualities and social subjects;
things they could ‘relate to’. Quality is
subjective, which was demonstrated when some of UK
urban audience participants argued about the merits
of the films shown under the CinemaNet Europe
banner.
‘When you see a blockbuster you know what to expect;
independent films tell you something new… surprising
stories, human stories’ . The Spanish participants
in particular articulated their desire for ‘other
perspectives, more critical views, more intimate,
social value, more variety’ than is available in
main-stream fiction.
The
word ‘documentary’ was felt to be an obstacle to
reaching new audiences. ‘I think when you hear the
word documentary, the first thing that does come
into your head is a fairly serious political,
informative kind of thing.’
Participants who had not seen many cinema
documentaries had differing perceptions of what
films were classified as documentaries. They were
uncertain whether reconstructions and re-enactments
such as Touching the Void or The Story of
The Weeping Camel were documentaries.
Cinema versus television
Many
participants, especially the more regular viewers of
documentaries, identified qualities which
distinguished cinema documentaries from television
documentaries. Cinema films had scale, the story was
usually told visually, the subject or story was
“dealt with properly”. Socio-critical,
controversial, and political subject matters were
associated with cinema.
One
participant noted that television documentaries
generally do not deal with long timescale projects
whereas cinema projects can cover periods of several
years. Others felt that documentaries intended for
television did not translate well to the large
cinema screen.
Some
Dutch participants said that documentaries were too
serious and too ‘difficult’ to view in the cinema.
They preferred to see these films at home where it
is quiet. They want to relax when they go to a film
and do not have the urge to learn anything.
Television documentaries were considered by Austrian
participants to be more ‘surfacy’, an opinion which
was voiced in several countries: ‘Often there’s
constant music in the background in case you drift
away. It’s to keep you watching.’ However watching
documentaries on television was considered by some
UK participants to be closer to radio and was good
when doing several household activities at once, for
example cooking or ironing.
In
contrast, cinema documentaries tended to be
lengthier explorations, which allowed audiences to
‘tune into the subject matter’. One Austrian
participant, who also watched television
documentaries, had higher expectations for cinema
documentaries – good cinematography, decent sound,
and a certain artistic flair. Another said ‘I think
cinema documentaries can be more highbrow, because
you cannot switch to another channel.’
Several participants, especially from the rural
groups, did not have a particular preference for
cinema or television when watching, commenting: ‘Its
the interest in the story that matters, not
particularly because it was a documentary’ and
‘They’re just films to me.’
Some
participants admitted that although they preferred
watching documentaries (and other films) at a
cinema, they were conscious of the fact that the
films might appear free of charge on television
within a few weeks, and this affected their decision
to see some films.
Reasons for choosing a documentary
The
overwhelming reason for choosing to watch a
documentary (at a cinema or on television) was the
subject matter and, associated with this, enjoyment
in learning something new about the subject, films
which ‘open your eyes’. Another participant, an
infrequent viewer of cinema documentaries, said, ‘If
it’s a fiction film, you might not particularly be
attracted by the story, but you’ll be attracted by
the cast or the director, whereas with
documentaries, if you’re not into the subject matter
you won’t go, no matter how good a documentary it
is.’ An Austrian participant emphasised the point:
‘I have a burning interest in background
information, particularly the politic background.
How does it work? How are decisions made?’ Rural
participants in the Netherlands choose to go to a
documentary because they want to learn from it,
although it is the subject of the film that is
important, not whether it is fiction or documentary.
Only occasionally did the name of the director
attract audiences in Austria. While most
participants in the Netherlands said that
entertainment and relaxation is more important than
authenticity and educational purposes, an Austrian
participant said that, for them, the interesting
thing about documentaries is being able to engage in
a (virtual) discourse with the film by comparing
your own perspective with the director’s
perspective.
People were impressed by documentaries with a story
which had emotional appeal, films about real people.
Different types of documentary – music films, social
issue films, political films, sports films –
appealed to very specific audiences and not to a
general ‘documentary audience’. The power of
documentaries to grab attention and make you think
was noted by several participants:
When
my wife and I came out of the cinema [after watching
Fahrenheit 9/11) we were really angry – although we
were probably manipulated – we had to go for a
drink. That’s what I like going to the cinema for –
it’s films that really affect you…..It has to be a
subject that grabs me for me to spend that money.
Overview 2006
A
picture emerged across all four countries
participating of two major segmentations by
psychographics:
1.
those who find pleasure in learning or immersion in
new information. They choose the film by topic. It
seems as though they see themselves as intelligent,
and are confident of their own choices. They tend to
be highly educated. Interestingly, they avoid
violent fiction films. This group seems to
correspond with the cultural creatives; a
group for whom autonomy and independence are high
priorities (Ray and Anderson, 2000)
2.
grazers – relaxation means entertainment, and
’serious’, or learning is a turn off. Comfort and
ease of access in viewing context is paramount. They
are less sure of their own choices and tend to be
less well educated. They see violent films as
cathartic.
Potential Audiences – Rural and Urban
Four
factors had emerged through the questionnaires as
useful categorisations that were predictive of
behaviour: rural and urban audiences; frequent
documentary attenders and infrequent documentary
attenders. The attitudinal factors associated with
these categories remained broadly constant across
national boundaries, yielding useful marketing and
programming information.
A
perhaps slightly surprising result is that all four
categories enjoy the cinema experience for escape:
but they do define escape differently. The frequent
doc attenders enjoy escaping from the busyness of
home or office to focus on a particular topic that
they want to learn more about – they want to merge
themselves in the film. The infrequent doc attenders
want to be entertained and to relax in physical
comfort – learning more about something smacks of
forced schooling to them. Both groups prefer mid
week screenings and have mixed feelings about Q & As
– broadly they welcome them, but want an easy get
out clause after the film.
All
four categories also are happy to see cinema going
as both social and personal – they are happy to go
alone or in a group. For those who do want to go in
company, finding others who want to see
documentaries was not always easy. This suggests
that the idea of a film-club, which was advocated by
all sectors, could increase audience numbers.
All
groups except the rural frequent doc attenders
expressed a strong preference for seeing
documentaries in seasons/mini-festivals/fixed weekly
slot. Urban frequent attenders find it easier to
choose from a range of films, and expressed most
dissatisfaction with what was seen as a high cost
for tickets. For all others, the cost of a ticket
was a smaller factor than the cost of time, planning
and the cost of babysitting. Rather more enthusiasm
was shown by the rural audiences for alternative
content, especially music, in the cinemas. This is
perhaps to be expected, since rural audiences will
have less access to concert halls, theatre, opera
and sporting stadiums.
All
groups were interested to buy or rent DVDs or
download documentaries, especially the urban
frequent attenders. They would consider a cinema
outing an assurance of quality. Interestingly, the
rural frequent attenders were the least likely to
watch a documentary at home on DVD or through the
internet – for them, film viewing belongs in the
cinema. Many expressed frustration that cinema and
DVD trailers gave too much away. All groups concur
in disinterest in the technological developments of
CinemaNet Europe, but also concur in interest in the
added value of discussions, especially live and
interactive events offered by CinemaNet Europe or
Docspace.
In
order to increase the numbers of those choosing to
watch documentaries in the cinema, some focus groups
were set up to identify potential, albeit currently
abstaining, audiences. These focus groups were
constituted from people who rarely go to
documentaries, but who fit the general cultural
profile established by earlier research in the UK
and Netherlands of the documentary cinema viewer.
The attitudinal factors defining these focus groups
were that:
-
They prefer mainstream cinema
-
They prefer to go to theatre rather than cinema
-
They don’t go to theatre or cinema but they are
interested in documentaries on radio or
television
-
They don’t go to many cultural events, or watch
much television, but they do care about
particular subjects that are possible
documentary subjects.
-
The goal was to discover what actions were
needed to get this group to go beyond their
existing preferences.
This
group are characterised as seeking escape and
relaxation from the film, but also to connect with
the main character or their predicament. They value
the chance to reflect on a film, to respond
superficially or in a deeper way. They all see
going to the cinema as social, but all participants
also enjoy going to the cinema alone. They all
dislike violent films. Beyond these factors, it
became clear that rural groups and urban groups
report substantially contrasting preferences,
requiring different measures to attract them to
documentaries in the cinemas. These differences were
found to be wide ranging, from the best method of
informing them of screenings, to the choice of
subject matter and even what is classed as a
documentary. Given the rise of the internet and
television, this is a surprising finding in itself,
as it was commonly predicted that the force of
information saturation would even out differences
based on people’s address.
The
focus groups made some unsolicited suggestions for
increasing their ability to see documentaries in
cinemas. These were mostly made in response to a
frustration that cinemas do not post the length of a
particular film run in advance. Several participants
felt they had missed out on a screening, or on a
proposed trip to return to a film with friends or
family. Perhaps as a way of solving this, the
suggestion was made to create film clubs,
particularly in the rural areas and one group
suggested DVD rentals. Some participants,
particularly those who watch few documentaries at
present, advocated screening on a fixed day; some a
mini-festival curated thematically.
Rural
To
attract current non-attendees to see big screen
documentaries would require:
-
Posters displayed locally
-
Synopsis of film published in flier or poster
-
Subject matter of film would have to be of
interest
-
Family friendly screenings would be more
attractive
-
Classic documentaries, Music and Nature
documentaries most appealing
-
Refreshments and a ‘social’ aspect – either a
small reception or a short, informal Q & A would
be welcomed
-
Previews in newspaper would help
-
Long runs would help
Urban
To
attract current non-attendees to see big screen
documentaries would require: