How do you and your peers use film?

A survey was carried out in a class of 22 people to see how they watch films and what influences them to choose the films they watch. we noticed how the cinema, online streaming and film subscription websites such as Netflix are the most common ways in which films are watched by young people, 10 people said they had been to the cinema 10 or more times in the past year, this shows us that the cinema is a big factor in watching films. Also as 11 people said they go to the cinema to spend time with their friends, compared to 10 people who just like a film they choose to go and see, this is evidence that young people let their friends influence them into what they do and how they do things. On the other hand, the cinema can be extremely expensive and young people are normally known to have little money, therefore it could be expected that some students do not go to the cinema as regularly, this was evident when 3 students said they have been to the cinema between 0 and 5 times in the past year. The majority of the class also showed signs of trying to save money as only 5 students said they buy food and drink at the cinema, others often opt to sneak their own refreshments into the cinema as it is less expensive and they get more for their money. As only 6 students said they would choose to see a film in 3D if it was available we can tell that students do not always want to pay extra, this could be because they find the 3D glasses uncomfortable, they do not enjoy the effects or that they have a 3D television at home and therefore do not want to pay extra for something that they can experience at home. 

When asked if students watch films online or on DVD more frequently 14 choose online, while only 8 chose DVD's. This could be because DVD's can get expensive as you have to buy a new one every time you want to watch a film so it would be cheaper to just buy a monthly subscription to an online movie site such as Netflix, which 17 students said their household had access to. The sites are also much more easy to access as they can be viewed on a variety of technology devices, such as computers, laptops, tablets and phones and therefore can be changed or turned off at a viewers request, but if the viewer did not like a DVD then they would have wasted money buying it. However 13 students also said that they download or stream films illegally which could mean that these sites do not update as quickly as they hope or that not all films are available on them. 

Hollywood blockbusters were much more common in the class and no students said that they watched smaller independent movies, however as 100% of students said they are mostly influenced by film trailers this could mean they do not know about independent films as they do not normally have big budgets to advertise. Many students also do not look for reviews or ratings of the films they watch but 19 of the students who took the survey said they do look on film websites for summaries of the films or to search for the trailers.