Series In the wake of the streaming revolution, entertainment now crosses international borders in almost every direction. Given this trend, we’ve embarked on a series of studies to explore what makes content appealing to cross-cultural audiences, using the unique features of the Lumiere platform.
We continued our series of studies with a look at the horror drama series 30 Coins, a production of HBO Europe. It follows the efforts of a priest, mayor, and veterinarian as they attempt to subdue the otherworldly evil plaguing their provincial town in Spain.
Sampling 300+ US teens and adults, all of whom enjoy horror and/or supernatural content, we tested the two opening sequences of 30 Coins (below) to uncover which was more compelling to viewers, why, and what kind of first impression each made.
As participants watched, they could click on the screen to give targeted in-the-moment feedback in the form of comments and ratings.
We also embedded questions at precise points throughout the clips, to get time-targeted feedback. This allowed us to monitor changes in levels of interest as each scene progressed.
Finally, we followed up with a brief survey to get a better sense of the general impression our two test scenes left.
Interest in clip 1 rises consistently over the course of the scene.
Clip 1 depicts a bank heist with a supernatural twist, and the longer it goes on, the more people want to keep watching.
By contrast, interest in clip 2 falls a bit towards the middle of the sequence, but bounces back by the time the scene concludes.
Clip 2 depicts the birth of a baby born from a cow, and the resulting fallout amongst the local townsfolk.
What accounts for the drop off in clip 2, but not in clip 1?
Both sequences have a primary driving question that captures audience attention and is particularly powerful in keeping viewers invested in seeing more.
While clip 1 keeps its focus on this driving question throughout, clip 2 cuts away from the main mystery it offers up, and then returns to it later, which likely accounts for the drop off.
Clips 1 and 2 both gave audiences a strong first impression, provoking highly accurate comparison to content such as Constantine, The Exorcist, Preacher, American Horror Story, etc.
However, the slick heist depicted in clip 1 also brought to mind for some high-end action franchises like James Bond and John Wick, which are not as strongly of a piece with 30 Coins.
Want to know more about what captured audience interest in 30 Coins? Or what interests people most about your content? Reach out to us!
Get in touch to find out more and discover how Lumiere can help you build stronger, deeper connections with your audience.
