The aim of the research team is to answer questions that concern filmmakers for the youngest children about the form, subject matter and impact of film on children aged 4-6 years. The research plan for the youngest audience, due to the COVID-19 pandemic had to be adopted to existing constraints and take advantage of emerging opportunities to collect data related to children’s participation in online film screenings and events.
Given the increased risk of basing the research on homogeneous methods, it was decided to use methodological pluralism that would allow the research objectives to be met despite the sanitation regime situation.
Audience research will be implemented using an interdisciplinary approach, the primary methods used include:
- literature studies,
- film analysis,
- analysis of reports and research (desk research)
but also:
- quantitative methods (analysis of statistical data on the reception of the film and the number of abandoned views in the case of online events),
- qualitative methods such as individual in-depth interviews (IDI) and possibly focus group interviews (FGI), which can be conducted in small groups and with the use of instant messaging.
The implementation of research with the physical participation of children using biometric emotion testing tools (facereading and GSR) or ophthalmoscope has been postponed until 2022 due to the current unpredictable epidemic situation. The selection of different tools will allow us to confront the obtained knowledge from different perspectives (creators, recipients and supporters, e.g. educators or festival programmers).
The research conducted will be used for further work related to piloting the system of rating films for children. They can also be used in the work of psychologists and speech therapists using films as a therapeutic tool.