The Art of the Focus Group: Screen Engine’s Top Moderators Reveal the Secrets Behind Hollywood’s Most Critical Conversations
For decades, Kevin Goetz has shaped Hollywood through the art of audience testing and focus group moderation. In a revealing special podcast conversation, Kevin interviews three of the top focus group moderators from his company, Screen Engine. Terri Cavanaugh, Ari Virgil-Paige, and Aaron Feuer pull back the curtain on the sophisticated craft that transforms audience feedback into actionable insights for filmmakers.
Their expertise in audience research has influenced countless blockbusters, and their approaches to focus group moderation offer valuable lessons for anyone seeking to understand the intersection of data and storytelling in modern Hollywood.
The Irreplaceable Value of Live Audience Testing
While quantitative data provides important metrics, Screen Engine’s moderators stress that focus groups offer something irreplaceable: nuanced human insight. As Ari Virgil-Paige explains, “There’s no substitute for hearing it directly from your audience. It adds a layer of nuance that I think you can only get from interacting with folks.”
This principle drives Screen Engine’s approach to audience testing. The subtle cues—a delayed hand raise, hesitant body language, or the passion behind a response—provide context that surveys alone don’t capture. For filmmakers, these insights often reveal the difference between a movie that works and one that truly connects.
“There’s something about getting to hear how people describe things or how they’re saying it that takes it beyond just what they write. For instance, we’ll say how many like the end overall. And a hands either go up right away, which means great, or they go, eh. So where they might say they liked it overall on the survey, when you see that hand go up halfway, you know, intuitively there’s a hold back.”
— Terri Cavanaugh, VP of Qualitative Insights, Screen Engine
This distinction between written feedback and spoken response lies at the heart of effective focus group moderation.
The Magic of the Opening Question
Aaron Feuer reveals one of Screen Engine’s most powerful techniques: the strategic importance of the first question. “Can you give me a word or phrase to describe what you just saw?” This simple opening becomes the catalyst for everything that follows.
“What I think is so magical about a group is that first question. Can you give me a word or phrase to describe what you just saw? Because what the audience gives you in that top of mind thought, it’s what the catalyst to the whole conversation is going to be. And you can uncover things right there from those first few moments with a focus group. And I’ve always found that fascinating because by the time you get to the end of it, it circles back to what was said right at the start.”
— Aaron Feuer, VP of the Movie Group, Screen Engine
The top-of-mind responses from audience testing participants often predict the direction of the entire conversation. For Kevin Goetz and his Screen Engine team, this opening moment represents years of refinement in audience research strategy. The question’s simplicity masks its sophistication; it avoids the polished responses people think they should give and taps into their gut reactions.
Essential Qualities of Elite Focus Group Moderators
The Screen Engine moderators identify several non-negotiable qualities for effective audience testing facilitation:
Curiosity Above All: Ari Virgil-Paige describes herself as “naturally a curious person” who approaches each focus group like a detective story. This investigative mindset drives deeper into audience motivations and reactions.
Intuition You Can’t Teach: Terri Cavanaugh shares that “intuition…you’re born with it.” While techniques can be learned, the ability to read a room and sense unspoken dynamics separates good moderators from great ones.
Multitasking Mastery: Effective focus group moderation requires simultaneous awareness of multiple dynamics, including the participants, the filmmakers observing, body language, verbal responses, and time management. This complex orchestration demands logistical management.
Authentic Connection: Aaron Feuer’s background working with family audiences reveals the importance of meeting people where they are. Whether it’s a shy child or a passionate horror fan, great moderators adapt their approach while maintaining their authentic voice.
The Strategic Psychology of Question Design
Beyond the opening, Screen Engine’s moderators reveal sophisticated thinking about question strategy in audience testing. When asked about their most important single question, each moderator offers distinct but complementary approaches:
The Enhancement Question: Terri Cavanaugh focuses on improvement: “If you could add or take away anything to this movie that would bring your engagement even deeper or cause you to love this film any more, what would that one thing be?”
The Diagnostic Question: Aaron Feuer identifies barriers: “What’s truly holding you back from enjoying it that much more?”
The Contextual Question: Ari Virgil-Paige highlights that the most important question varies by project and objectives, demonstrating the strategic flexibility required in professional audience research.
This variety reveals how Screen Engine’s approach to focus group moderation adapts to serve different films and different phases of the testing process.
Handling Resistance and Building Trust
One of the most practical aspects of focus group moderation involves managing difficult dynamics. Screen Engine’s moderators have developed specific techniques for common challenges:
Dealing with Disruptive Participants: Terri Cavanaugh learned to use body language and clear redirection: “You walk to the other side, you make it very clear with your body language that this conversation is not going to continue.”
Building Rapid Trust: Kevin Goetz’s approach incorporates speaking authentically, and sometimes swearing to signal that participants can speak freely without fear of judgment.
Managing Monopolizers: Ari Virgil-Paige ties redirection to time constraints and group equity, maintaining authority while staying respectful.
These techniques reflect years of refinement in audience testing methodology, showing how skilled moderators maintain productive group dynamics while extracting genuine insights.
The Filmmaker Perspective: Why Great Directors Embrace Audience Testing
Screen Engine’s moderators work regularly with A-list filmmakers who understand the value of audience research. Directors like Peter Farrelly, Paul Feig, and the Russo Brothers actively seek out focus group feedback because they recognize it as a valuable tool for perfecting their vision.
Aaron Feuer describes Peter Farrelly’s response to a focus group session: “That helped me so much, Aaron… I was thinking this, but I didn’t even think about that.” When filmmakers returned with re-edits based on audience feedback, test scores jumped significantly.
This collaborative approach demonstrates how audience testing serves the creative process rather than constraining it. As Ari Virgil-Paige notes, “Great filmmakers understand it’s a tool. It’s another tool in the kit.”
Addressing the Naysayers: Research as Creative Support
Perhaps the most compelling defense of the audience testing process comes from Ari Virgil-Paige, who addresses filmmaker resistance head-on:
“Don’t ask a question you’re not ready for the answer to. If you’re actually here to get the truth, you have to be ready for what the truth is. And I think naysayers… research is a tool, right? I can use a hammer to build, or I can use a hammer to break. And part of it is what is your perspective coming in? Do you see research as a productive process, or are you coming in seeing it as something that’s meant to destroy or meant to derail? We’re not here to stand in the way of the creative process. We’re here to support it…do you want to hear about it in the focus group when you have time to fix it? Or do you want to hear about it on TikTok when they’re using it to tear it apart and drag down your Rotten Tomatoes score? The comment will still exist. The feeling will still exist… Just because you refuse to hear the answer or don’t want to ask the question, doesn’t mean the answer doesn’t exist. Just means you’re gonna get it too late to do anything about it.”
— Ari Virgil-Paige, Executive VP of the Movie Group, Screen Engine
The Art of Finding the Nugget
Perhaps the most valuable skill in focus group moderation is identifying the single insight that unlocks a film’s potential. Kevin Goetz shares an example where one participant suggested that characters who found treasure should “keep a little for themselves,” a small change that would have significantly improved audience satisfaction.
These breakthrough moments in audience testing often come from unexpected sources and require skilled moderators to recognize their significance. As Screen Engine’s team shares, the goal isn’t to implement every suggestion but to understand the underlying audience needs that suggestions reveal.
Beyond the Focus Group: The Broader Impact of Audience Research
The influence of Screen Engine’s audience testing extends far beyond individual films. Their work has shaped understanding of how audiences connect with characters, what pacing works across different genres, and how emotional beats land with different demographics.
Ari Virgil-Paige captures the broader mission: “We’re empathetic to the audience who wants to like the movie. We’re empathetic to the filmmaker who wants to connect with the audience. And to the studio that’s trying to run a business.”
This multi-stakeholder perspective reflects the sophisticated balance required in professional audience research, serving artistic vision while acknowledging commercial realities.
The Future of Focus Group Moderation
As Kevin Goetz prepares the next generation of Screen Engine moderators, he emphasizes that the fundamental principles remain constant even as technology evolves. Whether conducted in person or online, effective audience testing still requires the human insight that only skilled moderators can provide.
The Screen Engine approach represents decades of refinement in audience research methodology. Their success demonstrates that in an industry driven by data, the art of human connection and skilled interpretation remains irreplaceable.
For aspiring moderators and industry professionals, the Screen Engine team’s insights provide valuable lessons in striking a balance between analytical rigor and interpersonal skill. Their work demonstrates that effective audience testing serves both the art and business of filmmaking.
Key Principles for Effective Audience Testing
The Screen Engine moderators’ conversation reveals several actionable principles:
- Trust your instincts while remaining open to what audiences tell you
- Focus on what’s not being said as much as what is
- Create safe spaces for honest feedback through authentic connection
- Listen for themes rather than implementing every individual suggestion
- Maintain curiosity about why audiences respond the way they do
- Balance multiple perspectives between artistic vision and audience needs
The full conversation between Kevin Goetz and his Screen Engine moderators on Don’t Kill the Messenger provides even deeper insights into the sophisticated craft of focus group moderation and audience research. For anyone involved in content creation or audience analysis, it offers an essential understanding of how skilled practitioners turn audience feedback into actionable insights.
Listen to the complete interview on Don’t Kill the Messenger with Kevin Goetz, available on your favorite podcast platform. Learn more about Screen Engine’s audience testing and research services at ScreenEngineASI.com.
