Target Audience Profile

For our target audience we are aiming at teenagers as a whole target audience no matter how old. This audience is ideal for us because they are relatable and the same age therefore making it easy to portray the narrative to them and establish genre. This also makes it easier for us to make a film that will attract this age audience because we know what they want .

As younger teenagers will always be interested in movies which are aimed and an audience who are a couple of years older  so we are going to target an audience from about 14-25 year olds. Although our film is based upon a horror there is a victim so this may appeal to another audience group along with the mysterious plot which may attract another audience.

We will dress the characters in modern costume so they are relatable and use modern concepts and modern detail within the narrative to make the film as up to date as possible for example playing a recent song on the radio to make the film seem as modern as possible.

Audience Questionnaire

1. Are you male or female?

2. Please indicate your age? 

3. What is your favorite genre?

4.How often do you go to the cinema?

5. Who do you go to the cinema with?
Friends       Boy/girlfriend        Family

6. What is your favorite type of music?
Hip hop   Rock    Classic   Pop   Soul Metal

7.How would you class yourself socially ?
Sports man   Musician  Indie   Emo   Academic

9. Any further information?
We have chosen these specific questions because it allows us to establish key features and characteristics that we need to include in our film in order for it to appeal and attract our target audience.

Reception Theory

Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model stated that an audience could interpret the same texts in a variety of ways, as each are individually influenced by several factors. (gender, class, age and ethnicity)

An individual may wish to interpret the text straight, e.g. the code which the producers are trying to convey is recognized subconsciously by the audience. However some may interpret the same text in a entirely different way.

Uses and Gratifications

In 1948 Lasswell suggested that audiences use the media for a variety of reasons but each individual has their own personal use for the media. Lasswell theory was that the mass audience chose to interpret the media in four different. They four ways they may interpreted the media was for surveillance, correlation, entertainment and cultural transmission.

·         Blulmer and Katz carried on from this theory and produced their own in 1974, there research showed that individuals may you use the text for the following purposes:

-          Diversion - escape from everyday problems and routine.

-          Personal Relationships - using the media for emotional and other interaction, e.g. substituting soap operas for family life

-          Personal Identity - finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from texts

-          Surveillance - Information which could be useful for living e.g. weather reports, financial news, holiday bargains

Two-step Flow

Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet analysed the voters' decision-making processes during a 1940 presidential election campaign and published their results in a news paper. Their findings suggested that the information does not flow directly from the source it is found, but from the reporters boss who has power over them, therefore this will make the reporter change the source slightly to please their bosses. The audience then mediate the information received directly from the media with the ideas and thoughts expressed by the opinion leaders, thus being influenced not by a direct process, but by a two step flow. This diminished the power of the media in the eyes of researchers, and caused them to conclude that social factors were also important in the way in which audiences interpreted texts.

Audience theories

Hypodermic Theory

The Hypodermic Needle Model suggests, as an audience, we are manipulated by the creators of media texts, and that our behaviour and thinking might be easily changed by media-makers. It assumes that the audience are passive. This theory is still quoted during moral panics by parents, politicians and pressure groups, and is used to explain why certain groups in society should not be exposed to certain media texts for fear that they will watch or read sexual or violent behaviour and will then act them out themselves.

Our film Classification

 We wanted our trailer to be a 12 classification so that it can be screened on TV at an early time in the day and it grabs a larger target audience.

There is a feeling of horror but it is in moderate consideration, and there are no frequent trailer as a 12, this is because it does not dwell on discrimination at all. The use of drugs is not shown or glamorised nor are there any disturbing scenes. Imitable behaviour is also a no show in our trailer, there is also no use of weapons in any context in our trailer. There is no need for swearing in our trailer as we are aiming to keep the age barrier down. Sexual content is not in our trailer as it has nothing to do with the narrative. Violence is using silence as a way to build tension and protray an ideal hegemony of a horror. there is no nudity in the trailer.  

According to the British Board of Film Classifications, our trailer would fall into the 12A/12 year’s classification.Which is ideal as it allows us to target a mass audience.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/guidelines/12a12

PG’ film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.