How did you attract/address your audience?
Thursday, 16 December 2010
The Evaluation: Part 4
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The Audience
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So, the target audience for our product we believe is very broad. We believe that it has enough dark mystery to attract a younger audience of 15-30, yet still has the psychological depth to attract an older audience of 30 and over. At first we were going to aim to towards the older audience, but I learned from my audience research however (which can be found further down my blog), that it is the younger audience who are more valuable to us, as they seem to go to cinemas much more often then older audiences. However, under 15's can not see the film, as the certificate is 15.
The same can be said about gender. However, we may be targeting the film slightly more towards females, as there are enough female characters in the film that females of all ages could relate too.
The younger viewer who is male may be social, athletic and also a student. They like to have fun, and be with friends. This is good for us, as this viewer will not only enjoy our film, but will bring along their friends too. An older female viewer may be into reading books and stories, and may be very intellectual. As stated earlier, our film has enough psychological depth for such viewers, and they would enjoy watching the film whether by themselves or along with their families. So our target audience is very diverse, and we believe we have enough material to satisfy all.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory which discusses the psychological needs of people. My film would definitely cover safety, as it is set in a familiar setting (urban area), and will play on the watchers sense of safety. Plus the social level will be covered too, as viewers these days watch films with friends and family.
The Evaluation: Part 3
What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
A production company's aim is to develop and distribute a film to an audience. They use many different advertising methods to put their film across to the public. This includes TV advertising, posters, billboards, magazines, newspapers and through many other forms of media. Plus, merchandise is also a good form of advertising.
Since we've filmed a British film, we believe that Working Title would probably be the most suitable production for our film, and that they would be able to provide us with the funds for this film. They have produced hits such as Bridget Jones Diary and hot Fuzz. However, because I'm looking for the film to be of a bigger budget, we may have to bring in another production company such as Fox Searchlight, who specialise in British films.
Since its a big budget film, we will need a big cinema chain to distribute it, such as ODEON or Vue. Therefore our film will more likely to reach a larger audience, and we will be able to make back some profit. We realise that releasing our film in big cinemas will be very risky, as the film may fail due to being brand new, and not in a well known franchise or something. However, it is a risk we are going to take, as we believe that our storyline is very gripping, and special effects attractive.
Similar films to our thriller include Seven. Seven has a detective looking for a murderer who murders people for based on their sins. Our film will also have a detective looking for a murderer, however the murderers motive for killing will be different.
Our thriller will provide many opportunities for merchandise, particularly clothing items such as t-shirts and bags. the dark, chilling visual style of the film will fit perfectly for clothing. It is also worth noting that the plot will allow for future sequels if the film is financially successful. If we were to create a sequel to Guess Who?, we may not necessarily bring back the same main antagonist or protagonist. We could change the antagonist and also the area. This will allow us to promote a new and improved idea but with the same premise, but only if demand is there. However, if the audience responds very positively to the characters, we may have them make a come back.
The Evaluation: Part 2
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The main antagonist is male. In my thriller opening, he is portrayed as a serial kidnapper/murderer; this is a typical representation of male antagonists in thriller films. If you look at the image to the left, there are some similarities between the two characters. One similarity is that it is not clear on who the person is. Thrillers do this a lot so not to give too much away and keep a mystery in the atmosphere. However, one major difference we have compared to other thriller films, is that our male antagonist is not a huge intimidating figure. Our antagonist is quite small. This helps us move away from the current trends of thrillers, as we try to make our film as unique as possible so that it can compete and present a strong challenge against other thrillers. We wanted to have someone different to the others...
Initially we wanted to represent an older social group, around the ages of 30-50. however, we believed that this would make the film a bit unoriginal and too familiar. The character in the film doesn't necessarily represent any specific social group. We wanted to create a different character; an "unknown" character. Someone that no one can no nothing about, someone who is unpredictable. This way, it will have a more psychological impact upon the audience.
The Evaluation: Part 1
In what ways does your media project use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
The Title of the film/Font/Style
We decided to use a curly, old-fashioned style of font for our title. This will connote mystery and intrigue, as a thriller film should. For the other title, we decided to use a font that will give the impression of seriousness and importance, as our film is a psychological/crime thriller. Red is the colour we used, because red connotes danger and fear. It also is very attention grabbing, important for keeping an audience engaged. The name of the film is 'Guess Who?'. We believe this leaves a lot of questions to be asked. The fact that it is a question in itself is very thriller like, as that is a main purpose of a thriller; to make the audience ask question...
Setting/Location
We filmed all outdoors in urban street areas and alleyways. Thriller tend to use setting such as these so that the audience can relate to these areas. They also have a psychological effect on the watcher, in the sense that they may live or travel in these areas, and after having watched the thriller, they may become paranoid of their safety. We used alleyways because they are isolated, quiet places in which anything could happen there without anyway noticing. The shot on the left/frame 2 is an establishing shot. I believe this frame may be attractive to the audience as it shows conventions to engage the audience in the film. The lighting and editing we used conveys coldness, as we wanted to let the audience know that it is cold and windy. Thrillers usually use cold weather settings and low key lighting to create tension, mystery, solemness and generally a negative mood.
Costumes and Props
One prop we used is a map. This will help the audience understand that the character featured in the opening is searching for something or someone. Maps are usually used in thrillers for this purpose, and it provide a nice transition onto the next scene too. Costume-wise, we decided to use a dark coat to imply that the character is a criminal, as this is the colour a stereotypical criminal would wear. Plus, we decided to use a big coat too, so that we could show that it is cold outside, which could suggest that it is unsafe.
Camerawork, Editing and Special Effects
We used various camera shots, as we believe that this is necessary to keep the audience engaged and prevent them from becoming bored. We used shots such as match on action, mid shots, close ups, long shots, among many others. Match on action shows continuation, and helps the audience to follow what is happening on screen. Plus it creates suspense, which is why thrillers use them. Long Shots help to establish a shot, so that the audience get an idea of what is happening or is about to happen. We have also used a heavy amount of editing effects, such as the CCTV effect. This helps to establish the film as a crime thriller. Another effect we have incorporated is tinting and brightness altering, so that we can give it a dark look which most thrillers typically have.
Story and how the opening sets it up
The opening gives enough information to the audience without giving too much away. From the opening, the audience would be able to tell that the featured character may be looking for someone or lots of different people. The shot to the left/frame 6 shows that he may be choosing his next 'victim'... it may also connote that its at random who he goes for. However, there are many questions that can still be asked, such as who is he looking for?, why is he looking for them?, is he even the antagonist?. It is important for a thriller not to give too much away in the opening as it may potentially water down the suspense and psychological impact of the film.
Genre and how the opening suggests it
One thing that shows that it is typical of a thriller film is that the antagonists face is not revealed in the opening scene. This intrigues the audience, making them want to see who it is doing all of this. Also the newspaper shot to the left and in frame 7; these help to add mystery to the atmosphere, and it makes the audience wonder, who is this mysterious figure?, and why is he kidnapping all these people? It is important to keep the audience guessing in a thriller.
How character is introduced
The character in the opening is introduced right from the beginning. When he comes in, a the music changes into a deep intense sound, which connotes that some sort of danger has arrived. Music in thrillers are used to create atmosphere, or imply something about a character. It is another method of keeping the audience engaged.
One prop we used is a map. This will help the audience understand that the character featured in the opening is searching for something or someone. Maps are usually used in thrillers for this purpose, and it provide a nice transition onto the next scene too. Costume-wise, we decided to use a dark coat to imply that the character is a criminal, as this is the colour a stereotypical criminal would wear. Plus, we decided to use a big coat too, so that we could show that it is cold outside, which could suggest that it is unsafe.
We used various camera shots, as we believe that this is necessary to keep the audience engaged and prevent them from becoming bored. We used shots such as match on action, mid shots, close ups, long shots, among many others. Match on action shows continuation, and helps the audience to follow what is happening on screen. Plus it creates suspense, which is why thrillers use them. Long Shots help to establish a shot, so that the audience get an idea of what is happening or is about to happen. We have also used a heavy amount of editing effects, such as the CCTV effect. This helps to establish the film as a crime thriller. Another effect we have incorporated is tinting and brightness altering, so that we can give it a dark look which most thrillers typically have.
The opening gives enough information to the audience without giving too much away. From the opening, the audience would be able to tell that the featured character may be looking for someone or lots of different people. The shot to the left/frame 6 shows that he may be choosing his next 'victim'... it may also connote that its at random who he goes for. However, there are many questions that can still be asked, such as who is he looking for?, why is he looking for them?, is he even the antagonist?. It is important for a thriller not to give too much away in the opening as it may potentially water down the suspense and psychological impact of the film.
Genre and how the opening suggests it One thing that shows that it is typical of a thriller film is that the antagonists face is not revealed in the opening scene. This intrigues the audience, making them want to see who it is doing all of this. Also the newspaper shot to the left and in frame 7; these help to add mystery to the atmosphere, and it makes the audience wonder, who is this mysterious figure?, and why is he kidnapping all these people? It is important to keep the audience guessing in a thriller.
How character is introduced The character in the opening is introduced right from the beginning. When he comes in, a the music changes into a deep intense sound, which connotes that some sort of danger has arrived. Music in thrillers are used to create atmosphere, or imply something about a character. It is another method of keeping the audience engaged.
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