PowerPoint Presentation

Who are your targetaudience and what haveyou learned fromyour audience feedback?Our initial research consisted of a survey that we got a range of people to fill in of different age groups and of each gender. Our results proved that our intended audience would be mainly males, aged between the 15-20 age bracket as they preferred horrors over thrillers.

Genre and Audience AppealOur genre was a horror. There are general conventions that we needed to involve in our trailer that adhere to these conventions. For example, showing the key actors involved the protagonist and antagonist. Frightening music to quicken the pace and allow the tension to build up and moreover the use of isolated locations etc.

These conventions create an appeal for the audience to be encouraged to go and watch the film alongside promoting the fact that the film is a horror.

If the trailer is shown in the correct type of places for example before screenings of other horror films or at night in the advert breaks for other horror films being shown on television then the correct target audience can be contacted and encouraged to watch.

Not only this, but with the target audience being 15-21 years old then the prominent use of social media can be manipulated and used to sell this film and boost the sales etc. Audience TheoryThis links in to the idea of whether the audience were passive or active. These two categories are explained as a passive audience would sit and watch the production, and believe everything that they see. Whereas an active audience will think about what they have watched and the possible meanings and implications it stimulates the person to question. An example relevant to an active audience would be the Uses and Gratifications theory coined by Bulmer and Kats in 1974. This is that there is a belief that theres a series of reasons why society uses the media. Diversion as a source of escapism or release from everyday pressuresPersonal relationships finding companionship through identification and the ability to talk about the film/production once youve watched it a sociable aspectPersonal identity compare your own life with the characters in media productionSurveillance information gathering like weather reports and news and adverts etc.Within our production, our audience would probably be active and relate more to the first three points. They would watch our film as an escape from real life and to seek thrill as it is a horror. Moreoever, they would want to identify with the characters possibly (but maybe not because of the nature of the film) and finally it would be a talking point for social situations. Uses and Gratifications theoryAudience TheoryAudience TheoryAnother theory is the Hypodermic Needle Theory. This is more relevant to our type of audience as they are more likely to be classed as a passive audience for the majority.This is where the media injects different idea into the audience and as they are passive they wont be stimulated by thought or questioning what is happening, and instead simply believe everything that is being told.An example of this is when radio broadcasts in America pretended to have been invaded by aliens a type of war of the worlds idea and people started fleeing their homes. However, this was an April fools prank yet the audience were all passive so believed everything that they were being told. Hypodermic Needle Theory

Representation, audience & genreRegarding representation within our trailer, we only use the typical representation expected of women with our protagonist Rosie. She is seen as a timid and vulnerable which are common traits of the stereotypical woman especially someone in this situation. For male representation we see that George Rosies boyfriend is someone that she goes to for help and support when she is in a bad situation. This shows male dominance and their strength and support especially with the fact that she seeks this help and guidance from him.

The genre for our production is a horror. This will attract an audience that generally enjoys watching this type of film, probably alongside other genres like thrillers. From our research we found that typically this would be a male person with similar interests that go alongside this type of genre. This could be things like gaming etc if they are into a violent nature for entertainment.

Audience FeedbackAudience FeedbackThe picture is one of the spider diagrams from the focus group we took after we had a large screening of our production.

We asked basic questions that would aid our production by giving positive qualities and potential means of improvement we could apply if we were to re-edit the production.

By asking what the most memorable part was meant that we knew certain parts would stick in the audiences head and act as a means of encouragement so they would go and watch it in the cinema. Not only this, but finding out what the certain selling points were meant that we could see which parts appealed to an audience on mass which we could then relay into other, future productions we could be creating.

The focus group wasnt solely the target audience of boys ages 15-20, yet we had both genders and a range of ages so that it wasnt closed off and took into account everyones opinions. Skills DevelopmentLooking back on our AS production it is clear to see that a year on, we focused much more on our audience in the respect that we saw how vital it was to target and address the specific audience.Last year we guessed at the audience this meant we didnt complete surveys to ensure that our audience was correct and we just took a stab in the dark and made a presumption of what our target audience would be without any real data to support this.

This was the extent of our initial research last year. Because we didnt complete surveys, we came out with quite a broad spectrum of what the target audience would be; 15-25, male and interested in typically male hobbies football, gaming and going out with friends etc.Looking back it is clear to see that this isnt specific as we need, or accurate. Skills Development

We also created vague demographic profiles of who our target audience was likely to be. These werent exactly accurate as they were each vague and again made up as there was little evidence to support the ideas that we had created and come up with.

Skills DevelopmentThis year we did surveys which we then transferred into graphs to give us an indication of a fairly specific target audience.

By creating a more developed idea of what our target audience should be, ensured that we would know where to advertise for example using social media and what type of films at the cinema the trailer should be shown before. This made the whole process so much easier. It didnt, however, limit our focus group and audience video response as we cant simply limit the whole production into one social group of people. This meant we had a large group of people that gave relevant, helpful and educated responses and feedback our production.Successful or not?The final response we needed was the discover whether the production was successful or not and whether people are encouraged to go and see the film.

The whole of our focus group agreed that they would go and see the film because of the horror elements and the way it was made. They agreed that it looked professional and scary which was the primary aim of a horror film. We think due to the success of the trailer, we would be able to make a profit on the film if it was made fully and the money spent on the whole production would be made back and furthermore, make a profit. Successful or not?Looking at these results and taking from general discussion with audience members, we realised that the trailer was successful. However, there were definitely some improvements that were needed to be made for example the sound in some areas wasnt up to scratch. These little mistakes are things that we would look out for in our next production and be more aware of.

Overall, we have come to the agreement it was a success as people can see the intended genre and are consequently encouraged to go and see it IF it was made into a full production which is essentially the primary aim of any trailer.