Target Audience for ‘Obsessed’
Age: 15+
Gender: Male/Female
Social Demographic: Working
Class/Middle Class
Occupation:
Students/University students/Retail Jobs
Hobbies and Interests: The general
teenage target audience may enjoy socialising, going out with friends regularly
and visiting various clothing and food. They may typically enjoy watching
movies of the ‘thriller/horror’ genre as they may enjoy the thrill of getting
scared. The students may be dedicated to their education and work hard to
achieve their full potential at various forms of education they are currently
studying in. Other interests may include going to mainstream/popular events
such as concerts. They may often keep up to date with new trends in fashion and
technology, often buying the newest products that are released, allowing them
to relate to other characters within the opening sequence, such as the victim
‘Sarah’, and so may potentially be interested within a product like ‘Obsessed’.
Style: People of both genders may like
to follow trends and fashion in order to fit in with other people of their age
group. The may also care about their appearance and often buy products in order
to make themselves feel better. Though there are a mixed people from various
social demographic backgrounds, most of the viewers may be influenced by style
and want to consider that they can keep up with trends. The actors within the
opening sequence could be used to reflect its target audience, who in this case
may be fashionable and use the latest technological products like those within
the sequence. This may make the viewing experience perhaps more personal to the
target audience, and becoming absorbed within the product as it affects people
of their age and style views.
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| (Use of 'Twitter': New Technology) |
Personality: The typical
audience type may like to socialise with their friends and perhaps have a good
sense of humour, but can also be serious when necessary. Some other people who
fit within the target audience may be outgoing, bubbly and friendly, but often
influenced by the opinions of others and base their decisions on what they say,
typically a mainstream audience of teenagers. However, due to the increase in
‘indie’ products and styles adopted by new trends of teenagers, the film, being
an independent style, may appeal to the audience with this
personality. The general personality of the target audience may all have
the common liking for the film of our chosen genre, thriller, and their various
personalities allow them to view different situations through diverse
perspectives, allowing them to interpret the events their own ways, becoming
captivated by the visual representation of other characters similar to
themselves.
Media Grouping: The favourite
films for this target audience may be those that make them jump and feel
anxious about their surroundings, typically watching films that are new from
the horror genre such as ‘Insidious 2’ or thriller films like ‘Zodiac’ that
contain mysterious elements. The scenes may give an adrenaline rush to the
audience due to heightened tension, a common convention of films of the
thriller/horror genre. Though the audience may enjoy watching these films, they
may also enjoy watching mainstream television such as soaps (Eastenders) and
entertainment (X-Factor), being a mainly teenage audience.
Audience Theory: The Uses and
Gratifications theory is an approach to understand why people seek out various
media content for different purposes. This audience theory can enable our group
to target the audience specifically to suit their ‘entertainment’ needs. The ‘Personal
Identity’ aspect of the theory may also be fulfilled, as the audience is able
to find models of behaviour. Blumler & Katz theory suggests that a text
must ‘gratify an audience’s needs’. The use of ‘education’ could also be
loosely applied to the media product as the audience are given real statistics
on the screen, becoming aware of the problems that are encountered in real
life, making for a more sinister and freighting viewing experience.
Research:
We gave a questionnaire we designed to 15 volunteers
who completed the survey that offer both open and closed questions. The age
range for questionnaires were those aged 16-17 years old of both genders, who
were our initial target audience. This creates a varied response from different
genders so that we gain a good idea of what people think about our idea. This
gives our group a clear idea of what our target audience thinks about our
opening sequence idea and how it could be altered to create a more effective
opening sequence. From the results, we analysed what people had thought and
took their ideas into consideration when we film and create the opening
sequence.
The first question asked on the questionnaire asked
the respondents what their favourite genre of film was. This allowed us to gain
an understanding on what the most popular genre of film was and whether our
chosen genre, thriller, appealed to its target audience. From the results, we
found out that the preferred genre of the film is Thriller. This is
encouraging, as our group had decided to create the opening sequence within
this genre, with the second few favourite genres of Horror and Mystery also
likely to be present within our opening sequence, so the genre our sequence may
appeal to the target audience. We then asked what are expected to see within
the films of their favourite genre. There are various conventions within each
genre that cross over from each other, such as the use of weapons, narrative
enigma and hidden identities. These conventions listed by the volunteers allow
our group to select certain features that could potentially be used within our
opening sequence to make the audience aware of the genre of film they are
watching. These conventions could also give possibility of our group to gain a
chance to challenge conventions and create a slightly different opening
sequence within the same genre.
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| (Response to Question 1) |
The next few questions are based on the plot of our
opening sequence: “a mentally deranged man becomes obsessed with a typical
teenage girl who lives near him. He creates a project starting with just a few
pictures, however, over time his obsession grew to a point at which it drives
him into a spiral of despair that he cannot escape from.” We asked the
respondents what they thought of the plot and any ideas of how it could be
improved. The results showed that the majority of the volunteers felt the plot
was good. One respondent felt the plot was bad as it lacked a sense of danger
or uncertainty. Some other volunteers also felt that the plot lacked a ‘scary’
feel for the genre in which the sequence fits into. We felt the results were
promising as it shows that the majority of our target audience believes our
trailer is good or excellent from the 7th question. However, we took
on board the various concerns with the plot and slightly altered some scenes in
order to create a scarier feel. For example, by leaving weapons on show within
the last scene creating an eerie and sinister tone.
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| (Axe shown within last scene) |
We also asked some questions on some of the ideas we
decided to put within the sequence, such as masking the identity of Vincent,
the main character (stalker) within our sequence. Around 85% (13) of the
respondents felt that it was a good idea to mask the identity of the villain to
create a sense of mystery and uncertainty around the main character. However, around
15% (2) of the respondents felt that masking the identity of the stalker was
not a good idea as it was ‘cliché’ and that it would be more exciting if we
challenged conventions. In order to do this we did not completely mask the whole identity of the stalker, with some shots showing a side view of his face to create tension and questioning. The last question on the questionnaire asked if the
audience felt the plot of the film fits well with the genre we have decided to
go into. All the respondents felt that the plot does fit well within our genre
as various aspects links with other films within that genre. The majority felt
that our idea was good and related to the genre, however some felt that though
it related to the genre, that our sequence needs to be unique compared to other
films of the genre. We looked at the concerns and tried to adapt our film to
make sure it is convincing and effective in portraying our plot and
genre.
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| (Identity not compeltely masked of the stalker on the right hand side) |
As further research, I had created some question on my
blog page to allow audiences from around the world to directly and anonymously
give their opinions on the matter. The first question ‘what is you’re favourite
film genre?’ has had 52 responses so far, however still with extra days to make
further contribution. The results found that the first genre, horror, was the
most popular choice with 26% of all votes going to that genre, with joint
second with 17% of mystery and the action genre. This proves promising again
for our sequence, as the majority of those who visited the blog had picked the
genre of our opening sequence. Another question that was placed on the blog was
‘do you like to watch horror/thriller films’. The majority of respondents, 76%,
had said they did enjoy films of this genre, with 24% saying they do not.
Overall this is a good, strong basis for the film genre we have chosen as the
majority of people enjoy films from this genre. The final question was ‘how
many films do you watch each month?’ 67% of the response said 1-2 films each
month, perhaps suggesting they only watch the newer, mainstream films because
of popularity. 20% of respondents said they watch 3-4 films, which may be more
interested within the film industry and watch films as a hobby or interest.
Overall, the results displayed on the blog have helped our group to define its
genre and to ensure that it may prove successful to its chosen market.
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| (Questions used on Blog) |
It is essential for our group to target a specific
audience for our opening sequence as it enables us to make a convincing film of
the chosen genre. The audience will gain information on specific characters
within the film, however, narrative enigma may be used in order to make the
audience question why certain things happen, creating a sense of tension and
suspense. These techniques can all be used to entice the audience and make them
engaged with the opening sequence of the film. Targeting a specific audience
also affects certain events and features of the opening sequence, with the
majority of the target audience being teenagers, a teenage cast was needed to
allow the audience to relate to the characters on screen and so become
engrossed within the film, and successfully entertaining them.
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