Audience Research - Target Audience

For our film we have decided to set our target audience at 15-22. we decided this as weare in this age group and we can fit the film to our preferences to our age group. Also teens are interested in thrillers and like to be scared so this fim will fit their TA. We have used actors in this age group to fit with our audience, by using students which many of our audience can relate to. From our research also, the majority of people who go to the cinema are in this age range, so making a film for this age will be suitable for them and will tempt them more to see our film. We made a questionnaire, here are our results.
1. What is your gender?
Male Female
We asked 25 girls and 25 boys to complete our questionnaire so we get an even response.
2. What age group are you?
10-14 15-19 20-25 26+
The majority of people asked ticked the 15-19 and 20-25 box. As this is our target audience we can see what they will respond to which will help us in making our trailer, poster and magazine cover.
3. What film genre do you prefer?
Horror Rom-Com Sci-Fi Thriller Comedy Other
Most answered was thriller. This determines our prediction that most of a younger audience prefer thriller genres. So we will definately be dong a Thriller.
4. Is there a local cinema in you area?
Yes No
Out of the 50 people asked everybody said yes, this shows that everybody has access to a cinema in their local area.
5. How often do you go to the cinema?
Once a month Once a week Twice A week More
Most people ticked Once a week, which shows that they go to the cinema often, again showing their age and love of films.
6. What makes you want to go and see a film at the cinema?
Film Poster Teaser Trailer Trailer Film Magazine
There was a range of answers for this, which shows that every type of advertisment is important and they all have to be eyecatching and noticibe to make the audience want to see the film.
7. How often do you watch thrillers at the cinema?
Once every 6 months Once a month Once a week Never
Most people answered once a month, which shows that 1in4 times they go to the cinema they watch thrillers, showing that they are a popular genre for this target audience.
8. What film certificate do you often watch?
U PG 12 15 18
Most people asked as they were older all said 15, this is the average certificate for a thriller, as if we made it an 18 it would be more horror will violent clips. We plan to make a thriller movie certified at 15.
9. Do you read film magazines?
Yes No
Most people did say no however we are not targetting a massive audience as most people see films being advertising on television, posters etc. We need to amke sure our magazine is even more eye catching to make people who do not buy film magazines pick it up and consider buying it.
10. Do film posters make you want to go and see the film in the cinema?
Yes No
Every person asked said yes, they all felt that posters are persuading enough to go and see the film. This is valid as we need to make sure our film poster is persuading enough to make our audience want to see our film.
If No state why ………………………………………………………..
11. Do you think trailers reveal too much narrative of the upcoming film?
Yes No
Most people said no to this, they felt they wanted to see more, however that is the point of the trailer so audiences want to see more and watch the film. We need to make sure our trailer does not reveal too much narrative but enough to make audiences want to see it.
12. Do you think teaser trailers are a better idea?
Yes No
If yes, state why ……………………………………………………………………..
Most people did say they were a better idea as they give you a preview of upcoming films of the next few years. This way they are all looking forward and checking idf the film is near to coming out in the cinemas.

Overall i feel this research has helped me on what conventions to follow for the teaser trailer, poster and magazine cover. I also know peoples opinions on how to make it eye catching and not to give too much narrative away for people not to want to see the film as they have guessed what will happen from the trailer.

Audience Research - Storyboards

Today we designed our storyboards of what our teaser trailer would contain. As this is a rough draft it may change. To fit the conventions of a teaser trailer, we needed to keep this storyboard mysterious and not giving away too much narrative. The first shot is three students pulling up in a car, ready to move into their new house. They look happy and excited to be moving in together. The next shot is a blackout with text appering saying 'The Best Of Friends' in a white block font to make the text eye catching and noticable. The next shot cuts back to the students at a long shot, shoing the students getting out of the car, collecting their bags and seeing the house in front of them. Again we see another black out with text saying 'Never Knew', again in the same font to keep it recognizable. At every black out a loud boom noise is heard to get the audiences attention and to fit the thriller genre with intentions to scare.

The next shot is a long shot of the house and the students walking in, we only see their backs as this shows that they are alone and the only ones entering the house. Following this shot is another blackout with the boom noise, the text appears saying 'How Much', again same font. The break up of the sentence we are using for each blackout makes the audience want to see the trailer and know what is going on and what the text is going to say, building suspence. The next shot is to the upstairs window, we see a girl in a white robe staring out of the window at the students. this indicates that she is waiting for them to come in making the film scary.

The next blackout with the loud boom again displays text saying 'They needed eachother', this shows that the students are in danger and need to rely on eachother to survive. This isnt giving away too much narrative however it is indicating that they are in danger and something bad is going to happen.

The last shot is another blackout again with the audio, saying our film title, which we have yet to think of and then fading up is the date, 'Summer 2011', this is keeping to the conventions of teaser trailers as we are not giving a specific date to keep the audience waiting for the film to come out.

Overall i think our teaser trailer will fit the conventions, wiht the length, lack of narrative and the blackouts.

Audience Research - Magazine Poster

Today we designed our film magazine cover, which is just a rough draft. We decided to have our character in the centre of the cover as she is the main attraction of the magazine and we want people to see this straight away. we have yet to think of a magazine title, so we have left it for the time being. We decided to have the character and not the actor on the poster as it is more iconic and more recognisable as it relates to the film. Next to the image we are going to have text, with the characters name, the film title and the actresses name as our audience will then be informed if they are not already. The font will be in a white colour to match the characters out fit and make it stand out from the black background. we decided to have a black background as it fits in with our thriller genre. Other information will also be on the magazine cover, including other films out at this time. Also to fit in the conventions of a magazine we will have the price and date of the issue.

Teaser Trailer

• Teaser trailer is a short trailer used to advertise an upcoming film, game or television series.
• Teasers, unlike typical theatrical trailers, are usually very short in length 30-60 seconds. usually contain little or no footage.
• Released long in advance
• Purpose to tease audience
• Teasers used in advertising
• Not interested whats in it, just to build hype.
• Made while film is being filmed

Week 1 - Coursework

Poster - Grace is our model, dressed in white - robe maybe?
She will have straightened hair, so it is longer, a pale face, and she will be holding a candle to fit the theme of thriller and to emphasise our storyline.
The poster will be on a black background with maybe mist, to create a scarier image.
Girl at back near door, see her shadow. Students at front. Black background.

Trailer - Students moving into a new house. the car will be pulling up to the house. students are excited to see house and that they are moving in. Cut to black out. See Grace at the curtain to suggest that she is waiting for the students. Another black out.

Magazine - Names, maybe - Galaxy/Beyond/Promount
Star on magazine, character of Grace, holding candle, again straightened hair and black background to keep the film recognisable. Fons may be in white or bright colours to make the magazine eye catching.

Media - Income and Profit

The main function of a media text is to generate income and profit. How far do you agree with this statement?

All media create either film, newspaper, magazines, music etc, the main purpose why they do this is to make money amd create success so their next media product is even more successful and creates more awareness and more income. Most media owners try to become more and more successful so they can buy more companies and become more successful a clear example of this is Rupert Murdoch.
Rupert Murdoch is the owner of many worldwide newspapers in Australia, UK and America including The Sun, News of the World, Daily Telegraph, The Austrailian and The New York Post. He also owns Twentieth Century Fox and Sky Television.
Having this much ownership gives him a lot of power and a lot of control to influence people on certain political issues and they read his papers, watch tv. this means he is the creator of a worldwide media empire and he has the power to control peoples thoughts and views.
This is why i feel medias main purpose is to make money, because money creates power and success to brainwash people and make them think what you want them to think.

Disney

Disney is the largest conglomerate in the world. They own:

• Touchstone
• ESPN
• All Disney Branded Items, inc channels, characters etc
• ABC
• History/Biography Channels

Values Make Our Brands Stand Out
Innovation
We follow a strong tradition of innovation.
Quality
We strive to follow a high standard of excellence.
We maintain high-quality standards across all product categories.
Community
We create positive and inclusive ideas about families.
We provide entertainment experiences for all generations to share.
Storytelling
Every product tells a story.
Timeless and engaging stories delight and inspire.
Optimism
At The Walt Disney Company, entertainment is about hope, aspiration and positive resolutions.
Decency
We honor and respect the trust people place in us.
Our fun is about laughing at our experiences and ourselves.

Institution Notes

• Types of Institution - Home, Family
• We think of journalists a sharing same sets of values as their newspaper
• Newspapers - Powerful than us
• As global patterns of ownership change, so does the concept of institution
• Media ownership is in the hands of just a few companies
• Disney - Conglomerate
• Disney own - ABC, History, ESP, All Disney Channels, Parks, Characters etc and Touchstone Pictures
• Understanding Institution is about understanding - who produces media texts, what their set of codes and values is and their relationship to us as individuals
• Major conglomerates - Disney, Sony, Time Warner, News Corporation, Viacom and Universal Studios

HollyOaks Later Essay Plan

- More violence in graphic detail
-More swearing and rude language
-More sexual scences
-Drug Use
-Tinted lense on camera to give it a more film effect
-The programme parts are longer than normal HollyOaks
- More dramatic storylines
- More film like
- More music

Media - Hollyoaks/Eastenders

There is a number of differences between Hollyoaks and Eastenders, one main difference between the two is the ages between the cast. Hollyoaks has a much younger range of characters ranging mostly between teenagers to late twenties and in Eastenders the ages range mostly from young kids to elderly people with lots of middle age adults. This of course effects the target audience and Hollyoaks has much younger viewers as they can relate to the stories more. Along with Hollyoaks youthful settings such as the SU bar and the uni the storylines are much more light hearted than those in Eastenders, that are considered much more serious storylines and therefore attract older viewers. Another main reason is the editing, Hollyoaks rarely has a scene longer than 50 seconds, however Eastenders has scenes ranging from 2 to 4 minutes. This fast pace in Hollyoaks attracts younger audience as it keeps them entertained. The transactions in Hollyoaks from scene to scene normally use an unusual sound effect which makes the storyline seems less serious, and in Eastenders you would never expect anything like that.