Target Audience - 'Atonement' and 'This is England'

Atonement




This is England


Thses two films have very different target audiences.  This is England is aimed at both genders whereas Atonement has a mostly female target audience.   This is shown on IMDb where Atonement is most popular within a female demographic.  In opposition, This is England is targeted more at males.  This is shown clearly by the high amount of violence in the film.  This attracts a male audience.  This is England was aimed at a 15/16 year old target audience (according to the director Shane Meadows)  and it has an 18 certificate so it is not easy for the film to reach its target audience.  Because of the teenage cast in This is England, teenagers can easily relate to the characters in the film.  In Atonement (15 certificate) on the other hand, has a more mixed cast with a young girl and a woman both as significant characters, a female audience can relate to this. 

In Atonement the characters are from an upper middle class background.  For example the mise en scene of the dolls house shows this.  A more wealty audience will be able to relate to this more.  In This is England the characters are from a more working class target audience which a more working class audience could relate to more.

How has technology influenced the film industry?

This is England

This is England : Production, Distribution and Exhibition on Prezi

Here is a presentation that I found while researching 'This is England'.

Shooting Shedule

Filming Shedule on Prezi

My Thriller

AS Thriller on Prezi

Evaluation question 7

Looking back on my preliminary task, I feel that I have learnt a great deal through the progression to my final full product. 

Because I learnt in my preliminary task how to shoot both conversation and walking, I was able to construct sequences envolving these relatively easliy. 

In convesation I used the 180 degree rule, however this is not obvious because the conversation is brief and short.  I also used angles that I learnt since my preliminary task, for example the high angle shot I use to show Tom in the conversation.  This makes him appear inferior and vulnerable.

In filming the walking sequences I learnt that there are many ways of shooting them and I tried to use as many different angles as possible to make the walking sequences more interesting than if they were just taken simply with one shot.  This, as I learnt was hugely time consuming because of the repeating that was needed in order to get the desired shots for a sequence and this was the most demanding and difficult when filming the motorbike.  I am now aware of what it takes to get a well cut sequence with good continunuity etc. 

Since my preliminary task I have gained confidence in storyboarding and various planning methods like shot lists for example (although they inevitably vary when actually shooting).  I have improved immensely in my editing skills and my efficiency in it, specifically I am most pleased that I learnt how to speed/slow down moving image.  In editing I chose to use a mix of cuts, fades and dissolves.  I used fades to black to introduce characters and dissolves where I felt looked best.  When I used dissolves I felt they added a timeless feel which worked well with the lonliness of Toms character.

In the preliminary task we did not have any soundtrack that was non-diagetic and so I learnt how to record instruments using Cubase 5.  Although I had done this before, I had never imported a video file on to cubase or recorded several instruments at once. 

I was working with Tom on the project, I did all of the filming for our thriller production.  I made the soundtrack with help from my brother and friend.  I did most of the editing while with Tom, we discussed ideas. Both me and Tom did the titles together.

Our audience feedback has been mixed but mostly positive.  The negative feedback that we expected was the quality/standard of acting.  We did have negative feedback because of this but the majority reaction was good. 

I believe that the strongest point of the film was simply within the soundtrack and some of the shot types and angles that I used. I also believe that the weaknesses within the film are possibly some aspects of the storyline and how much sense the viewer can make of it.  This came across in our audience feedback.

Aspects of mise-en-scene that my target audience will be able to Identify with

The most Identifiable aspect of my film is Tom's Hi-top shoes.  They reflect a rough 'skater'/'emo' style fashion that is popular amongst teenagers.  This shows that Tom cares a bit about his image although it is not completely followed through as he has a scruffy coat which almost represents how his situation is hindering him because he does not follow the fashion portrayed by these style of shoes completely.

The similar skater style demographic will identify with this aspect of the mise-en-scene and therefore they will sympathise more with this character in the film making it more appealing to them because of this.

In a similar way and context, Tom's 'snake bite' lip piercings relate to an 'emo' fashion and this is similarly shown to be hindered by his simple haircut and hat which are more simple and practical than that of his piercings.

Demographic of my target audience

The target demographic for my film would most likely be males of age 15-25 who tend to have mainstream aspirations and who are approximately in the C1/C2DE socioeconomic classifications.  This is a wide spread of classifications because my film follows many stereotypes and conventions which are easily interpreted which would attract a broad audience.  Also, because of the teenage actors/characters the film would be popular to a young audience because they could relate to the characters and their situations.  This would make it easier for the viewer to imagine the situation and what it would be like if it was them in the situation in the film.  This makes the film more believable and enjoyable to watch.  The teenage stereotypes makes the film entertaining from an older audiences point of view as well because they can relate to when they were of a similar young age and they can also compare themselves as adult citizens now which would make them feel almost empowered by watching my film which exaggerates stereotypes that older people may believe are true of young people.

Because of the white, British ethnicity of all of the characters in my film, I believe it would be more popular amongst similar western ethnicities.

My film would have an audience ranging entirely from negotiable to hostile viewers (because there are no famous locations, actors or directors involved). I believe that easily identifiable stereotypes are important because they make connections with the audience on a personal level making the actors themselves less essential. 

Evaluation question 6

In production of my film I have advanced in technique and capability of the skills I learnt in the preliminary task.  Because I shot the entire film I have learnt how use of different angles and shots can create intimidation, supiriority, inferiority and many other moods, atmospheres and portrayals.  In filming I learnt how expression can be captured better with close ups and other more metaphorical meanings can be created by contrasting shots.  I used high angle shots to make Tom appear as if overwhelmed by his environment.

I have also used Low angle shots on both the biker and George to portray them as powerful figures.

[biker LA screenshot]

I have used the 180 degree rule which I learnt from my preliminary task in the moment of conversation in my film.

In use of the camera I learnt how to change focus on the camera, how to use a tripod efficiently and how to shoot more steadily without a tripod.

As I edited the majority of the film I learnt how, with software I could cut lengths of film, use transitions between shots for example dissolves and fades and change the speed of which a piece of footage is played.

In producing the soundtrack which I wrote myself and played/recorded with my brother (on bass guitar) and my friend (on drums) with me playing electric guitar.  This I recorded using Cubase 5 and recording my guitar with a microphone put to the amplifier, pluging my brothers bass guitar straight into the computer using effects from plug ins and recording the drums with a line in from his electric drum kit straight onto cubase.  I imported my thriller video onto Cubase in order to get the timing of the music in correct relation to the video and diagetic sound itself.  In doing this I learnt how to use Cubase and how to record using microphones and how to mixdown audio and export it.  Also how to import video files onto Cubase.  This soundtrack I then put onto Adobe Premier Elements 7 with my film and then I had my finished product which I then added titles to using Elements 7.

In research of the Thriller genre etc I used websites such as IMDB to find demographics of relevant films and general information about funding and production for example. In planning I used YouTube to find openings/relevant scenes that I thought would be relevant to the production of my Thriller.  I have used the internet to distribute my film by uploading it to YouTube and embedding it onto my blog.  I have also shared it on Facebook to gain feedback.

Evaluation question 5

How did you attract your audience?

I attracted my audience by having things that my target audience would be able to identify with and relate to in my film.  Because my target demographic for my film is male I decided to use masculinity exessively to gain interest from my ideal target audience.  Using masculinity will give a male viewer a sense of enpowerment which will generate interest for the rest of the film.  Various other aspects connote masculinity, for example Tom smoking.

This creates a strong rebellious image that brings forward masculinity as a main appeal of the film to its target demographic.  This concept is also used in 'The Third Man'.
Because my thriller falls under the sub-genre of crime/action thriller, my film will appeal more to my target demographic (according to my research action is more popular than thriller within my target demographic) because of its fight scene. Also, the mise-en-scene will enable the viewers to assume stereotypes of certain fashions for example Toms shoes making him appear 'skater/emo' style which suggests that he may be detached from society and almost rebelious.  Furthermore, the way that the characters speak in my film is almost slang as George says 'have you got it?' more like 'you got it?'and he says this almost as one word which implies that Tom already knows his intentions and that both of them are of a lower intalect than my target demographic.  Because of this, the viewer will either feel superiour and therefore more comfortable with relating themselves to the situation in the film but at the same time the slang makes the film very real and some viewers may relate directly to similar situations and language use making the use of dialogue in my film important.

In creation of the soundtrack for our thriller we originally decided to have sad, soft piano music to add emotion to the film.  However, we researched our target demographic and decided that we should have a soundtrack of a musical genre that would suit the date and target audience more.  I chose to have a 'rock' style soundtrack which I composed myself with the help of my brother and friend Patrick Ball who played bass guitar and drums (me having played electric guitar).  we taylored this piece to fit with the film and to change part/mood/atmosphere at specific points that I thought would work well in portraying a changing mood in the film.  This makes the film much more appealing to the audience I am targeting with this film.

The opening shots of Tom, after the shots of the road are also key to attracting the viewer on an emotional level.  These shots of Tom make the viewer feel sympathetic towards This creates a sad atmosphere throughout the rest of the film which increases the dramatic fight scene and this makes the viewer relate to Tom on a more emotional level.

Thriller Planning Storyboards + CARPARK floorplan

Here are the storyboards that I drew before shooting the film.

Here is the floorplan that I drew of the carpark before shooting, that most of our film was shot in.

Thriller Title Ideas

This is how I wrote my ideas for my films possible titles and how I arranged and chose them.

Thinking about ideas of what to have as our thriller title, the top half of the page has real thriller film names and the bottom half are my ideas.  Most of there fitted in with my thriller but I chose 'Revenge' because it linked in most with the storyline and it sounds serious and realistic in terms of a potential motive for what happens in the opening.  It suggests a substantial plot without sounding too corny or horrific.