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.



Evaluation question 4

The target demographic for my media product is the 16-25 year old age group, primarily for a Male audience because they would be able to relate to the young male characters involved and some may even be able to relate to the situation and according to our research they prefer action and our film has fighting which would be appealing to a male audience. 

People of my films target demographic would watch other thrillers such as Eastern Promises or Nakita.  They may also watch more teenage targeted films such as Adulthood and they may watch programmes such as Skins because these programmes/films are easy for the teenage audience to relate to and for the young end adults to be able to recognise what they did relate to perhaps.

Evaluation question 3

I believe that if I was to distribute my film I would attempt to have it shown before films are exhibited (similarly to trailers) at mainstream cinema screenings that are aimed at similar demographics to my film. That would be ideal. Also I would want to have my film available for download/streaming on amazon.co.uk, YouTube or even the ITunes store for example because this is a preferred method of attainment for my target demographic. I would enter my film in short film competitions also to gain interest, the indie short film competition for example or Virgin media Shorts.

Ideally, if I were able to continue, gain funding, and produce a complete film I would hope to have it shown at mainstream cinemas so that it would easily reach its target demographic as well as having it available for purchase/download in shops of DVD or on ITunes so that people can watch the film on devices such as IPhones etc.

Evaluation question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My thriller has clear representations of teenagers and that they are vulnerable to society and that they are generally troubled by drugs, gangs and money.  This presents a strong stereotype of male teenagers, this makes the character of Tom easy for the audience to identify with. The film represents males and does not include females in this representation.  My film represents a classic character for the audience to feel sorry for and another genuine thug character that the audience will identify as the ‘bad guy’ or enemy.  My product in whole represents groups in a very stereotypical way.  I chose to do this because it means that the audience can relate and recognise characters easily to judge the situation. 

The Biker character at the end of the film does not challenge these stereotypes but appears as if it might.  I wanted to leave this as almost a representation cliff hanger to intrigue the viewer as to whether this character will follow the conventions that the others have.  The stereotype of the teenage boy is made to an extreme of violence and criminality.  This gives the character greater separation to realism and hence makes an interesting character for my film.

The setting of my film suggests a social group that is isolated and does not follow common society, one that thrives in criminality and abuse.  The opening sequence after the shots of the road at night show how Tom is part of this separate social exclusion.  The city, for Tom is a web of cruel people and unescapabale expansions of moral confusion and isolaton.

Treatment Edit

We have discussed and evolved our ideas from our original treatment.

In all, shots will show the city streets (sped up) while credits appear.  Next the film will cut to Tom sitting alone, looking sad to induce sympathy from the audience.  The film cuts to various shots of the characters walking towards eachother. Tom mainly walking left to right and George walking from right to left.  This hints to the viewer that they will meet as shots cut between them walking. They will then meet in the carpark where Tom tries to explain that he has not got what George is after and he is then beaten up.  To create a cliff hanger, a man enters on a motorbike at the end of the film who then walks towards Tom (who is on the floor beaten up). The film fades to white and then to black showing the title 'Revenge'.

I have decided to change the soundtrack to a rock style band backing track instead of piano.  This is because a sinnister atmosphere can still be produced and the instruments and sounds are more modern (linking to the mise-en-scene of the city) and this style of music will also be much easier for the audience to relate to.  This is also more similar to what my target audience might listen to by choice.

Target Audience Profile

My thriller target demographic profile

View more presentations from samsandwiches.

The slideshow above presents a collage of stereotypes of things that are relevent to people of my target demographic of my film and because this target according to my research likes action as opposed to conventional thrillers, I have made my clip have 'action thriller' connotations like the fight for instance. 

Age/interest research

Research results

20 people

Ages 16-19

10 Male

10 Felmale

Favourite genres

Horror 2

Comedy 3

Si fi 0

Thriller 1

Action 4

Adventure 1

Rom com 5

Romance 3

Crime 1

War 0

Fantasy 0

This research an help me to conclude that films of the thriller genre in general would be more likely to be shown at art-house/independent cinemas and that they are not the most popular for my target age group.  However, I believe that my film has connotations of action and crime as well as a thriller.  Because of this I believe it will still be popular within my target demographic.

My thriller with begining slide and higher quality

Our Thriller - Revenge

Here is our finished thriller.

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My media product uses many conventions of the Thriller film genre.  The location for my film opening develops from an already grim area of city at night time to that of an underground dim-lit car park covered with graffiti with few cars, a desolate and sinister location.  Car parks like this are typically generic locations for films of the Thriller genre.  This is because of their vacancy and lack of isolation.  Also the reputations of incidents and crime in such places are high making the scenario have a degree of realism of which the viewer may be able to relate to.  The darkness and artificial light all helps to create the atmosphere creating shadows and obscuring what we see slightly, adding ambiguity.  A brilliant convention in Thrillers, this is used in ‘The Third Man’ extensively and although this is a black and white film, I have used similar lighting and contrast methods.  Throughout the film, a concept of expanse and loneliness develop and change into a claustrophobic location which helps to create an oppressive, extreme   and uncomfortable atmosphere.  This is  similar to the opening of the film ‘Psycho’ because the camera pans from an expansive and open shot and then delves into darkness.  The film ‘Leon’ does this similarly; my film however is different because it is mostly at night.

The characters in my product both have identifying cross references that may relate the viewer to the situation.  One character (Tom) is a teenager, he wears high top shoes that help the reader identify the sort of person he is, for example a ‘well off’ male of his age may wear smart leather shoes.  Instead Tom is wearing generic, post ‘emo’ style shoes that a wealthier person would not have.  The second character (George)

wears a leather jacket.  A typical thug image is given off by this as well as it makes him look older and more well off than Tom.  This sense of his power is what I aimed to achieve from the different appearances.  The mise-en-scene of the motorbike in my thriller is a direct inter-textual reference with Kill Bill which is a typical thriller also, this reference suggests an even more sinister situation for Tom in the conclusion of the opening two minutes.

The soundtrack in the film opening I made to fit the film.  The soundtrack introduces a sympathetic tone of sadness when Tom is first on screen.  The music gains cynicism when George enters, this makes it clear to the viewer who the ‘bad guy’ is.  This helps convey a mood throughout the opening and makes it authentic as a thriller.  As well as the soundtrack, I have also used the diagetic sound towards the end of the two minutes to remove the atmosphere that has built up and to create suspense that silence can portray.  This emphasises the cliff hanger at the end of the two minutes.

Throughout the opening the characters are presented to the viewers in different ways.  Although it is mostly the soundtrack that adds to the tension, some of the shots themselves add to this by presenting Tom with a number of High angle shots.  Close ups are also in the product to enhance the understanding of emotion for the audience.

In my film I included shots of a spiral staircase which is a classic Thriller convention that I chose to use in my film. I have used a modern staircase which fits in well with the modern setting and helps the target audience to relate even more easily with my film.

Eastern Promises

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulmNjp_Vbos

Here is a link to a clip from Eastern Promises.  This clip is an intense fight scene.  We will aim to have our fight scene in a similar yet less extreme style so that acting is not an issue.

Thriller Character Profiles

Tom Reeve

Tom is a lonely male in his late teens who has had an unfortunate childhood and a troubled up bringing. He has become involved with a gang of drug dealers who he went to for drugs.  Tom struggles with a balance between providing for him and his girlfriend and trying to cope with his addiction.

George Stronge

George is a hardened drug dealer who makes a living from taking advantage of vulnerable and/or nieve people. 

Some results of my research

By looking at similar Thriller films to mine on the Internet movie database I can find who may be attracted to my film most. For instance Eastern Promises:

	Votes	Average
Males	62,163	7.8
Females	7,496	7.8
Aged under 18	339	8.0
Males under 18	300	8.2
Females under 18	38	6.2
Aged 18-29	42,905	7.9
Males Aged 18-29	38,463	7.9
Females Aged 18-29	4,303	8.0
Aged 30-44	21,451	7.6
Males Aged 30-44	19,044	7.6
Females Aged 30-44	2,244	7.8
Aged 45+	4,851	7.6
Males Aged 45+	3,957	7.6
Females Aged 45+	853	7.2
IMDb staff	14	7.9
Top 1000 voters	618	7.3
US users	19,014	7.9
Non-US users	45,290	7.8
IMDb users	79,013	7.8

 Here there is a mainly male audience with a main popularity in the under 18' male catergory.  From this I hope mine would be similar.

Here are some of the results from a survey I carried out on people that are within my thrillers target demographic.

1. Age: 16
2. Gender: M
3. Occupation: -
4. How do you prefer to watch films? Cinema
5. What is your Favourite genre of film? The Prestige
6. Recent films that you have watched? Paul
7. Identify some thrillers you have viewed? The Prestige, Leon
8. What do you expect to see in a thriller? Suspense, Fights
9. Do you think that it is important that Britain has a film industry? Dont know
10. What attracts you to a film? Trailers at the cinema.  Actors (Simon Pegg)

1. Age: 17
2. Gender: F
3. Occupation: Student
4. How do you prefer to watch films? Cinema
5. What is your Favourite genre of film? Rom Com
6. Recent films that you have watched? Paul, Black Swan
7. Identify some thrillers you have viewed? Psycho
8. What do you expect to see in a thriller? Mystery, sinister, Justice,
9. Do you think that it is important that Britain has a film industry? Probably
10. What attracts you to a film? Directors (Danny Boyle)

The results i found suggested that for my target demographic, I would want to aim my film at a Cinema going audience and have distinct unpredictability within the storyline.  If my film were to have unpredictability, the negotiatable audience may be more interested and want to see the film more.  Also characters of similar ages would help the viewer to be able to relate to the characters in the film because the viewers will have a better, more accurate idea of the emotions, actions etc.