Question Four

Question four – Who would be the audience for your media product?

When deciding who my target audience would be I thought that instead of choosing an age range that I was not familiar with, I would chose an age range and target audience that I knew personally. This is why I chose the age range of 15 to 20 years old and that I will target the group’s mainstreamers and aspirers in the psychographics table. I have chosen this age range because I am 16 which gives me an advantage because I know my generation better than if I were to pick OAPs or 40 to 50 year olds. It will also help me because if I need to know or find out what my target audience feel about a change in my ideas, for example location for my thriller or character details, I could easily find out what my target audience feel and adapt on that information.

The reasons behind choosing the groups explorers and aspires because I felt that the type of person I wanted to target my film towards would be best suited in both of these categories. I chose aspires because I feel that most 15 to 20 year olds fit into this group because of the way that they care about their appearance and the brands that they are seen to poses. I also thought that my target audience fall into the explorers group in the psychographics table. I feel they fit in well because of the passion to express individualism. Wanting to be an individual is something that the protagonist in my thriller wants to portray, by doing so I feel that an emotion connection with the protagonist will spring with the audience because they know how he feels. This is what I aimed for when making my thriller opening.

I began to research my audience by writing and giving out a questionnaire to people between the age of 15 and 20 years old. This then gave me a good idea of what they wanted in a thriller and also what they didn't want. To continue on my research I felt that I needed a better understanding of the trends and interests of my generation. This information, as well as the questionnaire helped me to get to know my target audience and develop some of my ideas into ones that would appeal more to my target audience. During this research found that my audience wanted something that was new and not seen before. Although my target audience wanted something new, 12 out of 15 people felt that the protagonist would be best played by a male. This is something that fits in with the common conventions of a thriller and is not new. I then thought that my target audience would want something new but with hints of old or common which I feel I have portrayed in my thriller opening.

I have decided that the BBFC age rating for my movie will be a 15. The reasons for my decision are that one, if my film was an 18, half of my target audience wouldn't be legally allowed to view it. I also feel that if my film had an age rating of 12 then it wouldn't appeal people between the age of 18 and 20 because they might feel the film is too mundane for them. I also feel that my film would have this rating because of the violent content that will run through out. For example there is a female being stabbed in the opening but although the image is not graphic enough for it to have an age rating of 18, it is still violent and I feel suits at an age range of 15.

 

Target audience profile

This would be the typical person to go and watch my film. He is 16 years old, male and currently in full time education. He would spend up to six hours online per day which includes online gaming and internet browsing. When gaming online he would mostly play games that have an army nature or quests, for example, Call of Duty or Skyrim. He would listen to mainly chart artists/ songs but have a few that have only recently been signed. If he were to read magazines he would spend a maximum of £5 on either a sports or male magazine. Their preferred programs to watch on TV would be along the lines of The Simpsons, How I met your mother, Friends, Breaking bad and Homeland. If they went to watch a film their preferred genre would be either action adventure or thriller.