G321 Evaluation Question 5 How did you attract/address your audience ?
Locations: â– The audience is likely to attract an audience that live in/near or have visited Norwich. This is because we used well-known locations around Norwich which people are likely to be familiar with. Through the use of familiar locations it means that people are more likely to be able to relate and identify with the film and would be more likely to enjoy it. â– Through using locations such as the underpass in St. Stevens Street, our thriller production may be popular with those who live in/around Norwich but it may also with those who are interested in street art, particularly young people. The walls of the underpass are covered in street art of all kinds and colours, this can be seen when Rhiannon is seen walking through it. This creates appeal as people may be interested to see how we used this location and intrigued to what other locations were used in the film. â– Relating to this, the film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013) was based in Norwich, it included very popular locations within the city, for example, the market. The release of this film was very popular with residents in Norwich since it was very special for a premiere to take place here rather than in bigger cities such as London. This added a personal touch and had a big impact on the Norwich audience as they felt as though this film was for them. This shows that targeting smaller, more direct audiences can be more effective than just targeting one big one.
Camera shots: ■ We focussed on the types of shots we used in order to create them to be meaningful and powerful for the audience. We included over-the-shoulder shots of Kyra following Rhiannon which let the audience be positioned with the character and let them feel as though they were involved in the action. This would attract audiences as getting in on the action helps create excitement. We focussed more on including interesting, exciting shots over using artistic and professionally presented shots. This is because we have a younger target audience who would be more engaged and interested in watching a film with more involvement rather than being focussed on how the shots look. Extreme close ups were used to help portray the sense of panic and fear given off by Rhiannon, this connects the audience with the character as they start to feel sorry for her and a little fearful themselves from the tension of not knowing what will happen next. A close up is also used in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Psycho. An extreme close up of Marion Crane’s eye creates a sense of tension and an uncomfortable atmosphere since the audience is forced to make eye contact with her.
(Psycho)
(My production)
Editing: ■ In the edit of my thriller production I used multiple dissolves to cut from real-time to flashbacks. This allowed me to have smooth transitions whilst also building tension for the audience. Since the film is very fast paced and contains two different time periods, it creates a special appeal for young audiences. This is similar in the film ‘Psycho’ where a dissolve is used between Marion’s eye and the plug hole, this is very effectively used as it leaves the audience feeling very on-edge and tense.
Sound: ■The main soundtrack of the thriller opening is the first way of the audience figuring out the targeted genre, this would then create appeal to audiences who are interested in the thriller genre. For the younger target audience, the music may also be seen as quite daunting and scary, which may encourage them to want to watch the production to see what happens to Rhiannon. With the growing use of technology in today’s society, young people are often on their phones or focussed on something else whilst watching a film so by being able to hear the music without being focussed on the film, they are able to get a sense of the type of film it is, this may therefore encourage them to sit and watch it. ■Diegetic sound is also included throughout the production which helps it be more relatable to the audience since it adds a sense of realism to the film. This sound makes the audience feel as though they are positioned with the character and in the room with them.
Age: â– The age range of our thriller production is 11-21, this is likely to appeal to them for a number of reasons. One reason is that it is posted onto YouTube which is an online video streaming website, this website is extremely popular with millions of 11-21 year olds using it every day. This would mean they could easily access it and be interested in watching it. Another reason it may appeal to this audience is because of the characters that appear in the production. The film contains 16/17 year old actors which then makes it more real and easily relatable for the target audience. Since myself and my group are all young film makers, our peers and those of similar ages to us are likely to watch this film and promote it in order to support us. The issues raised and technology used throughout the production are also very relatable and important for this age range which may encourage people to watch it.
Gender: ■Generally, it is seen that thrillers and action thrillers are more closely linked with males due to the strong male leads featured within them. For example, The Third Man explores the relationship between two male friends, there is an important character called Anna in the film however, she is not a central focus within the film. My thriller production is aimed primarily towards a female audience due to the casting of it being all female however, the thriller genre may attract a male audience to watch it. Due to there being the sensitive topic of mental health in this film, a female audience may be more drawn to watching it since it is shown that boys generally find it more pressing and difficult to show any interest in this topic. However, statistics show that more males commit suicide than females, so this film may attract a few males. The suicide act is what enhances the aspect of a thriller convention making it appealing to both genders as it’s a dangerous, edging and terrifying act which often has a lot of meaning behind it, creating a sense of mystery.
Reflection of mental health: ■ Our film focusses on different aspects of mental health. One way it does this is through the subject of suicide; in our thriller production Lilly commits suicide. From looking at mental health statistics I was able to find out that in 2013, 6,233 suicides were recorded in the UK for people aged 15 and older. Of these, 78% were male and 22% were female. This shows that males are more likely to suffer in silence due to the social stigma around mental health. This could mean that males that are currently suffering from these same issues may watch this, from watching this they may then become more inspired to stay strong and see how much suicide can affect others in that individual’s life a large amount. ■ Along with this, in England, women are more likely than men to have a common mental health problem and are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders. Anxiety is another aspect of mental health that is explored in my thriller production. This is done through Rhiannon’s character feeling panicked and anxious about being followed by Kyra. ■ Following on from this, a sense of depression is also slightly discovered from Lilly. This is evident as Lilly was clearly very unhappy and unable to continue dealing with the pressures of life. Teenagers can be very vulnerable and feel as though they are alone due to a block of emotions which they are unable to share with others. From an article from the Guardian, (linked below) it is clear to see how young people can develop behavioural problems such as lying, stealing and being disobedient. This is evidence that teenagers can be deeply affected by things going on in their lives such as stresses of school. ■ http://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/sep/13/childrensservices.mentalhealth