Evaluation Question 5: How did you attract/address your audience? From our research right at the beginning of the course, after doing a questionnaire we decided that our target audience would be between the ages of 15-21. We aimed our opening at thrill seekers who enjoyed gruesome scenes, scary characters, paranormal activity etc. Our target audience are young, modern and social and like to be involved in the current popular culture. Here is how we attracted our audience.
Age As our target audience are within the ages 15-21, our two actors are 17 & 18. If we were to have used actors around the age of 40, our target audience would not have been interested as they would not be able to relate to the characters. Relationships Incorporating the storyline of a relationship gone wrong attracted our target audience as not many horror films are based on this. The current horror films are based on possessed young children e.g : Insidious, The Possession, Orphan, Sinister etc. Our storyline is original and can also act as a warning to the younger half of our audience that you never really know anyone. Although our film is an exaggerated version of an obsessive relationship it is still a warning that people like that do exist. Location Our opening is set in South Norwood Lake Park, which is a park which a lot of our target audience has probably been to. This would attract our audience as it would give them a sense of involvement and excitement to know a film has been filmed in a location they have been before. Also, the film being set in South London will obviously attract our audience as it is where they are from. Films such as Kidulthood, Adulthood, Anuvahood and Attack the Block were all very popular among South London teenagers as they were relatable, realistic and understandable. It is the same concept with our opening. Clothing The clothing our character Sarah is wearing attracts our audience as they are items of clothing our youth is popular with such as the Airmaxe’s she was wearing. The familiarity within the audience will once again make the film more relatable and realistic. Also, it is guaranteed our target audience own similar or the same items of clothing as either Danny or Sarah which will cause an attraction. Narrative Unlike other movies, our film jumps straight into the action. This would attract our audience as they are young people who want to be excited immediately. They are easily bored so a slow and calm opening wouldn’t interest them. Jumping straight into the action builds up tension and excitement within the audience and makes them want to continue to watch the movie to find out why Sarah was being chased. The chase scene creates an enigma to the audience and the lack of dialogue further confuses them as they do not understand exactly what is happening.
Representation In our opening, Sarah represents a young girl who has got herself mixed up with the wrong people, causing her life to be put in danger. It is a very common convention within films to have a character that has fallen into trouble, so we decided to use it in our opening. It is an easy aspect to relate to, maybe not in the exact same way but in one way or another. This is why we decided to use it, to relate to people in our audience who have been involved in a similar situation. Being able to relate to a film creates an attachment between the audience and the film and causes them to remember it.