Assignment 19: Audience in our Product

Pamela YounesJodie Foster-PiliaAbigail Menzies

Laura Cuk

Topic: Have video games evolved for the better or for the worse?

Purpose of our Documentary• What do you want to achieve in relation to your audience?We want to inform and educate mothers about the possible effects video games can have on their children in the long run.

Niche or Mass?Niche or Mass? Explanation/Justification Similar documentary comparison

Niche • Because many mothers would want to be aware of the effects video games can have on their children’s mind and body.

Lady boys

This documentary is also targeted at a niche audience, as it is targeted at those who experience gender issues i.e. transsexuals

Target audienceCategory Details ExplanationAge 21-40 Because our documentary is aimed at

mothers, and 21-40 is an age which is typical of most parents

Gender Female Because mothers are more likely than fathers be interested in the effects of video games of their kids

Social class Group B (teachers, senior managers etc.)

Because they are financially stable and therefore may spend quite a lot of money on video games, so the effects of video games would interest them

Ethnicity British The British are very much into video games, and Britain is where the documentary will be shown.

Location London

Lifestyle House wives Because they are stay at home mothers, they will be very much in tuned as to what their children are up to

Hobbies Motherly activities Watching television

If they watch television a lot they are bound to come across our documentary.

Secondary audienceCategory Details ExplanationAge 12-20 This is the target group for video games

Gender Male Stereotypically males play video games more than females and may want to find out the effects video games has on them.

Social class Group E (students) (unemployed)

This corresponds with our age category as those who are aged between 12-20 are either in education or unemployed

Ethnicity

Location

Lifestyle In school/college/university

Laid back (at home most of time)

When they want to escape student life they may resort to playing video games

If they are at home most of the time, playing video games may be a big part of their lives

Hobbies Playing video games regularly

Interested technology

People who play video games a lot, may want to be informed on the effects this could have on themBecause in the documentary we explore how technology has evolved and this may interest them

Audience relation to topicHow will your audience relate to your topic?Because some mothers will be concerned with the issues surrounding video games.

Why will they enjoy the topic?We will include public interviews of other mothers and therefore the mothers watching the documentary will be able to relate to what they are saying.

To put into today’s context, our topic is relevant/important to our audience because video games are now a huge part of the younger generation’s life and due to the advancement of technology video games are now more realistic and more addictive. This then leads to health issues such as obesity and eye problems.

Channel choice & audienceWe might put our documentary on channel 4 because channel 4 shows documentaries that are based on cultural issues in today’s society

Similar documentaries (on this channel) that we were inspired by were:• ‘My Daughter the Teenage Nudist’ as it also targets mothers

• ‘You're Killing My Son: Mum on the Run’ this documentary also targets mothers

• ‘Jo Frost: Extreme Parental Guidance’ this documentary on how violent video games affect children

This connects to our target audience because most of the documentaries on this channel targets mothers

Time on TV & audience

On Terrestrial TV, our documentary would be played at 9pm because this is when the watershed starts and there would be scenes of violence from video games as well as videos of women being sexualised in different video games.

Platform & audience

• In addition to terrestrial TV we would also make our documentary available on…

Additional platforms Connection to target audience

4od Mothers may be busy when it is shown on TV, so 4od is used as a catch-up

YouTube Secondary audience which are male may be able to find the documentary when searching for video games

Attracting your audience Construction aspects How will this attract your target

audience?Comparison to existing/inspirational documentaries

Presenter • A presenter would be able to explain and make the topic clearer to the audience

Good Hair

Music • We would use up to date, bubbly music that the target audience would be familiar with and they would be more likely to watch the documentary if it includes a song they know

Human Swarm

Use of Ken burns • Visually appealing to audience as it slowly reveals a bigger picture, keeping target audience engaged.

Riot from wrong

Montage editing • Preview of what will be shown in rest of documentary

• This creates an enigma and the target audience would want to find out more

CatfishFood unwrapped

Uses & Gratifications (McQuail)Information Personal identity Integration & social

interactionEntertainment

•Mothers may watch it to seek advice and how to deal with their children if video games play a huge role in their lives•Young males aged 16-21 may be interested on how video games can affect them in the future

• Mothers would watch this as the documentary relates to them

• would want to find out more about technology and how its affected the children.

• The ability for media products to produce a topic of conversation between other people. i.e sparks debates

• Mothers will have interaction with fellow mothers after watching this documentary.

• Mothers will discuss their own opinions and understand fellow mothers debate about the topic.

• People may want to watch our documentary to fill time

• People will learn new and interesting facts about video games, will keep audience entertained

Effects theory

Reception theoryOur audience will most probably watch our documentary in a negotiated way as they may change the meaning of our documentary to reflect their interests and positions

For example; after watching our documentary some working class mothers may not allow their children to play video games due to the possible effects it has on the body and they may not be able to afford the care their kids may need if these effects occur whereas middle class mothers may buy more video games for their children as it has they can help their children educational.