Evaluation Question 4

Our group’s decision was to produce a horror film and so to decide the audience for our film we ensured we used reliable data sources such as BBFC statistics as well as conducting our own research to therefore ensure we had reliable and relevant data. We found from the BBFC that our primary target audience are females under the age of 35 and the secondary target audience is that of males under the age of 35. We then also used the UK Film Council’s statistics to conclude our search for the correct target audience and the results were that the target audiences we had found were the ones we needed to be aiming our production at. This age group and mix of genders enables us to vary what we put in our production however it must appeal to both genders. The easy part of having the same age group of target audience (both primary and secondary) is that they may be into the same sort of things and (potentially) will be going through the same fazes such as going to University for example. Though because of the gender difference, ensuring that the film is appealing to the masses and making it suitable for both genders would be a main focus. Having said this, we had decided to come up with a father-daughter couple as our main characters in the production to ensure that both genders are included and are equally as important as the other. The UK Film Council’s data also stated the social class we would need to aim our film at would be that of middle class. Though this is the most common for people who like horror films, we have decided to aim our production at any social class to make sure we are not limited on our audience size. We have decided on this audience due to horror films being somewhat more niche than other categories such as action movies for example. The more niche audience entitles us to focus greater on what the audience would like but also on a budget. Because of the smaller target audience compared to other film categories we believe we are able to make a better quality production which appeals to the masses rather than make a production which only appeals to a certain population of a target audience. The fact that the group falls into the selected target audiences also makes it easier for us to deem what is suitable for the age certificate of a 15 and it also makes it easier to decide the film’s content in general as well as the storyline as we made a production suitable for those of 15 years and upwards but made it understandable and enjoyable for everyone. This entitled us to put what we would want to see in a modern horror into our production to allow us to create an effective media product which follows but also challenges conventions to keep the audience entertained and on the edge of their seat. We conducted focus groups and interviews to ensure that we knew what our target audience would want to see and not see in our media product. We interviewed a range of people from our primary and secondary target audience and of both genders to create a fair and balanced set of results in which was not biased.

The data above signifies the percentage of people that enjoy watching the genre of horror films to be 32% which is just under one third of the population. This connotes that the target audience is somewhat niche however is close to being a mainstream audience and there has been a rise in horror films being produced over the years meaning the audience is only going to get larger. This data indicates one of the factors in which why we chose to do the horror genre.

This data shows the different percentages of the target audience population in which enjoy watching horror films and thus we were able to gather both the primary and secondary target audiences for our production. We were able to gather that the primary audience was females under 35 which stood at 44% and males under 35 which was 36%. The social class is also present in this data and the C2 category had the highest percentage of 43% therefore being the main social class we aimed for, despite making our media product suitable for all classes

For deciding the film classification we took to looking at BBFC film statistics in order to gather information in which would help determine the age rating for our film. The film is

rated in relation to the primary and secondary target audiences and the themes within the film. I have selected what I consider to be an appropriate age rating of 15 for the film due to the infrequent and short scenes of horror throughout and due to the film being a psychological horror over more graphically content films which have previously been released. The age rating of 15 ensures that the audience will be mature and are not at risk from harm in contrast to that of a younger audience.

We would want to see our film released primarily at a smaller independent cinema chains as well as potentially some bigger chains such as Vue cinemas. This would entice a mixture of social classes and genders of all ages but would also focus on our main target audience due to the variety of cinemas the film would be released at. This means that the different styles of cinemas and various locations ensure that the film would be accessible to a greater audience and therefore generate good revenue but also try and boost where horror films are show as well as the quantity of horror films available.

Target Audience Member Profile

Music –

Chelsea likes most music types and finds music soothing and relaxing. However despite this and during films, she says the music has to suit to the scene to ensure the mood isn’t spoilt. The music adds good emphasis on scenes and can strongly connote a mood or emotion of a character within the scene. Music also assists in the establishing the genre of a film, especially at the start. Within horror films Chelsea says the music has to create tension or fear and she says within the Saw films the notorious instrumental song that is associated with the film is very eerie and despite not liking the music she says it’s a good example of music within a horror/psychological horror film. This therefore shows that because she doesn’t like it, the music is ‘doing its job’ in creating an unsettled tension to the films.

Films –

After having interviewed a select range of people from my target audience, I have also interviewed a singular person to ensure I can build a target audience profile, based on one person’s opinions and justifications. To do so I interviewed Chelsea, a 16 year old student. Chelsea fits into the primary target audience of females under the age of 35. I interviewed Chelsea and asked her about relative media information such as that of her music likes and dislikes, her preferred TV shows and choice of film genres. This will help me to understand the psychographics of my target audience.

Chelsea mainly likes action films and thrillers however also enjoys to sit down and watch horror films, though predominantly prefers psychological horrors. She likes actions due to the fast paced continuous scenes whereas thrillers appeals to her due to the edge of the seat factor, much like horror films. She also enjoys horror films because they usually have a lot of audience interaction and by this the audience has to prepare to be scared and within psychological horrors the audience has to think for themselves sometimes and so adds suspense and tension to see if they are correct. Some examples of the films she likes include; Die Hard, Saw and Mission Impossible.

TV –

Chelsea likes a mixed range of television shows from Hollyoaks to The Walking Dead (TWD). She likes the story line to each and enjoys watching them unfold and is eagerly awaiting the next episode once the current one has finished. She enjoys the suspense in each, particularly TWD and she enjoys the zombie aspect within the programme. She also will occasionally watch other TV shows that catches her eye as she is flicking through finding something to watch. This signifies that she is not restricted to the genre of programme she watches though clearly ha favourites.

Other Interests –

Chelsea is an avidly keen aspiring amateur photographer and enjoys spending time with others because she enjoys their company. She also enjoys spending time with animals as they can be quite therapeutic and are good company.

Due to the nature of my film and the content within it, I think it would be best and most suitable to advertise my film during the night time and mainly after 6 o’clock when the above programmes are on. I would aim to have short adverts around this time to create enigma and get the audience of the programmes to wonder what is being advertised but then after the 9 o’clock watershed I would advertise a longer (roughly 30 second advert) feature of the film to ensure the audience knows what is being marketed. I believe it would be wise to advertise the film on mainstream TV channels to ensure the mass of the population see it because this will mean that more people will become aware of the film. I would also aim to advertise on social media sites to gain an even bigger potential audience and ensure I draw-in as many possible people within the primary and secondary target audience. This will therefore also spread through word of mouth, a very effective but also free advertising method which is carried out by the target audience themselves without knowing.

I would consider numerous release dates. During summer would be good as there are the summer holidays for many students and people take time off work and therefore many people from my target audience would be able to view the film however I find this to be quite a mainstream release date. I would consider a Halloween release date as typically speaking the holiday would more than likely signify the release of more horrors and more people would be willing to view a horror film, even those who are not considered the typical target audience. But much like the first release date this is relatively mainstream however my final release date breaks the convention of horror film release dates. I would want to see more releases of horrors around the Christmas and New Year’s periods as this is significantly different to many mainstream horror films. I would create a very different atmosphere to the typical celebrations that would be occurring around this time however it is risky as the main focus for many would be Christmas and New Year’s and the festivities that go with them. There would be more money spent on these holidays rather than a film at a cinema

therefore this release date would be a gamble. Therefore in conclusion to this I would option for the release of my film during the October month, ready for Halloween as more people would be willing to see the film, therefore gaining a greater market share.

I found by interviewing a member of the target audience I was able to identify clearly the best options for my advertising strategies and what my target audience most probably likes and has in common. From this interview I have been able to obtain much needed information to ensure I have the best possible advertising and release dates.