Evaluation: Question 5

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Mariya and I decided to target our film opening towards young people from the age of 15 to about 21. We chose this age range because we felt that the themes we address wouldn't be suitable for anyone under the age of 15 and would be clearly understood by people in the same age bracket as our primary character.
We did some further research using the BFI Statistical yearbook where it became clear to us that the younger generation take an interest in the thriller/horror genre.

From our further research we found that the target audience for a horror/thriller film is between the ages of 15 and 25.

"The most common reason for this is because the younger generation enjoy a thrill and adrenaline rush while watching a film that keeps them on the edge of their seats. Many younger audiences are not put off by graphic images, but are in fact drawn towards them. For example, 'The Human Centipede' (2009) is viewed and known for its unsightly imagery and theme. However, many older viewers would be put off by this."

Reference: https://www.slideshare.net/isaac97media/horror-film-target-audience Retrieved: 6th April 2017

Taking this into consideration, our film offers a tense and exciting atmosphere, full of suspense which will attract our target audience. 

 

Using the BFI Statistical site, we looked into what draws an audience to the large selection of film genres. 

The table shows that 36% of males who answered the survey under the age of 35 enjoyed watching horror and thriller films however 44% of women under the age of 35 enjoyed horror films and 45% enjoyed thriller films. The sky horror channel reported that 58% of their viewers are male. These figures show that both genders under the age of 35 enjoy watching horror/thriller films. The table also tells us that social class C2 which consists of the "
skilled working class who have below average incomes" have the highest interest in the horror/thriller genre which is an important piece of information we need to consider when we market our film



  

Looking at the table above, you can see that 52% of people aged 16-24 watch films via online streaming which is good for our film as we had the idea to use Netflix as our main platform. We can also see that there are 3% more males than females who prefer this option which meant that we know that the gender of the audience watching films on this platform is not an issue. However, since 75% of people aged 16-24 prefer watching films on DVD, Mariya and I would consider selling our film on DVD, so as to satisfy all members of our audience.

 

The picture above shows us what the general public want in a film for it to appeal to them, by asking what statement they agree with the most. Our primary character is a working class teenage girl, it is interesting to see what 16-24 year olds think about this. 1 in 3 say there should be more middle class tragedy in UK films over working class tragedy and in total a whole 52% of the young generation agree with the statement alongside 43% of a slightly older generation of 25-34 year olds. These statistics support our films choices and show that our target audience would be thrilled to watch our movie. 

Our film would be classified 15, therefore, no one under that specific age is allowed to view this movie. 

What might be included in a film rated 15:

• Strong Violence               
• Frequent Strong Language
• Discriminatory Language or Behaviour                              
• Drug Use
• Sexual Activity/ References
• Verbal References to Sex
• Sexual Nudity

I conducted a survey on Microsoft word (using the information above) so I could see what the younger generation can tolerate in a horror/thriller movie.

I found that younger viewers can tolerate most aspects of a 15 classified movie and therefore, not many changes would need to be made before the film is dispatched.