Opening
Sequence- Description of Target Audience
Our opening sequence must have a target audience so that it
attracts specific people that will gain something from the sequence. This
post will be discussing our decided target audience in detail.
Age:
• 15-30
• If the film was to be completed and shown in cinemas we would
give it a certificate rating of 15 because it would be a horror film
containing some graphic images but not as bad as the likes of Hostel for
example, therefore we've started the age range at 15 as this is the age where
groups of friends can go to the cinema by themselves and watch films of a 15
rating- boys an girls tend to go out as a large group to watch horror films
thus by starting our age at 15, we are more likely to reach out to a younger
target audience who can relate to the characters In our opening sequence.
• We finished the age range at 30 because we felt that at this age
people might start to grow out of 'going to the cinema to be scared'- at
this age people tend to start getting married, settling
down and having children therefore their more likely to go to
the cinema to see a family friendly film or might prefer to buy
a DVD and sit in and watch it rather than go
out.
Gender:
• We decided to target the film at both boys and girls. We don't feel
that it's necessary to target one gender group because horror films can be open
to anyone who likes to watch them
• Some people might say horror films are mainly aimed at boys due to the
violent, dark nature that occurs within horror films however we're using a
female actor in our opening sequence which could appeal more to a female
audience than male.
Social Demographic:
• The audience demographic for our opening sequence is mainly working
class male and females of a White British ethnicity aged 15-30. This
demographic is open to interpretation as the character possibly
starring in our opening sequence is of an Afro-Caribbean origin therefore
people of this ethnicity are likely to watch the film too due to familiarity.
• The socio-economic status of the target audience for our opening
sequence is E, D, C1, C2.
• The type of occupation our audience could have is likely to be
low-skilled jobs such as admin or supervisory jobs because these people are
more likely to have the time to go out to the cinema or sit indoors and watch a
film.
• We chose to aim the film at a White British audience because the film
will be produced by us and we are British and will also contain British actors
therefore could appeal more to this group of people. On the other hand, British
people often watch films made by American institutions and featuring American
actors therefore this film can be targeted at a western audience.
Hobbies/Interests/Style/Personality:
• The people who will come to watch our opening sequence are likely to
be thrill-seekers and people who get a buzz when watching a horror film-
they enjoy being scared or find it entertaining when other people get
scared.
• They either become intrigued in the horror film or use the
horror film as a source of entertainment because what they are witnessing
doesn't scare them.
• They would have an interest in horror films/horror and paranormal
documentaries/ TV dramas with sinister plots.
• The younger audience would engage in typical teenage activities
such as partying, going out with friends, sleeping, shopping and
watching TV.
• The people that would watch our opening sequence are likely to
be of a mainstream style or potentially the other end of the scale:
punk/rock/gothic style.
Audience Theory:
• Young and Rubicam created a table to help them categorise audiences
based on their personalities. For our target audience we have chose 'The
Mainstream' because lots of people enjoy horror films (it's a popular genre
choice if you're sitting in with your mates and no ones home or snuggled
up on the sofa with a boyfriend/girlfriend) and these people
will go regardless of how they feel so that they feel like they
fit in and are able keep up with what everyone else is doing. The Mainstreamers respond
to big established brands therefore if a new horror film comes out made by
a well known film company/director with famous actors in it, they're likely to
go and see this film.
• We also suggested that our audience are part of 'The Struggler'
category. It's typical of people to lounge
about watching films, particularly horror films because they allow people to
escape from ordinary life.
Following on from this, looking at the Uses and
Gratifications theory, horror films suggest that our audience enjoy products
which offer them opportunities to escape; our opening sequence will do this by
allowing the audience to watch something that doesn't come normal to them, it
is unordinary and fictional therefore they forget about their
everyday lives.
Additionally people
might watch horror films as a form of entertainment. If people don't get
emotionally affected by a horror film they might find it amusing and
funny instead, therefore people who are seeking entertainment would
go to see our film.
By Chelsie, bethanie, Alix and rebecca
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