EVALUATION Q2a: How does your product engage with audiences?

EVALUATION Q2a - HOW DOES YOUR PRODUCT ENGAGE WITH AUDIENCES?

 "Perceptions of the requirements of the target market, whether it is audiences or middlemen like distributors, exert a profound influence on film content and the film types from which content is drawn."

- Blood Money by Richard Nowell (ch1. p27)

In this post I will discuss the key points about audiences, as well as the slasher audience. I will explain the target audience for my film and how my product engages with my specific audience. 

For a creative approach, I have made a parody of WIRED's Autocomplete Interview, where I answer questions about my new film. My script is based off of the points I have made below.

I have analysed various audience theories; the hypodermic needle, Katz and Blumler's Uses and Gratifications (UGT), Hall's Reception Theory, the four-quadrant, and O'Reilly's Web 2.0. 

Uses and Gratifications (UGT):

If an individual has a certain need, they will search for a media product to fulfil it. If this product gratifies their need, they will continue consuming the product. However, if it doesn't, they will search for another product until their need is gratified. 

There are 5 different needs; information, emotions, personal identification, social interaction, and escapism.

My in-depth post is linked here.

Reception Theory:

Reception theory is an active audience theory, saying there are three types of readings, or meanings created by the audience: preferred reading, negotiated/contested reading , and oppositional reading.

My in-depth post is linked here. 

Four Quadrant: 

A four quadrant film refers to a film that appeals to all four major demographics or “quadrants”, these are; male, female, young (under 25), and old (over 25). 

My in-depth post is linked here.

Web 2.0:

Web 2.0 (O'Reilly), explains how the internet is driven by users through digitisationand technological accessibility, disrupting industries and converging the lines between producerand consumer (prosumer). Web 2.0 moves from a top-down model like the hypodermic needleand creates a two- way flow. User Generated Content (UGC) is an example of this, as consumersproduce content that they feel is not gratifying (UGT) their needs. Engaging with audiences and being able to directly promote and upload content allows indie companies to have a greater success and not rely on the traditional theatrical distribution.  

Digitisation, Disruption and Convergence:
As technology develops, production, distribution, and exhibition are becoming more affordable and accessible, as anyone is able to create content, such as me and Sasha that used simple and accessible technologies to create our film. 

This simplification of technology creates a convergence; the line between producer and consumer blurs and they are an active audience (prosumers). Self-distribution is also an easier option due to streaming and uploading platforms, (Youtube, Vimeo).

This means that a film like ours with a micro-budget, is more likely to receive distribution. 

The disruption caused by streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon, means that films are released directly to consumers without having theatrical releases. 

Below are some of my audience and industry research examples: 

Audiences and Classifications:

My in-depth post is linked here. 

There are two main types of audiences; mainstream and niche. A mainstream audience focuses on appealing to the largest market possible. Often, a four-quadrant audience is targeted; male, female, young and old. A niche audience is also known as an arthouse audience. A niche audience focuses on targeting a small group with a specific interest. 

When analysing films throughout my blog, I have mainly focused on BBFC (UK) and MPAA (US) age ratings. From my research, I have noticed that higher budget films receive lower age ratings, compared to indie films that receive higher ones. 

Horror Certifications: 

My in-depth post is linked here. 

BBFC Horror Certifications by Laura Fagan

Box Office Analysis :

This blogpost and this blogpost cover a detailed box office analysis of horror films. 

Audience Research Survey: 

The in-depth post for the survey is linked here.

Target Audience: 

The genre of the film is a teen slasher, the post analysing the genre conventions is linked here.  

Age: 

"If you get the audience to identify with young teens in trouble and you do a knife movie, its always going to work." 

- Don Borchers, Horror Producer (BM CH1. P18)

The primary target is 15-24+, as the film genre is a teen slasher, there are specific conventions of the genre, which primarily appeal to teenagers. The genre follows specific character archetypes that are usually teenagers, or in their early 20s. The circumstances of the narrative, that usually revolve around school, house parties, and underage drinking or sex, allow for a teenage audience to personally identify with the characters. 

My film opening narrative focuses on teenagers going to a party, and the next day at school. The characters focus on typical teen problems such as relationships, friends, and school. This allows the primary audience to identify themselves within the characters, and appeal to them. 

My secondary target age is 25-44+. To appeal to this age group, our full film would include older actors in the roles of parents, teachers, or police. This was used in the films: Cherry Falls (2000), Halloween (1978), and Scream (1992). 

Gender: 

My primary target is females, specifically due to the female protagonists of the film, and my inspiration from Jennifer's Body (2009) and Heathers (1998). 

After my audience survey, I found women to be less interested in horror, and the slasher genre, but found female targeted horror films appealing. The main reason women found slasher unappealing, was due to the negative portrayal of female characters in the film, something I am attempting to avoid by blurring character tropes.

However, the horror genre is usually evenly split by audiences, as seen in this survey by morbidlybeautiful. 

This shows the importance of character representation for a secondary male audience. I am doing this by including male characters, and narrative enigma around the identity of the killer. 

Class: 

My aim is to appeal to all class audiences. However, I am using certain techniques to specifically cater to certain groups.

Slasher films are typically viewed as pop-culture, and cater to a C1C2DE audience. As our film is not social realist, or revolving around working class characters, like the Warp film Tyrannosaur (2011), our characters would belong to the C1C2 group. The accents in the film are international and easily understood, and don't denote any specific regions, further breading the appeal. 

To appeal to a highbrow or arthouse, ABC1 audience, we are relying on the use of intertextual references, as the films referenced are considered to be horror cult classics. 

Nationality:

The characters of the film have international accents, mixing between British and American. This broadens the audience appeal to the international and specifically American market, as the accents are clearly understood, a technique used by (the subsidiary of vertically integrated conglomerate, Universal) Working Title. To avoid a limited appeal or difficulty understanding an accent, often the case with indie company, Warp's films, I have avoided using any actors with strong regional accents. 

All the characters in my opening are Caucasian, which broadens the commercial appeal and is commonly used in Working Title films. However, if I was making a feature length film, I would include characters of other ethnic backgrounds. 

Sexuality: 

The film opening follows a heterosexual couple Norman and Marion, and Mandy jokes about Laurie not having a boyfriend, a heteronormative assumption. The main reason for not including an LGBT+ character in the opening is due to stereotyping, as I thought a 2 minute opening would negatively portray the character, and continue the "murdered minority" trope, or the but this would included if it was a feature length film.