Evaluation - Who would be the audience for your media product?

The intended audience for our product is both sexes, and likely between the ages of 12 and 30. To appeal to both sexes, we used both male and female characters, and tried to keep the soundtrack and font styles ‘gender neutral’ so that they did not seem to appeal to one gender more than the other. In terms of the characters themselves, they were constructed to look relatable to both sexes, through costumes and make up (which was all ‘typical’ and ‘normal’ for British teenagers). However, there may be some members of the audience (in particular females) who may dislike the idea of a female character falling victim to a male. We considered subverting the conventions here, but eventually we decided that using conventional representations would make the genre of the film clear and would appeal to a wide general audience (in particular Mainstreamers). Originally we intended our film to be certificate 15, because our early shots showed/suggested violence. After looking on the BBFC’s website, we found that 12 and 12A rated films were allowed “moderate violence” and “no weapon that is easily accessible should be used”. For a 15 certified film “violence may be strong”. We felt from our idea that a 15 rating would be more appropriate for the planned content of our opening sequence. However, as we filmed more, and edited the sequence, many of these shots were cut out, because they did not fit in with the developing idea. When we showed our film for the first time, the feedback we received from our target audience suggested that the 15 certificate was no longer appropriate, and a 12 would be more suitable, because of the reduction in violent content. This is also beneficial for our film, because it means we can access a much larger target audience, and if we really were to make it and run it in cinemas we would be able to make a larger profit from it. In terms of psychographics, our thriller would be aimed a Mainstreamers (who chose what to consume based on its popularity and mass appeal, and also happen to be the largest group, giving us a bigger audience), Aspirers (who tend to be younger, and are very image/fashion conscious. We feel that some aspirers may want to view our thriller because it is independent, giving them a sense of individuality), and finally Explorers (who are often students, and are thrill seekers who are willing to try new things and seek excitement).