Target Audience (Written by Ettie, decided as a group)

Today as a group we decided on our target audience for our thriller. Here is what we decided:

• Our audience would be in social classes B, C1, C2 and D. We decided on this range because these groups would have some disposable income, even just a little as cinema tickets are not overly expensive (£5 av.). It would also appeal to these groups as the actors would appear to be of a similar class therefore the audience would be able to relate to them, therefore making them feel more engaged in the thriller. The costume also worn by the actor would also be typical of these middle classes too. 
• We decided that our target audience would be aged 15-24. This is because this age group is thought to be most interested in the thriller genre. It would also appeal to this age group as the actors would be of a similar age range, including the opening. 
• Therefore we decided that the certificate rating of our film would be 15 (bbfc) as this best fits in with our desired audience age range.  
• We think that we would have roughly a 50/50 split on the proportion of male/female viewers. We think this because even though thrillers typically appeal to male viewers more, the use of a female actor at the start may draw in some more female viewers. As the female character is represented as weak and innocent, this may make female viewers feel maternal, therefore attracting them to watch the film. 
• Finally we have referred the the 'uses and gratification theory' to denote what our film aims to do with the audience:

1) To entertain: This is because the thriller aims to entertain the audience, but also acts as a type of escapism where the audience could 'forget about their daily troubles' whilst watching.

2) To identify: We felt that this theory fitted with our thriller because the actors would be relateable to the audience (similar class/age). This gives a greater sense of realism and engages the audience.

3)Social interaction: This also fits our thriller film, as the opening creates enigma and suspense for the audience. This means that the audience will feel engaged in the movie, and may even talk about it to others.

Updated - Natalie Sergeant

On Pearl and Dean we where looking at other movies to see what would be the best target audience for our own movie. We felt that Magic Magic was the best comparison to our own movie as this is a thriller has elements of a girl losing her mental faculties, where in ours we have a girl who is discovering life changing information that can have strong effects on her mentally. As it has a female lead actor, same as ours, it has attracted more female viewers, we see this having the same effect as our own thriller, though it still being a 50/50 split as there is only a difference of 10% between each gender. Even though this movie is a R18 rated higher than us, we believe it will still attract the same amount of aged people as Magic Magic.