The Target Audience

Researching the Target Audience

Appeal of a Classic Narrative

I think that when we think about our target audience, it is easy to imagine that we are appealing to teenage girls primarily because of the genre of our film, which is a chick flick / teen drama hybrid. this seems to indicate quite a clear target audience, but we are also aware that these days, demographics are more blurred than they used to be and our film might also appealto older women and some males.

On the whole, though, I think our target audience probably is the yong female one you would probably think of for this kind of film, so it is more interesting to think about why our target audience is drawn to this kind of film.

One of the main reasons I think is that our genre provides a classic narrative which is always popular and has a timeless appeal.

Examples:

 

Cinderella: A handsome prince rescues the modestly beautiful hidden girl from her miserable life, living as a servant with her evil step-mother and sisters and lives happily ever after.

Pretty woman: A woman with no real happy future falls in love with Wall Street elite and they live happily ever after.
 

50 first dates: All-time favourite Adam Sandler spends 50 dates getting to know the same girl over and over again before they fall in love and set sail to sea together.

High school Musical: Heart throb Zac Effron falls for nerdy (but obviously gorgeous) Vanessa Hudgens and live a happy popular love life together.

- When it comes to chick flicks especially ones catered to the teenage group, the main appeal to the target audience is to see a variation of the classic cinderella narrative.

This is because at an age where social occasions and peer groups can be daunting, it is a kind of wish fulfillment to see the unlikely outsider win the guy and live happily ever after. This narrative offers the promise that all of us can have a happy ending, however unlikely it may seem.

With our teenage drama / chick-flick hybrid genre we are expanding to a slightly wider audience. Although our film is using a teenage cast we will be using comedy to enhance the viewer’s experience and we expect to attract as well an adult audience who are often attracted to seemingly teen films because they offer a nostalgic appeal and their narratives are timeless. We also think the comedy might help to attract a male audience as it makes the romantic element less emphasised.

This approach is not without its critics:

 

‘Why should a girl not be allowed to watch chick flicks…Because they mess with our heads. Simply, they corrupt our minds and make us believe in fairy tales. Watching chick flicks makes us (aka women) believe in romance, true love and happy endings.’ Says the author Ana Naddoush on http://ananaddoush.net/2011/01/09/why-girls-should-not-be-allowed-to-watch-chick-flicks/
 

I disagree with this statement purely because chick-flicks do not mess with our heads. Yes, they are unrealistic and involve little social realism like the real world but chick-flicks in my eyes are made to amuse and entertain us. Perhaps turn a situation we have lived into something funny rather than a mistake. Chick-flicks can be seen as an indoctrinating genre making woman feel like a prince charming should fall from the sky. But I believe it is more of a physiological feeling that helps us deal with our love life and make us escape the realism of love in the ‘real world’  and the target audience are well aware that what they watch is a fantasy.

 

This is because our kind of film has social realism as its direct opposite:

We are appealing to our audience (mainly teenage girls) on a different level. We are offering them a romantic fantasy that they already know is not reality. Social realism is not criticised for 'messing with minds' and making a young audience feel life is not worth living, so the same understanding of escapism should be applied to our genre.

The Target Audience

I have carried out some research into target audience. I started with the official definition for my genre above and then looked to see how our plans for our film would work towards attracting this audience.

Our genre is one of the easiest to classify in terms of target audience. It is clearly aimed at a female audience and because we have some cross-over with teen drama, it is also clear that we are mainly going to be targeting teenagers. Therefore our main aim with audience is to make sure we provide the key features that teenage girls expect to see in these films -  humour, interesting casting, up-to-date clothes and music, an accessible plot that has some kind of twist on a well known theme etc.

Photos from Filming Day

Researching Target Audience

Here are my initial notes around target audience. In some ways there doesn't seem much to say as there is such an obvious target group for our film - chick flicks are clearly aimed at females, and as we have a,lot of cross-over with teen drama, we are aiming at the younger end of the market. Previously successful films show that this is a lucrative market to aim at and that films in this genre can be successful.

However, when we started thinking about it more, it did occur to us that older women also watch chick flicks (the 'Twilight moms' have become well known, for example) and the comnedy element of these films mean that they can make good date movies and also have something to offer a male audience. Therefore although we expect our main audience to be younger women, we don't want to exclude any potential audience from our thinking. Humour is the easiest way to widen the appeal of this kind of film and there has been a rise in romance-based films aimed more at men (Knocked Up) because of the kind of humour involved. We need to make sure there is a comic slapstick moment early in our sequence. This article suggests many romance-based films appeal to men:

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/15-Romantic-Movies-Men-Should-Love-16998.html

so we do not wish to exclude a male target audience.

Concerns before filming

Concerns before filming

It is only a few days now until we film and there are some worries and concerns that have been raised.

I am concerned that our storyboard is not detailed enough and we won't be able to achieve every shot from it because of practical difficulties we have not anticipated e.g. lighitng issues, weather etc. I hope that we have remembered to include every shot that needs to be in, and that when it comes to editing we don’t find that we have missed big chunks of the filming out. I also think that this might be evident as we film and we will be able to address any real issues.

We have had a few problems with the cast. Some have said that they can’t make the day of filming due to other school commitments; we are hoping that there will be people that we will be able to ask before the filming. It will hopefully work because the extras we need to use will be in their normal school uniform, which means costume won’t be a problem and so we are only asking people for a time commitment.

Another worry is that only two people from the cast have seen one of the two houses that we are filming in. Hopefully they are suitable rooms in terms of the  decor being right for the different personalities of the two characters. I hope that the lighting in both houses is suitable for filming as we know from watching previous coursework that this can be a problem.

Researching the Target Audience

This is the mindmap I created when first thinking about target audience. I tried to consider the usual demographics that I saw in my research - age, gender and class. Although I have put down some ideas in my mindmap, I actually found all of these categories more problematic. It is becoming more unusual to consider class as a real audience issue as the boundaries between social classes and their tastes are now very blurred. However, I do think there is a class issue associated with our kind of genre. The teen drama high school setting is often represented as a very snobbish environment and there is usually an elite group who are elite as much for their material status as their characteristics. "Gossip Girl" is a good example of this, but it is common in teen drama and in chick flicks. The main character is often from a more disadvantaged background and therefore the audience is more aligned with them. Therefore I think the target audience is probably middle class enough to enjoy seeing the elite get their come uppance but not very working class where the issues seem irrelevant.

In terms of age, teen dramas are obviously aimed at teenagers, but this is also not as simple as it sounds as adults often like teem drama too as the issues they tend to look at are universal. Twilight has a big following of older women and I would imagine that a film like ours will attract women of all ages, whether of the same age as the case or older but watching nostalgically.

I think the gender of our audience is the most complicated so I did some further research:

This article by Owen Glebiberman states that it's too easy to say that men don’t really like chick-flicks/romantic comedies.  It suggests that the gender difference is that women like cheesy/ unrealistic romantic comedies/chick flicks anyway despite seeing they are bad, whereas men only like 'good' ones. I disagree with thi.s I think most women enjoy chick-flick because they enjoy watching situations that may at times be exaggerated but are situations they can relate to. I also think watching other females struggling or overcoming these situations makes women feel better about their own lives, therefore making a chick-flick a comfortable/ enjoyable thing for a woman to watch. I also think that it is unfair to suggest that male viewers demand quality - there are many poor films of all genres out there that command large audiences, so men can't be that demanding across the board. However, I would say that our genre does have a more direct appeal to women as they are more clearly targeted and therefore the issues raised are easier to relate.

This blog states that women should not watch chick flicks because they ‘corrupt our minds and make us believe in fairy-tales’. I understand what the blogger means - these films do sell the idea that a happy ending is all about finding the right guy. However, I do not believe this is the case; it is obvious in most chick-flicks that things are exaggerated to make it ‘film commercial’, I think watching chick-flicks is like ‘therapy’ for women showing that problem can be resolved. The only problem with chick flicks, which commenters have stated in the blog, is that women can compare themselves to the characters. That is why as a group we have decided to make our chick-flick as near reality as it can be, setting it in a state school in a town, just so the viewer can picture themselves in these situations rather than wonder why there life is not like that. I think it is an over-exaggeration that ‘women should never watch chick-flicks’ I don’t think it is damaging to society, and chick-flicks can be comical and enjoyable. The point is that there is a huge and obvious gap between these films and real life, which the viewer would have to work hard to overlook.

Setting our chick-flick in a high-school attracts a large age range for a viewer. Someone aged 12 and into their teenage years will be able to relate to the daily stresses of high-school, but and older viewer would have experienced high-school too and could equally understand the themes featured in them.

The Film Industry

Research into the Film Industry

Film institutions

Films institutions' most important aim is to make money. From all the films that are made they try and make the most profit possible. They have different stages of the film process that helps to maximise its ability to make money. This is through its production, distribution and marketing.

Production

Production companies are in charge of making the initial processes happen and get the resources and people to actually make the film.



Receive script- They get the script that needs to be made into a film. Their job is to make the job more commercial. This makes the film easier to sell to the public and is more audience friendly.

Raise money- The production company is then in charge of trying to raise money so that they have enough to actually make the film. They sometimes go to big organisations to give them some money. This then means that the organisations have shares in the film and get a percentage of the profit that the film makes. If not enough money can be made to be put into the film then the film cannot be made.

Employing- Their next job is to employ the people to make the film. Directors and director of photography are employed first and then the rest of the cast and crew. Along with this they have to get a location for the films and get the props and equipment that they will need to shoot the film.

 

Distribution

The distribution company is in charge of the part of the process that get the film out into the public.The film comes from the production company and then it is the distribution companies that are in charge of making sure that people watch it. They do this by ‘distributing’ the film. This can be done in various ways. The most common ones are by releasing in the cinema, on TV  DVDs or on the internet. The more people that watch the film, the more money the film makes. For a series of successful films, they also tend to bring out box sets.

Marketing

The marketing for films is one of the most important parts of the film industry. The marketing team have to ensure that people go and see the film and buy the merchandise and everything relating to the film. they try and do this by creating trailers, posters, and clips that try and make the target audience want to see the film. this is important because if no one was drawn in to see the film then no money would be made from it. If the marketing is bad then the whole project would be a waste.

Research Into Film Industry

Research Into The Film Industry

 

Every film starts with its production. A film producer comes up with an idea, or buys the rights to an idea off someone, and gives it to writers, who can then change and adapt the idea into a sell-able  commercial story. The writer would then create the script to go with the story.

They also have to raise the funds in order to be able to shoot/create the film. The producers can do this by approaching large companies who can back the film; the producers agree to give those companies a percentage of the profits if they invest in the project. Some of these companies might be Coca Cola, McDonalds, etc. 

Production Companies:

Working Title Productions are a British Production Company, most well known for films like Nanny McPhee, Notting Hill, Hot Fuzz and Bridget Jones’ Diary. Most of their films are set in Britain, using British actors, yet people all over the world watch their films.

Eon Productions are a British Production Company, most well known for producing the James Bond films – they've actually only made 1 non James Bond film – so although they are quite small, family owned and based in London, their films attract and interest millions of people all over the world.

 

Warner Brothers is a massive American film production company, and are responsible for the creation of many well-known films, such as The Hangover, The Looney Tunes, The Hobbit, and Journey To The Centre Of The Earth. They also own over 7 subsidiary companies, whilst still being a subsidiary company themselves, owned by Time Warner. Warner Brothers produce many films each year, sometimes on half of other companies, and their audience is worldwide. 

The experts who know all about films are hired in this stage, the Directors, the Crew, and the Cast is determined. This can take a long as time as the Producers have to make sure that they find people who are right to play the part in their film, and they may have a lot of choice, especially if they are a large production company.

Martin Scorsese, famous film Director
 

The locations for filming, props and costumes are all sorted out in the Production stage as well. This can also take a long time as scouts are sent out so that the right location can be found, permission to film is often needed as it may get in the way of everyday life. For example, in the making of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1,  part of Piccadilly Circus in London was shut off to the public, a red bus, an ambulance and multiple police cars were used to create the scene.
 

The Distribution then begins.

The producers can agree with distribution companies, who will be able to ensure that the film trailers/posters etc are seen by the masses, and so hopefully that will create a large profit, a percentage of which will go to the distribution companies.
 

Embassy Productions, a Distribution Company

 

The distribution companies then negotiate with the Cinema companies how many screenings of that film will be shown, if the film is predicted to be a huge success then the distribution companies will most likely have an easier time securing the screening times than other companies competing with other movies.

They also set a date for when the film is going to be released, which can be different from country to country, and the company also handles things like the box sets, DVDS, merchandise, and the films availability on online/tv libraries such as Sky and Netflix. 

                                                   Batman Begins Box Set, Limited Edition

Batman Merchandise

                                                                       Sky Anytime

Netflix

Marketing:

One of the most popular methods are posters/billboards, as these can easily be printed in numerous languages, and can be put in many different places so that the public sees them, like in:

Magazines:

Billboards:

Bus Stops:

Cinemas:

                                                      'Friends With Benefits' Poster in Spanish

By having the films being shown in different languages creates a lot more profit, and having advertisement at places like Bus Stops is really effective in showing masses of people what the film is, who's playing the characters, when it's out etc, because people aren't on the move, and have a bigger chance of seeing and reading what the advertisement says. Similarly with Billboards, if people are stuck in traffic, its something to catch their interest, and people can see it from a quite a distance away, so that increases the number of people that are viewing it each day. 

Researching the Film Industry

Please see the Powerpoint I have created and uploaded to slideshare:

<iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/15661389" width="476" height="400" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Researching The Film Industry

Researching the Film Industry

Film Institutions – Production

Most often, the production company for films and television provides the money, and thus sets the budget, and may also make decisions on what director, and actors can be hired. Budget often makes other decisions possible or impossible. A low budget film may not be able to be filmed in a remote location, for example. Outside investors will also be found to set a higher budget.
 

The company may also come attached with certain actors, directors, or film editors and photographers. Often this is the case when it belongs to a major studio, like Touchstone Pictures, which belongs to Disney. Directors who have contracts with Touchstone are more likely to be offered jobs produced by Touchstone.

Some examples of production companies are:

-  Warner Bros. Pictures:

- Walt Disney Pictures:

- Touchstone Pictures:

- Paramount Pictures:

Production Companies are often owned or under contract with film studios, entertainment companies or motion picture companies, who act as the production companies’ partner or parent company. This has become known as the ‘studio system’. Evidently, many jobs come with Production Companies. Some of these include:

Director, Assistant director, Casting directors, Studio manager, Production manager, Director of photography, Production sound, Choreographer, Gaffer (production sound), Art director, Costume designer, Make-up and designers, Story board artist, Screen play artists.

-Development - Screenwriting, Viability testing, Gather resources.

-Pre-production - Logistical and creative planning, rehearsals and tests, fabrication of art.

-Production - Execution (film is made).

-Post-production - Editing, sound design, visual effects and titles, mastering.

-Distribution - Marketing and delivery.

Mark Waters

Mark Waters is a famous and successful producer and film director of numerous block buster chick-flick films. He has produced films such as Freaky Friday and The Spiderwick Chronicles. Each one of these films fit well into our genre as the genre he focuses on is chick-flick and his main fan base and niche market revolves around teenagers. He is also known for producing films such as, Mean Girls and 500 Days of Summer. We would be likely to choose Mark Waters as our producer additionally because, his films reach other countries and all go to the cinema. This means talk is easily generated about his films and profit is highly likely.

Our kind of film has a global appeal and therefore we would be looking for a widescale distribution even though we would be a small and unknown production company. Having a well known director would help with this.

Film institutions – Distribution

Columbia Pictures, 20^th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures are all examples of film distribution companies. Film Distribution involves launching and sustaining films in the marketplace. Film Distributors must connect each film they release with the widest possible audience and encourage an audience to see the film in money spending ways.

Examples of films and their distribution companies

For our specific genre we would need to choose a certain Production Company relevant and successful with our genre as they all specialise in certain areas/genres. Our film is a chick-flick teenage drama film with mild humour so it would have to be advertised in a way that would attract a solid audience. This film is a typical film that would be suitable for the cinema and later on in the process on the television. The film will deal with teenage and adult dilemmas but be conveyed in a younger generation’s point of view making it appeal to a wide range of people. An example of a possible distribution company we could use is Universal Pictures. Although Universal Pictures produce numerous films across the world and of various genres it has its fair share of producing successful Chick-Flicks. They are one of the most famous and successful production companies in the word and perform very well. They fit perfectly into our genre and have produced great popular films (fitting into our genre) such as: She’s The Man, Definitely Maybe and American Pie.

Another possible producer that is worth considering for our genre would be Paramount. They produced films that fit perfectly into our specific teenage chick-flick genre by producing films such as Clueless, Grease and The Virgin Suicides which each fit perfectly into our genre suggesting that our film could be successful with this Production Company because of their expertise with chick-flicks.

Film institutions – Marketing and Promotion

Posters

Posters around busy streets on buses and in tube and bus stations are the key to regional, national and finally universal promotion. Posters reveal the picture of (usually) the cover of the future DVD that will be released after the film has been in through the cinema process. On the poster it will includes some of the main characters’ names, the main characters will always be on the cover to attract fans, the title of the film in bold and fancy font always linking to the themes and conventions of the film, a catch phrase I.e: Twilight catch phrase was ‘The forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest’ which again links into the film and finally the small print and release date which will stand out to immediately generate an audience to plan their viewings.

Trailers

Trailers have become another one of the best ways to promote films universally and generate gossip about the film and therefore spread the word around. Trailers although expensive to make and display they are worth the gossip they accomplish. They are ultimately teasers of the film which may include in our case funny and dramatic moments that happen throughout the film. They are all pieced together to the final 2 minute final piece and are shown on television during adverts which is a worldwide product and also in cinemas before watching a film. Trailers therefore are viewed by a large proportion of the world in which the media get involved and start gossip shows, mention it on the radio and perhaps even write small critics in some magazines before the release date. Therefore, trailers are a great way of getting a large audience’s attention and support.