Evaluation Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

Certification

When I was originally planning the film, I gave it a certification of 15. I believe that this is still a relevant certification for the entire film, as the violence and language used are likely to become more strong, but the opening of the film on its own would be a 12A. This is because it only contains one use of bad language, although even then this is not spoken out loud, it is rather written down. Additionally to this, it contains some moderate violence, which is the reason as to why the opening could not be classified as a PG, because the violence could have an effect on children watching it at a formative stage of their lives. Whilst it doesn't glorify bullying, the opening certainly doesn't set up the simple bully and victim situation which is usually shown - instead, the characters are seen as victims of themselves, which means that the film would probably be certified as a 12A. 

 

Demographics 

The main demographic who are likely to be interested in our film are people who fall in classes between B and C2 - this is the middle class down to the skilled working class. We don't believe our film will resonate much with class A, because the gritty themes which will be explored in it will probably be alien to people who identify themselves as being upper class. On the other end of the scale, people who identify as being part of the unskilled working class and under class would probably not enjoy the film due to the characters being from the middle to upper classes - perhaps they would not feel able to relate with them. This idea is the same one which I decided on during the research and planning stage - I have always held the belief that the film will appeal to the classes in the middle, and not those at either extreme of the spectrum.

Audience Theories

A representation of the hypodermic needle theory - it suggests
that audience members will absorb any information which
they are told by a media text.

Our film uses the uses and gratifictations theory in order to explain why the majority of the audience would want to watch our product. For example, it suggests that an audience will want to use the product in order to fulfil needs which they cannot fulfil in their own life - an example of this is the bullying which is persistent throughout the clip, as most people will never be able to actually experience this within their lives. However, it also shows that the hypodermic needle theory can be applied, because our piece passively gives the audience messages about anti-bullying, and about why they should not copy the behaviour which is seen within the film.

Our Target Audience Member

Gender: Whilst the film will probably be of equal interest to both sexes, I think that certain choices we have used within the film, for example the extensive use of the male gaze theory, will mean that there will be a slightly higher percentage of men who watch the film.

Here is a photographic representation of what our
 typical target audience member could look like

Age: He is likely to be a teenager or perhaps a young adult (in the age range of 15-25), because this is the age which is represented within our film, thus meaning that the uses and gratifications theory would suggest that this will mean that he would be most interested in watching a film which is about other teenagers.

Shopping/Fashion: Our target audience member is likely to shop in high street stores such as Topman, River Island and Primark. This is because he is unlikely to want to deviate from the norm too much, but will occasionally buy clothes from charity shops or from small online boutiques, in order to buy something which is differing from his usually choices. This is reflected in his choice to watch our film, because it is a film which could quite easily be picked up by a mainstream audience, but also leans towards a niche audience for certain reasons. The film will appeal to him not only because it is niche and will give him a chance to break out of his normal horizons, but because it contains enough content which would be considered by a mainstream production company in order for it to reach him - he is not the sort of audience member who will go out of his way to find out about new independent films.

Music: He is likely to listen to is pop music, but with a taste for music which is outside of his usual boundaries as well. We have catered to this through the use of an alternative pop song in the background of the opening - whilst it contains all the signs which suggest it could be a mainstream pop song, it is not because certain features of it set it aside from the majority of other pop music. This again suggests that he will watch our film because it reflects his patterns - he likes media which has been produced in a way which could mean it could become successful with a mainstream audience, but is likely to not catch on with them.

Our film is likely to appeal to fans of Waterloo Road due
to our choice of setting. Additionally, the age of the shows
target audience is very similar to our one.

TV: He is likely to be in to documentaries aimed at youth, such as the ones with are frequently screened on BBC Three, and to a lesser extent, Channel 4. This is why he would be interested in a film which asks questions about real life issues. He is also likely to enjoy programmes which are based in school, as one reason as to why he may have chosen to watch our film is because he can relate with the school setting. An example of one of these is The Inbetweeners or Waterloo Road, as the uses and gratifications theory would suggest that he will be able to see parts of the characters within these shows as part of himself.