Thinking about your audience

Thinking about your

AudienceFoundation Production

All media texts are made with

an audience in mind and

your production should be

no exception

All media texts are made with

an audience in mind and

your production should be

no exception

Do you think there

would be an

audience for your

film?

If not no one would

finance the

production.

You must know and

find your audience.

You must know and

find your audience.

As a media producer you

need to know thingslike the…

• age

As a media producer you

need to know thingslike the…

• age

• gender

As a media producer you

need to know thingslike the…

• age

• gender

• class

As a media producer you

need to know thingslike the…

• age

• gender

• class

• ethnicity

As a media producer you

need to know thingslike the…

• age

• gender

• class

• ethnicity

• location

As a media producer you

need to know thingslike the…

• age

• gender

• class

• ethnicity

• location

• income bracket

This is called the audienceDemographic

Once you know this

you can make sure

your text is going to

appeal to your

audienceDemographic

You also need to

consider how your

audience is going to

react to or engage

with your text

You also need to

consider how your

audience is going to

react to or engage

with your text

We can try to predict

reaction by considering…

We can try to predict

reaction by considering…• audience engagement

We can try to predict

reaction by considering…• audience engagement

• audience expectations

We can try to predict

reaction by considering…• audience engagement

• audience expectations

• audience foreknowledge

We can try to predict

reaction by considering…• audience engagement

• audience expectations

• audience foreknowledge

• audience identification

We can try to predict

reaction by considering…• audience engagement

• audience expectations

• audience foreknowledge

• audience identification

• audience placement

We can try to predict

reaction by considering…• audience engagement

• audience expectations

• audience foreknowledge

• audience identification

• audience placement

• audience research

We can try to predict

reaction by considering…• audience engagement

• audience expectations

• audience foreknowledge

• audience identification

• audience placement

• audience research

A text has no

meaning until it is

read or decoded by

an audience

A text has no

meaning until it is

read or decoded by

an audience

Encoding & Decoding

There are many theories

which attempt to explain

how an audience

receives, reads and

responds to a text.

There are many theories

which attempt to explain

how an audience

receives, reads and

responds to a text.

Audience

TheoryFoundation Production

These theories help us to

deconstruct the

relationship between

audience and text

The Hypodermic Needle Model

Sometimes referred to as the Silver Bullet

Model (Schram1982), this is the idea that

the mass media are so powerful that they

can 'inject‘ their messages into the

audience.

The Hypodermic Needle Model

Sometimes referred to as the Silver Bullet

Model (Schram1982), this is the idea that

the mass media are so powerful that they

can 'inject‘ their messages into the

audience.

The Hypodermic Needle Model

Sometimes referred to as the Silver Bullet

Model (Schram1982), this is the idea that

the mass media are so powerful that they

can 'inject‘ their messages into the

audience.

The Hypodermic Needle Model

The Hypodermic Needle Model

The Hypodermic Needle Model

The idea that an audience can be precisely

targeted by a “magic bullet”. Then they

irresistibly fall down when hit by the bullet.

The Hypodermic Needle Model

The idea that an audience can be precisely

targeted by a “magic bullet”. Then they

irresistibly fall down when hit by the bullet.

In brief - it is the idea that the makers of

media messages can get us to do whatever

they want us to do.

The Two Step Flow Model

The Two Step Flow Model

• A more sophisticated idea...

The Two Step Flow Model

• A more sophisticated idea...

• Ideas are filtered through opinion leaders

The Two Step Flow Model

• A more sophisticated idea...

• Ideas are filtered through opinion leaders

The Two Step Flow Model

• A more sophisticated idea...

• Ideas are filtered through opinion leaders

• This waters down the message

diminishing the power of the media

The Two Step Flow Model

• A more sophisticated idea...

• Ideas are filtered through opinion leaders

• This waters down the message

diminishing the power of the media

What is the third theory?

Please review these theories and research this for

yourself.

Make sure there is content on your blog to show

that you have thought about your audience and

understand these theories