“Who would be the audience for your media product?”

Question 4

Referring to ResearchWithin my primary and secondary research of target audiences for the thriller genre, I found, using YouGov Profiles as my secondary research and survey monkey for my primary research, that psychological thrillers attract more female audiences than male audiences due to the struggles of the film being emotional rather than physical.However, both sexes around the world still watch psychological thrillers, even if females do dominate the majority of the audience.The most common age of the audience is 16-50, a very wide range of ages. As a result, I knew I had to create an opening sequence that would interest and captivate many aspects within the audience.

60%

40%

I carried out a questionnaire for the community to fill out regarding their preferences of films, so that I could use the information to adapt my opening sequence more to the target audience and their expectations, or possibly even challenge them.I made the questionnaire on Survey Monkey as this is an easy way to broadcast the questionnaire to many ages in order to get various feedback. I sent the questionnaire to friends and family of all ages on social media and through email, as well as opening the survey to the public. I received many responses (79) with results that I could analyse and use to create a sequence that would reach expectations of the target audience and attract them.The results came back similar to secondary research I had collected on thriller films comparable to Purloined on YouGov Profiles, IMBd and previous media student’s research into the thriller genre.

Questionnaire Results

Age

From these results I can suggest that my thriller film would probably have an age rating of 15+ or 18+ due to not only the nature of other thriller films, but also the average age of the audience showing who views them the most. Many other thriller films such as Black Swan is a 15+, however more gory and violent thrillers such as Se7en and The Silence of the Lambs are rated 18+ in the UK.

Gender

The majority of the target audience are female.

Thriller Sub-Genre Enjoyed the Most

The most popular genre is psychological which fits the genre of my film.

Audiences of other Thriller Films…Using YouGov Profiles

The Silence Of The Lambs

THE LOVELY BONES

BLACK SWAN

How I Attracted The Target Audience

From the results that came back from the survey and other thriller films, I could create an opening sequence in order to try and attract the target audience.The demographics of the research gave me an average age of 40-55 years. This wide range of ages means that it could have been hard to pinpoint the target audience’s expectations. However, there was a similarity within them as the majority were females and all were English.As a result, I was able to create mis en scene using props, that fit the stereotypical English home and a narrative that could be easily relatable, of a Mother and her children.

-Fireplace in the background -Toys-British characters-Moderate sized home, not unrealistic

By using bright, open lighting, I also created even more realism within the sequence. This is because in real life, not all bad things occur in the dark of night or in a scary house. This allows the audience to relate to the sequence, attracting them.I also attracted the audience by challenging the stereotypical conventions of a thriller genre further. I did this by opening the sequence with energetic, happy music. This was to shock the audience and make them question the narrative of the film, intriguing them to find out what happens. This challenged the typical conventions as many thrillers often use scary, tense not-diegetic music to create the suspenseful ambiance. As well as this, the non-diegetic sounds I placed with the credits of the children being taken, differ from other thriller films as we do not see the crime/problem occurring. This allows the audience to imagine what had happened and wonder if we do ever get to see or find out what happened to the children, creating suspense in it’s own unique way. Not only this but it attracts the target audience quite specifically because many may be mothers and so it may be very intense for them to witness these children being taken. As a result, the suspense of the narrative is even more intense for them.