Evaluation Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

THE SCRIPT

For our thriller, An ideal audience member would be from a ‘western’ society as they are usually more interested in action films with violence, mystery, a hero figure etc. it is set in a rural England town thus might appeal more to those to live in similar areas, such as Sussex. Since the hero in our film is a woman and this is a countertype representation we would not want an overly traditional or  narrow minded audience, so we would be aiming for teenagers and young adults, those in their twenties and early thirties. An ideal audience member would have hobbies like playing sport, video games, cars, and would not typically enjoy films like romance or comedy, preferring action films, thrillers and horrors. Whilst these sound like quite masculine ideals, since the protagonist is a woman, we would also want women in the audience and think our film would attract them. People who cannot accept the idea of a strong woman in a role that a male actor would usually fill would not be an ideal audience member. Our film is not overly glamorous, flashy or ‘hollywood.’ The protagonist is not unusually wealthy, on the surface she has a fairly normal life. (except that really she’s a spy.) Thus most audience members will be able to relate to her so our film isn’t only for a narrow category of people.

Blumler and Katz’s ‘Uses and Gratification Theory’, states that the audience for a media product are not passive but take an active role in interpreting and integrating media into their own lives, and that they are responsible for choosing media to suit their needs. The basic model of the theory is that a media product must be able to...

A ) IDENTIFY with the audience, meaning that they are able to recognise the product or person in front of them, role models that reflect similar values to them, etc

B ) EDUCATE the audience - able to acquire information, knowledge and understanding from the media text.

C ) ENTERTAIN - what they are consuming should give them enjoyment, some form of escapism enabling them to forget their worries temporarily

D ) PROVIDE SOCIAL INTERACTION - produce a topic of conversation, spark debate.

Using this model, I will list how our audience can derive pleasure from our thriller.

In my answer I will list the ways the audience can derive pleasure from our thriller.

Firstly, the genre of our media product is thriller, specifically action thriller.  One influence on our opening sequence was the film Taken, which is about the kidnapping of the protagonist’s daughter. Similarly in our thriller the protagonist’s husband has been kidnapped and her daughter’s safety is being threatened. Also, there is an iconic scene in Taken which revolves around a scary, threatening phone call which introduces his character and his impressive skill set. The use of the telephone conversation is key in building suspense and tension, something we were keen to convey in our thriller. We were also inspired by the phone call scene in ‘Scream’, a horror film, because it is very effective at creating mystery and fear as you only see one end of the phone call and the ‘villain’s’ identity is hidden. Similarly in our thriller you do not see the face of the villain, Erik, until the very end. This sustains high levels of tension which is a key feature of any thriller and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat.

An audience can identify with our thriller through setting because our thriller is partially set in a kitchen, which is a realistic and relatable setting as every audience member is likely to have their own kitchen. This also entertains the audience as it gives a sense of escapism - it is a fairly ordinary kitchen, and Piper is depicted as an ordinary character, just a housewife cutting up carrots for dinner - until she reaches into her cutlery drawer and pulls out a gun! Thus through setting we are showing the audience an exciting, dramatic lifestyle which is not too far from their own lives - and so they can relate to it - and enables them to escape from their worries and reality temporarily. Furthermore, the other, more sinister end of the conversation is set in a basement, which is a typical thriller setting and thus will appeal to fans of that genre.

The plot of our thriller employs thriller conventions - forces of good VS evil  (Piper as good and Erik as evil), a kidnapping, shooting, a ransom. HOWEVER it turns these conventions on their head as we have a strong female lead role, the secret agent in this film is a middle aged woman rather than a young man. This makes it a more interesting watch so the audience derives entertainment from itand also provides social interaction as it sparks debate and conversation.

We have also attracted our audience through our characters. Erik fills the conventions of the male villain character - aggressive, mysterious, overtly masculine, uses a gun etc. However, he also uses humour - eg the line ‘those were gucci, you bastard’ - which gives his character another dimension and makes him more interesting, entertaining the audience. The character of Clare as a retired secret agent who is being lured back into ‘the game’ by a former nemesis is a conventional plot device often used in action thrillers - for example the ‘Retired and Extremely Dangerous’ franchise. However the fact that she is a powerful woman who does not adhere to the ‘damsel in distress’ archetype flips this typical thriller character device on its head and attracts a wider audience, as well as creating social interaction, sparking debate etc.

The narrative devices in our thriller are another way of addressing and attracting an audience. The phone call increases tension and mystery however at the same time is an ordinary, relatable event - most people own a phone and make phone calls. This increases fear in the audience as it is the idea of ‘this could happen to me’ and they can identify with the action.

Also, we purposefully do not show the face of our villain until the end which sustains mystery and fear, keeping the audience engaged.

We have ensured that our thriller does not exclusively address one social group.

Erik has a liverpudlian accent whereas Piper has a typical South-East England accent. Thus we are representing a variety of people and addressing different regional identities.

Furthermore, the kitchen we used, whilst spacious, is not overly grand or specific to one class so a wider audience will be able to relate to it.

For our titles, we used the main actor’s name - Adam Grant - as the third title which is early on as we think people are more likely to watch our thriller if they know that he is starring in it.

Finally, we edited our thriller in quick cuts and made it fast paced, which is a conventional editing technique used in thrillers. It also makes the sequence more exciting and entertaining to watch. In terms of effects we used the special effect of a gunshot which adds excitement and is quite an unexpected twist.