Evaluation, Question Seven

Looking back at my Pliminary task, I honestly feel I have progressed a lot since the early days on my course. When looking back at our group dynamics, I can feel the difference, as I feel it is more professional this time round as we weren't squabbling over who got to press record and so on so forth. I feel that our organisation improve massively since our first project because this time round we had created a plan in order to stick to, so we weren't running around last minute for the smaller details.

Although from our first task I was able to take some skills, for instance, my camera shots for our current task were more steady, compared to my shots within the first task. I was also able to gage how long a shot, or a set of shots would possibly last when at our location, due to experience, also we were able to use a variety of shots due to the experience we had first had, therefore allowing us to gain the best possibly mark we can within the module.

When comparing shots that were in products, we can see a full change in how we came to do them, for example, without our first task with the match on action, as you can see, our editing skills set us back as far as to say the shot(s) looked so unrealistic., when compared to our match on action in our film opening.  

Also from experience from the first task, I was able to work on my direction skills, for example, we see a very, 'subtle' costume change within the first project, therefore showing that we had filmed on more than one day, but also showing that I had no control on our actors, which was a problem that needed to be fixed.


I also think that my coursework film opening is a big improvement to that of my first task because I believe I took a big learning curve within the media course, in the sense that I learnt how to understand how to frame, that variety of shots keep the audience interested, and also how to edit on the mac, which at the beginning of the course, I could barely use the mouse let alone edit our film media products.  

Evaluation, Quesion Six

What I have learnt about creating a media product is that, no matter what camera or equiptment, you are faced with difficulties. For instance, one of the problems we faced when filming was 'shadowing' as in one of our shots you can see a faint shadow of my group member holding the camera to film. Also we found that, once connected to the tripod, it was hard to move the camera to the shots we wanted, as the tripod was rather big. However the equipment also had its positive qualities, for example, although the tripod was big, it also kept most of our shots steady, which allowed the product to look good with quality.

Yes we did face problems, but who doesn't when they are fiming, our problems weren't extreme in the sense that they stopped us filming, they were small errors within mise-en-scene, for example, the actor kept one of his rings on when filming, which he was asked to take off. Overall, with the equipment, I believe that, although there were minor bumps in the road, we got through filming successfully.

So when it came to editing, I think personally, it was harder for me at the start than for my group member, because I can't use a mac to safe my life. At the beginning of the year we were all taken in groups to be taught how to use the editing software, everyone got the hand of it, apart from me, I could barely get my hand around the mouse and the fact that the keyboard wasn't connected to the computer. Through out the year I did get a rough hang at the software, after my group member nearly threw me, and then himself after out the window, I believe what I have learnt is that editing takes a lot of time, maybe a lot more than what I expected. We did find an effect that enhanced the image, and we used that for the open road scene, as the original shot was rather dark compared to the other shots, which I think helped us keep continuity within our piece.


Blogger has become my best friend for the past few months, and I'm sure it will be such a sad Farwell when my coursework is done, but I suppose if you love something let it go. I think using blogger helped with my creativity within the subject, because as this course is mainly coursework, it was nice to have a change in layout and also format, compared to writing it out by hand with no creative take on it. So yes, I believe, although there was so much to do, that 'posting' my work, instead of handing in essays was better because it allowed us to also experiment with layout, and how we wanted our work to be presented to the examiner.
 

Evlauation , Question Five

Evaluation , Question Four

Evlauation, Question Three

The kind of media institution that we have chosen to distribute our media product is independent and would be shown within art houses. We have chosen this because, when looking at our narrative we believe that it is very specific to our chosen audience (aspirers and individualists, therefore we are aiming for a niche audience.)

Places that I have researched that we would, if the media product was to be distributed and shown to audience members, would be of such places as 'The Chelmsford Film Club' and 'Rooftop film club' which is based in London, and looks at 'under the radar' films of all genres and types, for example they show animation films as well as a range from horror to comedy.

 If our film was to be released, I think that if would maintain moderate success, so therefore possibly a marketing franchise could be created, for example, maybe not to the extent that 'The Hunger Games Catching Fire' has a marketing scheme, but maybe smaller objects such as posters, or even stickers/badges with quotations from characters.

Our media product would also mostly be made aware of by 'below the line' advertising, as being an independent company, we would have a lower budget compared to mainstream companies, and therefore all budget would be towards the actual making of the film.

Final Film (The Dead End)

Evaluation, Question Two

Evaluation, Question one.

Rough cut Three

Rough Cut 2

Rough Cut 1

Attracting Audiences

When considering our genre (Open Road) we also have to wonder how to attract our paying audience. Narrative is a good way to attract audience members, and usually the better the narrative the bigger the audience, for example, 'The Hunger Games Catching Fire' had the narrative that consisted of romance, action, sci-fi and plot twist, therefore attracting more audience members with it's variety.

Within our final idea on our coursework task, we have decided to attract audience members through narrative and characters. Seeing how we are independent we have taken the realistic approach that, due to a lower budget, our locations will not be so extreme compared to that of mainstream films such as Disney's 'Pirates of the Caribbean' therefore we have focused on narrative.

By doing this we have been able to create a character 'Alex' that audience members will have strong feelings for, for example, a strong emotion to the character could be pity or hatred as he runs from society. We have also added in a romantic sub-narrative which would of been explored more if we were to make the entire film, therefore still showing generic conventions of that of a drama film (Romance and aspiring for a better life) and also applying to audience pshpchographics (Those who are searching for romance or wish to run away from society and start again.)


When considering our coursework task in groups, by using the demographics and psychographics, we will be able to create our 'chosen audience', to which we will mostly wish to attract. A possibly ability for the audience we would like to use is rating between 'C2-E' because we  believe that within this group, they can relate to our lead character 'Alex' and also other characters later on within the film. We are also aiming for Aspirers and independents because character 'Alex' aspires to leave society and 'independents' because the character shows independence when leaving town to fend for himself for the first time in forever.


I will also be looking at the audience theory of,  uses and gratifications, so narrative would be a big decision on how we attract audience members. For example this theory goes along the lines of the audience member will watch the film for pleasure, so therefore we will be making our narrative as attractive as it possibly can in order to then attract as many audience members, using this theory.

Creating a Logo- Small Talk Productions

As a group we had already created our dominant logo, and therefore we decided to have another company as we are an independent film industry. We chose the name 'Small Talk' on mutual ground, and we have decided to create idea's for the logo solo, here is my idea for the logo.

Company Logo's (Mainstream and Independent)

Warner Bros. Pictures

The Warner Bros company logo has changed over the years, the original logo was a shield with the letter WB, standing for Warner Bros at the bottom of a shield. Within 1937, the company changed their logo to be based on the original, but the letters WB would then take up the whole shield, with what the letters stand for written in the centre of the shield, 'Warner Bros. Pictures'.' Throughout times, all companies moved to animated logos because times were moving on and the audiences love it, for example, Leo the Lion, was the first animated logo to be seen.  The Warner Brothers also began to used animation, before moving onto the logo that we are familiar to, they began to incorporate their copyrighted characters, for example 'Bugs Bunny'  who would walk on, lean on the logo, and then take a bite of his carrot. Warner Brothers will always stand out because, although the gold shield is recognisable throughout the world, it is also seen as unique, as its background (The clouds) seems to be pained on, which gives more emprises  to the golden shield which shows connotations of wealth, and therefore this logo is for mainstream companies.



Walt Disney

The 'Disney' logo consists of the fairy-tale castle often seen within their films, such as 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' and other princess movies. Their logo also represents that of the castle placed within the Disney resorts around the world, for example, Paris and Florida. Through the years, as technology has increased, so has their logo. The first version of the logo, was projected onto a blue screen, with the white outline (behind the castle) outlining the castle, which already brings in connotations of their companies main objective, for example, the white line could be seen as a fairy, tinker bell drawing the line.

 

The logo then changes, and became more advanced within technology, for example the white line, then became a line of sparkles, or 'fairy dust' which still shows connotations of the companies main genre they create, fantasy. By evolving their logo, this also shows connotations of wealth and higher placement, as they use warm bright colours such as pink and purple, which shows connotations of royalty, which could also be a subtle message to other companies and audience members, that Disney are the highest that they could be and would only get bigger, seeing how they are the largest out of the 'Big six' companies, and also they use a castle, which again shows connotations of royalty and also a higher power to others.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Focus Features

 

Focus Features uses a simple yet effective logo which ties in with their name, i.e. the typography is more focused than the background, therefore showing connotations of links between the logo and the title. The colours used compliment each other, and although the design is simple, it shows connotations suggesting that the film company has a smaller budget compared to that of mainstream Disney. However, the typography, again is simple within font, the effect used on the 'O' again links in with the company title 'Focus Features' because the 'O' shows connotations of being a lenses cap of a camera which is what the company is all about, films.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Film 4

 

 

 
 
 
The Film 4 company logo is basic and has stayed the same since the original company began in 1998. The design in basic but effective, as it doesn't take effect away from the company name, but isn't as gad as that of mainstream Disney or Lionsgate. The colours used in this logo, red and white can be seen to show connotations of passion, for example, independent films are aimed at niche audiences who have a passion for a very particular genre or type of film. As this is not as grand as other logos, this also shows a difference in company use and that of/or how much the company can have to budget, meaning that this is an independent company logo.

 

 

  

 

 

Audience theories (Main)

Hypodermic Needle ( The effects theory)

This theory comes to the conclusion that an audience will all respond and receive to the films message the same way, e.g. if the film was a horror, all audience members would be scared at the same time. This theory suggest that the film is somewhat 'injected' into the audience, therefore suggesting that the audience have no other option that to take in what they all see, The media can also be seen influence e.g. children playing violent games makes them want to pick up a gun, or even the murder case of James Bulger. The case included the claims from the murderers that because they had watched 'Childs play' that was their reasoning behind their crime.


The Uses and Gratifications theory.

This theory is seen as the opposite of the above theory, the uses and gratifications theory states that the audience go to watch a film for pleasure, and to also accept or reject the messaging within the film. This also suggests that the 'power' is at the audience's hand and not that of the producers.


The Reception Theory

The final theory suggest that when the producers make the film, they then hide hidden messages or/and meanings which are there to impact on the viewing/cinematic effect on their audience. Again, a little like the uses and gratifications theory, the audience members can chose to accept or reject the messages,  but if an audience member doesn't understand this message, they possibly will decline it or negotiate, meaning that they may not understand it but they are not opposed to the idea.

Genre Questionnaire cont.

From doing this exercise I was able to understand what a mainstream audience looks for within a film, and also what films are the most popular. Considering the fact that I have taken to be an independent company, this questionnaire still does help, as it then allows me to, for example, if I was making a 'Horror' I could then import what the audience members expect, such as 'blood and a good bad guy' therefore meaning that, I could then gain a stronger niche audience because I had taken into account what they expected and then developed those ideas and, demands.

My Best Friends Wedding Title Timeline

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-SxXqsjje8 - Reference to the video.

My Best Friend’s Wedding Title Timeline

 

0:00- ‘Tristar’ Trademark

0:19 – Tricstar pictures presents

0:27- A Jerry Lucker/ Predawn production

0:32- Julia Roberts

0:36- Dermot Multoney

0:40- Cameron Diaz

0:53- My Best Friend’s Wedding

1:05- Rupert Evenett

1:11- Philop Bosco

1:27- M. Emmet Walsh

1:32- Rachel Griffiths, Carrie Preston, Susan Sullivan

1:48- Casting by David Rubin

1:55- Music By James Newton Howard

2:01- Music supervisor Bonnie Greenberg

2:06- Costume designer Jeffery Kurland.

2:14- Edited by Garth Craven, Lisa Fruchtman

2:19- Production designer Richard Sylbert

2:25- Director of Photography Laszlo Kovacs, ASC

2:49- Production by Jerry Lucker and Ronald Bass

3:04- Written by Ronald Bass

3:14- Directed by P.J. Hogan

 

 By doing this timeline this will aid me within my coursework task as it will allow me to create an order, similar to that of a professional film company.

Why are we creating a re-make within groups?

Me and my group are doing a re-make because we believe that it will help us when filming, as we will be able to understand shots, and the process to how they are shot, therefore giving us time to plan ahead for our film opening.

It also allows us to look at the typography used, the sequence and also the way they are presented, which would help us when filming because we will be able to create a professional presentation, which would result in a better chance of achieving a higher mark overall.

Genre Questionnaire

We were asked to collect research on what audiences would like to see and/or want from Genres, for this exercise I have chosen to ask mainly about 'Drama' and 'Horror' because we are doing a hybrid drama genre, and horror is a well known genre.


I have given my final questionnaire to 14+ persons of different ages and genders so I can get a better set of results to understand how, when we come to make our film opening, and how we can understand demographics of our target audience to create a film opening that would make them want to watch the rest of the film.


Here are the questions that i asked.

1. How old are you?
2.  What Genres are your favourite?
3. What Genres are your least favourite?
4. What would you expect from a 'Fantasy' genre of film?
5. What audience members would you expect to go and see a fantasy genre of film?
6. What do you expect from a 'horror' genre of film?
7. what audience members would you expect to go and see a fantasy genre of film?
8. what was the last film that you saw in the cinema?
9. did you enjoy that film?




From the 14+ people that i asked, i was able to draw up my results.

1. four were 16 seven were 17 and three were 18

2.  3 picked animation, 2 picked sci-fi, 3 picked fantasy, 4 picked drama, 3 picked horror, 5 picked comedy, 4 picked musical, 2 picked action and 2 picked romance.

3. 1 picked animation, 3 picked sci-fi, 3 picked fantasy, 5 picked drama, 2 picked horror, 1 picked comedy 6 picked musical, 4 picked romance 2 picked action.

4. Gnomes, Vibrant settings and over the top characters, wizards, pixies, magic, cartoon, fairies, mystery, unicorns, action, good storyline, witches, pumpkins, toadstools.

5.  6 said Young children (8-12), 6 said young teenagers (13-18) and 2 said adults (19 onwards)

6. Blood, suspense, death and suspense, to be scared behind the sofa, scary parts, crazy music, jump scares, gory make-up, good storyline, murder, lots of violence, screaming, a good bay guy, tension

7. None said younger children (8-12), 10 said young teenagers (13-18), and four said adults (19 onwards)

8. 5 had seen the Lego Movie, 1 has seen The Hunger Games, Catching fire, 2 had seen Mr Peabody and Sherman, 3 had seen The Hobbit, desolation of Smaug, and 3 had seen Frozen.

9. All 14 said they enjoyed the film the saw.

Film Diary

Due to being organised, we were able to film on just one day (30/04/14) and we began at 10:30am and ended at 5:00pm.

 

 Before we began to actually film, we had to set up our equipment and also any props/special effects that we were going to use, for example, while one group member began to set up on set, the other was with the actor prepping them for the takes.

As you can see,  liquid latex was added to the actors hand, and then thickened with more layers, and red/black face paint to give the illusion of a deeper wound.

 

 

The special effect took roughly around 10-15 minutes, which was the time we estimated when creating our plan for the day. Apart from the small complaints from the actor (that his didn't like sitting still) our prep for the day seemed to be going well.

 

 

Later on within the day (1:00pm onwards) we began to film our exterior shots on location. Things were running smoothly with everyone involved, and we didn't seem to have a problem with filming. When looking at our storyboard we began our first shot with that of 'shot 26' which, in theory was an interesting shot, but put into practice, we didn't realise how hard the shot would be to make.

 

 

 

'Shot 26' included one of our group members sat awkwardly in the back of the car nearly falling out of the car itself. This shot took a lot of time to get because although we took each shot three or more times, to ensure that we would have the right shot, the camera wasn't steady, or group members, or the camera would of been seen in shot. So again, we all thought quickly and changed our seating within the car, and were then able to get the shot that we needed.

 

 

 

 

 Still shooting our exterior, we can up to a hurdle yet again. When consulting the storyboard, we then realise that the actor would have to cry so we could get the shot that we wanted. The actor, although capable of our directing, found it hard to produce actual tears. Different tactics were used, such as the actor fanning his eye, and staring at a spot without blinking, but none those tactics worked. So we ended up using a bottle of water to produce the tears for him instead.  This shot was, although rather funny to film, was rather difficult, and when we come to edit,  as a group, we possibly won't end up using this shot because it doesn't look realistic and the camera was a little shaky on all four takes.

 

 

Our final exterior shot was easier than the others, and also was one of the final shots within our story board. This shot was at a high angle, and therefore only needed the tripod to be lifted high enough over the actors head. The shot didn't take long, and meant that we were on time with our plan for the day, and also meant that we could have a longer lunch break as we had finished slightly earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

*When shooting our interior shots, we also paid attention to Health and Safety on set*

Open Road Drama

Research:

An open road drama will mostly consist on a character, or a group of characters searching or running from something in order to achieve something higher than their state already, for example, 'A series of unfortunate events'

A series of unfortunate events:

This film tells the story of the three Baudelaire children who loose their parents in a fire and are forced to live with their uncle count Olaf, who A. is the stories antagonist and B. plans to kill them to inherit their fortune. The three children escape from their uncle and go to live with others that their parents trusted, unfortunately count Olaf follows them around, and disposes of the new found 'friends' in ways he seems fit, meaning that the children are back on the open road searching for a place to happy and safe.

The film was Directed by Brad Silberling
Produced by Laurie MacDonald, Walter F. Parkes and Jim Van Wyck
Edited by Michael Kahn
Distributed by Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Pictures.


The film had the budget of 142 million dollars and made $209,073,645 at box offices.





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The Grey:

This film was based on the short ghost story of 'Ghost walker' and follows the story of many oil workers stuck in alaska after surviviing a plane crash, and are left to survive as a team, to get back to civilization

.

The film was directed by Joe Carnahan
Produced by Jules Daly, Joe Carnahan, Ridley Scott and Mickey Liddell
Edited by Roger Barton and Jason Hellmann
Distributed by Open road Films and Universal Studios

The film had a budget of $25,000,000 and made $77,278,331 at box offices.

Chosen Type of production company

As a group, we have decided to become an independent film production company as we believe it allows us to target a more specific audience, and it also allows us to focus more on our genre 'Road Movie' instead of meeting audience requirements in elements of technology and/or cast.

Extra Research

Ps I Love You:

This film tells the story of how a young married couple (Holly and Gerry) live their lives, sometimes fighting, and the sudden shock of Gerry dying of a brain tumour. Holly is then left alone with the empty feeling inside, until her 30th Birthday. Gerry arranged for several messages to be sent to Holly after his death in order for her to move on to a new life without him, by doing the things she always wanted to do, therefore she was able to get out on the open road, leave her old life behind and move on knowing she could carry his love with her, always.


The Film was Directed by Richard LaGravenese
Produced by Wendy Finerman Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove and Molly Smith
Distributed by Waner Bros. Pictures

The film had the budget of $30 Million and made $156,835,339 in box offices.

Dear John Title timeline (Drama)

0:34  Screen Jems
0:36 in association with Realitivity Media
0:41 a temple hill production
0:45 a realitivty media production
2:13 A film by Lasse Hallstrom
2:30 Channing Tatum
2:34 Amanda SeyFried
3:18 Dear John
3:23 Henry Thomas
3:27 David Andrews
3:31 Scott Porter
3:39 and Richard Jenkins
3:43 Casting by Joanna Colbert CSA Richard Mento CSA
3:48 Costume Designer Dana Campbell
3:56 Music Supervisors Happy Walters Season Kent
4:03 Music by Debroah Lurie
4:06 Editor Kristina Boden
4:19 Production Designer Kara Lindstrom
4:24 Director of Photography Terry Stacey ASC
4:28 Associate Producer Michael Disco
4:32 Co-Producers Kenneth Halsband Jamie Linden
4:37 Excutive Producer Jeremiah Samuels Toby Emmerich Michele Wiess
4:47 Executive Producer Tucker Tooley
4:52 Produced by Ryan Kavanaugh
4:58 Produced by Marty Bowen Wyck Godfrey
5:03 Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks
5:07 Screenplay by Jamie Linden
5:13 Directed by Lasse Hallstrom



By doing this timeline this will help me because it will give me extra information about the order of titles, and how I should present my titles within my course work task. 

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (Road Drama)

The opening to this film begins with three children (to be seen as the protagonists) within a boat alone at sea, this already shows connotations of abandonment and loneliness, therefore giving an overall atmosphere that it not the same as that compared to a children's fairy-tale. The use of mise-en-scene when the children are revealed, (Approx:0:10) is a black screen being cut away in the shape of a face, this shows connotations of the face to be that of the antagonists and also to be connected to the three protagonists still in the boat. The Titles are integrated into the scene, for example, later on within the clip, as the eye blinks, the titles appear, yet again with the protagonists. the use of typography also links with the mise-en-scene as it looks to be hand written in a fancy way, therefore implying grace and education towards the three protagonist or the antagonist. The mise-en-scene itself also looks as though it is a painting with dark colours, which shows connotations of despair and loss of hope, which can then give a 'grunge' atmosphere to the piece, therefore allowing audience members to know that the film itself would not a genre of comedy.


























The whole title opening sequence follows the children on their journey which involves going on weird air balloons, falling through the sky with an umbrella and also singing like birds in a cage. This highlights to the audience that film itself will contain struggles for the protagonists, and just when they thought they were safe, something more deadly was just around the corner. A reoccurring image that plays throughout this title sequence is an eye, which is made apparent at the beginning, with the cutting of the black silhouette and also when the children are within the balloon (Image above.) This shows connotations of the image (the eye) having importance within the storyline, and that It possibly would show a character.



Shot list for my Preliminary Task

This is the shot list for my final Preliminary task, on the last shot, I have put the time as '- Onwards' this is because although the shots do change, the change from one medium shot to another.

The Shining, our chosen re-make

Differences in Film Openings

The film opening is important because it set the overall tone for the piece and also is the first thing your audience will see, therefore it is important to hook your audience at the beginning to therefore have their attention throughout the whole film, For example, the opening of 'Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of fleet street' the opening consists of taking the audience though important parts of the film, for example, we are taken down the shoot of Sweeney's chair, and into the oven with Mrs Lovett's pies. (Approx: 1:30 and 2:15) By using a film opening like this, it attracts audience members because they will be curious to watch the rest of the film to understand the link of the chair and the pies. This opening uses titles, which is common in film openings, and due to the typography, it doesn't take away from the story being told behind the text, for example, the typography matches the mise of the background to therefore keep the atmosphere created by the film itself and the non-dietetic music playing.


However titles do not need to be used throughout the entire opening, for example, 'The nightmare before Christmas.'  This film opening only has the titles of the company and then that of the title, therefore allowing the audience members to be fully involved within the piece from the beginning, and not having their focus taking away by the titles. Again, although there are few titles, the typography matches that of the film genre, and is brighter than the film graphics itself, therefore drawing attention just due to brightness, the use of also showing the titles on a black screen and centered, gives them importance, which establishes to audience members that they are of importance, and therefore should be looked at.



A reason why titles may not be used within a film opening is because the company thought it would be better for the audience, or for the atmosphere for the audience to just be involved within the story line, for example, the film opening above, the opening starts with a voice over setting the atmosphere and also the story, to then go straight into the main narrative, which includes a musical number. Disney may of desired not to use titles because of the musical, because it may of been a lot for the audience to take in, and therefore they wouldn't be fully focused on the musical number, or the brightly coloured titles, they would be flitting between the two, which would then take away from the narrative and atmosphere of the piece.

The Difference between Independent and mainstream

Beginning with a mainstream product, the film would of been funded by a high rating company (possibly one of the big six) meaning that the product e.g. the film would then have a larger budget, meaning open windows to using the advanced media technology (Imax or 3D)
With a bigger budget, the idea of having 'A-list' actors is on the cards because the have access to pay for them, and by doing this, they allow a higher intake with audience members and also audience interest as audience members, mostly care of who is in the film rather than what the film is about. This is the same with directors, with enough money, some of the best directors can be hired, therefore giving the company the better change of having a 'blow out' at the box office when the time comes along.

With a mainstream company, marketing is easier as you would have access to above and below the line advertising, therefore, again, having more audience awareness and advantage of the film being a success. Most mainstream films are based on a best selling novel, such as the hunger games by Suzanne Collins or the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, this is because if the books have been popular within the public, the most likely conclusion is that if films, or other media contents of the same basis were to come out, the audience would be interested and therefore willing to pay to see the film, and to buy the merchandise and so on so forth.


On the other hand with an independent film company, they run on the basis of not at much funding, and therefore a considerably lower budget compared to mainstream products. Independent films are mostly made to be simple but effective due to budget and also rely on their niche audience. The difference between a mainstream audience and a niche audience is that a niche audience is very specific to the genre of film that they like, whereas a mainstream audience will most likely watch whatever is on at the cinema.

Below the line advertising is commonly used within independent companies as it doesn't use up their budget, which then means they can work on using their budget for filming or effects. When talking about actors, 'A-list Actors' are not commonly used due to budget.

Audience Profiles

When creating a film, you must take into account what your target audience is, and also what they would like to see in the product. One of the fist steps of film making is to know who you are aiming your product at, e.g. your target audience.  You should also look at your film at the perspective of the target audience, for example, their demographics.

Demographics divide the adult population into 6 possible groups that a film company could then end up making their film for.
A- Higher management (Bankers and Doctors)
B- Middle management ( Teachers and Creative media people)
C1- Office supervisors (Nurses and clerical staff)
C2- Skilled workers, (Plumbers)
D- Semi skilled, and unskilled manual workers
E- Unemployed, students or pensioners.


An audiences demographics are questions concerning age, gender, status, occupation, income bracket, culture and also media interests. It is also good to know what type of person, socially you are aiming your product at, for example, are you aiming your product at a leader or a follower, a sociable individual or one that is recluse.


Once you have a basic idea of what your target audience entails, you should then try and consider their every day lives, that way you can then make your film closely based to their lives, for example, a single woman in her mid twenties living alone, would want to watch something similar to herself, and possibly with a love interest. You should also look at if your audience hope to gain an emotional experience from your product, e.g. 'Ps. I love you' is a love story connecting two people after death. 

Psycographics also can describe how an audience will react to the product based on personality traits.  For example.


Explorers:
They seek to be individual values and adventure, they are normally a younger demographic.

Reformers:
They seek freedom, social awareness and growth, normally attended to higher education.

Suceeders:
Normally A (Higher management) who seek survival and authority.

Resigned:
They seek discovery and energy within a piece, normally older.

Aspirers:
They look for status and also think about image, mostly seen in younger audience members.

Mainstreamers:
They want value for their money, and also come to be mostly the biggest group, they also look for security.

Strugglers:
Most likely to be disorganised, and enjoy evenings in with a good amount of food (D and E)



This will help us decide our target audience because from these lists we can now identify what audience would mostly enjoy our narrative.

How film openings attract audience members

Film openings attract an audience because they set up the tone, atmosphere and character for the overall product, for example, the film opening to 'The BFG' directed by Brian Cosgrove. The beginning of this film sets the scene and introduces characters, for instance the female protagonist 'Sophie' is introduced in a dimly lit orphanage therefore attracting audience's as this is an unlikely set up for a film.

During this we are shown different locations, such as a lonely tree and village streets, therefore keeping audiences interested and within knowledge of where the scene is set. 

 

We are also then greeted with a cloaked figure, which attracts audiences as the character is shown in dim light, and within a background that they do not clearly belong to., e.g. The figure is taller than the buildings and looks out of place.

 

 

The use of not introducing each and every character within the opening attracts audience members because it entails mystery and/or a hidden secret or something to be discovered, therefore implying that audience members will want to carry on watching to find out what happenes. 

The narrative is also very important to how to attract audience members as you want to keep them interested, for example within 'the BFG' the female protagonist is seen to be taken by the cloaked figure. This attracts audience members because they are left wondering why she has been taken, and where she will be taken.

 

 

 

Sound can also be used to attract the audience, for example if the company is mainstream, using well known songs, such as chart music, can attract audiences as they can relate to the current piece and also provide a happy atmosphere, e.g. Using 'my heart will go on' from well known film 'titanic' can be associatedwith love, therefore identifying I the audience what genre the film will be to then attract a certain type of audience, such as those who enjoy a love story.

 

The BFG' uses sound to compliment the film and add tone to certain parts within the film, or example, when the cloaked figure puts out his had and a horn appears, a light magical melody is created to envoke excitement and mystery, therefore resulting in the audiences involvement within the film. 

 

Also the use of theories, for example the uses and gratifications theory, can attract audiences as they would enjoy the film, and therefore want to see the film again for pleasure.