Evaluation - Q4

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

Having a target audience is essential because when making a media product, you need to know the guidelines and specifications that you have to follow, in order to make your product suitable for your audience. Also, having a target audience helps with your research on whats applicable and well suited for your media product for it to be successful. The task I was given was to make a 2 minutes opening thriller sequence that follows the conventions of the thriller genre well. Before the planning and filming stages, I had to research in depth into the different types of thrillers and see what was conventional and also what I could include in my own. Without a target audience, I wouldn't have an idea on how I would want my narrative to be because there would be no one to make it for. Target audiences are the people that you need to help make your film successful and earn a good profit. 

For my thriller; Humanity off, I decided that my target audience would be the age certificate 15. I chose this because I think children under the age of 15 would find some of the themes quite frightening and disturbing which would not be appropriate for them. For example, in my opening theres a brief exposure of blood seen when the victim is on the road dead. Also, the reason why I did not chose my thriller opening to be rated an 18, was because they often have disturbing themes and their opening sequences usually start gory, this would not be my aim as i am making a thriller and thrillers are all about creating suspense and shock to the audience not making them feel very scared.

There are many aspects that my thriller appeals to my target audience of 15 and above. Firstly, the narrative itself appeals to the audience as its a psychological thriller which is very common nowadays. Also, because of the theme being common, the audience know what to expect as they've seen successful psychological thrillers, that may be similar to mine. Furthermore, the choice of characters in my film are conventional to the genre and also they're roughly the same age as my target audience. This appeals to them as they can relate to the characters e.g the female victims as they're stereotypically represented as gullible, innocent and naive, which makes the audience sympathise them and place themselves in their positions. To accompany this, the use of Mise en scene, through the female victims costumes of outgoing clothes, appeals to the audience as it gives them a sense of realism which makes them relate to the girls. 

When it comes to sound, I used a variety of sounds that helped the thriller achieve the suspense, shock and surprise in the audience. An example of a sound that I believe appeals to the audience is a non-diegetic sound that is heard when Josie finds her friend laying in the middle of the road dead. The use of the upbeat, chase scene like soundtrack helps emphasise the horror josie is witnessing and makes the audience feel on edge and want to find out more on whats happening. 

Moreover, the cinematography used gave the audience an understanding on whats going on and what emotions they need to feel in the moment. For example, I used a extreme close up which appeals to the audience as its quite intimidating and also, creates suspense as they see the antagonist suddenly open his eyes in anger. Also another example that appeals to the audience is when theres a point of view shot where Josie is in the forest and turns around to see the masked antagonist in her way and starts screaming. This gives them a huge adrenaline rush as the camera shot puts them into her position and also the scream emphasises both the audiences and girls shock.

The editing styles I included in my thriller helped make the video flow and also create the 3S's (shock,suspense and surprise). An example would be the reaction shot seen when Josie hears a scream. This shocks the audiences as well as mirror her feelings too.

overall I believe that my opening thriller sequence appeals to my target audience, because I included the suitable conventions that would make them interested in watching the rest of the film.