Target Audience

 

Audience is the people who engage in a media text for example watching television. So when creating my film I had to research into whom my target audience would be so that I could promote my film correctly and when making my film I can include certain elements. Researching my audience would enable me to pin point my audiences needs and wants so that they are more interested and entertained. Knowing where to advertise my film so that the type of person who would be interested would know about it, would increase my films awareness significantly. I conducted questionnaires and did internet based research. I am targeting a niche audience as not many people watch short films and also the subject of the film is more specialised to a niche audience.

 

The stereotypical demographics and psychographics of the type of person who would be interested in my film would be young adults around the ages of sixteen to twenty-five. They would be quite indie and diversified. They would be typically students at sixth form or university. At this age students are very independent and as I want people to independently make a change for what they believe in, this is the right kind of person who wouldn’t be too affected by change and not too fix in their ways either. Being independent gives a sense of freedom and not being tied down by the expectations of society or from peer pressure to dress, eat, act in a certain way. So even though society is pretending dairy farms and refugee camps are ethical, my audience would be able to not blindly except that. As the theme of my film is slavery they would be able to relate to the main character and feel how she does and want to make a difference.

 

I want my film to make the audience active and after watching want to find out and research more into the issues addressed in the film and be passionate to make a change. The theorist Halloran quotes “We need to get away from the habit of thinking in terms of what the media does to people and substitute it for the idea of what the people do with the media” As a society we are becoming more and more active and not taking things for face value. This makes my subject quite topical.

 

Blumler and Katz created the theory that media consumption is motivated by the individuals desire to satisfy certain wants and needs that are present in their lives. There are voids in life we need to fill with media uses and gratification. Information is their term to describe how the audience watches films as they want to find out information about the character and personal identity is their term meaning that once they see similar characteristics in the main character they then want to become like the character. In relation to my film I feel my audience would get a sense of purpose after watching it and also be able to relate to the character in terms of passion to stand up for what they believe in. Leah in the film finds it hard to not act and tries to set a sapien free. I want my audience to feel the frustration and realise they can do their bit too.

 

Integration and social interaction is Blumler and Katz term for sharing what they have seen to their friends. I also want people to recommend my film and show their friends to make sure more people are aware of the cruelty that's happening. This personal identity with the audience and main character means they may share the same values making it easier for the to relate to the character and understand how she feels. Their last term is entertainment; the film has to be entertaining so they enjoy watching the film too.

 

I also researched into Stuart Hall’s theory of ideologies. He created the idea of preferred, negotiated and oppositional. I want my ideologies to match the audience’s ideologies. I also want a preferred audience who accepts the values and ideas encoded in the film.

 

Richard Dyer created the theory of the paradox of the star. Paradox one is that the main character has to be like the audience but special. For example in my film Leah is an everyday girl but when she sees what is going on at the farm, she has the confidence to sneak out and set one of the sapiens free. Paradox two is that the main character is present in the audience’s life but also absent. We think we know them but we don’t. As Leah has similarities to the target audience it will give the audience a sense that they know her better than they think but really they have never met her.

 

Representation is to look like or resemble. To re-present reality, within that decisions are made which impacts on meaning encoded in the film. I represented my main character in many ways for example as shy by being quiet and wearing dull coloured clothing. Leah is ordinary with struggles she has had to face in life, like her father leaving her when she was young, but also extraordinary as she stands up for what she believes in and lives in a society that farm humans.

 

Making sure my main character is represented correctly to the target audience and understanding my target audience means they are more likely to be active and try to make a change and be passionate about the message in my film.

 

I conducted a survey to see if my researched on my target audience was correct. I advertised my survey over Facebook and blogs such as film babble blog. The results showed me that the majority of people that would want to watch my film would be students as I predicted and would watch films 1-6 times a week. Their top favourite genres were action, sci-fi and drama. This fits well as these genres fit with my film. The majority of them would be supporter of animal rights too. This is good as it means they would be able to relate and feel sorry for the sapiens and because they are students they aren’t too set in their ways yet, so would be able to think differently about farms and slavery and consider being active and researching to find out more. It also helped me know where to promote my film, for example I regularly post updates on Instagram and Facebook so that my audience feels involved and I also follow people on Instagram that like animals and vegetarians as well so that they are aware of my film. Here is the link to my survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TMB9BQT

 

Understanding my target audience is very important as it helps my make decisions based on what my audience would like, for example having an ending with a good result as the Sapien didn’t get slaughtered but also not overly positive so that the audience can be active themselves and help all the other animals that get slaughtered. This will give my audience a scene of purpose that perhaps they are missing.

 

Feedback Results

 

To get feedback on my film I did a survey, I sent my film to my crew, to my lecturers, to a professional photographer and film maker, to a professional editor and to students who study media. I also posted my film on social media and I am still awaiting feedback from festival sites who can give you professional feedback on your film.

 

Karl Taylor

 

Karl is a professional photographer and has made short films himself. I wanted to get someone who is in the industry to feedback on my film so I could know how to improve it to make it as professional as I could. Karl said that he really liked the film including the location and look of the film. He said some shots like the mum in the car at the start where framed slightly odd but it wasn't anything too major. After hearing this I went back and looked at some other shots I had and cropped and adjusted them to make them look better. 

 

Ben Thoume

 

Ben is a professional editor who makes promotional films and has made short films as well. He gave me lots of feedback on the edit of my film suggesting some shots should cut quicker in the more tense scenes to create more drama and in the outside scene when Leah is shown what to do. Making these changes that Ben mentioned helped pace the edit better and build a more dramatic and well paced film.

 

Students

 

When I was editing at University I showed my film to other people studying Media so I could get their feedback too. They liked the film and took notes on small sound errors or better ways to sequence some scenes. What was really helpful was one person suggested cutting out some of the beginning car shots and dialogue as they knew I wasn't happy with it either. Cutting that scene down made a stronger start to the film and tightened the film up so that only what was necessary was included. I also had people come up and ask me if they could watch it which was good as it showed people where interested in my film and I could see the reaction to my film from someone who knows nothing about it. Having students give feedback on my film was very useful as some bits I had missed from watching it so many times. Being able to have people look at it with a 'fresh eye' helped me improve on the details of my film.

 

Cinematographer

 

I sent my film to my cinematographer Haridas Stewart to get his opinion on the film. He gave me lots of useful feedback and sent me a document with time codes on how to improve it. Click here to see his suggestions- 

 

 

I took on board all his suggestions and changed the things I could. I agreed with a lot of the fixes he mentioned and I think the changes made a big improvement to the film even though some changes where only small. 

 

Film and festival sites

 

I entered my film into many festivals around the world to promote myself and the film. I also applied to get feedback on my film so that I can improve and learn as a filmmaker. I am looking forward to hear back from them, here are a list of some of the places I applied to- 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lecturers

 

I spoke to my lecturers to get their professional feedback. They suggested to keep cutting it down so that the timing of the film felt right, to add more shots of around the farm and to colour grade the film so that the inside shots weren't as red. Having advice on how to improve my film was key to making it the finish product it is now. There are always way to make it better and having an objective opinion helped improve my film. 

 

Survey 

 

I made a survey so that I could get specific answers to people's opinions of my film. I wanted to know what people thought of the edit, the story and what they liked most and least so that I could adjust my film and improve it. I posted my survey on YouTube with the film, I also put it on Facebook, Instagram and sent it direct to people as well. My film received more than 150 views on YouTube on the first day of release, which I was really pleased about, that is why I posted my survey on YouTube as well to try and get as many people as possible to complete my survey.

 

Results- 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am really pleased with this result, the majority really liked the film and nobody didn't like it! This meant that a lot of the decisions made about the film suited the target audience and overall they had a positive experience from watching it. Most people seemed to like my film because of the message which is good as my main aim is to make a film to raise awareness to cruelty on dairy farms. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found these responses on what they liked most and least very useful. Some things I couldn't change like someone commenting on the girls acting but at least only one person said that. I didn't show more mistreatment of animals as I didn't want to shock people too much but perhaps if it was a longer film I could have shown more. I was pleased people liked the location, it was hard for me to produce a film in England when I am from Guernsey as I couldn't rely on family and friends so I am happy I found somewhere that wasn't just suitable but was a positive aspect to the film. I agree with the ending having a slight anti-climax perhaps this was because Johnny's decision seemed to sudden. I tried to do this by having shots of him in deep thought to show he knows inside what he is doing is wrong, but I don’t think it’s clear enough. Perhaps it would have been better if I had a scene of Johnny alone caring for the sapien towards the end, to show he is starting to think differently about them. Having more sapiens would have made a bigger impact but I got as many as I could due to the circumstances. A few people had commented on the music saying they found it very influential as a signifier to enhance the emotion in the scenes. The scene where the baby gets shot becomes more moving when the slow music comes in and the camera is focused on Leah’s face as she is in shock from the horror she witnessed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am glad that the majority wouldn't change anything about my film but perhaps they are being bias. It is good to hear that they wanted a longer film which I would have done if I had more time. I tried to add more shots of the sapiens without having too many that the sapiens look silly, so that the audience could care for them more. The colouring of the film I didn't change after having this comment because it's a short film and is more unique to a feature length film. There are reasons to why it is coloured the way it is for example to make it look darker and colder so that you feel for the sapiens but also so that my film is recognisable so people remember my film and as it is an unusual story the colouring enhances that. The two scenes that didn't flow weren't specified and as it is an anonymous feedback survey to make sure people are honest, I couldn't asked more. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am happy that everyone liked the storyline. The comments were all very positive too. I couldn't change the storyline at this point so was a relief to hear that people did like it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was also very positive that the film was technically strong. Most people thought technically it was very good and commented some reasons why for example they liked the editing and camera work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was good that most people thought the message was clear however dissapointing that some didn't think it was clear enough. Perhaps they are unaware of what happens on dairy farms so much that they didn't see the link. I didn't change my film from hearing this as the majority did think it was clear and I didn't want the message to be too forced that it put people off the film. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shows that perhaps more people knew about the cruelty on dairy farms than I had thought and perhaps maybe they where just ignorant to the cruelty. Perhaps since watching my film this will have re-enforced the issue and they might think twice now. However it was really positive that just over 30% now think differently about how animals are treated since watching my film. This is something I am really proud of as I was happy if even one person was enlightened after watching it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was good to have a variety of responses on how the film made my audience feel. Most people said they felt uncomfortable which is good as it is supposed to show the reality of what happens on dairy farms which may have lead to why people felt sad, angry and disgusted. It was also good that some people felt informed as I wanted people to learn from my film that everything isn't as good as it seems. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was really pleased that the majority of people would recommend my film as this means more people will watch it and hopefully learn and change as a result, spreading awareness further. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some other comments people had to say about the film. I am glad to hear people wanted me to send the film to PETA and other similar organisations, this shows that they care and want the industry to change too. 

 

Overall I had a lot of good feedback, both positive and useful. I learnt a lot from the comments and I changed things where I could. It was motivational to hear that people are wanting to make a difference after watching my film and that they care about the issue. This has inspired me to keep trying to improve my film and to make more films to make a difference in the future.