Evaluation - Q4 - Sam McLeish

Question 4: Who would be the target audience for your media product?

It was decided that our target audience would be both males and females aged 16 - 25. This is because it is unlikely that it would be a suitable sequence for an audience any younger than this. Any older and you run the risk of the audience preferring a more intellectual film. I feel that our target audience was the right age because it allows for us to create a sequence that would appeal to us, which could be a good tester for the rest of the demographic.

What other films would our target audience enjoy? (Details provided from Pearl& Dean)

'The Maze Runner: Scorch Trials' (Wes Ball, 2015)

As shown here, it is clear that this film was targeted at our target audience as well, as shown by the fact that 41% of the audience was compiled out of people aged 15 - 24. This is significant because as it was rated 12A, which explains why the audience younger than the target audience only made up 29% because they would have also had to go with an adult. If the film was rated at a 15, these lower ages would be virtually nil and would rely heavily on audience members aged 15+, which is risky because then the company isn't inclined to make as much money as they can, meaning it is in their best interest at keeping it 12A appropriate. This film is a good example of this because it is predicted that it would make £6.5 million in the box office.


'Regression' (Alejandro Amenábar, 2015)

As presented above, 'Regression' has been able to still keep the target audience without being a 12A film. However, what is significant about this specific film is that the 15 - 24 audience is at 34% but the 45+ audience follows close behind at 32%. However, rather than remaining consistent between the age ranges, 25 - 44 has dipped to around 15% respectively. This then suggests that the producers were either aiming at the one demographic and got the other as an added bonus. I would assume that they were targeting the younger of the two through the use of the iconic actor, most connected with a younger audience, and the fact that the younger demographic is still in the lead of the two.

'10 Cloverfield Lane' (Dan Trachtenberg, 2016)

Finally, '10 Cloverfield Lane' is another key example that got their target audience as the majority, despite the fact that it was advertised as a 12A. This is shown through the fact that the younger audience consists of around a fifth of the total audience, with 15 - 24 year olds trumping at 47%. Also, as the film is expected to make £8 million at the box office, you can expect that this will be from the whole of the country because it is popular amongst lower middle/working class people (C1 at 37%) which is the majority of the population. From this, it is clear that this film is targeted at everyday people in order to reach a large audience, which in-turn would produce a larger profit if it was successful. 

In relation to the thriller films above, I feel that they are ones that my target audience would like. This is because there is an dark underlying message in each of them and they are all dramatic. As our sequence also follows the same traits, I believe that this target audience are the right people that will pay to see the film.