Audience Theory

Why the target audience for media is important

•The media industry is highly competitive and all media texts are created with a target audience in mind.

•If there isn't an audience for a media text then it wont be successful either in getting its message across or, if it is a commercial media text, making money for the producers.

•Media producers use audience research and analysis to find out as much as possible about their target audience and make sure research to ensure production will appeal to them.

Demographic Audience Profile and D1 Scale

•This defines groups based upon age, gender, income, education, occupation and types of media that an audience consumes.

•This is so the producers can direct their product to a specific target group.

How I am considering my audience in my film opening

How I will consider my audience for the film opening:

1. Culture - the cultural aspect of the location I am shooting it. As well as respecting the people the culture as they are part of the target audience.

2. The target audience e.g. age group

3. Sound track - the sound track will provide a deeper feeling in my film opening. It will keep the audience interested and focused on the film.

4. Shots - the shots will engage the audience more into my film opening. They will provide a visual benefit towards my audience as different angles of the opening will be presented.

Technical and Audio codes

•Camera angles, shots and movement used in a TV programme or film all help to make it more engaging for the audience.

•Technical Codes: Camera angles, Lighting, Editing 1. Shots 2. Camera movement 3. Editing 4. The pace of the text 5. Lighting 6. Mise-en-Scene

•Audio Codes: Sound, Diegetic, Non-diegetic 7. Sound - diegetic and non diegetic 8. Ambient noise 9. Voice over 10.Music

Reception Theory by Stuart Hall

• This theory explored how people make sense of media texts and claimed audiences were active not passive. The media texts are encoded by the producer -

• ACTIVE AUDIENCE engages, interprets and responds to a media text in different ways and is capable of challenging the ideas encoded in it.

• PASSIVE AUDIENCE is more likely to accept the message encoded in a media text without challenge and are therefore more likely to be directly affected b the message.

Uses and Gratification Theory

Uses and gratification theory seeks to understand why people seek out the media that they do and what they use it for. UGT differs from other media effect theories in that it assumes that individuals have power over their media usage, rather than positioning individuals as passive consumers of media. UGT explores how individuals deliberately seek out media to fulfil certain needs or goals such as entertainment, relaxation, or socialising. This is a approach to understanding mass communication.

This theory focuses on:

1. consumer

2. audience

• Uses and gratification theory can be seen in personal music selection.

Why the Audience Theory is important

It is important to use the audience theory because it provides an element of thinking which is developed to look into cultural and literary theory.

The audience theory helps with addressing the audience by text, different shots, soundtrack, visuals, media effects, etc. Communication is key!