Evaluation Question 4:• Who will your audience be for your media product?• How will you appeal to your chosen audience?

AGE:In order to come to the conclusion of which age group to target for our thriller opening to we needed to conduct some research. We therefore had decided to create a questionnaire which we gave out to the public in order to understand their preferences which we could therefore incorporate within our thriller opening. By looking at the diagram on the left, it is clear that 56% of the participants which contributed in the questionnaire were between the ages of 15-19. This initially gave us a clear indication that we should aim our thriller opening to this age group however, after analysing our thriller opening we later were left unsure. We instead started to debate the idea of making the target audience lower and aiming it at people of the ages of 12 and above. This is as by conducting research about the BFFC which is known as the British Board of Film and Classification, we were made aware of the criteria of each movie rating. I found out that for a film to be classified as an '18' it would need to contain strong themes of sexual violence, sexual activity or drug abuse. None of these themes however were present within our thriller opening, although the theme of stalking was present within our thriller opening, no physical violence or death had taken place. We realised that this rating would not be suitable for our thriller opening therefore we decided to decrease it. On the other hand, for a film to be rated '15' it would need it potentially contain strong violence, sexual nudity and bad language constantly throughout. However, we believe that this criterion also does not fully match our thriller opening as our thriller opening does not contain any terms of violence, sexual nudity or feature any profanity. However, it does contain mature themes such as the topic of cyber bullying and stalking which can be seen as inappropriate or distressing for younger viewers. As we were left unsure of which age to target, we conducted some further research on different thrillers films which were similar to ours and which age rating they had. We particularly looked at 'The Black Swan' and 'Unfriended' as they both shared a similar plot to our thriller opening and had found out that both thrillers were rated '15' due to the mature themes which they featured. Although 'Unfriended' and ' The Black Swan' feature considerably more violence than our thriller opening we decided that it would be suitable in order to also make our target audience this age group. Firstly, this is as within our questionnaire research the were no participants which were under the ages of 15, therefore we were not fully aware of what this age group seeks within a thriller. Secondly, the central themes which are present within this movie such as cyberbullying and stalking are a common threat which young teenagers face today and would be deemed inappropriate for the younger generation. Our thriller will therefore make teenagers aware of the dangers of cyberbullying and the repercussions for taking part in such actions. We believe by making our thriller relatable to this target audience it will encourage them to watch it.

Gender:We also focused on a certain gender which or target audience appealed to. As the data in the right conveys of the right suggests, 53% of the participants which took part in the questionnaire were female and 47% male. This automatically was seen as a positive to us as initially we set out to target females; this is as we wanted to challenge the stereotypes which they hold within media today by casting the main character as a female. By looking at the pie chart underneath however it clearly suggests that 80% of the participants prefer a male protagonist rather than a female. Within media it is very common for the main protagonists to be a strong, independent male which has become the norm. This is evident through our research as although 53% of the participants which took place within our questionnaire, the majority of them would prefer a male protagonist rather than a female. We as a group however have decided to tackle this common theme and instead feature a female to be the main protagonist. Although this idea does not correspond with our data, we believe that by subverting the stereotype and featuring a strong, independent, powerful female, women would be drawn to our thriller. This is by doing some research we had found that females like to relate to characters which hold strong characteristics such as being independent and a survivor, this therefore allows them form a loyalty with this character throughout the film. Our thriller film isn't particularly targeted at men which is evident through our research as only 20% of men participated within our questionnaire research. As more females participated, we are made more aware of what they are seeking within a thriller rather than what men seek. I personally believe that males would disregard our thriller and would not enjoy it as doesn't feature any male characters except for the brief notion of a male called 'Max'. Research shows that men enjoy being in power and by seeing a male protagonist dominating females on screen, gives them a sense of superiority. However, as our thriller opening focuses on an independent female protagonist, this will immediately be unappealing to males as they will assume that it is 'just another chick flick' and not a thriller to be taken seriously. As the data on the left conveys, the age group of the majority of participants within the questionnaire are between the ages of 15-19. By combining the data of the age and gender of the participant it clearly shows that our target audience particularly is teenage girls. This is significant in order to attract our audience as Mary, the main character, is also a young teenage girl. Through the use of props, dialogue and costume we made Mary a relatable character to the female teenage audience. For example, the props used within Mary's bedroom such as the makeup, jewellery boxes and ornaments it in some ways represents Mary as a typical, fashionable teenage girl. Mary and Maya are introduced to the scene by gossiping about the day’s event which is seen as a typical teenage thing to do. This is important as the similarities between the target audience and the main character allow the audience to relate to the hardships which Mary faces and positively look up to her.

Casting of characters:Within our thriller opening we do not feature any Caucasian cast, however instead an ethnic minority such as Asians. By featuring two Asian cast members to star within our thriller opening helped appeal to our target audience. This is as traditionally within films Indians or Pakistanis are not featured much within films however when they are, they are either seen as uncool or a sidekick. However, within our thriller opening we have portrayed them in a positive light as our main character is seen as strong, popular and wealthy rather than uncool or unattractive. This helps attract our audience as I believe people of this ethnicity will be more attracted to it as it differs from traditional thrillers which makes our thriller unique, it also will give them a sense of loyalty or alliance with the character. Thriller movies within media today have very repetitive storylines and teenagers often become bored however by making our casting original it will allow the audience to watch something new. Also as teenagers are very impersonal and are used to seeing the misrepresentations of these casts on TV, they are able to see a different and more positive side.

ConclusionOverall, as you can see we faced a lot of challenges when coming to decide which rating our thriller opening should be. However, after conducting a lot of research and much deliberation we came to conclusion that our target audience will be aimed at 15-19 year olds. Although our target audience would prefer thrillers to feature a male protagonist I believe that by featuring a female protagonist instead, it will be more attractive to the audience. This is as they are not used to it and females enjoy watching and encouraging other strong females. Overall, I believe that we have done well in terms of meeting the needs of our target audience as not only are we incorporating what they seek within a thriller, however also made it diverse and original by featuring minorities.