PLANNING: MY TARGET AUDIENCE

Audience Profile 

I planned how to reach my specific target audience to know who they are and what their interests are. I created an audience questionnaire to research the age, gender, ethnicity and social class of my target audience. I found out what their media needs and wants are so that I could create a film that will satisfy them. Ultimately in order to market my movie I had to find out the best way to reach my target audience. 

I have looked at Bauer media, NME and Empire to understand how they define audiences. This has helped me to create my own target audience profile. 

1. Who is my primary target audience?

Female 15-35 year olds. 

2. What kind of films and television are they likely to prefer?

Comedy, Rom-coms, romantic films. 

3. What platforms do they choose to watch films and where are they likely to see information about films?

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Sky. 

4. What brands do they prefer?

Zara, PrettyLittlething, Boohoo, Apple etc. 

5. What makes my film stand out from the competition?

It is a coming of age film which explores the difficulties of being a teenage girl. 

6 . Why should my audience watch my film? 

Because it is relatable, but also enjoyable for many people - men as well as women. 

PLANNING: FILM IDEAS

 

PLANNING: TREATMENT

TRU 2 U 

                                                                                                              coming of age movie examples:

For our film we considered a coming-of-age comedy featuring a teenage girl finding her way in life through hardships of friendship and love. Set in a secondary school in surrey, the film follows our protagonist Lara's journey of self discovery.  Lara– a shy, awkward teenage girl discovers the hard way that there’s more to life than popular boys and superficiality. After undergoing a makeover by popular girl Becca, Lara receives attention like she has never received before. The odd-looking outsider transforms from an ‘ugly duckling into a beautiful swan’ with the assistance of her ‘friend’ who later becomes jealous and resentful of the ‘new beautiful and cool Lara’ that she has created as her minion. Audiences ask here ‘is this the real her?’, relaying the idea that people do not need to change in order to fit into societal norms. Lara in turns learns that these people are not her real friends – only on the surface. After losing who she once was, Lara eventually learns the meaning of true friendship and true self-worth and self-identity through discovering her own image and voice. Our film portray the important theme of of growing up and moving from one part of your life to the next that every audience can relate to. 

RESEARCH: TARGET AUDIENCE & SIMILAR FILMS AND COMP LIST

 COMP LIST

COMP LIST by Laura Souter

Kezia Williams, of Entertainment One UK, on the FutureLearn Film Distribution by the Film Distributors Association, speaks about how film distributors build a 'comp list' of comparable films that their target audience would enjoy. 

She highlights the importance of knowing your target audience. She asks questions like "what drives

 them to the cinema" and "what interests do they have". She also says distributors will compare data 

of films that are similar in their genre, selling points and story. The target audience and budget is

 formulated from what box office take was like with previous films and the types of audience that 

saw those films.

 The target audience can be analysed to find the gender gap, and which cinemas

 the target audience usually frequent.

Today we carried out similar research

KEZIA WILLIAMS: Really important to understand who your audience is and what motivates them and what’s going

 to interest them and drive them to go to the cinema. So you start, often, by examining similar films that have been 

released in the past– comparable films is a way in which we refer to them in the industry– and create a set that we

 can then look back at data so we can look at lots of different data and do research, really, on those comparable 

films to identify who the audience was on those films. So it might be that we look at demographic data and think 

about, did it skew more male or more female? What’s the age group that it appeals to?

Does it have multiple different audiences that that can appeal to?

 And there’s lots and lots of cinema-going trends that you can dig into from that comparable set. We’ll also look at

 box office data to understand regionality, to look at the cinema-going skew– so did more people go to a certain 

cinema chain to see these comparable films? Right down to which cinemas performed. So it might be that there’s

 a cinema in London that had a fantastic box office share, and that’s an important aspect for us to consider. And 

then once you really understand who the audience on those comparable films were, you can start to talk about

 the differences and similarities between those films and the film that you’re working on.

PLANNING: ADVANCED PRODUCTION

PLANNING: TASKS 

1. The name of our film: Tru 2 U 
2. The name of our Production Company and our co-production companies: TFL Productions and star studios 
3. The name of the director that will appear in our trailers: Malcolm Duffy
4. The name of the 2-3 main actors that will appear in our trailers: becca, jake, Lara  
5. (Optional)  "From the director of..." 
6. The names of the film festivals where our film will be screened (more festival names here): Puglia festival of love, Venice film festival, London film festival 
7. Pull quotes from reviews etc; wording: The Times, 'witty, brilliant and down-right jolly'  'beautiful coming of age story'
8. Our location recce - take photos and collate in an attractive way + written explanation
9. Our target audience: teenage girls 
10. Social groups and issues in our film... students, young people, romantic high school relationships, coming of age, finding your true self
11. Our props list - photos + stereotypes + clothing
12. Our social media - write down decisions about who is taking responsibility for which platforms: Instagram - Fifi, Twitter- Lulah, Facebook- Laura 
13. Our music - we researched (this type of music) as the background track... and narrowed down our choice to include... 
14. Our call sheets are being written by ... Laura

• how you plan to frame shots - identify establishing shot, wide shots, two- shots, three-shots, CUs, ECUs,
• words of any other inter titles
• release date - decide on wording: 1/07/22

RESEARCH: WHEN ARE TRAILERS SHOWN?

Its important to release a film at a time where it will generate mass success. This is often achieved by considering the time of year. For example, horror/thriller films are most likely to excel in October for the widely celebrated holiday Halloween is celebrated here. This connection will therefore draw upon a wider range of audiences for audiences will want to watch scary films during this holiday period. Similarly,  Mumma Mia did extremely well because of its release in mid July 2018, for the setting and the themes presented within this film can be described as summery. Romantic films in February, Easter films in March etc. A films release date - and month - determine how successful a film will be and how well it will be received by audiences. 

Case studies: 

Toy Story 4 - the last sequel - was released in the summer to appeal to a wide audience.

As it is a sequel, audiences know what kind of conventions they should expect. The positive imagery spoken within the trailer: 'it's all gonna be alright',  'make happy memories' aligns itself with what Disney is famous for: family time, coming together, supporting each other. 

Summer is a perfect time to release a feel good family film which features a summer holiday. As it is released during the summer holidays, this allows for families to visit the cinema and enjoy the experience together. The trailer depicts summery scenes of a fun fair: 'schools out' sort of feeling, which is relatable for children.

Lastly, the song 'God Only Knows' by the beach boys used within the trailer is upbeat and feel good and reminds parents of their own summers when they were younger. This therefore is engaging for older audiences, not solely for the young children demographic. 

The Brink:  

The genre is political which is a main talking point. The film includes real footage which makes it feel more real – this can be described as the USP of the film. Audiences who are interested in the subject will want to become more knowledgeable through watching the film which offers an insight into the truth of the events .The film offers behind the scene footage/unseen evidence which is intriguing to many people. 

This films target audience would be adults because is the subject matter requires existing knowledge of politics and secondly because it is heavy and covers mature themes. The film targets a right wing audience. The film offers big politicians such as Nigel Farage, Piers Morgan, Steve Bannon so allows for audiences to identity with the leaders they support. The films release time is important for it was soon after the elections. This is a successful idea for the election will still be spoken of frequently and prominent to audiences. 

Yesterday: Audiences will love this film because of the iconic music of the Beatles which people love and adore. The target demographic is wide, for older generations will enjoy the music they have grown up to love, as well as younger adults who listen to the Beatles music even today. The USP of this film is 'a new take on the Beatles' which is an interesting idea and will spark interest. 

The film has a 'summer feel' because of the music concerts and the festival vibe depicted within the trailer which involves audiences and makes us feel like we are partaking. Audiences who themselves take part in festivals - Reading, Boardmasters - will identify with these scenes. The blue skies, sea etc remind us of summer and the film is therefore cleverly brought out during summer to create the mass revenue. 

Written by the makers of Love Actually, audiences are also promised comedy. This is clearly shown in the trailer through the short dialogue at the end: 'Hey Jude are you sure?' - 'Yes much better'. As well as the drama which is presented through the romantic relationship between the protagonist and Lily James, comedy creates light relief and is important in drawing an audience into cinemas. Famous actress Lily James alongside extremely famous guest actors Ed Sheeran and James cordon creates 'buzz' from already adoring fans who will continue to support them by watching the film 'Yesterday'. Lots of attention can be generated through a star cast. 

RESEARCH: WHERE ARE TRAILERS SHOWN?

Trailers in different media:

Trailers are shown on various different media platforms: the cinema and TV as well as online with radio and poster campaigns offering lots of coverage for new films.  Trailers are often shown in cinemas prior to the film of a related genre and often match the classification for they share or have a similar target audience. Film websites publish trimmed trailers leaving out images spotlighting any harmful, harsh, and mature themes to ensure that it is suitable for viewers of all ages.

I have come to the conclusion that…

 

When watching live TV, its common for watchers to use adverts as a ‘break time’ to refresh their food and drink, talk to friends (if watching tv with others), check their phones or go to the toilet etc. Therefore this means that it is unlikely for trailers to be successfully taken in and acknowledged during advert breaks for viewers mostly only care for the film/ tv show they are already watching. Its common for people to use advert breaks as a time to ‘zone out’ instead of paying close attention to what is on screen.

Although the amount of people who watch TV is significantly more than the amount who visit the cinema, this is a very successful place to screen trailers, and arguably more so because these trailers are much more engaging. With a lack of distractions and the big screen with surround sound, audiences are captivated by the shared experience at the cinema and therefore the trailers will grab much attention. On the other hand, many people do consider the trailer time (15 minutes) and consequently miss the advert period where relevant trailers are shown. Therefore, cinemas can either be perfect for trailer coverage and revenue or not: depending on the viewer. 

 

Trailers on DVDs have big disadvantages for these are viewed as an outdated platform for watching trailers – and films. Because of the recent instant availability through viewing platforms like Netflix, Amazon prime, sky go, DVDs have become futile. Additionally, viewers have the option to fast-forward the trailers however much they wish and therefore will often skip the trailers to get to the film which paid to watch. This is arguably the worst platform of all for trailers to be recognised.

I watched a video where Dan Skinner explains how the style of a trailer is affected by a number of factors including where it will be seen, who by and for how long.

Teaser Trailer

-       -  Shorter and more succinct version of the main.

-        - The teaser offers a small peak into what the audience should expect: the genre.

-        -  It doesn’t tell the audience of the plot/narrative

-        - he teaser focuses on making a good person impression without giving too much away

 

Main Trailer

-        2-3 minutes

-        The main trailer is detailed and focuses on storytelling – it offers a deeper understanding of the narrative.

-         Follows a three acked structure: beginning, middle and end.

-       - Introduces the audience to protagonists, antagonists, problems.

-         Montages used to build excitement and intrigue: fast-paced cuts.

-         It is the most important media marketing because it will be viewed in theatres, cinemas and across all social media platforms.

 

 TV Spots

- Condensed trailers: aimed towards viewers who already have knowledge of the film.

- These are much shorter. There are three standard times: 30, 20 or 10 seconds long.

-        These are used to leave an impression through carefully chosen impactful and exciting shots.

-        Reviews are often included for by the time the TV Spot comes out, the film has already been reviewed. These reviews create positive encouragement to assure that people take an interest.

 

 Using Graphics

- Two types of graphics: Copy and Pedigree.

- Copy: help guide you through the story. This is the writing that features in a trailer. This text points the audience towards certain details which the film makers want to be drawn attention to.

- Pedigree: may be a company logo or the director of the film/ cast/ writers. This draws interest for audiences can notice that it has come from makers they adore and enjoy watching.

 

 Trailers in the Digital Age

- These are more about visual elements and sound quality

- Sounds are different on different devices: a trailer sounds better screened at a cinema rather than on a mobile device.

- Production companies are also adapt trailers to suit a variety of devices.

 

RESEARCH: HOW TRAILERS HELP FILL CINEMAS

 The FDA resource 'Teaching Trailers' suggests that marketing campaigns and film trailers should offer audiences new experiences to make their film stand out whilst still signalling a specific genre in order to help audiences chose if the film is of their interest. The idea of a film presenting a fresh and different idea is know as the unique selling point (USP).

Given three trailers, I identified what was the USP in each: 

Lion King

USP - Film consists of only talking animals and offers extremely high quality and realistic animation.

Late Night

USP - Film consists of star talents, Mindy Kaling and Emma Thompson with the main focus being on women and feminism.

In Disguise

USP - Film consists of extremely well known stars within the industry, Will Smith and Tom Holland. High quality animation is also present.

RESEARCH: WHO ARE THE TRAILERS AIMED AT?

 I learnt that trailers are mostly always aimed at the same audience as they publicise. All different people enjoy different types of films however people may fit into groups where certain features have a wide appeal. The trailers I analysed and attempted to match the potential target audience can be seen below: 

My conclusions:

VITA AND VIRGINIA is suited towards an Art House audiences. Mainly audiences such as Couples, prestige audiences, literary audiences etc would be intrigued. The film would interest socially aware women who care about history.  Lovers of period drama and The National Trust goers would enjoy this film because of the settings: gardens, flowers at Sissinghurst (National Trust park). Fashionable audiences too for the beautiful costumes/ hats/ hairstyles etc. The film would interest the Bloomsbury Group: a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists. Older audiences would be interested rather than younger children for the film explores mature themes and I also believe the film gives itself more to female audiences because of the subject matter and content: it is romantic which is more traditionally feminine.  

FROZEN 2 is aimed at towards young audiences and families for this movie is put out by Disney (a mass media conglomerate) who provides for this target audience. Children are pulled into cartoons for the characters are identifiable and cartoon characters explore  appropriate themes — like kindness, being a good friend, resilience, what to do when scared etc. However, adults will secondly enjoy the film for the high-quality animation and production values. Young girls can identify with Elsa for she is a strong-willed, independent woman who inspiring girls can strive to identify with. Elsa can be used as a role model. Action and adventure audiences will also enjoy this film because the trailer presents this genre through the daring adventure scenes: running, jumping. The trailer shows highlights of comedy to engage a wider rage of audiences too. 

APPOLLO 11 would interest audiences who take an interest in history and space craft - most likely teenagers and adults. With the film's rating being G,  there is therefore virtually nothing for parents to be concerned about however some parts of the movie can be very loud and intense, and very young or sensitive children might be frightened. Therefore, children will likely not enjoy this film unless specifically interested in spaceflight and moon-landing. The real footage makes the film feel authentic and therefore has a interesting USP.  Viewers who enjoy documentary will enjoy this film for it is a documentary edited film using solely real footage. Viewers with national pride and scientific interest will enjoy this film for it creates a sense of scientific revolutionary advancement and a further understanding of space. 

RESEARCH: WHY IS A FILM TRAILER MADE?

 I looked at three different trailers on the Teaching Trailers resource supplied by the FDA online in order to further my understanding of why trailers are made and the way in which they signal a genre.

The Mustang came across as a drama for it centred around a notorious prisoner who has the opportunity to restart his life when he he is selected for rehabilitation therapy that requires him to train a wild mustang. Its clear the film revolves around mature themes such as redemption and hope in adversity. 

Hobbs and Shaw is clearly an action film packed with 'fast and furious' excitement. Presenting a dynamic (and comedy) duo US agent Luke Hobbs and British mercenary Deckard Shaw, the trailer fullfils the genre convention of action as we learn they are forced to put their rivalry side and work together to stop a genetically enhanced supervillain. 

I believe Artemis Fowl is a children's fantasy film.   This is because the protagonist appears a confident, passionate young boy who begins his journey on a dangerous adventure to discover dark truths. The quest theme is established through narrative tropes such as fantasy and magic, explored through beautiful sets such as the magical set-piece scene in which an frail, old woman  changes into a beautiful sprite. The trailer presents different special effects to spotlight the young boys magical power. This is appealing to children: both young girls and boys. 

RESEARCH: WHAT IS A FILM TRAILER?

In researching film trailers, FDA's Teaching  Trailers online course taught me about how signifant Film Trailers are in the marketing and distribution of a film. We looked at 'Booksmart' as a case study which we used to analyse its effects. 

During my first year of A Level Media Studies I studied The Film Industry and was taught about Hollywood Majors, Low budget independent films and British films. Each film has a unique marketing campaign to engage a specific target audience: mainstream, prestige, grassroots. Every marketing campaign will cover many different aspects so that the film's 'message' will reach potential audiences. 

1. What do you think are the major elements of a film marketing campaign?

For example: Captain Marvel. This film attracts a mainstream family audience. This is achieved through the film website which had a convergent hub at the top of the page with convergent links. This technology creates an interactive platform between the text producer and the audience. 

 2. Where might you expect to see each of the different parts of the marketing campaign?

- campaigns in cinemas

- television (teaser trailer, main trailer)

- social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. 

- online websites: convergent links to other social media networking platforms. 

- the use of 'influencers' to promote the film and encourage their follows and fans to watch the film. 

- other ways include: TV chat shows, newspapers, reports and fetures; PDA (posters, fleet media, cinema lobby posters) 

These techniques are all used to create a successful marketing campaign. 

3. What factors make you want to go and see a film? How do you decide which films to see?

The use of influences with social media are important factors for me because I use social media platforms everyday. Social media is the sole place where I will find myself  being pushed and persuaded to watch a film. I watch films if they are well received and reviewed by critics, or if people's opinion I respect tell me that they have enjoyed it. This is what will convince me to watch/stream certain films.

WEBSITES

FILM WEBSITES by Laura Souter

SOCIAL MEDIA

POSTER ANAYLSIS 1, 2 & 3

 

THE BIRTH OF A NATION

 Official Trailer Analysis 

The trailer begins by displaying the production logo and a couple awards from film festivals to establish it is prestigious and well-received by critics. The panning establishing shot presents a cotton field and is accompanied by non-diegetic gloomy piano instrumental and a hopeful voiceover: ‘you got purpose’. The editing of the immediate cut to a black man picking cotton quickly establishes this is a period piece and teaches the audience that race is the key subject matter discussed within this film. The crosscut onto a young black boy’s face (we can assume is his younger self) creates an emotive reaction and allows for audiences to feel his hurt. The next over the shoulder shot spotlight’s the white lady’s insulting facial expressions as she tells the boy ‘Your kind wouldn’t understand’ the things there is to learn in books. The mise-en-scene of the positioning of her hand on his chin is clearly disparaging and derogatory as though he is worth less because of his race. The mise-en-scene of her costume - light green satin dress and tight curls - establishes her wealth and privilege and therefore highlights the power she holds over him.

 As the camera cuts back to the cotton field, the wide angel shot of the man completing labour juxtaposed against the ladies voice over ‘you’re special’ creates irony for the treatment he endures is inhumane. The black screen with white text reading ‘based on a true story’ creates sensitivity and engages audiences for the story is based upon real issues. A non-diegetic minor-key underscore begins as the camera is in a wide angle shot which presents the mise-en-scene of a white man whipping the black slaves as they work to present his white privilege. The emotive voiceover continues which tells a narrative of slavery and is accompanied by series of clips follow presenting scenes of black people chained, offering themselves up for slavering, crying, shaking, whipping etc.

A love interest is introduced into the narrative as seen through a reaction, over the shoulder shot and the mise-en-scene of a bunch of flowers which connote that there is a potential relationship to be formed. In the next scene the protagonist is also presented as a strong-willed individual; he stands up against the white bully by grabbing the whip which is shown in shot reverse shot presenting his angry facial expression and implying a revolt is to come. The cross fade into the next scene of whipping captured in wide shot presents the result of rebellion against racism. The focus upon his tearful face and his anguish, the piano instrumental and the heightened diegetic sound of the whip come together to create empathy from the audience. The quick editing between each short scene moves the narrative along: the cotton field, the protagonist’s beating scars, crying, praying etc. The non-diegetic music and the diegetic dialogue becomes hopeful: ‘we’re gonna fight’ which is followed by hundreds of black people carrying pitchforks, rising up against injustice. This is a visual code of change; a revolution of change. Rise up by Andra plays (non-diegetic music) is an audible code of what’s to come: they will ‘rise up’ and plays over a montage of clips showing rebellion and aspiration towards equality. This trailer presents the sickening struggle of black slaves and their treatment as subhuman through visual and sound codes.

GRAVITY

Official Trailer analysis 

The trailer begins simplistically with a black screen and white text: ‘at 372 miles above the earth…’ to initially introduce the film to the audience and allude to what we are about to see. The first scene proceeds depicting chaos through the mise-en-scene of outer space and an astronaut who is fighting for her life as she spins out of safety. The camerawork is hand-held and shaky to emulate the astronaut’s fast-paced rotation through space and later zooms closer onto her face to present her panic-stricken face. The tension is heightened through the non-diegetic string instrumental alongside the diegetic sound of a man shouting instructions: ‘listen to my voice’ and sirens to convey distress to the audience and create empathy. The camera zooms close in onto the woman’s lower stomach where she detaches her belt from the last on the spaceship as the sound of the air pressure increases and she flies backwards as she screams. The sudden black screen and silence is successful in cutting the built tension. 

The ‘Warner Bros. Pictures’ logo fades in quickly then fades out into a collection of quick cuts accompanied by loud celestial white noise: inside the spaceship, close shot of her gloves. The extremely wide shot of her body flying rapidly through space with earth behind to establish her visually makes her appeal insignificant and small against her threatening situation. The hand-held, spinning camera tracking the protagonist forces the audience to feel nauseated such as she and fear for her life. The diegetic exclaimed dialogue: ‘I’m detached, yes I’m spinning’, ‘you need to focus, give me coordinates’ which later descends into her heavy breathing and panting creates unease. The increasing volume of the dramatic instrumental underneath the diegetic sound is overpowering and emulates the protagonist’s anxiety. The editing and the camerawork of the extreme close up and the fading in and out of blackness imitates the astronauts consciousness. For a second time, all sound comes to a halt and the screen fades into black. Diegetic sound of gasps for air are synched to the opening credits of the director. More quick cuts follow this: falling through space, falling into satellite, crashing, photo frame of family, fire etc complemented by a voice over of the female protagonist explaining her backstory to create context for the audience. In between the fast cuts of action, the audience is finally introduced to the main actors: ‘Sandra Bullock, ‘George Clooney’. As the trailer comes to end, the astronaut is reaching her death. The suspense reaches a breaking point with diegetic sound of grunting, screaming, non-diegetic sound of dramatic music and visuals of big machinery crushing her body as the audience fear for her life. The sound stops suddenly as ‘Gravity’ spells out, followed by the release date to inform the audience. The trailer is successful in engaging an audience interested in adventure and thriller by using film codes to create suspense.