AS Media Evaluation: Question Five

How did you attract/address your audience?

My group and I had a clear idea for what genre our media product (a movie title sequence) was going to be. We decided to choose the horror genre. When coming up with ideas for the horror opening, we had to think about what would draw people in and the reason for watching a horror movie.
 


Here are some elements that were included in the media product which would attract an audience and potential viewer into watching the horror film.

By doing a questionnaire, My group and I had more confirmation for the age group that we aimed to cater for in out Film (18-25 year olds). By doing this questionnaire, we had ideas of what interests people in this age gap, so we took on board the answers we were given and then they the ideas were either taken on board and used in the final product or were in the pre filming stages as ideas for the product.

Here is the vox pop from my questionnaire for my media product, it provided my group and I with useful information with regards to their opinion on cliches in the genre and the genre itself. It also gave my group and I new viewpoints and ideas to pursue when making my media product.

AS Media Evaluation: Question Four

Who would be the audience for your media product?

In the pre production stage of making my media product, a horror movie, my group and I had to think about who the target audience would be and who would most likely watch my movie. There are many different factors that can make up a person and by using these factors it can help my group and I attract a certain type of a person that then fits inside a bigger 'target audience' which would then be the overall type of person that would watch my movie. However, by designing and catering certain marketing techniques  such as trailers and posters for a certain group of people to be drawn into viewing my product, it's aim isn't then to exclude people who may not fit into the target audience. People who don't fit into the target audience can obviously still watch my movie, but the marketing, promotion and the overall 'look' of the film just may not appeal to them as much as it would to someone in the target audience.

There are many different reasons to watch a Horror movie and they can appeal to a wide variety of people. Here are some factors that my group and I took into account when thinking about a target audience and which ones we chose for the target audience and why. 

The main age and gender that we would appealing to would be male teenagers/young adults aged between 18 and 25. One reason is that due to the amount of violence and gore that is associated with the Horror genre and also with my movie, this would ultimately be more tailored to a male audience. Another reason is that  people in this age range like to do activities with their friends, so they would go out to the cinema with their friends. They'd do because this to try and get a thrill out of life without necessarily being guided to it, and a Horror film can give this fairly young audience a thrill predominantly from watching the horror films and also from being out with friends and having a good time. Another reason that the movie is appealing to this genre is that the characters in the movie are the same age as people in the target audience. This could mean that the viewer can possibly  see themselves in the characters. Another factor that could possibly draw people in is the fact that the protagonists are two policemen. This could potentially attract a an audience who share this job role, as they could relate to the characters on a working level as well as on a personal level.

The ultimate aim for a Horror film is to scare the viewer. When making these points in regards to a target audience, I had to give examples for how other films could possibly appeal to a certain audience just as my movie could.

For example I talked about the Blair witch project and how the age of the characters and the story itself would be more likely to draw in a younger crowd because of their overall acceptance to the story being about the investigation of an urban legend. 

AS Media Evaluation: Question Three

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

AS Media Evaluation: Question Two

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Dante's Harpie would qualify as an 18 rate film due to scenes of violence and gore, which ultimately makes the audience for Dante's Harpie marketed at 18 and above target audience. With regards to gender, the products audience would be catered more to a predominantly male audience. This is due to the violence and gore that is present in the product, although this does not limit or restrict females in my products target audience. The idea of the product is to give the audience a thrill from the fear gained from watching a horror movie. This idea again appeals to a predominantly male audience, targeting at an age range up to 25. This is because this age bracket is more likely to fit into the stereotypical 'thrill seeker' which is usually portrayed by a male. However this does again not exclude females from the target audience.


Fans of the Horror movie genre can also be linked to fans of Heavy Metal and its many sub genres. This is due to Heavy metal bands and musicians incorporating a dark and 'heavier' tone into their music. The fans of one of these entertainment options can easily become a fan of the other as they both share a lot of elements between them such as the atmosphere evoked in the music. Horror films have also inspired many musicians in different elements of Heavy metal, such as the sound, lyrics, presentation of band

Examples of Bands which  have incorporated the Horror genre.

Code Orange - I am king

The music video is influenced by horror movies as the content of the video lends itself to something that may be featured in a horror film.

The genre of the band is mainly Hardcore Punk, but with this song lends itself to Doom metal, which is influenced by Horror films and religious ideas such as pentagrams and the devil.

 Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

This band creates music in the Doom metal genre, and as a band are influenced by Horror films and H.P Lovecraft, a noted author of horror fiction. The sound is very slow, heavy and aggressive, which conjures up feelings similar to a Horror film.

The imagery of the album cover, is also influenced by the Horror genre as it features a horned male which is suggested as being the devil.

Although through our product we're not trying to cater for a specific group of people, it's important to see how our genre can affect other types of entertainment, and can be useful in appealing to as many people as possible, by taking influence from things such as music, which we focused on in the making of the product

The characters in the film do not represent a certain group of people, the focus is more at the age of the characters, as their age is in the age range of my product.

The victim in my product is based off of the target audience age, as to draw parallels between the victim and the viewer. Also, to follow conventions of the Horror genre, the victim is a teenager/young adult , which is a common convention in the sub genre of Slasher Horror, one which was an influence in the making of my Product.






The two policemen's characters are influenced by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman's characters in the movie Se7en. Se7en serves as big influence in more than one way for my product. The characters served as inspiration in the way they dealt with one another and how they worked together when solving the crime. For my product, my group and I applied their character mould almost directly to our own policemen, with the exception that they had the same amount of experience.

AS Media Evaluation: Question One.

In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms & conventions of real media products?

When I was creating my media product, Dante’s Harpie, I made sure that I was following and using the conventions of horror films. I am especially pleased with my opening shot and the point of view shot on the ‘dead body’ as I feel that these shots are the ones that use the conventions in the way that they should be. My audience research meant I had a lot of information to utilise, in which I reflected throughout the film.

Whilst creating my media product, I thought about the different conventions that are present in horror films, more specifically in the sub genres of Slasher and Psychological horror. A convention that our product matches is the killer and his background. A convention of Slasher villains is that in their past they have suffered either great abuse or trauma, which is the fuel and incentive to commit the murders and horrific acts to gain revenge and also a sick satisfaction in doing so. In my Media product when constructing the character of the killer, the idea was that he had constantly been on the receiving end of bad treatment from female figures in his life, giving him a psychotic mindset and a negative view of females, this paired with the reading of Inferno by Dante and the connection to a specific part of the book then further fuels his psychosis and cements the idea in his twisted mind that all females are evil and must be killed to rid them from the world, giving him revenge on his mistreated youth and the satisfaction that he is doing a 'good' thing for the world. Another way that my media product conforms to conventions is the overall setting of the product. In the two minute title sequence, the entirety of it takes place in the same location, A outdoor woodland area. This location is a common one for the Horror genre as well as the sub genres Slasher and Psychological which the product is focused on. Another convention used is the use of a jump-scare, taken from both sub genres of Horror. This is an almost guaranteed way to get a reaction from a viewer and is more common place used in Psychological horror as the antagonist/s are usually supernatural or have a supernatural element among them, like with my media products villain whose psychotic state is shown with through the camera and editing in the product.

Water colour based on passage in Inferno, which fuels the Killers psychosis.

Woodland setting of my product.

One way that my product does not conform to conventions is that the protagonists are not in a group and are not in danger from the murderer. The two main protagonists are two young male policemen, and the story is that they are a part of the investigation team trying to find the murderer. In my media product, they are introduced after the death of the girl in the movie, but overall this the third murder to have taken place. Another way that my product does not form to conventions is the storyline isn't one which is common place used for a Slasher horror. A general basis for a Slasher film is that there is a group of teenagers or young adults who are hunted down by a Killer. My media product whilst incorporating elements from this sub genre, doesn't follow this generic storyline. For my product, we took inspiration from Se7en as a storyline, especially with the characters, the villain and the element of literature used.

The two policemen.