Categorising Audiences

Pearl and Dean categorise audiences into 4 categories based on modern cinema and what types of people tend to watch different types of film.

Perfect Audience Member

I used a couple of websites to research what would be the perfect audience member of our film opening (UK Tribes and 'What Tribe are You?'). To do this, I took the quiz and answered how my typical audience member would.

After taking the quiz on behalf of my perfect audience member, the result was a Trendie. I then researched what this meant and found that it was part of the 'Aspirant' tribe, along with Rahs and New Casuals. For Aspirants, it's all about "experience seeking, keeping up to date and letting loose with friends". This is a perfect match for our ideal audience member as they are likely to watch our film with their friends and socialise. Trendies are "always searching for the next big thing".

Trendies are a rapidly growing UK Tribe that are threatening to exceed the population of Townies, a 'Mainstream' tribe. Trendies take a more alternative stance on fashion, trying to create their own individual look. Idols include Alexa Chung, Kate Moss and Daisy Lowe.

With these idols in mind, I put together a few items of clothing that our typical audience member might wear using Polyvore.

Based on this, here are some images of what our typical audience member might look like. They would be young thrill seekers who enjoy socialising with friends.

Outcomes of Audience Research

One day after creating and sharing my questionnaire, I decided to look at the results so far. The website I used allows you to view the results in a donut chart, making it easy to decipher the majority.

Gender

The gender of my audience is almost equal, however the majority is female at 61%. Because they are split very closely, I do not want to make my film opening overly feminised to ensure it still appeals to the male population of my audience. However, using female characters will be a much subtler way to appeal to female viewers as they can relate.

Age

The most common age range of the audience was 16-20 years old. This is very similar to my planned target audience, meaning I can hopefully succeed in making it appeal to the viewers.

Favourite Genre

Most of my audience prefer horror films, which works very well with the plan for my film opening. The second most preferred is thriller. With this knowledge, I plan to add aspects of thriller to my film opening in order to appeal to a wider audience.

The next question asked the respondents to list a film of their specified genre that they believe has a good opening. I was most interested in seeing what horror films would be listed so that I could research them and include some of their traits in my own film. Three quarters of the horror respondents listed The Woman In Black as a film with a good opening.

 Opinions

One of the questions in my questionnaire was: "Fill in the blank: if the opening of a film was ____, I would not want to continue watching the film". This was an important part of my research as it allowed me to find out what my audience did not like so that I knew what not to include in my opening. Here's how they answered:

• "Bad quality"
• "Not HD"
• "Boring"
• "Boring"
• "Boring"
• "Bad quality"
• "Scary"
• "Overly slow and drawn out"
• "Bad quality"
• "Boring"
• "Boring"
• "Boring"
• "Badly edited (ie: continuity errors)"

The most common things my audience did not like in film openings was if they were boring or of lower quality. To avoid these, I will make sure to ask people's opinions when editing my video to make sure it is exciting and engages the audience. I'll also double check for continuity errors while editing. Using a high quality camera when filming will ensure it looks professional.

Another one of my questions was designed to help me include things my audience would like. I asked  "Why do you like this opening?", in regards to their answer of a previous question. They answered:

• "Eerie and gives a good sense of the plot"
• "It ties in later with the film"
• "Because it's engaging and not boring"
• "It's very tense and is leading up to a very good plot"
• "Eerie"
• "Shows a good idea of the plot"
• "Sets the scene. Instantly engages the viewer"
• "Very interesting and catches the eye of the audience"
• "Tense atmosphere"
• "It's amusing and you get drawn in"

Most of the answers refer to the atmosphere and the sense of plot of the film. I think my group will succeed in offering these desirable traits as a creepy and tense atmosphere is easily created through editing and our plot has contextual clues. Other comments like the opening "set(ting) the scene" and being "interesting" are all good ones to take into consideration. To set the scene, I will use a panning shot of our location. I believe our film opening should be "interesting" as our plot is quite unusual and so will hopefully engage the audience.

Audience Research

Survey Maker

Mood Board

I used Polyvore to make my mood board, setting out different areas I wanted to cover: settings, props and characters. 

The 'settings' section features abandoned houses, dark woods and confined alleyways as these are all typical of the horror genre. Because of this, audiences will straight away pick up on this motif, inducing fear of what is to come. During my research, I noticed that horror films often take place in day to day locations, such as somebody's house. This means the audience member can relate the events to their own life, thus creating a sense of paranoia and fear.

I included a range of different evil antagonists in my 'character' section and took inspiration from popular films of the genre. An example of this is Jack from The Shining, which also refers to horror films reflecting real life as he was just a regular guy. This isn't always the case in horror films though, hence why I included other antagonists such as a zombie, a masked man and a creepy clown.

Researching props also helped with deciding what to include in our own film. Crows are often in horror films and has deeper significance; a group of crows are often referred to as a 'murder'. I also included fake blood, various weapons and supernatural objects.

9 Key Shots of a Horror Opening

I decided to research the 9 key shots of The Woman In Black, a 2012 horror film.

(Note: non-diegetic, eerie music is playing throughout the opening, creating an unsettling atmosphere for the audience.)

The opening of The Woman In Black immediately highlights the power of this supernatural force. The first shot shows three young girls playing happily together in a playroom. This is an important shot as it adds a sense of realism to the film. I would also like to use realistic elements in my own film opening to ensure that my audience can find ways to relate to it. The girls are also dressed in light, feminine pastels which symbolise innocence and purity. I would like to include similar colour meanings in my own opening as a subliminal way to portray the difference between characters.

The second shot shows the girls simultaneously turn around, transfixed by something/somebody that the audience cannot see. This further instils fear into the viewer as the unknown can be very daunting. This shot is imperative to the plot of the film as it gives resolution to upcoming scenes. In my film opening, I will look into ways we can include this filming technique as it is a simple way to create a tense atmosphere.

The next shot shows the three girls divert their attention to something else, which we also cannot see. An eye line match is used between shot 3 and shot 4 as the camera moves to where the girls are all looking: three, full length windows. The audience are left in anticipation as they wonder what relevance this has. This shot is something I am interested in including in my own film opening as it is an effective way to engage the audience.

Shot 5 is of the three girls in a trance like state, as they leave their toys to stand up, still focussed on the windows. The way that they do not divert their attention has a haunting feeling to it, as they appear to be in a sort of hypnosis.

The next shot is a close up of one of the girls' hand as she drops the china teacup she was playing with. The camera follows this with match-on action and focuses on it smashing against the floor. This leaves the audience unsettled as they realise this is peculiar behaviour and creates anxiety about what is to come.

The camera is in front of the three girls as they walk orderly to the windows. At this point, the audience have a good idea about what may be about to happen which ties in with omniscient narration as it is clear that the girls are not in control of their fate. When filming my film opening, I would also like to use omniscient narration as this can induce fear and tension in the audience.

The audience's thoughts are realised in shot 8, when all three girls jump synchronously to their deaths. This shot is imperative to the plot as it highlights the intensity of this supernatural force.

The last shot pans backwards from the window to reveal the evil entity that is responsible. The audience can only see her veil, leaving the air of mystery around her. Like her name would suggest, she is dressed all in black. Being such a dark colour, it connotes evil, mystery and power. The villain in my film opening will also be dressed in black in order to portray similar characteristics.

Full Textual Analysis of a Film Opening

The scene opens with non-diegetic music, somewhat resembling that of an old fashioned music box. Music like this is typical of horror films, so viewers who are accustomed to the genre will already feel tense and anxious about what is to come. The music intensifies throughout the opening, creating a sort of countdown to a main, horrific event. There is no dialogue in this opening scene, making it feel more cinematographic. 

The first few shots show three young girls playing together with their toys. All three girls are dressed in pastel coloured dresses, connoting innocence, femininity and purity. The style of the dresses and the toys they are playing with are representative of the Edwardian era in which the movie is set. Close ups are used here to draw attention to these details.

A long shot is used as all three girls simultaneously look up, creating the impression that there is something/somebody in the distance. The girls are transfixed by this entity and begin acting in a trance-like state. They hold eye contact for quite a while, making the scene feel intense. The girls' eyes then divert to the other side of the room and an eye line shot is used to show what they are looking at: three full length windows. Without looking away, all three girls stand up at the same time, further suggesting the idea of hypnosis. A close up is used of one of the girls dropping a china tea cup, followed by match on action as it smashes on the floor. The girls begin walking over to the window, ignoring and breaking the china dolls and tea sets that lie on the floor before them. Their obliviousness strengthens the idea of some sort of possession. Synchronous sounds are used here to emphasise the breakages, suggesting to the audience that something is not quite right.

The camera is placed in front of the three girls in the next shot as they walk towards the windows. This highlights their determination as the girls continue staring behind the camera. Omniscient narration is used as the audience begin to realise what may be about to happen, allowing them to sympathise with the girls as it is clear they are not in control of their fate. The audience's thoughts are realised as the girls climb into the window frame and synchronously jump to their deaths. This highlights the intensity of the effect the supernatural entity has on others. This shot was centre of the frame which draws attention to it and marks it as important for the progression of the plot.

The last shot of the opening pans backwards from the window to reveal a mysterious, veiled character in the right of the frame, fixated on the now empty windows. She is dressed all in black, connoting evil and power. The audience do not get to see much of her, keeping the air of mystery surrounding her. Her outfit somewhat resembles what one would wear to a funeral, which is appropriate when considering the events that just unfolded.

Horror Film Opening

Here is a graphic break down of the opening of Saw, a film from my chosen genre.