Audience Demographics

Grouping audiences into groups/categories, according to quantifiable attributes, such as:

• age

• gender

• race / ethnicity

• sexuality

• religion

• geographic

• social status/ economic status

Used to formulate mainstream target audience assumptions.  Based on stereotypical or statistical trends and assumptions, and as such are used as a starting point, but can be problematic, and not always be true. Does not account for individuality.

Audience Psychographics

Psychographics refer to all the psychological variables that combine to form a person's hobbies and interests. 

Even if two people share the same demographic or geographic characteristics, they may still hold entirely different ideas and values that define them personally and socially. 

Marketing firm Young & Rubicam attempted to "pigeon hole" consumers according to their interests and desires. Seven Kinds of People.

Codes & Conventions of the action genre 

• Mission Impossible, Die Hard, Bond, The Matrix, Fast & Furious, The Expendables, 6 Underground

• Anti-hero character archetype

• Usually a hypermasculine male, with a morally grey compass

• Womaniser, playboy, attractive pin up, who sexualises females

• Female character is Proppian Princess archetype, passive and to be 'rescued' by the male

• Broken backstory looking for revenge / protect family

• Large scale chase scenes and big explosive set pieces

• As such, big budget blockbusters

• Mainstream Hollywood staple

• Lost of fast cutting and exciting action, reflected in editing style

• Lots of slow motion and "bullet time" to create suspense and drama

TARGET AUDIENCE

• Purpose is to entertain by excitement. People who enjoy the thrill and adrenaline.

• This is called the gratification of escapism.

• Gender split perhaps 80:20 in favour of males, due to the statistical likelihood of a male protagonist, but also due to the passively objectified female character who is usually sexulaised, and there to be rescued.

• Psycographics who would be interested in this could be the explorer, the aspirer, and the mainstreamer.

RISK & EVALUATION

• Risk of industry to crew (stunts) could cause setbacks and delays to production, which could cost money.

• Linked to that, big budgets need big profits, and a film that does not make back its budget could be considered a financial flop.

• Repetitive, traditional genre, often saturated with many examples of the same thing, lacking any real plot or narrative. Criticised by film critics as being "lazy" and mainstream "cash grabs."

• Promoting anti-hero characters could be problematic for society (the effects model) which has been accused of being one of the causes for gun-violence in western societies.

Codes & Conventions of the thriller/horror genre 

• Aliens, The Decent, Blair Witch Project

• Dark themes, abandoned house, desolate, isolated locations or setting

• Cutaways of newspaper clippings to provide foreshadowing and narrative backstory

• Low key lighting

• Fear of the unknown

• Less is more. NOT seeing is sometimes more scary

• Slow, lingering shots, long shot duration to build suspense.

• Chase scenes and fast cutting still occur

• Most famously uses the jump scare

• Dramatic and suspenseful non-diegetic soundtrack 

• Creepy, suggestive atmospheric and ambient diegetic sound effects (dripping water, wold howling etc.)

TARGET AUDIENCE

• Purpose is to entertain by fear. People who enjoy the thrill and excitement.

• This is called the gratification of escapism.

• Gender split perhaps 70:30 in favour of males, due to the statistical likelihood of a male protagonist, but also due to the passively objectified female character who is usually sexulaised, and there to be rescued.

RISK & EVALUATION

• Repetitive, traditional genre, often saturated with many examples of the same thing.

• Poor "mainstream" remakes of eastern horror films lead to "cheap copies" accused of a lack of imagination.

Codes & Conventions of the post-apocalyptic genre 

• Children of Men, 28 Day Later, I Am Legend, 2012, The Day After Tomorrow, Mad Max, World War Z

• End of the world narrative

• Usually has already happened, but insight into how, provided in non-linear flashbacks

• Cause is usually zombies, virus, chemical warfare, alien invasion or climate issues

• Focuses on a lone survivor (Proppian hero archetype) or group of lone survivors

• Set in a broken, destroyed location or setting

• Dystopian future

• Costume worn down and damaged

• Colour palette grey and bleak

TARGET AUDIENCE

• Gender split perhaps 60:40 in favour of males, due to the statistical likelihood of a male protagonist, to provide personal identity, aka relatability with a desirable role model.

• Age bracket perhaps 17-35, during a "coming of age" period of life, where role models are desired.

• Also, female demographic might be higher than usual, as female characters not as often objectified in this genre (when compared to others such as horror or action)

• Purpose is to entertain as a result of mystery and mystique. This is called an enigma code.

• People who enjoy the self discovery and sense of exploration.

• This is called the gratification of escapism.

• Psycographics who would be interested in this could be the explorer and the mainstreamer. Perhaps the struggler.

RISK & EVALUATION

• Poor CGI risks ruining the immersion.

• Repetitive character tropes (divorced male father figure)

• Repetitive causes of the end of the world narrative, mean this genre is often not very innovative.

Mainstream Cinema

• Dominated by THE BIG SIX

• Dominated even further by DISNEY

• Large conglomerate with a monopoly over the industry

• Dominates that industry with a large budget and vast collection of intellectual property

• Institution can maximise profits (the rich get richer)

• Vertical and Horizontal Integration means many conglomerates own many more companies

• For example, Disney own Pixar, Lucas Film and Marvel, companies that do the same thing (horizonal integration) who all have their own vertically integrated production companies

• Merchandise attract ABC1 audiences who have disposable income 

• Will appeal to the Aspirer / Achiever / Mainstream psychographic

• Rely on large scale marketing campaigns (but also on word of mouth aka viral marketing)

• Cinema's take the form of large multiplexes, with massive entertainment options, such as restaurants and amusements, in order to provide escapism, but also opportunities for synergy.

• Synergy means working together = with greater gains than if separate.

• Synergy between Hollywood and the video/music/fast food industry for example.

EVALUATION:

• Repetitive narratives, similar tropes, lack of innovative ideas or concepts, multiple reboots and remakes, exhausted trends, over saturation of certain genres (comic book, action, for example)

• Lack of opportunity for new directors if unproven (catch 22)

Independent Cinema

• Smaller production firms, with much lower budgets

• Unproven directors (doesn't necessarily always mean poor/bad quality)

• Less pressure/involvement/meddling by commercial executives (See Snyder Cut or JJ Abrams Rise of Skywalker)

• Independent directors have their of creative freedom

• Can afford to take more risks perhaps to get noticed

• More unique, innovative narratives and concepts

Case Study: Monsters (2010)

• Monsters was Gareth Edwards’ first major film. 

• Worked with a crew of only five people and shot for three weeks across five different countries. 

• Edwards also served as the cinematographer, production designer, and visual effects artist. 

• The film made a profit of $4.2 million from a $500,000 budget. 

• Edwards shot and edited the film himself, with consumer grade DSLRs and Premier Pro on a Macbook in his hotel.

• Gave the director auteur status, as he had the freedom and control to create the film he wanted

• No external pressure from executives or corporations

You MUST be familiar with the narrative theory on this page to do this task.

Codes & Conventions of the Drama / Series format

• Purpose to entertain, to provide escapism...

• Episodic. Specific number of episodes  (usually between 5-22) in a closed series, usually called a season

• A broadcasting hour is usually 42 minutes and a series broadcasting half hour is 24 mins, to allow for adverts.

• Each episode, and then the finale usually ends on a cliffhanger to create more enigma codes

• This also keep the audience interested between seasons, called a hiatus.

• It often provides a non-linear narrative that may create more depth towards a character's past. This enables the character to have a stronger background that the audience can create personal identity.

• Often has a non-linear narrative for educated ABC1 audiences.

• With the advent of streaming, many series are made available in their entirety, in order to allow binge viewing and timeshifting

• Will have lower budgets than Hollywood, but may still have considerable budgets, certainly in comparison to other TV formats, such as serial or game show

• May take advantage of star power

• Will most likely have a unique selling point

• Often a range of genres, sometimes fantasy, superhero or supernatural, and as such can (but don't always) take advantage of anti-realist narratives

Single Camera Techniques in Dialogue Scenes (OTS/SRS/180° )

• Techniques used: Film each character's reaction to the conversation using over the shoulder shots, using the 180 degree rule, to ensure  shot reverse shot occurs correctly. Two shot used initially to establish who is part of the conversation. Eventually move from mid shot to close up.

• This is to allow for character development, to generate empathy and opportunities for personal identity in the drama.

• Equipment used: Tripod, sound equipment, lighting equipment.

• Risk: NOT using these single camera techniques will prevent opportunities for personal identify, and perhaps alienate the audience, or create one dimensional characters. 

• Another risk would be extreme close up shots exposing poor actors.

• Another risk would be breaking the 180 degree rule and creating continuity errors.

Single Camera Techniques used in Tracking Shots/Long Takes

• Techniques used: 

• The "long take" or the "single take" which allows you to talk about the lack of (perceivable) cuts and the length and duration of the sequence. Usually filmed handheld.

• Sometimes hand in hand with the tracking shot, which is a long take that specially follows a moving character.

• Must still talk about the existence of edits in post production, that will be "hidden" usually with the purposeful use of foreground wipe on the day of filming.

• Equipment used: Stablisers or Steadicam™ in addition to cranes and vehicle support. Tripods on a dolly for movement, perhaps on a track. Drones more recently.

• Risk: 

• All of the above equipment (or a combination) is required to do this technique, which can be expensive, especially for independent film makers.

• Any long take will require a great deal of planning, and many things could go wrong. This could lead to a reset, and will cost time an money. Some sequences may only have "one chance" to get it right. As such, everything will be choreographed and many dress rehearsals will occur.

Other Single Camera Techniques 

• Techniques used: Tilt, establish shot, enigma code, slow motion.

• Equipment used: Tripod

• Risk: ABC1 audience members can cope with questions (education) but it is possible to frustrate audiences with too many questions (especially if not resolved quick enough) that can lead to some audiences switching off/leaving bad reviews.

• Techniques used: POV, ECU, handheld

• Equipment used: None other than camera.

• Risk: If used too often, can cause disorientation and nausea (Cloverfield) and break immersion. Can become a cliché (found footage) if used too often (unoriginal, cheap) often referred to as the "Blair Witch" effect.

• Techniques used: Dolly zoom, the "vertigo effect"

• Equipment used: Dolly, duh! 

• Risk: Almost always used or a moment of realisation from the character. Also can cause nausea and motion sickness if over used.