Audience Research

Target Audience

 

You must consider the potential target audience for your trailer carefully by carrying out market research.

 

1.     Consider the traditional target audience for the film genre that you have chosen by finding out who they are (the demographic), what their interests are (the psychographic), and how you can make your product appealing to them. Think about the following aspects of your target audience:

·        Gender

·        Age

·        Class

·        Interests

·        Favourite films

·        Other interests

·        Other factors that you think are important

 

2.     You will need to complete an initial questionnaire to find out about the target audience for your film trailer.

3.     Use the internet to research the target audience for similar film trailers to your own.

 

4.     Complete a second questionnaire and or focus group to get feedback on your storyboard or animatic.

 

5.     You must complete detailed summaries of each piece of audience research that you do and explain how this information will help you create your product.

 

All of the information that you find out should be posted on your blog. Use a range of different methods to present your findings:

·        Prezi

·        SildeShare

·        Videos

·        Other internet software that is appropriate for the task

Research and Planning - The Trailer

Research and planning is worth 20 marks of your finished portfolio. You must produce detailed evidence of your research on your blog in order to achieve Level 4 (A/B)

Research

You should include the following:

1. Analysis of at least 3 films from your chosen drama.

2. Analysis of at least 3 film trailers from your chosen genre.

3. Evidence of feedback from questionnaires.

4. Evidence of feedback from focus groups and, or interviews.

Planning

You should include the following:

1. Drafting of the script.

2. Storyboards.

3. Shooting schedule.

4. Prop and costume lists.

5. Shooting planning documents.

6. Animatic.

7. Other evidence that can prove your own contribution to the task.

Film Genre Analysis

Genre and Film

Textual Analysis

 

Answer the following questions in order to analyse each of the genre films that you study.

 

1.     Give a brief overview of the plot of the film.

 

2.     Narrative is one of the repertoire of elements from which generic descriptions might be constructed. Tzvetan Todorov suggested the following cause-effect pattern within narrative structure:

·        A state of equilibrium at the outset.

·        A disruption of the equilibrium.

·        A recognition that there has been a disruption.

·        An attempt to repair the disruption.

·        A reinstatement of the equilibrium.

 

Discuss the narrative of the film with reference to Todorov’s theory of narrative structure.

 

3.     What aspects of the plot are conventional to the genre?

 

4.     What aspects of the plot challenge the conventions of the genre?

 

5.     Narrative is usually developed through characters. Identify the main characters of the film.

 

6.     Discuss the role of the main characters with reference to Propp’s theory of character functions. The key and most relevant character functions that Vladimir Propp identified are as follows:

·        Hero – the good character that attempts to restore the equilibrium.

·        Villain – the evil character that attempts to stop the hero.

·        Donor - prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.

·        Helper – the character that helps the hero.

·        Princess – the character that needs to be rescued by the hero.

·        Dispatcher – character who makes the disruption known and sends the hero off.

 

7.     How are the main characters of the film represented?

·        Does the film use generic types?

·        Does the film use stereotypes?

·        Does the film use conventional or unconventional characters?

 

8.     How does the film represent gender?

 

9.     Levi-Strauss suggested that binary oppositions structure our understanding of the world.

Binary opposites in film narrative are usually represented by the functions of the hero and villain, the hero representing what the film is deeming to be good and the villain representing evil.

Binary Oppositions can also be found in the following:

·        The characters

·        The setting

·        The themes and ideas

·        The style of the film. E.g. Light and darkness

 

Identify up to five of the key binary opposites in the film that you are studying.

 

10.                         What is the significance of the settings within the film?

·        Is the setting conventional?

·        What does the setting represent?

·        Does the setting convey a message within the film?

 

11.                         Style refers to the way that the film is made. The camera angles, composition, editing, sound and the use of colour or special effects all contribute to the style of a film.

·        What aspects of the film’s style could be considered as conventional?

·        What aspects of the film’s style challenge the conventions of the genre?

 

12.                         What are the key themes of the film?

·        How do these themes represent the ideologies of the society which produced the film?

·        How do the themes reflect the ideologies of the audience who watches the film?

·        What are the key messages of the film?

 

13.                         How is the audience expected to respond to the film?

 

14.                         Is the film part of a series or cycle? If so, from what stage of the series or cycle does the film come?

 

15.                         Carry out some basic research to find out about the director and main actors within the film. Are they normally associated with films of the same genre?

 

16.                         Is the film a hybrid (a film that mixes the conventions of two or more genres)?

·        Why have the genres been combined?

·        How does the film reinterpret the genre?

·        Is the film Post-modern?

·        Does the film make inter-textual references to other films of the same genre?

·        Is the film a self-referential text?

 

17.                         How does the film compare with other films of the same genre?

·        How does the film establish the codes and conventions of the genre?

·        How does the film challenge the codes and conventions of the genre?

 

18.                         How successful was the film when it was released both in the cinema and on DVD?

·        Refer to Box office success.

·        Refer to critical reviews.

 

19.                         How does the film appeal to the expectations of the target audience?

 

20.                         Give your own response to the film.

·        Are you a member of the target audience for the film?

·        What aspects of the film appealed to you?

·        What aspects of the film didn’t appeal to you?

 

Trailer Analysis

G324 Advanced Portfolio

Promotion Package for a New Film

Main Task
· Construction of a film trailer (Group)

Ancillary Tasks
· A film magazine front cover, featuring the film; (Individual)
· A poster for the film. (Individual)

Research and Planning

Before you begin to plan your film trailer, you will first need to carry out important research in relation to the following:

· The codes and conventions of your chosen film genre.
· The function of trailers as a promotional device.
· The codes and conventions of trailers.
· The structure of trailers.
· The expectations of the target audience for your chosen film genre.
· How do film trailers work?
· Where are film trailers most commonly found?
· Why do film studios use film trailers?
· Are film trailers effective promotional devices?
Research – Textual Analysis

Analyse three or more film trailers by answering the following questions:

1. What is the genre of the film?

2. How is the audience able to identify the genre of the film?

3. How does the trailer target an audience?

4. How long does the film trailer last?

5. How many shots are used in the trailer?

6. What transitions are used in the trailer?

7. How is diegetic sound used in the trailer? – Focus on dialogue and sound effects.

8. How is non-diegetic sound used in the trailer? – Focus on music and sound effects.

9. How does the trailer represent characters and their relationships?

10. How does the trailer create a sense of narrative?

11. What does the trailer reveal about the plot of the film?

12. How does the trailer create a code of enigma?

13. How does the trailer use titles to communicate with the audience?

14. How does the trailer establish the mood and expectations of the film?

15. What types of camera shots and angles are used most commonly in trailers?

16. How is mise-en-scene constructed in trailers?

17. Why has the film studio used the trailer to market its product?

18. How successful is the film trailer in targeting an audience?

19. Make a list of 10 codes and conventions that you have identified in the film you have analysed.

20. How effective are film trailers as a promotional device for films?