Question 4 essay

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for the thriller would be a person who likes to watch thriller movies and movies that put the audience in suspense but also creating curiosity and mystery getting the audience engaged in the plot. The target audience that fit the description is a person who is no less than 16 years old, this is because the movie requires the audience to be engaged in the plot, and the film will also question a person’s morals and ideology.  This means a person under the age of 16 wouldn’t be as interested. The movie is open to all genders but targets people who are interested in putting themselves into the mind of the detective.  The age range targets the socio economic class A/ B/C and C2. This is because these are people who are likely to be educated and would enjoy problem solving and trying to think rationally. This is also because they’re most likely to enjoy a challenging story line. 

I was able to gain valuable information through the use of a Vox Pop and poll everywhere about what a certain age group like in a thriller and expect in a thriller. The age group that I researched was 16-17 year olds, all of which were boys. I was able to glean from the results that the majority of the people I interviewed believed that a thriller needed to be exciting and keep them at the edge of their seats. They also felt that the story was a major part of what made a thriller thrilling. When I asked the people ‘What do you look for in a thriller?’  Most of the responses where all the same or had the same idea. Most answers showed that people look for interesting characters and good actors. One of the answers highlighted that all the conventions of a thriller movie, for example car chase, bad guys and action are what they look for in thriller movies. From the results I received it showed that the audience are looking for thrillers that keep them guessing and at the edge of their seats, they also look for suspense and good acting. The results have shown me that a good storyline is extremely important because this is what is going to keep the audience guessing. The results have also shown me that including all the main conventions of a thriller movie will also be beneficial.  

The BBFC are an organisation that rate films and what age group each movie is suitable for. The rate starts with U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18 and R18.

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Suitable for all

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  Parental guidance
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  Cinema release suitable for 12 years and over
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  Video release suitable for 12 years and over
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  Suitable only for 15 years and over
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  Suitable only for adults
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  Adults works for licensed premises only

The BBFC rating of the movie ‘Enigma’ would be a 15. This means no one under the age of 15 is allowed to see this film , this also means the film, based on the BBFC rating would include  strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayal of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex, sexual nudity, discriminatory language and , or violence and drug taking. This is because the film would have strong violence and frequent strong language throughout the film. The reason for this is because there are scenes in the movie that would have dead bodies and strong bloody violence. These are usually the main themes in a 15 according to the BBFC. I have targeted above the age of 15 because the film requires the audience to partake in an investigation like a detective, this usually involves looking at the gruesome images. The film wouldn’t appeal to a person under the age of 15 because they wouldn’t understand what the detective is doing and most children like films that entertain through explosions and exciting events and I believe this film would be too slow and too much thinking is involved to interest a person under the age of 15. I have made the film this rating because people over 15 are more likely to understand the concept of the film and are more likely to appreciate the detective and what the detective is doing.

Our film isn’t targeted towards one gender however; the cast is dominated by men. We have used a male detective because a detective is stereotypically a male dominated profession.  However, we expect the audience to understand this decision as they themselves are working professionals.