Audience Theory

1. Audience Theory

2. Why the target audience
for media is important
•The media industry is highly competitive and all media texts are
created with a target audience in mind.
•If the producers of a film do not consider the audience it may not be
successful either in getting its message across or, if it is a commercial
media text, making money for the producers.
•Media producers use audience research and analysis to find out as
much as possible about their target audience and make sure research
to ensure production will appeal to them.

3. Demographic Audience
Profile and D1 Scale
•This defines groups based upon age, gender, income, education,
occupation and types of media that an audience consumes.
•This is so the producers can direct their product to a specific target
group.

4. How I am considering my
audience in my film opening
How I will consider my audience for the film opening:
Culture - the cultural aspect of the location I am shooting it. As well as respecting
the people the culture as they are part of the target audience.
The target audience e.g. age group -because of genre on my film which is
psychological thriller. I need to consider how to appeal to an older audience than
myself. The ways I plan to do this are Sound track - the sound track will
construct a deeper sense of the genre in my film opening.Camera shots - the
camera shots I plan to use will be creative to work as a title sequence and film
opening to engage the audience in my media product. They will provide a visual
benefit towards my audience as different angles of the opening will be presented.
I will use the visuals to create meaning for the audience, this will communicate
messages of narrative and genre for my film opening to reach a global audience.

5. Uses and Gratification
Audience Theory
Uses and gratification theory seeks to understand why people seek out the
media that they do and what they use it for. UGT differs from other media
effect theories in that it assumes that individuals have power over their
media usage, rather than positioning individuals as passive consumers of
media. UGT explores how individuals deliberately seek out media to fulfil
certain needs or goals such as entertainment, relaxation, or socialising. This
is a approach to understanding mass communication.
This theory focuses on:
1. consumer
2. audience
• Uses and gratification theory can be seen in personal music selection.

6. Technical and Audio codes
•Camera angles, shots and movement used in a TV programme or film
all help to make it more engaging for the audience.
•Technical Codes: Camera angles, Lighting, Editing
1. Shots
2. Camera movement
3. Editing
4. The pace of the text
5. Lighting
6. Mise-en-Scene
•Audio Codes: Sound, Diegetic, Non-diegetic
7. Sound - diegetic and non diegetic
8. Ambient noise
9. Voice over
10.Music

7. Audience Reception Theory
by Stuart Hall
• This theory explored how people make sense of media texts and
claimed audiences were active not passive. The media texts are
encoded by the producer which means they send the message. The
text can be received in three ways:
• Preferred Reading
• Negotiated Reading
• Oppositional Reading

8. Preferred Reading: This is when audiences
respond to the product the way media producers
want/expect them to.
Negotiated Reading: This is when a member of
the audience partly agrees with part of the
product .e.g Film, documentary, TV programme.
Oppositional Reading: This is when the audience
are in complete disagreement with the product’s
message or setting.

9. Audiences and
Psychological thrillers
Psychological thrillers usually requires the
audience to follow them step by step. Having to
work out the plot twists and events.