The target audience for the media product is teenagers aged 15 and older. This is because research on similar supernatural/horror films like The Woman in Black and Paranormal showed they appealed most to teenagers. A questionnaire also found 75% of respondents thought horror/thrillers should be rated 15+. The filmmaker used dark colors, catchy music, and actors similar in age to subtly address this older teenage audience while avoiding attracting younger children who may find it disturbing. Distribution online provides an opportunity for an international audience.

1. Evaluation question
• Who would be the audience for your media product?
BY SOPHIE VINCENT

2. Target audience
 A target audience is very important when creating a media product.
 The micro elements need to be suited to the audiences expectations or in fact better than
what they expect.
 The thriller in which I have created needed to have a supernatural effect to it to portray my
storyline and so major editing was needed to adjust the colour of the scenes.
 Other supernatural films for example: The Woman in Black and Paranormal, were aimed at
teenage people the most as this generation enjoyed horrors. The target audience was also
based on who visited the cinema regularly and who watched films at home.
 My target audience was teenagers aged above fifteen, as some scenes could be seen as
disturbing for younger children. I also based my decision on the research stated above as it
was a reliable source.
 For a second source of data I conducted a questionnaire asking people which age they think a
horror/thriller should be rated and 75% said 15+ and the remaining 25% said 18+.
 The BBFC (British board of film censors) helped determine the age limit of the film. They
were established in 1912 and chose to be there own organisation instead of relying on the
governments decisions.

3. Age
 There is an age restriction laws that are in place that state that younger
children are not allowed to be exposed to certain explicit scenes.
 Under 15’s: It’d be inappropriate for this age group, as my thriller is also a
horror and therefore disturbing and scary. It contains dark scenes and scary
music which would not be enjoyable for the younger generation. The younger
generation are vulnerable and are still learning and so will be influenced by
the visual image.
 15 +: This age group are the ones who enjoy scaring each other and spend
money on cinema trips. At this age they’re able to recognise that the
elements shown in the film are acted and therefore will not be as disturbed
by the film.
 My film is not aimed at those aged over 40 as the older generation do not
seem to appreciate this type of genre and are less able to get to cinemas or
access it online.

4. How did you attract/ address your
audience?
 Using particular microelements, I chose those suitable for my target audience.
 I used actors of a similar age to subconsciously address the age of the target
audience I was aiming at.
 I used dark colours to make the genre obvious and not attractive to younger
children.
 The music I used was extremely catchy to capture the audiences attention.
 I used props such as fortune teller cards, to make it obvious that it isn’t suitable
for younger children.
 The only issue with my film is that I could not use convergence or synergy due to it
being A level standard and so I could not use other products to market my film and
advertise it. However it is available online which could be seen as an aspect of
synergy reaching an international audience.