The document discusses targeting audiences for horror films. It notes that horror films appeal to some audiences through a sense of excitement and fear. However, not all audiences enjoy feeling scared. The document then discusses aiming its opening horror sequence towards a slightly higher-end market between the lower B to C categories that likes independent cinema and challenges. It also discusses including social elements and appealing to ages 15 and up while not alienating middle-aged audiences. Character construction and theories by Richard Dyer, Blumier & Katz, and Abraham Maslow were used to address the target audience.

1. Who would be the audience for your
media product, and how did you
attract/address your audience?
James Richardson-Cornish

2. What makes people want to watch Horror films?
• One of the reasons Horror films are so popular, is because not only do they provide
the audience with a great sense of entertainment, they also offer a sense of
excitement and fear. This sets them aside from other films, which may only have a few
attractions.
• However, this does slightly limit the audience, as not everyone wants to feel scared
when watching a film. They may want some light relief, and so turn to a Comedy to
cheer them up? This does however reinstate the fact that different genres have
different gratifications, and the different genres all offer different audience pleasures.
• However, the genre in which we will be looking at is Horror. By researching this genre,
we get a better idea at what is actually meant to be included, and why certain things
aren’t. It’s also very important to know your audience when it comes to the sales side
of things. Directors, Producers, Film companies all need to know what they are
produced, and the audiences they are working with, in order to offer them the best end
result. After all it is all about sales and making a profit. People won't buy a film if it
doesn't offer them what they want to see.

3. Who is our Target
Audience?

4. Whilst we want most people to understand the basic
theme of our film, we have aimed it towards the slightly
higher end of the market, towards the lower end of B -
C. This is because this category has the greatest
understanding of Independent Cinema, and often likes
to be challenged, not just entertained. It would also
appeal to those interested in horror films, and those
who like mysteries, where you’re not completely away
of whats happening at certain times. We also feel that
due to both the nature of the film, and audience, it
would be important to include a social element into the
film, making it something that people feel they can chat
about and discuss within their social groups.
In terms of age, I feel this film would be relatable to
almost anyone. Whilst the film wouldn't be shown to
youngsters, it should appeal to people from teen
upwards, as the main characters represent the typical
‘reckless youth’ stereotype, thats either experienced in
the age group, or read about by elders. This is also
partly down to the fact that film is most popular within
the ages of fifteen to twenty-five, meaning that the
audience most represented, is that in which it’s most
popular to. This is partially due to what they look to get
out of films, with teenagers looking for more of a thrill
and a fright than other audiences.

5. We also included different ethnicities into our film.
We didn't want to leave anyone out, and alienate
certain audiences, but at the same time, we didn't
necessarily feel as though race played a vital part in
the sequence.
We also found it interesting how the Horror genre
was aimed at both men and women, seeming to
have roughly equal shares in the audience, perhaps
more so than other genres. It was interesting just
how much Horror appealed to both men and
women. This isn't something usually seen so much
with other genres, which are usually gender
dominated. For example Rom-Coms are usually
associated with women, whilst men are usually
expected to prefer the Thriller/Action genre, looking
for guns, car chases and villains.

6. Age Rating
Whilst it wasn't perhaps the most professional, or usual way of doing things, It was only once we’d
finished making the opening sequence, and had edited it that we decided we were going to give it
a 15.
We reached this conclusion by looking into the specs for the rating, and researching into what the
BBFC felt made a fifteen. Whilst perhaps had we gone further into the film, and carried on the
development, for the time being, we felt that the production belonged there, showing some graphic
and disturbing scenes, but not being too shocking or risqué either. We also didn't include any
explicit language, resulting in the lowering of the age rating, from what could have been an 18 to a
15.
One advantage of giving a film an age rating, is the ability to remove an unwanted audience. By
making the film exclusively for people aged fifteen and above, we didn't have to worry about the
complexity of the plot, and making the film more relatable and easily understandable for younger
viewers.
By appealing to a Niche audience already, the one thing we did want to do was to make the film
accessible and relatable for as many older age groups as possible. Whilst the film would perhaps
be too violent for anyone younger than 15, we wanted to make sure the film attracted people who
were middle-aged as well, who could also sit down and enjoy the film. After all, they are perhaps
one of the most important audience members, the ones with the spare money.

7. How did we address
our Audience?

8. We attempted to address our
Target Audience by using a
combination of clever Character
constructions, and also the use of
three theorists that we’ve studied
over the course.
The three theorists are:
1. Richard Dyer
2. Blumier & Katz
3. Abraham Maslow

9. Character Construction
It was important that we attracted our audience and most of all we
did this through our characters. Taking into consideration the rating
of our film we made the film appealing by using young characters in
order for the audience to relate to them, not in the way which
unusual things happen but how the characters behaved and how it
affected them. By using young male characters, who then became
the victims, showed them in a vunerable position allowing the
audience to sympathies with them. We allowed them to be
stereotypically understood

10. Richard Dyer
Richard Dyer’s theory states that what
people go looking for in films, they are
lacking in real life.
A great example of this, is Fear.
Whilst people don't really want to spend
their days living in fear, they go to watch
films to experience the feeling, knowing
that when the film finishes, all will be fine
and life continues.
This was something we tried to capture
within our opening sequence, offering the
audience the frights and shocks they
expect to see within the Horror Genre.

11. Blumier & Katz
Blumier & Katz came up with the famous uses and gratifications theory. This theory
states that people expect to get certain pleasures out of the films they watch.
These include:
• The need to be INFORMED and EDUCATED about the world in which they live.
• The need to IDENTIFY personally with the characters and situations in order to
learn more about themselves.
• The need to be ENTERTAINED by a range and variety of well constructed texts.
• The need to use the media as a talking point for SOCIAL INTERACTION.
• The need to ESCAPE from their ‘daily grind’ into other worlds and situations.
As a group, we worked closely with these points, to try and include them as much as
possible, however we didn’t manage to include all of them, instead choosing a
select few we felt were relevant to our sequence.

12. Abraham Maslow
Maslow’s theory works under the
hierarchy of human needs. They start
of with the basics in which we all
require to survive, such as Food,
water etc…
And he then moves onto things in life
we aspire to have, such as
confidence, friendships and morality.
Maslow also quoted that only
“one in a hundred people become fully
self-actualized because our society
rewards motivation primarily based on
esteem, love and other social needs.”