Podcast script finished

1. Podcast Script
Withinthe mediaindustry,Researchhasalwaysbeenakeypart to definingwhatanaudience is
interestedinandwhattheyare not.Audience profilingisresearchingwhoyourcurrentaudience is
and alsowhoyou wantto attract, a producer wouldwantto know what audience the filmis
targetingas the style of the filmwouldwanttofittheirtargetaudience.Audience researchIsa
necessarypartas withoutitthenthe producerswouldnotknow whoto aimtheirfilmat andwould
fail miserably.Thereare manynumerouswaystopromote andmarketan upcomingfilm;thiscan
range from releasingteasertrailersandofficial trailerstousingpostersandbillboards.Promotinga
filmiscrucial for a filmtosucceedas itis usedto capture the attentionof the audience thattheyare
targeting.The difference fromhavingasuccessful launchtohavingawful launchall dependsonhow
the filmismarketed,forexampleafilmcouldfirstreleaseabrief teaserthatdrawsthe audience’s
attentionbymakingthe publicaware of the filmwhile notspoilingthe plotbygivinganythingaway.
Afterthe brief teaser,afull lengthteaserwouldbe bestsuitedtobe releasedthoughteasertrailers
are onlyreleasedonlineandafterthisanofficial trailerwouldbe releasedworldwide throughoutall
sourcesof mediawhetheritbe incinemasor onTelevision.Aswellasusingtrailers,marketing
teamscouldrelease merchandise releasingtothe product,Forexample filmsunderthe brandof
Marvel release productsforChildren;thiscouldinclude toysandaduvetsetwhereasproductsfor
adultscouldinclude Mugsand collectibles.Thoughmerchandise couldbe marketedatall age groups
withthe use of clothingasthat can be marketedtowardsbothadultsand children.
A filmproducerwoulduse multipleformsof audienceresearch,forinstance aimingata specific
audience ona muchlowerincome.Aimingatan audience dependingonwhattheyearnand what
jobtheyhave is seenassocio-economics,thisisgoodforfilmproducersastheycan aimfor an
audience withamuchhigherbudgetor a much lowerbudget,dependingontheirchoice.Thisisseen
for all typesof the mediaandthisdoesinclude the filmindustryasitisan easywayto define an
audience like someonewho isunemployedwouldn’tenjoythe same thingaslawyersanddoctors.
Thoughusingsomethinglikethe ABC1chart to aima specificproductata certainaudience is
stereotypical asyouare brandingeveryone underthatgroupthe same.For example,if aproducer
was aimingafilmat the un-skilledworkersandthe unemployed(Thiscomesunderthe demographic
groupD and E) wouldmostlikelynotappeal toa highergroupof the demographicsuchas higher
salariedprofessionals,forexampleafilmsuchas The Football Factoryand Adulthoodwhichare
Britishfilmsappeal tothe lowerscale forthe storyline forfeaturingactorsplayinglower-class
characters whereasafilmlike The Theoryof Everythingwouldappeal toamuch higher-classasthe
filmrevolvesaroundthe figure “StephanHawking”whoappealstoamore sophisticatedaudience .
There are manyotherformsof audience researchsuchasusingpsychographicsbybasingthe
profilingof anaudience onaperson’sattitudesortheirlifestyles,thisisgoodforfilmswithaniche
audience asitis aimedata specificaudience likethe film“The Wolfpack”whichisadocumentary
abouta familythatliveswithinNew Yorkandlearnsthe worldthroughfilmastheyare restricted
fromgoingoutside.Thisfilmisbrandedwithaniche audience asthe onlyappeal toanaudience
withan interestinthattopic,thisfilmspecificallywouldattractan audience interestedin
documentaries.A filmcanalsoappeal toan audience byaimingatan audience’ssexual orientation,
genderor age withthe example of achild’sfilmappealingtoayoungeraudience,withLGBTfilms

2. appealingtoa LGBT audience andStraightfilmsaimingata straightaudience.There are manyways
a filmcouldattract the audience,forexampleusingthe storyline toattractthe targetedaudience or
the evencharacterssuch as a mainfemale role toattract a strongfemale audience andvice versa.
Most LGBT filmscome underasalternative audience asthe filmstructure isdifferentincomparison
to mainstreamfilm.Mainstreamfilmsare usuallyshownincinemasforthe longestperiodof time
whereasalternative filmsare notandare onlyshownfora shorterperiodof time.Thisisbecause
mainstreamfilmshave awiderinfluence onthe publicare more publicallyadvertisedwhere
alternative filmsare advertisedless.
There are manyformsof audience research;Qualitative andQuantitative research.Qualitative
researchisprimarilyexploratoryresearchbymeasuringbythe qualityratherthanquantity.Itisused
to gainan understandingof opinions,andmotivations.Itiscommonlyusedwithinthe media
because the mediawanttohear aboutthe public’sopinionbecauseitwouldhelpthemtoshow
whatthe publicenjoy.There are manywaysof gettingthisresearch,forexampleusingfocusgroups,
gatheringa specifictype of users andaskingthemgeneral questionsaboutacertainproductto try
and gettheirviewsandopinions.Quantitative researchisusedtogainan understandingof an
audience bymeansof data byusing numbersandstatisticsbyincludingresultsfromincludingresults
fromsurveysandcustomerquestionnaireswhichcouldhelpimprove aproductto make informed
decisions.Quantitative researchisaboutaskingthe audience fortheiropinionsinastructuredway
so that youcan produce hard facts andstatistics.Inorderto get reliable statistical results,itis
importantto surveyalarge numberthat representyourtargetaudience.Filmratingwebsitessuch
as IMDB andRottenTomatoesare goodfor finding outaboutqualitative andquantitative research
as the websiteshassecondaryresearchedopinionsandfiguresrelatingtoTelevisionshowsand
films.Itisseenas a goodsource of informationasthe ratingsandreviewsare all done byuserson
the website andgivesthe vieweraninsightonhow the release wentandwhetheritwassuccessful
or not. Includedonthese websitesisanoptionwhere memberscanopenlydiscusstheiropinions
relatingonthe film,thiscouldbe seenasbothpositive andnegative publicity.Bothqualitative and
quantitative researchcanbe researchby meansof Primaryand Secondaryresearch,Primaryisnew
researchwhichhasbeenbeencarriedoutto answerspecificissuesorquestionsanditcaninvolve
questionnaires,surveysorinterviewswithinvolve questionnaires,surveysorinterviewswith
individualsorsmall groups.Whereasmakesuse of informationavailable andthiscaninclude
websitessuchasIMDB or RottenTomatoesas the informationhasalreadybeenmade available
publically.
I analysedthe secondtrailerof “The Martian” to understandhow filmproducersanalyse andmarket
theirfilmandaudience.The film“The Martian”isa Science FictionfilmdirectedbyRidleyScottwho
isnotablyknowninthe science fictiongenre as he hasdirectedfilmssuchas“Alien”and
“Prometheus”.The filmstars“Matt Damon”who playsthe mainprotagonist“Mark Watney”whois
an astronautthat is leftbehindonmars.Thoughthisisn’tthe firsttime the actor hasplayeda similar
role as Matt Damonplayedthe character“Mann” inthe film“Interstellar”whoisalsoleftbehindon
a planetbyhimself.The filmisaHollywoodadaptationof the novel whichwaswrittenbythe
AmericanauthorAndyWeir.
The Filmfollowsthe mainstreamandwouldbe aimingforamainstreamaudience;thisisbecause it
followsalinearpatternlike mostof Hollywoodblockbusters.We canalsotell thisfilmisaimingfora
mainstreamaudience withthe castand directorastheyare well recognisedwithinthe filmindustry
for beinginHollywoodBlockbusters. The marketingteambehindthe filmhaddone agreat deal of
promotional contenttomake the publicaware of thisfilmtoattract a wideraudience asthe
distributor“20th CenturyFox”hasreleasedplentyof contentincludingTrailersontheirYouTube
channel toentice the audience.Ibelievethatthisfilmisheavilystereotypedtowardsamale
audience asthe genre,Science Fiction,Isa verymasculine genre withsuchfilmsunderthe beltlike

3. Star Wars, Alienandmany otherfilmsthatare heavilymale targeted.ThoughIbelievethatfemales
wouldstill wanttowatch thisforthe casting of the actor “Matt Damon”stars in itand that females
wouldpresumably“Findhimattractive”whichiswhytheywouldgowatchthe film, there isthe
maincast whichhas three mainrolesthatare takenup byfemales(JessicaChastain,KristenWigg
and Kate Mara) who playsignificantroleswithinthe film,thiswouldalsobe usedtobringa female
basedaudience asthismanyfemale roles isunseenwithinthe science-fictiongenre.Thoughanyfan
of the Matt Damon or any othercast memberwithinthe audience couldattractan audience.Asfor
Social Classification,Ibelieve thatthe filmisaimingforamore educatedaudience asthe filmgives
the audience abehindthe sceneslookonhow NASA operateswhichwouldmostlikelyattractan
audience thathasin interestinastronomy.Lookingatthe ABC1scale,I believethatthe filmwould
be aimingat A to C1 in choice of storyline astheyare the audience whoare stereotypicallymost
educatedincomparisontothe lowerdemographics.Thoughthisdoesn’tmeanthatthe lowerscale
of the demographicscannothave aninterestinastronomy,thisisonlyseenasastereotype asthey
are mostlikelythe audience tobe more educated.Ithinkthatthe filmisaimingfora more
sophisticatedaudience,as-well asa more educatedaudience somostlyaimingformiddle-aged
audience asthe mainactor wouldbe aimingfora muchwideraudience thanjustthe middle aged
and thiscouldbe saidabout the otheractors, so an actresslike KataMara wouldmostlikelyattracta
youngeraudience whereasanactorlike Jeff DanielsorSeanBeanwouldanattract an older
audience.Intermsof geodemographic,since the filmis heavilyUnitedStatesbased,thatwouldbe
one of the intendedtargetaudience areasasthe majorityof the filmissetwithinthe UnitedStates
withanotherscene of the trailerbeingbasedwithinEngland.Thoughasthisfilmisaimedfora more
educated andsophisticatedaudience,thenthe geodemographicof the filmwouldbe aimingtocities
and townswitha higheducation,forexamplecitieswithauniversityorone nearby.Thoughless
educatedtownsmaywantto go and watch thisfilm, the filmwouldbe more marketedtoeducated
townsand lesstowardslesseducatedtowns.
The trailerstaystrue to the genre withmultipleaspects.Firstlyisthe locationonwhere the filmis
set,as the filmisseton the planetmarsso it showsthe audience thatthe filmisa science fiction
setting,the name alsosupportsthisevidence asthe name of the filmiscalled“The Martian” which
signifiesainhabitantof the planetmars.The entirelyof the filmissetonlocationsthatdefinethe
genre,forexample,throughoutthe trailerthe locationsconstantlyswapbetweenNASAand
Mars whichshowsusthe filmisbasedaroundastronomywhichsignifiesascience fictionoriented
filmandsince the filmtargetingisasophisticatedandeducatedaudience withaninterestInthe
eitherthe genre orhave an interestinastronomysoappealingtothe audience andthishasalready
beenachievedwiththe plotline andthe setting,If the filmwasnotable toappeal tothe audience
thenthe filmwouldnotbe able toattract the audience theyare aimingforwhichwouldresultinthe
filmbeingunsuccessful.
Withinthe trailer,there isawide selectionof charactersrangingfromhumoursto serious.The most
notable of the characters isthe mainprotagonistwhoappearsto be thisalwayspositive personin
the dark times(Referringtobeingleftalone) thoughthere are sceneswithinthe trailerthanshow
that he is justhidingthe feelingstotryandthinkpositive.The character“Mark Watney”whois an
astronaut/botanistwhoalwaystry andkeepasmile onhisface whenneedstobe,and triestothink
positive andthisreflectsonhisrole asan astronautas itis a difficultjobasspace isan unknown
territoryandnobodyknowswhatcouldhappen.Asthe mainprotagonist,the screenplayhasmade
the character that the audience canrelate to andbe onthe edge of theirseatswhenthe he isin
dangerto make sure he makesit,thismeansthatthe audience wouldfeelsympathyforthe
character as he has beenabandonedonthisplanetbyhimself.The opposite tothischaracterwould
be the headof NASA (Whoisplayedbythe actor Jeff Daniels),thischaracterlooksthathe wouldbe
the antagonistwhowouldwantto stopthe protagonistfrommakingithome as throughoutthe
character he has seemed negative andnotcertainthatMark isgoingto make it home.We don’t

4. actuallyknowif thischaracter isgoingto be the antagonistoris goingtohelpwiththe rescue but
fromthe likesof the trailer,they’reaimingathimthathe is the bad guy.Though these were aimed
to be the maincharacterswithinthe trailer(The Antagonistandthe Protagonist),the other
character seemedtobe onthe side of the protagonisttotry and rescue him, especiallythe character
that JessicaChastainashercharacter soundsreallypassionate andenthusiastictotry andrescue
Mark andtry and encourage to teamto follow suit.Thisshowsthatthe teamthatworkedwithMark
before he wasleftbehindtreateachotherasfamilyandthat theycare enoughtorisktheirlivesto
rescue him.Thisisgood as itgivesthe audience aconnectionwiththe characterstomake themfeel
a part of the experience.
From the trailer,the filmseemstofollow alinearnarrative withnoflashbacks.Thoughitflashes
betweenEarthandMars, so dependingonthe scene thatisshownonmars, the nextscene onmars
will be takingpartsimultaneouslytoshow thatthe scenesare runningsynchronised.Asthe filmisa
MainstreamHollywoodblockbuster,Itfollowsthe linearpatternasthe filmif itfollowedanon-
linearconceptcouldresultinthe audience gettingconfusedwiththe storyandmakingthe film
unsuccessful andthisiswhyproducersdon'ttake risks.Most filmswithinthe Science fictiongenre
followthe linearnarrative asitis easiertoadapttheirscreenplaystosuitthe style of the film
withoutmakingittoocomplex forthe audience tocomprehend.The linearpatternfollowswhere
there isequilibriumwhere everythingisinbalance,thenthe triggerhappenswhichcausesitto
change to disequilibriumandthiswouldbe inreference tothe mainprotagonistgettingleftbehind
afterthe freakstorm. Thenthe Resolutionshappenscausingittobalance outandthe problem
resolvedthoughitisuncertainthatthe mainprotagonistisgoingtosurvive,thisisinreference to
the funeral scene thoughthiscouldhave takenplace before NASA were aware thatMark wasstill
alive.Itisuncertainthatthe mainprotagonistsurviveswhichiswhyitencouragesthe audienceto
go and watchthe filmtoanswerthe question“Doeshe survive?Will he make ithome?”
As forthe iconography,there isa greatdeal that it pointstowardsbeingwithinthe science fiction
genre.Most notably;the planetMarsas thisis an iconicfigure withinthe science fictiongenre with
the film“The War of the Worlds”.In termsof propsand special effects,there isplentythatshows
that the filmfallsunderthe science fictiongenre.Mostnotablywouldbe the spaceshipsusedwithin
the filmsuchas “The Hermes”whichcouldbe in reference tothe Greekgodof travel,asthe crew
travel to andfrom mars.Props usedwithinthe filmsuchasthe space suitsare a keysymbol toboth
astronomyandscience fictionasitgoesbeyondwhatispossible formanand opensupa wider
opportunity (IEthe Mars mission),whichwouldbe inreference tothe filmtosymbolise that
anythingispossible torescue the protagonistandthatthere isan opportunitytoachieve this
mission.Lastly,since the scenesflashbetweenEarthandMars. The most notable earthlocation
wouldbe setwithinthe mosticonicastronomical location,NASA headquarters.
Withinthe trailerthere were manytechnical features,the mostnotablewoulddiegeticvoice overs
fromthe protagonistashe doeshisvideologs.Theyuse the onesthateffectivelytell the storyon
the plansthat Watneyhas and howhe plansto survive. Thoughitisnot justthe protagonist’svoice
that isusedwithinthe trailerasmultiple castmembershave theirvoice playedoverscenesthat
reflectthe mood of the protagonist.Usingthe diegeticvoice overwiththe use of fastcuttingediting
adds tothe moodof the trailerandthe characters whichemphasize how seriousthe situationwhich
will resultinthe audience beingengaged.Thisisnotseenoftenwithinthe trailer,thoughthere are
soundeffectsforthe explosionsgoingon,whetherthisbe onthe Hermesor the Ares3 stationon
mars, theyhave includedthesesoundeffectsalongwiththe musictohighlightaproblemthathas
happenedthatwill affect the storylineinsome way.The waythe directoropenedthe trailerwiththe
establishingshotworkedperfectlyasitshowsthe audience thatisthe mainlocationandthat mars
will be the focal pointwithinthe storyline,thisshotisusedtotell the audience sowithinthe trailer
theydo notneedto explainthe plotline tothe audience.Lastlyisthe musicinthe trailer,Itis
effectivedue tothe lyricsastheytie in withthe storyline of the film.The line “There mustbe some
kindof way outof here”relatestothe story as the protagonististrappedonthe planetmars by

5. himself andthatisthe questionthathe isaskinghimself,that“There mustbe some kindof wayout
of here”andit iseffective asthe songcorrelatestothe plotof the story.
Afterwatchingthe film,Iwastaskedwithcreatinganexitpoll inorderto researchthe opinionsand
statisticsrelatingonwhatthe audience thoughtaboutthe film.Anexitpoll isaquestionnaire thatis
takenstraightaftercinemagoersafterviewingafilmbyaskingthemselveswhattheiropinionsand
theirviewswere of thatcertainfilmthattheyhadjustwatched,It isuseful informationforfilm
producersas itcan tell themwhatviewerswere mostinterestedinaboutthe filmandwhytheyhad
chosento watchthat film.Questionsonmyexitpoll includedwhethertheywouldrecommendthis
filmtotheirfriendandtheirratingoutof ten.The questionnaireincludesbothquantitativeand
qualitative researchwhichstrengthensthe qualityof the datathat I hadreceived.Fromthe resultsI
have receiveditiseasytosay that the audience were engagedandthattheyfoundthe film
entertaining.Withinthe results,Ireceivedawide varietyof answerswhichshowsme thatan
audience cangetattachedto a filmwithawide selectionof answerandnotjustfor the storyline or
the genre.The exitpoll toldme thatthe most commonformof advertisingwithinthe Filmindustryis
“Word of Mouth” as that wasthe highestratedoptionthroughoutthe exitpoll,thisalong with
postersthoughWord of Mouth isa free formof publicityandadvertisingwhereaspostersisnot
thoughfrommy resultsitshowsthatit was an effective formof advertising.The BFI(BritishFilm
Institute) have conductedcountlessexitpollsasking audienceswhattheythoughtof films,some of
these filmswere independentandnevermade itintothe box office andsome were box office
successes,sothe listismuchwider.One exitpoll thatwasconductedwasof The girl withthe Dragon
tattoo whichwasa big massive box officehitwith£380,000 inthe UnitedKingdomonitsopening
weekend.Whereasafilmthatwasn’tas luckywasLocke whichwasn’ta box office hitatall.To
conclude,Audience researchisessential formovie producerstomarketandtarget an audience to
maximise the profitsof the film.