The film addresses its audience directly through a character breaking the fourth wall and speaking to the camera. The characters are between ages 18-29 to relate to the target demographic. Having protagonists in this age range also appeals to viewers under 18 who want to admire older heroes. Research showed the film would appeal to both mainstream plus viewers open to obscure titles through its mix of standard and found-footage filming. Unconventional elements like a nonlinear plot focusing on understanding the killer's past and sympathizing with him, as well as complex characters, suggest it could also attract film buffs seeking challenging films.

1. How did you attract/address your audience?
QUESTION 5

2. Firstly, the audience is addressed in a very blatant manner right from the
beginning of our film, as it features ‘found-footage’ type filming, in which a
character breaks the fourth wall and talks at the camera, as if he is addressing
the audience themselves directly.

3. While we ourselves may not be, each of the three characters that feature in our film
are meant to be aged somewhere in the target age demographic for Pariah – 18-29 –
which is referenced in more detail in my response to question 4.
This means that our target audience who sit somewhere within that age bracket will be
more able to relate to the thoughts and feelings of our characters than people who do
not. Also, when answering question 4, we discovered that thriller films aimed at this
age bracket are also watched by many viewers aged 18 and under, the second most
prominent age group for people interested in thrillers. So, in having characters aged
between 18 and 29, we are also providing something for these under 18s to admire and
aspire to, given that 18-29 is the age range of most ‘heroes’ in films with more
conventional plots.

4. When conducting our audience research, we learnt how film
viewers can be categorised into four distinct categories:
- Mainstream: unlikely to ever view anything other mainstream
Hollywood blockbusters.
- Mainstream plus: partly mainstream, but very much open to
the idea of viewing more obscure titles.
- Aficionado: tend to view a mix of films, including major
foreign language titles, and will be generally more adventurous in
the film choices.
- Film Buff: will actively avoid mainstream titles in favour of
more controversial, challenging or unusual films, and films with a
difficult or taboo subject matter.

5. I felt as though our film seemed likely to be viewed by a mainstream plus viewer, but with points
suggesting that it might also appeal to a film buff. I thought this because our film incorporates
both standard footage (found throughout most Hollywood blockbusters) with ‘found-footage’
style filming (more commonly found in films intending to appeal to a relatively niche market, or
experimental films, given that it is a relatively experimental technique). However, the ‘found-
footage’ style filming has crossed over into a certain few large Hollywood productions, usually
thrillers or horrors, such as Chronicle and Cloverfield.
Plot and character are the two points which made me think that perhaps our film might be
enjoyed by a film buff, because if our film were to be made feature-length, then the killer character
has been removed within the first two minutes, which would leave the rest of the film to be
centred around the detective trying to find out what happened to the killer’s victims, and
ultimately piece the puzzle together. This would incorporate a number of flashbacks to periods in
the killer’s life. A non-linear plot like this is relatively uncommon in major Hollywood
productions due to the potential for confusion in the order of events. So, because of this, I feel
as though our unconventional plot might appeal to a film buff.
As for character, the premise for our killer character was that he initially seems psychopathic, yet
if it were to be made feature-length then the detective would uncover more about his past and
gradually discover that he had a horrible upbringing. This would lead to the detective
sympathising with the killer and regretting killing him the way he did in our first two minutes.
Ultimately, this toys with the idea that there is a very fine line between good and evil. I feel as
though the potentially controversial nature of a film that sympathises with a murderer and the
complex characters would both also appeal to a film buff who enjoys films that are relatively
unconventional in terms of plot and character.