2. An overview of film audiences
Audience has been described as “the receivers of
mass communication” – Burton
The BFI (British Film Institute) organised film
audiences into 4 categories.
Mainstream: unlikely ever to view anything other than
major „Hollywood‟ style blockbusters.
Mainstream plus: generally mainstream, but apt to
see less mainstream films on a few occasions.
Aficionados: tend to view a mix of films, including
major foreign language titles, and can be encouraged
to become even more adventurous in their viewing
choices.
Film Buffs: eschew mainstream films in favour of more
extreme, esoteric, challenging and difficult subject
matter (specialised) films.
3. What appeal do horror films
have?
“A genre based on fear and the macabre, horror
proves to be one of top-selling forms of
entertainment”.
Why do people like horror films?
It is often said that people watch horror films due to
“the excitement, the fear, and the adrenaline rush”.
Film critic Mark Kermode says that horror fans 'read'
rather than merely 'watch' such movies, and the
horror film novice “reacts only with revulsion or
contempt”.
4. Silent Hill: Revelation 3D
audience
Using the Pearl and Dean website,
I have looked at another horror film
to see the demographic of the
audience, to see how this could
influence our target audience (and
if it was similar to our ideas).
I found that 66% of the audience
was male, and that 65% were age
15-24 – which is what our expected
target audience is.
5. Sub-genres of horror &
audiences
The horror genre has many sub genres, but still the
demographics prove to be similar to more „generic‟ horror
films. For example, the sci-fi horror Alien vs. Predator.
Data from Pearl and Dean shows
that 58% of the audience was male,
With the highest age bracket being
15-24 (at 45%).
This shows similarity to the data
from the previous slide, showing
how different sub-genres of horror
still have similar statistics.
6. Importance of the trailer
The trailer of a film is a large factor to audiences,
possibly persuading them to go to see a film.
Research from www.filmeducation.org:
The Teaser Trailer tells you some basic information
about the film, which will:
Make you aware that the film will be opening in the
future
Make you aware of who is in the film
Make you aware of the genre of the film
Give you an idea of the story of the film
The teaser trailer gives you ideas and also
awareness (release, actors etc.) about the film.
