Question 5 evaluation 'homeless'

1. Q5
How did you attract/address your
audience?

2. We attempted to make our thriller opening ‘Homeless’
appeal to an audience of the 15-24 female demographic
and in order to do this we created a representation
which does not marginalise this gender, unlike other
texts of the genre. Our character Norma is portrayed as a
deviant, independent female. The fact that Norma
violently attacks a male character breaks the social
conventions associated with the gender and so will
appeal more to a female audience who will greatly
appreciate the fact that the representation created of
the female gender is not marginal.
For example, the 2006 film ‘Gangs of New York’ focuses significantly on deviant
male behaviour and as a result the audience demographic, according to IMDb,
comprises mostly of males, with a female audience likely to be put off by the
marginalisation of females in the text. Similarly, a female audience was also put
off the 1976 ‘Taxi Driver’ due to the dominant position that Travis Bickle is in, in
comparison to the females, who are presented as being dependent on male
support, such as Iris, who is shown to be in a vulnerable position, and as a result is
saved by the male character. As we wished to attract a female audience, we
decided that we must create a misogynistic representation of the female gender
through character, and create a female who requires no male support, unlike Iris
in ‘Taxi Driver’. Furthermore, the nature of Norma, in that she is seen as mad or
even racist could be viewed by some of our audience as a misogynistic
representation.
Character

3. Costume
Furthermore, by incorporating elements of film
noir femme fatale in the costume and
characteristics of Norma I believe that we
further target our young female audience.
When recognised, this intertextuality will signify
a misogynist representation in which the
audience will be able to identify with Norma,
thus making the appeal stronger. Also, by
incorporating similar elements of mise en scene
to an iconic era in film production into our
thriller opening, we are addressing an audience
with an interest in the thriller genre.

4. Cliff hanger
At the cliff-hanger we are still in the shoes of Sam as
he is violently attacked by Norma. This climactic event
gives an uncensored presentation of British youth
culture, in which our thriller opening represents the
idea that young people in Britain actively prey on one
another. This was a key factor in how we addressed
our audience, being set around a representation that
they will hold a strong view on.
Lighting
Similarly, the lighting in our thriller opening appeals to an
audience with both a knowledge and an interest in the thriller
genre, due to the fact that it makes reference to similar thriller
texts in which its use is to create tension and suspense, as well
as highlighting significant characters. We use chiaroscuro
lighting in our thriller opening to similar effect as that used in
‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’ where Count Orlok is highlighted for
dramatic effect. For example we use chiaroscuro lighting when
establishing Norma as a deviant character, and also during the
tracking shot of Norma approaching Sam in order to add
aesthetic interest; something which fans of the thriller genre
will recognise as a generic element, thus targeting this
audience.

5. Audience feedback suggests that we have quite successfully achieved the interest of
our target audience for ‘Homeless’, with those of the audience demographic reporting
that they found the thriller opening both interesting and attractive.
When asking an audience
member of our target
demographic; 15-24 female,
the results came back mainly
positive in that they
appeared to favour the
production.
This participant awarded 5s for
both camera work & editing
and mise en scene suggesting
that we have successfully
attracted our target audience
in the way that we represent
particular social groups. Being
a young female, it is clear that
this participant favours
‘Homeless’ because of its
unconventional representation
of this gender and age group.

6. This participant being a male
15-24 year old demonstrates
how are film has greater
appeal to a female audience
due to Norma’s dominance.
The male candidate still claims
to find certain elements such
as the camera work and the
narrative attractive, most
likely due to the fact that they
are interested in the
representation of their age
group in the thriller
opening, however when
asked whether the opening
would encourage them to
watch the whole film they
respond with a ‘no’; evidence
that the film’s emphasis on
female dominance is
unattractive to a male
audience.

7. On the other hand this 15-24 year old,
female candidate echoes the other female
participants views in that they find the
mise en scene to be attractive, reporting
that they find the sequence to hold their
attention, most likely due to the emphasis
on female strength, which is contrary to
the generic conventions associated with
gender.
Unlike the male candidate, this
participant answered ‘Yes’ when asked
whether they would be inspired to watch
the full film, suggesting that this audience
member’s ability to relate to the
characters has led them to take interest in
the plotline. Furthermore, they
mentioned that one of the best features
of the production was the
performances, from which we can imply
that this female candidate has taken great
interest in the representations created by
the characters and actors, meaning that
we have successfully attracted our target
audience.