The document discusses research conducted to determine the target audience for a psychological thriller film. Primary research in the form of an online survey distributed through social media and email received 79 responses. The results found that the target audience is mostly female, between the ages of 16-50, and prefers psychological thrillers. Common psychological thriller films like The Silence of the Lambs and Black Swan attract similar audiences. Based on this research and conventions of other thriller films, the author determined their film would likely be rated 15+ or 18+ and created an opening sequence aimed at attracting the target audience through relatable British characters and settings, bright lighting, and intriguing musical and sound choices.

1. “Who would be the audience for
your media product?”
Question 4

2. Referring to Research
Within my primary and secondary research of target
audiences for the thriller genre, I found, using
YouGov Profiles as my secondary research and survey
monkey for my primary research, that psychological
thrillers attract more female audiences than male
audiences due to the struggles of the film being
emotional rather than physical.
However, both sexes around the world
still watch psychological thrillers,
even if females do dominate the
majority of the audience.
The most common age of the audience is
16-50, a very wide range of ages. As a
result, I knew I had to create an
opening sequence that would interest
and captivate many aspects within the
audience.
60%
40%

3. I carried out a questionnaire for the community to fill out
regarding their preferences of films, so that I could use the
information to adapt my opening sequence more to the target
audience and their expectations, or possibly even challenge
them.
I made the questionnaire on Survey Monkey as this is an easy
way to broadcast the questionnaire to many ages in order to
get various feedback. I sent the questionnaire to friends and
family of all ages on social media and through email, as well
as opening the survey to the public. I received many responses
(79) with results that I could analyse and use to create a
sequence that would reach expectations of the target audience
and attract them.
The results came back similar to secondary research I had
collected on thriller films comparable to Purloined on YouGov
Profiles, IMBd and previous media student’s research into the
thriller genre.
Questionnaire Results

4. Age
From these results I can suggest that my thriller film would probably
have an age rating of 15+ or 18+ due to not only the nature of other
thriller films, but also the average age of the audience showing who
views them the most. Many other thriller films such as Black Swan is
a 15+, however more gory and violent thrillers such as Se7en and The
Silence of the Lambs are rated 18+ in the UK.

5. Gender
The majority of the target audience are
female.

6. Thriller Sub-Genre Enjoyed the Most
The most popular genre is psychological which fits the
genre of my film.

7. Audie nce s o f o the r Thrille r Film s
…Using YouGov
Profiles
The Silence Of The Lambs

8. THE LOVELY BONES

9. BLACK SWAN

10. How I Attracted The Target Audience
From the results that came back from the survey and other
thriller films, I could create an opening sequence in order to
try and attract the target audience.
The demographics of the research gave me an average age of 40-
55 years. This wide range of ages means that it could have
been hard to pinpoint the target audience’s expectations.
However, there was a similarity within them as the majority
were females and all were English.
As a result, I was able to create mis en scene using props,
that fit the stereotypical English home and a narrative that
could be easily relatable, of a Mother and her children.
-Fireplace in the background
-Toys
-British characters
-Moderate sized home, not
unrealistic

11. By using bright, open lighting, I also created even more realism
within the sequence. This is because in real life, not all bad
things occur in the dark of night or in a scary house. This
allows the audience to relate to the sequence, attracting them.
I also attracted the audience by challenging the stereotypical
conventions of a thriller genre further. I did this by opening
the sequence with energetic, happy music. This was to shock the
audience and make them question the narrative of the film,
intriguing them to find out what happens. This challenged the
typical conventions as many thrillers often use scary, tense not-
diegetic music to create the suspenseful ambiance.
As well as this, the non-diegetic sounds I placed with the
credits of the children being taken, differ from other thriller
films as we do not see the crime/problem occurring. This allows
the audience to imagine what had happened and wonder if we do
ever get to see or find out what happened to the children,
creating suspense in it’s own unique way. Not only this but it
attracts the target audience quite specifically because many may
be mothers and so it may be very intense for them to witness
these children being taken. As a result, the suspense of the
narrative is even more intense for them.