Evaluation Question 4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

After creating my target audience profile, i have decided that my target audience are audience members from Category D and E and from the ages of 16-25. This because after conducting a questionnaire i found that this is the most common age range of people who watch horror films. I have tried to attract these audience by using characters of this age and using conventions often found in already popular similar films such as Dawn Of The Dead (2004) and 28 Days Later (2002).

I classified my film as 18 due to the graphic scenes that young viewers may find disturbing and also because i planned to make a film similar to Dawn Of The Dead (2004) which was classified as an 18 by the BBFC due to its distressing nature. Even though it is classified as an 18 and audience members will not be able to watch this in the cinema or buy the DVD if they are under this age, i fully accept that minors as young as 15 will watch my film as many teenagers like to watch horror films, particularly when in a group. I have also considered that although my target audience is 16-25, many older viewers will also watch the film as they may have been fans of Dawn Of The Dead (2004) and 28 Days Later (2002) and were within the target audience age range at the time of release.

I also feel that middle class audience members will watch my film as although i have used young characters, i have also tried to portray them as middle class citizens with average jobs and a nice home. I have set my film in a modern housing estate to connote that it is in a modern society, possibly in the city and this was to show how the virus has spread nationwide but also so a modern middle class member, particularly from Category C1 and C2. I have tried to apply the Uses and Gratifications theory to my film opening so that audience members will seek to watch the film because it involves characters and settings that they can relate to.

I feel that a larger male audience will watch my film rather than a female audience due to its graphic nature which many men like about horror films. Female viewers may be more on edge with the suspense than a male would and this again is why my film will attract more males. To attract a larger male audience i have tried to make use of the Male Gaze theory so that my female characters are often sexualised, i have also tried to apply this theory by telling the narrative from a male perspective in order to attract more female viewers. The Gender theory would suggest that more females like to watch open ended narratives such as soap operas whereas a male prefers a closed narrative that is simple to follow which is what i have aimed to achieve.