Sunday 27 October 2013
Thursday 10 October 2013
Trailer Theory Prezi
http://prezi.com/nnkzx56lxpmw/trailer-theory-and-structure/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy
SL
SL
Focus Group/Target Audience 1
In light of the results of our survey, I interviewed members of our target audience in order to get a better idea in terms of qualitative data what it is about a film that gets people watching. Three boys were interviewed and one girl, all seventeen.
Fitting our assumptions, two of the boys were into the action and thriller genre, and they were attracted to it because of the promise of excitement and adrenalin, although it was mentioned that violence should not be overtly gratuitous and should be done right. The girl agreed that action films are watched for the purpose of entertainment and do not need to develop on any other elements of plot, yet interestingly this was reason that our male interviewee did not like action films. He expressed that he enjoyed drama, romance and comedy because they included an "emotional connection" between the characters that was involving, and particularly that character development is a rewarding process. This view is at odds with the other male interviewees, one of whom stating that human interest stories were not really of interest of him because he only watched films for entertainment and escapism, not as a mirror to real life.
Thus, documentaries were not high on the watchlist of the the action-and-thriller boys, but all the participants agreed that a big factor in making a documentary interesting is presenting a subject that is unfamiliar to the viewer, so learning about a completely new topic is a rewarding experience. Popular criteria for a watchable documentary is that they be somehow relevant, maybe containing 'current affairs', or 'trashy' in the style of Channel 4, with human interest being a strong factor as long as it is entertaining. One of the boys mentioned that he only watched geographical/wildlife elements, but yet it was still the aforementioned element of discovering the unknown, and not "stuff form day to day life" that appealed to him.
In terms of the 'gritty' urban thriller genre, there was a general agreement that its portrayal is often heavy-handed and cliched, and so stereotypes must be avoided in order for a film to gain credibility, and perhaps incorporation a plot twist to keep the genre exciting. As our female interviewee said, once you have seen one generic urban thriller "you have seen them all".
Viral media such as Youtube was the most effective form of getting mass publicity for a film, but the most valuable of exposure was recommendation from a friend. Thus it is important for our film to strike a chord with a certain demographic for it to get good reviews, but attempting to reach as many markets as possible because 'human interest' stories have a fairly universal appeal. Furthermore, the trailer should showcase accurately the vague premise of the film without giving too much away so that the viewer has a notion of what to expect from the genre.
SL.
Fitting our assumptions, two of the boys were into the action and thriller genre, and they were attracted to it because of the promise of excitement and adrenalin, although it was mentioned that violence should not be overtly gratuitous and should be done right. The girl agreed that action films are watched for the purpose of entertainment and do not need to develop on any other elements of plot, yet interestingly this was reason that our male interviewee did not like action films. He expressed that he enjoyed drama, romance and comedy because they included an "emotional connection" between the characters that was involving, and particularly that character development is a rewarding process. This view is at odds with the other male interviewees, one of whom stating that human interest stories were not really of interest of him because he only watched films for entertainment and escapism, not as a mirror to real life.
Thus, documentaries were not high on the watchlist of the the action-and-thriller boys, but all the participants agreed that a big factor in making a documentary interesting is presenting a subject that is unfamiliar to the viewer, so learning about a completely new topic is a rewarding experience. Popular criteria for a watchable documentary is that they be somehow relevant, maybe containing 'current affairs', or 'trashy' in the style of Channel 4, with human interest being a strong factor as long as it is entertaining. One of the boys mentioned that he only watched geographical/wildlife elements, but yet it was still the aforementioned element of discovering the unknown, and not "stuff form day to day life" that appealed to him.
In terms of the 'gritty' urban thriller genre, there was a general agreement that its portrayal is often heavy-handed and cliched, and so stereotypes must be avoided in order for a film to gain credibility, and perhaps incorporation a plot twist to keep the genre exciting. As our female interviewee said, once you have seen one generic urban thriller "you have seen them all".
Viral media such as Youtube was the most effective form of getting mass publicity for a film, but the most valuable of exposure was recommendation from a friend. Thus it is important for our film to strike a chord with a certain demographic for it to get good reviews, but attempting to reach as many markets as possible because 'human interest' stories have a fairly universal appeal. Furthermore, the trailer should showcase accurately the vague premise of the film without giving too much away so that the viewer has a notion of what to expect from the genre.
SL.
Uses and gratifications of media
Mystery is a large factor in drawing in audiences to watch a documentary, considering that the purpose of this film is to dig deeper and illuminate an issue. A documentary appeals because it is the highest form of an in depth case study in media, with the potential to cover any concievable issue, and so will always find an audience with curious viewers with a thirst for knowledge However the Uses and Gratifiation Theory questions why people choose to watch specific media, supporting the conclusion that the audience actively seek out things that fill a 'need'.
Apparently, there are four basic needs to be fulfilled; diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance. With diversion, the audience wants to relax and switch off from real life, often turning to escapist media such as fantasy. Furthermore, this could tie in with the appeal of mysteries in documentaries, as the audience may enjoy actively solving a puzzle presented to them, and recieving gratification at the end if it is solved.
However people many people watch 'human interest' stories, as a way of feeling part of a social group, thus forming personal relationships through media. They may do it feel companionship, or instead invest emotion into a story that they feel it is their duty to empathize with, such as the social problems presented in many urban thrillers. In this case it seems that our documentary fulfills this need, as it depicts a struggling urban community warring through sport.
On the other hand, many fulfill personal identity needs, in which the audiences watches things that they feel reflect them, or perhaps they feel a close connection with and enjoy being able to relate to it. This factor can apply to many different forms of media, as everyone's personal experience is so unique there are so many ways represent it. Luckily this means that our documentary will be able to appeal not just to aforementioned 'social fixers', but also their opposite demographics, entirely broadening our audience range.
Finally, there is surveillance. in which the audience likes to know what is going on around them. Yet again this applies heavily to documentaries since their purpose is to explore every issue imaginable in the world around us. Knowledge is power, and so the wealth of facts and details covered in a quality documentary is rewarding for viewers.
Apparently, there are four basic needs to be fulfilled; diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance. With diversion, the audience wants to relax and switch off from real life, often turning to escapist media such as fantasy. Furthermore, this could tie in with the appeal of mysteries in documentaries, as the audience may enjoy actively solving a puzzle presented to them, and recieving gratification at the end if it is solved.
However people many people watch 'human interest' stories, as a way of feeling part of a social group, thus forming personal relationships through media. They may do it feel companionship, or instead invest emotion into a story that they feel it is their duty to empathize with, such as the social problems presented in many urban thrillers. In this case it seems that our documentary fulfills this need, as it depicts a struggling urban community warring through sport.
On the other hand, many fulfill personal identity needs, in which the audiences watches things that they feel reflect them, or perhaps they feel a close connection with and enjoy being able to relate to it. This factor can apply to many different forms of media, as everyone's personal experience is so unique there are so many ways represent it. Luckily this means that our documentary will be able to appeal not just to aforementioned 'social fixers', but also their opposite demographics, entirely broadening our audience range.
Finally, there is surveillance. in which the audience likes to know what is going on around them. Yet again this applies heavily to documentaries since their purpose is to explore every issue imaginable in the world around us. Knowledge is power, and so the wealth of facts and details covered in a quality documentary is rewarding for viewers.
SL.
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