The Target Audience of My AS Coursework

for the coursework i completed last year, I believe that the target audience was young adults, aged around 18-28. By choosing this target audience it meant i was able to include all the components found within the horror genre in my product, and it would be age appropriate for the people watching it.

The demographic of this audience would most likely be the C2 bracket, which includes students and skilled manual workers. because of the age of our target audience we can safely assume they wouldn't be advanced enough in their carreer to be included in the higher brackets.

In terms of the psychographic of our target audience, this can be divided into the sub-catagories of the Youth orientated psychographic. This includes Trendies, Egotists, Puritans, Innovators, Rebels, Groupies and Utopians. For the coursework i completed last year, i'd say our audience fits into the Rebel, and Egotist catagories. These are made up of people who seek pleasure, often by breaking the rules, e.g. bullying or skipping class in school, and people who want the world to be as they see it, so will rebel against all the rules and do what they want.

The reason i feel that this is our target audience is because horror films often go against the social conventions of what is right and wrong. They tend to push boundaries and break rules, and often have strong messages about changing the world. An example of this can  be seen in the Saw series, where the main character aims to make people cherish their lives, but uses rather painful methods.

Horror has a very specific audience as many people find that violence and gore is too much for them to handle, or they do not agree with showing things like that in the media, or they do not understand the plot and the reasonings.

How Do Short Films Get Made?

Most short films work on little to no budget, so the first step when producing a short film is to figure out how much money you will need, and to get all the necessary equipment/actors/crew for a little amount of money as possible.
"how to make a short film"

To start work on your film, you need to get some funding:
The UK film council supports up and coming filmmakers who have the potential to create world class films. To access this you must fill in an application form and submit ot for assessment. If they like your idea and see potential in you, they are likely to provide you with a small budget for your film.
The UK film council also has a scheme known as ''The Innovation Fund' which provides funding to assist the film industry's transitition into the digital age.

The British Film Council provides the "Shorts Support Scheme" which promotes short films to key contacts within the global short film festival curcuit including Oberhausen, Aspen Filmfest, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Tampere and many others. They also provide a Travel Fund to allow short film makers to promote their films abroad.

You can also use the "crowd funding" method, in which you get members of the public to donate to your project. this could be in return for a mention in the credits if its a small donation... to 2.5% of the profits for big money!

Theories of Narrative

Torodov theorised that films work based around a period of equilibrium. This equilibrium, almost always at the start of the film, is somehow disturbed by a villian, or an accident etc, and so the main character will spend the rest of the film trying to solve this problem and restore the calm, normal life we found at the start. This gives the film a distinct start, middle and end.
An example of this can be seen in the Harry Potter series. Throughout the series, Harry is attempting to destroy the villian, who is disturbing the peace in the Wizarding World. In the final film, Harry finally defeats Voldemort, and instantly, a sense of calm washes over you. The audience is now aware that normality has been restored. The characters continue on with their very uneventful lives.
This then highlights to the audience that the story is over. You get a sense of closure and are able to take in all that has happened throughout the film.

This theory will be helpful for me during my coursework as it will help me to create an ending that will be effective and leave the audience with a sense of fullfilment.

Why Do Short Films Get Made?

One reason short films get made is because aspiring filmmakers want to test out ideas and storylines before blowing a big budget. This allows them to recieve feedback from their target audience and make any changes their idea may need before producing it as a feature length film. It also allows them to try out new styles and techniques and learn their trade further, before getting into the main industry, where you're stuck in one genre of one style.

It could also be that the creator has a winning idea, but its too short to withstand a full 90 minute feature. This is very often the case with films with an emotional storyline, or a policical campaign as its basis. These ideas can be created very powerfully, but if dragged out too long, they lose their energy.

Many short films are created to be entered in to festivals. This type of short film sits more in the artistic bracket, as the creators want this short film to be their calling card. By winning awards and getting festival plays, they are able to have their name and their talents spread around, thus enabling them to more easily raise budgets and get funding for feature length projects.

Theories of Genre

Stuart Hall theorised that the audience perceives a film in relation to their own experiences and opinions. Therefore, no two people will watch a film in the same way. Those who share similar socio-cultural backgrounds are more likely to experience a film in similar ways. People who cannot identify with the film tend to have a very different socio-cultural background and as a result they will choose not to watch films of that genre. The idea is quite evident in the last piece of coursework I completed. 

For example, it is unlikely that many people will enjoy and relate to a horror film, as they do not understand the background, meaning a large proportion of people are alienated from the audience. Because I chose to create a piece of coursework that sits in the thriller/horror genre, I have inadvertently reduced the size of my audience straight away.

New genres are being created all the time. There are many crossovers such as Sci-Fi/Action, Action/Adventure, Romantic/Comedy, as well as an increasing number of sub-genres within a genre. This is particularly evident in horror films, featuring sub-genres such as: psychological horror, gothic horror, slasher, zombie, horror terror, and torture horror.

Each specific genre will have its own formula – a combination of tricks, techniques and props that are instantly recognisable. These formulas are used over and over again due to their effectiveness, and often become genre clichés. An example of this would be the “person standing behind you, seen in the mirrored bathroom cupboard.” When the audience sees this, they usually guess what is about to happen, which many people enjoy, hence why they choose to watch multiple movies of the same genre. 

One of the classic symbols seen in my coursework was the use of misdirection. Something boringly average happens in the middle of the screen, whilst the “horror character” moves around undetected off to the side of the screen. This trick plays on the audience’s minds, and often causes them to watch the film multiple times to see what else they might be missing. Other clichés used in my work included the typical extreme close ups, the dark instrumental soundtrack, and the enigma provided at the start of the story, to keep the audience’s attention throughout. 

Key Concept Analysis: Codes and Conventions

the majority of camera angles in this film are done in such a way that it looks as if the audience is an outsider watching the action happen in real time, especially the low angle shots that make it feel as if we are sat on a bench on the platform observing.  The colour correction in the film is very expressive of the mood of the characters. The light from the sun as it starts to set gives a warm glow to all the footage, causing the audience to cast their minds back to that warm fuzzy feeling we get when we're with a person we care about a lot. I feel that the colour correction on the footage accentuated this, and also gave it a slightly rosy look about it, possibly hinting to the expression "looking at someone through rose tinted glasses". Basically, it means that when looking at someone affectionately, our feelings for them often mask the less appealing qualities of the person, making everything appear to be lovely and rosy, when the reality is just a little less sweet than that.  codes and conventions of a short film Typical of short films, this film takes place over a time plan of just 2 days, and yet in that time we are presented with a whole detailed story of how two people met, and their feelings for each other. This style of 'quick fire' representation of character, in my opinion, is difficult to achieve, but when done correctly, is far more interesting that character development within a feature film. 
Also, this short film tugs on the audience's heart strings so much that I feared they might break completely. I like that they have produced a more real-life version of a love story. Although cute to watch, the audience can't really take much from a film where the characters live happily ever after. Hardly anybody finds their happy ever after in real life, and so the audience will find this film a lot easier to relate to than the more typical  love stories. I'm sure this is exactly what the producer was aiming for. Stepping into the shoes of he producer, we would want as many people as possible to relate to our product, in the hopes that they would spread the word about it, either by social networking, or simply word of mouth. After all, most short films are self funded. 

Key Concept Analysis: Representation

This short film focuses on the stereotypes of Asian culture, and the pressures they put on their children to be successful. In this short film, this is represented by a game called 'Perfection', which we see being played throughout the game, with the character constantly striving to finish it and become 'perfect'.  The representations within this short film are very powerful as it causes the audience to think about the stereotypes we put on people. For example, Asian families are known for having extremely intelligent children. Some may think this is due to genetics, but in reality, a lot of it is determined by the strict parenting style associated with that culture. The idea of the game within this short film gives a very simplistic explanation of what it is like in that culture. The mother teaches the child to play the game at a very young age, meaning this idea of perception has been forefront of this child's mind before it even understood what thoughts were. Some people might consider the mother's actions to be quite cruel, as, in one scene, the mother is seen to be placing the child in front of the game time and time again and forcing the young girl's hands towards the game, trying desperately to get her to do it properly.  The fact that we never get to see the mother's face gives the audience no human being to relate to, and so, we find the woman to be rather inhuman, and alien to us. we can also consider that this is how the girl would feel about her mother, she is never shown to be considerate, or compassionate, the audience, and the girl, have only ever seen her as nothing other than a woman pushing her towards perfection.  By using a game named 'Perfection' the audience gain an instant understanding of the purpose of the game, and the motives of the mother. In fact, the first thing seen on screen is the word "Perfection."  The film being in black and white could be seen to be representing the very black and white situation the girl is in. She is either perfect, or she is not. White is often a colour used to represent innocence and purity, which comes hand in hand with perfection.  The timer on the game could be seen to represent the seconds of the girls life passing by. Time that she should have spent playing, and having fun, have instead been spent practicing over and over again in order to become the child prodigy her parents are hoping for. 

Key Concept Analysis: Representation

This short film varies from most because the narrative is delivered in a different way. Instead of a separate voice over, we are told the story through a series of notes exchanged between the characters. In this sense, we feel as though we are watching the story actually happen, rather than hearing about it in past tense.

We learn about each of the characters, as they learn about each other. This is a very effective way to represent each of the characters in such a short space of time. We are able to see differences between the two people by their handwriting, what they write, and even what they write on.
The characters themselves are very typical to a romantic based film, fitting into all the stereotypes of a new couple. For example, they laugh a lot, spend time staring into each other's eyes, and getting embarrassed about their actions.

Also, a stereotype found within almost ALL romantic style films is how quickly they realise their feelings for each other, and how it takes even less time for them to act on them. In reality, if you were trying to talk to somebody who refused to take their headphones out (assuming they're not deaf) you would probably consider them a rather rude person. But, as is the way with romantic films, our male character refuses to give up, and returns the next day to see her again.

from personal experience of watching romantic films, it is a recurring theme that both characters have lifestyles that allow them to spend all day every day sat in a park exchanging post it notes, as opposed to going to work or spending time with their families. I sometimes feel that media representations of romance are slightly unrealistic, although the worst culprit of this is Disney. Short films tend to handle any issue with a lot more thought, and with a lot more sincerity.

Key Concept Analysis: Codes and Conventions

All media products have conventions they tend to stick to, and short films are no different. Typical conventions of short films are very evident in this product, the most obvious of all being the length. Short films tend to be between 3-10 minutes long, with this clip being no exception. (3:06) In my opinion, short films are often more powerful than feature length films as you get a short but hard-hitting piece of work, feature length films tend to have moments that feel very 'empty', as if they're just filling time. in short films, every second counts, and so only the best bits make the cut.  This links in with the next typical convention, which is to use a limited number of characters. This could be for many reasons, such as budget, or availability, but more often than not, only the most important details are included in the short film, so there is simply not enough time to introduce and represent 12 supporting roles in a story based around 1 person. It is much more effective to allow the audience to truly get to know and understand one character, than have a vague idea about who several characters might be. This is especially highlighted in the above clip. Although throughout the clip we see 6 different characters on screen, the only one we are directly told about is the main character, the young girl. We can assume the identities of the other character, but based on the fact that it is not pointed out to use specifically during the film, their identities are less important to us.  They do not waste a second of this short film with 'gap filling', we learn everything we need to know about our main character in the form of a recording of her voice, talking about her feelings. It is hinted multiple times that this may have been a suicide note left by the girl, and the audience can assume that is the case.  A technique often found in short films is the idea of representation. As seen in this film, the creator tends to hint at ideas, and hopes that the audience will figure it out. We see a woman who appears to be the girl's mother, sitting with the girl's school photo. At the beginning, this seems of no significance to the audience, as the film progresses, this moment becomes more and more powerful as we realise that this is her mother, listening to a cassette tape, mourning her child. The narration on the tape drags the audience in, and we are submerged into the girl's thoughts and feelings. slowly, we are made to realise what the girl is talking about. Throughout the film we learn that the young girl does plan to commit suicide, but it is represented so tastefully and delicately that the audience are able to genuinely feel for the girl, and for her mother. (in some films I've watched, suicide has been represented in a very unrealistic way e.g. the feature length film Cyberbully, in which a girl who has been bullied for what appears to be a week, attempts to commit suicide. She fails, and then everybody feels bad and starts being friendly to her. This can't be a good message, surely?)  The 'storytelling' of this short film was constructed cleverly. The cassette tape provides a past tense context to the real time images the audience sees. We see the girl's life before her suicide, so the audience gets to see a character that they can relate to, yet, I feel that the camera work is what really gives this film its power. The soft colour correction helps the audience to understand and feel the serenity the girl is experiencing in her 'special place' and also gives us a strong feeling of innocence. The camera allows us to see what she sees, without being shot in first person perspective. Even in the darkest of times she is still seeing the beauty in the world, and this is cast out onto the audience. We are her. in that moment we feel what she feels.