My Target Audience & Release Date

In terms of Physchographics, my film will be targeted at 'Mainstreamers'. This tends to be the largest group of people, giving me the best chance of satisfying a larger audience. Deborah Sheppards diagram of female and male interest in genre shows that my chosen genre (Thriller), will need to be targeted at a male audience. However, the crime aspect of my thriller film could appeal to a small female audience. My Questionnaire has helped to further my knowledge of how to target my film to the target audience.

To get the best results for my film in terms of sucess, I will release my film during the summer. A lot of sucessful thriller films have been released during this period and have become memorable titles. Films such as The Silence of the Lambs, The Dark Knight and Inception. All of which in the top 10 Thriller films of all time (IMDb). Releasing the film in this period also always a wider range of audiences to be available to watch it in cinemas, due to school holidays etc. However, if the weather is nice, people may prefer to be outside rather than being in a cinema. However, this is a risk I would be willing to take because of all the other successful films realeased then.

Codes and Conventions of Thriller Films

Most Thriller films made follow these codes and conventions:

• Low key lighting and shaddows - Shaddows are closely related with low key lighting. They are used to represent the inner darkness within beings, and can also add to tension and eeriness.
• Obstuctive editing (Black and white editing, montage editing) - Quick shots and obstructive editing are used frequently in Thriller films to accentuate the feelings of suspense and tension (often used in the more 'thrilling' scenes of the film).
• Multiple different camera angles
• Sharp, tense music
• Disorientation of time and space

The obvious codes and conventions used in thriller films are to do with the use of sound and editing. Quick cuts and quick transactions take a regular role in most thriller and are accompanied by fast paced music. Then bringing darker lighting into the equation creates a sense of curiosity and suspense for the audience. There are different elements of thriller films that audiences will expect to visually see. Such things could be the use of shadows, staircases and mirrors. However, it is not the same for all thriller films, 'Phonebooth' doesn't use dark lighting, mirrors or staircases. The director (Joel Schumacher), uses just the voice of the terrorist to create the suspense. The fact that the audience don't see the killer till right at the end would make the audience feel on edge and unerved. This proves that not all films in a certain genre need to follow all the codes and conventions, and can be made without other elements that give a similar effect. However, in the production of my trailer I will try to follow as many of the codes and conventions as possible, I believe this will create the best outcome for my trailer.

Film Poster

Film Poster First Draft

Final Film Poster

Target Audience Research

FEMALE ß ----------COMEDY---------- à MALE

  Romance        Period        Suspense        Horror        Crime/Thriller        Action        Sci Fi

(Deborah Sheppard - Marketing Director Paramunt Pictures)

This diagram shows that my film will be slightly more targeted at a male audience rather than female. However, because it is not right at the end of the scale on the male side, it means it will still attract some female viewers.


Physchographics
This ia a way of and audience by looking at their behaviour and personality traits. Physchographics lables a particular type opf person and makes an assessment about their viewing and spending habits.
The advertising agency Young and Rubican invented a successful phychographic profile know as their 4Cs Marketing Model stand Cross Culteral Consumer Characterisation.
They put the audience into groups with labels that suggest their position in society.

So what cattegory do you fall in to?
Mainstreamers - SEEK SECURITY. Tend to be domestic, conformist, conventional, sentimental - favour value for money family brands. Nearly always the largest group.
Aspirers - SEEK STATUS. Materialistic, acquisitive, orientated to image and appearance, personality and fashion. Attractive packaging more important than contents. Typically younger people, clerical and sales jobs.
Suceeders - SEEK CONTROL. Strong goals, confidence, work etchic and organisaton. Supports stability, Brand choice based on self-reward, and quality. Typically higher management and professionals.
Resigned - SEEK SURVIVAL. Rigid and authoritarian values. Interested in the past and tradition. Brand choice stresses safety, familiarity and economy. Typically older people.
Exploreres - SEEK DISCOVERY. Energy, individualism and experience. Values difference and adventure. Brand choice highlights satisfaction and instant effect. The first to try new brands. Younger demographic students.
Strugglers - SEEK ESCAPE. Alienated and disorganised. Few resources beyond physical skills. Brand choice involves impact and sensation. Buys alcohol, junk food, lottery tickets. D and E demographic.
Reformers - SEEK ENLIGHTENMENT. Freedom of restrictions and personal growth. Social awareness and independant judgement. Anti-materialistic but aware of good taste. Has attended higher education and selects products for quality.

Demographics

Acommon and traditional method of audience profiling is know as demographics. This defines the adult population largely by the work that they do. It breaks the population down into 6 groups, and labels them using a letter code to describe the income and status of the members of each group.

A - Higher management, bankers lawyers, doctors and other professionals.
B - Middle management, teachers, creative and media people e.g graphic designers etc.
C1 - Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, specialist clerical staff - white collar.
C2 - Skilled manual workers, plumbers, builders - blue collar.
D - Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers.
E - Unemployed, students, pensioners, casual workers.

S.W.O.T Analysis

Strengths

• Action genre so a big fan base.
• Strong dominant characters.
• Good plot.
• Good distributor.

Weaknesses

• Plot and script isn't finished.
• No professional lighting and actors
• Small amount of actors
• No professional marketing low budget.

Opportunities

• Success
• A good fan response
• Profit
• Professional light

Threats

• Bad response
• Actors unavailable or ill
• Could go over the budget
• No gross profit

Film Distribution

Production >>> Distribution >>> Exhibition

FDA - Film Distributors Assosiation

- Trade body supporting, promoting, representing the range of generic interests of UK theatrical film distributors.
   President : Lord Puttnam CBE
   Established in 1915
   Today 22 memeber companies
   Who releases account for 96% of cinemagoing.

FILM MAKERS -- DISTRIBUTORS -- CINEMAS
                                               |               /
                                               |             /
                                         AUDIENCES  

Theatrical Market 2008


164.2million admissions
£854m box office
531 films release

For every £1on cinema tickets, and additional £2 is spent on related items - food, drink, transport, and other leisure.
Theatrical distributors invest £300m + p.a to launch and sustain their releases.
4+ films per week released with digital ST&AD
UK DVD Market - £2.5bn

Brief 1

Brief – You are launching a new film onto the market place and need, for the purposes of business and your investors, to be successful in terms of box office and success. Therefore you will need to understand the target market for your genre and apply successful marketing methods and techniques in the form of a campaign with understanding through research. You will be completing a research diary and log alongside surveys and a series of advertisements for placement in media relevant to your known demographic. You will then decide on a strategy for marketing and decide on a release date in cinemas which will allow for maximum success. Your end product will be a filmed power point presentation of your research, its methods and purpose.

My chosen genre - Thriller

Pulp Fiction
Release Date - 21 October 1994 (UK)

Distributor - MiraMax Films

Production Budget - $8,000,000

Gross - $213,928,762 (Worldwide)

Forms of Advertisement - Posters, Trailers, Soundtracks

The Dark Knight
Release Date - 24 July 2008 (UK)
Distributor - Warner Bros.
Production Budget - $185,000,000
Gross - $1,001,921,825 (worldwide) (1 December 2010)
Forms of Advertisement - Posters, Trailers, Soundtrack

Goodfellas
Release Date - 26 October 1990 (UK)
Distributor - Warner Bros.
Production Budget - $25,000,000
Gross - $46,836,394 (USA)
Forms of Advertisement - Posters, Trailers, Soundtrack

I have chosen to research into these three films because they have been ranked in the top 10 thriller films (by IMDb). In order to create the best possible outcome for my film, I think it's important to look at how the best films were made and attracted so many people. 'The Dark Knight' used many different forms of advertising, but the most affective was the print based poster. It just consisted of the well known Batman logo - instantly recognisable to most audiences of all ages:

The official poster was later released closer to release date of the film, it consisted with this logo aswell more specific elements of the film.