Constructing an audience
income bracket/status
•age
•gender
•race
•location
•These are all important factors for Movie producers and
Distributors to consider.
•Who will pay to see the movie, where, when and why?
Demographics
Top management, bankers, lawyers, doctors and other
A
professionals
Middle management, teachers, many 'creatives' eg graphic
B
designers etc
Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, specialist clerical
C1
staff etc
C2 Skilled workers, tradespersons (white collar)
D Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers (blue collar)
E Unemployed, students, pensioners, casual workers
Who sees your movie?
Audience Reactions
This describes how an audience interacts with a media text. Different
AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
people react in different ways to the same text.
These are the advance ideas an audience may have about a text. This
AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS particularly applies to genre pieces. Don't forget that producers often
play with or deliberately shatter audience expectations.
AUDIENCE This is the definite information (rather than the vague expectations)
FOREKNOWLEDGE which an audience brings to a media product.
This is the way in which audiences feel themselves connected to a
AUDIENCE
particular media text, in that they feel it directly expresses their
IDENTIFICATION
attitude or lifestyle.
This is the range of strategies media producers use to directly target
AUDIENCE PLACEMENT a particular audience and make them feel that the media text is
specially 'for them'.
Measuring an audience is very important to all media institutions.
AUDIENCE RESEARCH Research is done at all stages of production of a media text, and,
once produced, audience will be continually monitored.
Action Adventure Movies
If you get a question which involves the word Audience
you should use Blulmer and Katz - Uses and Gratifications
Theory
Here are some clues as to the things you could mention.
Blumler and Katz
“Uses and Gratification Theory”
Information
Personal Identity
Integration and Social Interaction
Entertainment
Information
• finding out about relevant events and conditions in
immediate surroundings, society and the world
• seeking advice on practical matters or opinion and
decision choices
• satisfying curiosity and general interest
• learning; self-education
• gaining a sense of security through knowledge
Personal Identity
• finding reinforcement for personal values
• finding models of behaviour
• identifying with valued other (in the media)
• gaining insight into one's self
Integration and Social
Interaction
• gaining insight into circumstances of others; social
empathy
• identifying with others and gaining a sense of
belonging
• finding a basis for conversation and social interaction
• having a substitute for real-life companionship
• helping to carry out social roles
• enabling one to connect with family, friends and
society
Entertainment
• escaping, or being diverted, from problems
• relaxing
• getting intrinsic cultural or aesthetic enjoyment
• filling time
• emotional release
Effects Theory
Effects theory centre around the ‘effect’ that a media text
can have on the audience and the subsequent behaviour of
that audience.
There is an ongoing debate about violence in movies
leading to violence in the real world. And many have tried
to prove a direct link.
Is this important to consider in you movie?
Question
Action Adventure films attract a wide audience through a
number of different methods. Discuss.
Tip: in your answer to this question you should try and use
Blulmer and Katz, mention how AA films are marketed not
just by posters and trailers but through games, fast food
and social networking sites.
Always give examples to back up your points
Write in short sentences and paragraphs with bullet points,
diagrams and other methods as appropriate.
Question
Action Adventure films often represent women and girls in
a stereotyped way. Do you agree with this statement? Back
up you answer with references to the movies you have
studied.
Tip: Use Propp’s (Character Archetypes), discuss movies
which may challenge these stereotypes, mention Laura
Mulvey’s ‘The Male Gaze’.
Question
Bearing in mind the Global Audience we are hoping to attract let’s have your pitch for
the new Action Adventure film. You need to think about
genre and narrative
location/set
characters and casting
production and budget
Audience and marketing
Tip: this question demands that you show planning and cannot be answered
successfully in an essay form.
You should mention: Todorov (Narrative Theory), Propp (Character archetypes),
Blulmer and Katz (audience theory), how gender, race, religion maybe are
represented. Reference to other movies may help to build your case. It is realy
important that your sub-genre or hyrbid-genre is clearly described.
