Research: Target Audience

Target Audience

Any form of media that is presented to the public whether it be magazine, music or film should have a target audience to aim for. This makes it easier for institutions to target a certain group of people based on their interests as it would be impossible to make the media suitable for everyone.The horror film target audience is usually in the age group between 15-30. I think the gender of the horror film target audience would predominantly be males. I think teen males would be more likely to watch a horror film as the stereotype of males being the more dominant figure and ‘harder to scare’ gender, whereas females are supposedly easier to scare and quite vulnerable. I think the secondary audience for this film would be couples as the male can have the role of 'protecting' the female whilst viewing the film. The target age group is supported by the BBFC classification groups of certificate 15 and 18, this applies to most horror films. To get an idea of the suitable target audience for our film trailer we have created questionnaire's and we have analysed the results. The results from this will influence the choices we make when creating our trailer. We are going to carry out a focus group which will include us showing trailers from the psychological horror sub-genre to give us a precise idea of what the audience will want to see.

BBFC: Age Certificates

The British Board of Film Classification is an independent, non-governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912 and videos/ DVDs since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984. The BBFC have seven different categories to classify films, these include:

The U symbol stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over. However, it is impossible to predict what might upset a particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range.

PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Parents should consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children.

Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to take a child under 12 to view a 12A film should consider whether the film is suitable for that child.

Difference between 12 and 12A:
The 12A requires an adult to accompany any child under 12 seeing a 12A film at the cinema. This is enforced by cinema staff and a cinema may lose its license if adult accompaniment is not enforced for children under 12 admitted to a 12A film.

No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.

Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the cinema or buy / rent an 18 rated video. No 18 rated works are suitable for children.

The R18 category is a special and legally-restricted classification primarily for explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. R18 videos may not be supplied by mail order.