Question 5: How did you attract/address your target audience?

Our media product has been targeted at a middle aged audience (around 40-60+) this is because I felt the genre of the film would appeal to this age range more than a younger audience. I looked at statistics towards Film Noir's and found that most of the content in a Film Noir includes some strong language, sex and nudity and scenes of violence. This content is suited to a higher age range due to what is included within in. Film Noir's also aim for an older audience due to the complexity of the narrative, there are usually twists set in the story this showing that the older generations would find it more interesting as it is something to solve and figure out. I think our trailer attracts this age range in particular because the setting are very urban and highlight the genre of our film. It also involves older characters which our audience could relate to on a better scale than someone who is very young.
On the other hand younger generations could be attracted to violence in Film Noir's which is commonly included.

The way I have attracted my audience is through representation and the 4 key areas: sound, editing, mise-en-scene and cinematography. I represented my characters in a way which resembles the stereotypes, for example the male character holds much more dominance then the females emphasising the patriarchal values which would be shown in society in that era. Representing my character this way attracts my target audience as they have understanding of the type of character he is considering many other films also represent their characters in this way. The representation of the male is also quite conceited, his speech and the way he carries himself emphasises these characteristics and show his development as a character. He speaks down to many people in the opening sequence, this also highlights this dominate male role which my audience role familiar with. The female on the other hand has been represented differently to the male, she is instead quite timid and held back, however although it is not clear yet from the opening sequence these roles would of been later challenged with the Detective falling in love with the timid woman as she becomes the more dominant one out of the two. At the start this information isn't clear and irrelevant, the vulnerability of her character suggests the theme of patriarchy again and allows viewers to identify with it.

The mise-en-scene in my opening sequence is showing themes which my viewers would be interested in. These themes include: love, violence, alcohol, crime and so on. To attract my target audience of males I made sure these key themes were highlighting by the use of props. These props include alcohol, hats (for the Detective), Newspapers etc. The use of props allowed the themes I was trying to get across become more significant. Also it set up the scene better and it given as a more realistic feel towards things. An example of this is the hat for Newspapers and papers in general on the desk, this reveals that the character is always hard at work with all his important sheets spread out. The fact that the sheets are scattered also indicate that he may not be a very organised character. The location of the scenes also help attract the audience, they reinforce them themes mentioned earlier and also gives the viewers an insight to what type of film this is. The locations shown are a narrow alley, which is used a lot in Film Noir's, a bar which highlights the genre and a office. The office shows the characters career in the film, it also indicates the typical locations for film noir's, this would attract my target audience because I have specified that their interests centre around crime and mystery dramas and from research I have found that the locations I picked fit well. The clothing in the opening sequence connect well to my middle class target audience this is because they're dressed in suits and posh clothing demonstrating that they must be from a higher class as the poor couldn't afford this type of clothing in the era is was set.

The sound appeals to an older target audience as well, the way the characters speak indicate sophistication for example the way the Detective speaks to the bar attender he is very abrupt and outspoken this is due to the characteristics of the detective and his dominance towards other characters. All the characters in the sequence have British accents, this accent in particular is usually associated with a rich place where the people are snobby etc. This attracts a British audience because they can relate to the characters on a stronger level and also a British audience may be more intrigued to see new upcoming actors etc. However, although the accents are strong British I made sure that nicknames were included from the Detective this is because I wanted to emphasise the theme of patriarchy and how he was able to speak to females in this intimate manner because he is a male, this is another way I tried to attract my audience because it is a sophisticated theme and because the older generations were brought up with these values they would understand it more.

The editing highlights the age of the film as it is very limited, it doesn't have any special effects it is just a basic consistency of shots which flow together to create a sequence. Transitions were placed at the start of every scene and at the end, this was done because when I studied other film noir's I found that the majority of older films also have these types of transitions. I felt this was because it introduces the scene better rather than cutting straight to the next sequence of clips. The editing aspects would also appeal to my target audience as it is very classic like previous film noir's which have been made creating this typical old classic atmosphere.

The cinematography throughout the sequence would also appeal to my type of audiences. A lot of the camera work allows viewers to become more involved in the scene and gather more understanding of certain characters etc. For example: A high angle shot of a person would indicate that they are vulnerable. Also the shots I've used such as a close-up highlights key areas that may be missed, alcohol is one of the main themes within the film and with the close-up used it informs viewers on the type of film.

Overall there are many ways in which I can attract the audience, firstly the story line itself is a key way of gaining that audience because many of the will know what to expect. Also the key four areas promote this genre further which allows the viewers to understand the themes and relate to them more.