Trailer Overview

In order to appeal to the right target audience trailers will use codes and conventions to  make the genre of the film that is being advertised known. Therefore allowing the audience to seek out a film that will gratify their needs. In order for me to use the same technique to ensure the greatest success for my own promotional package I will analyse these six trailers to see what patterns are repeated throughout.

Overall it is very conventional for a trailer to begin with an equilibrium so the audience clearly sees the change in normality within the character's lives. All six of these trailers begin with an equilibrium showing a pattern regarding the narrative. However some of these trailers break the equilibrium a lot earlier than the others leaving the audience stunned as they are dropped straight into action trying to catch up with what is happening on screen. This automatically creates a sense of panic within the audience heightening their fear. This is clearly shown in the trailer Silent Hill. Most of the narratives include a family, consisting of parents and children, this makes it seem more realistic as the audience will be able to relate to them and therefore put themselves in their shoes creating a sense of empathy. The others include a couple which conventionally leads to the victor being the final girl. This set up also allows doubt to be set in the main characters mind. The main character will usually confide in their partner explaining all the strange going ons they have been witnessing leaving their partner thinking that they are making it up or are just over-stressed. The main character will than doubt their own judgement allowing the antagonist to create even more panic, confusion and fear. This can also be used when the main character(s) seek help from the authorities or something similar as seen in the trailer from Jeepers Creepers. This convention is used widely within supernatural horrors so in order to attract the right target audience it would be common sense to apply this convention to the trailer. The antagonist is not normally shown to the audience clearly as this reinforces the doubt set in their mind and also makes the characters and audience even more afraid of the antagonist because as humans we ha e a natural fear of the unknown. All of the trailers leave the audience in suspense as it does not resolve the problem presented meaning the audience will want to see the film in order to see how the characters get on and whether they overcome the antagonist or not giving them a better idea of how they would survive in the same situation as all narratives are in locations that are familiar and the characters are also everyday ordinary people allowing the audience to relate. The location used throughout these trailers are mostly in average looking neighbourhoods and houses. Usually if a house is used the family Will just be moving in it so that the characters are innocent to the negative connotations associated with the house leaving them defenceless when it comes to overcoming the unknown. These conventional locations again create a sense of realism. I hope to include a location that is familiar to my target audience so that I will be able to create the same sense of realism.

Editing at the beginning of all the trailers starts off at a normal pace allowing the audience to relax in the normality of it. They are also very little cuts or fade showing the audience that the character's lives are flowing normally without any hippcups or bumps. However as the supernatural presence starts to make itself known the editing becomes a lot faster in order to emphasise the characters heart beating from fear and the rate in which their life is moving now. More cuts and fades are used to create confusion in the sense that the audience will have to take in new surroundings within the trailer and adapt to what is going on on screen. It is no longer flowing smoothly already playing with the audience's sense of normality. As the antagonist makes a more prominent appearance the use of fast montages emphasise the confusion and fear within the trailer also making the audience feel confused and therefore afraid. Fast montages are conventionally used in this way to show that the narrative is speeding up in terms of it being a horror. As they indicate that there is more cause for fear. The editing regarding hue or distorted images also become more frequent towards the end when the antagonist is prominently involved within the narrative to show the distortion of the main characters lives. This has b9een strongly demonstrated in the Orphan trailer.

The ambient lighting in the beginning of these trailers is bright and cheerful showing that things are normal and happy. The lighting then becomes dim and and grey whilst it also creates a lot of shadows. The connotations of this imply that the antagonist has invaded the life of the characters. Profile lighting is often used in horror trailers to imply that the character has something to hide and maybe something the audience should fear.

Music is general soft and quiet at the beginning. It is just quiet enough to suggest something bad is going to happen, it is like the quiet before the storm. As the narrative begins to develop the music becomes more and more sinister. The use of stabs also scares the audience as we have a natural fear of loud noises.

Expressions of fear, confusion and panic are all included within all of the trailers as this is the main way the director can show that the characters are afraid. This again relates to showing the audience what genre the film will be.

Overall all trailers have established what genre of film they are promoting by using the conventions that apply. By doing so they will attract the right target audience for the film therefore increasing the possibility of it being succesful.

Film Magazine Front Cover Overview

I have chosen three magazines that review a variety of films while the other three only concern itself with horror. I will therefore be able to compare the repeated patterns of the horror film magazines with the patterns of the generalised magazines. Both however appeal to their targeted audiences with a variety of techniques involving using conventions within their genre.

The mast head of the horror film magazines tend to be less of a focus either being quite small compared to the image or in fact being behind the image. This is because the image needs to be the main focus because horror films tend to be more visual than others. However, apart from ‘Horror Hound’, the colours of the mast head contrast to the dark background making the masthead visible but not too prominent. The fonts used in the mastheads are quite bold as well so they do not just fade into the background. The font in ‘Scars’ looked as if it has jagged edges giving negative connotations, something that’s worn down or sharp. On the other hand the generalised magazines are very big and bold also in colours that contrast to the background causing them to be the main focus. Especially in ‘Entertainment’ which is over the main image and in bright yellow making it the first thing the eye is drawn to. This convention could mean that because so many different types of films are being promoted within the magazine it is better to promote its name as it does not have a specialised genre.

The colour schemes with the horror magazines do not stray far from black, white and red. The conventional colours of horror because the connotations of these colours are almost always negative and link to the posters of horror films and the actual horror films themselves. Using a conventional colour scheme signals to the target audience what the content of the magazine is therefore appealing to its right target audience effectively. The spooky, disturbing main images also clearly promote what genre the magazine is covering. The fact that they are all males shows that the magazine is appealing to a male audience hence why they use the colour blue in the background of some as it is seen as a more masculine colour. This is not unlike the colour of the background for the generalised films which are very masculine in their appearances again with the character on the front being male with a very dominant pose. ‘total Film’ and ‘Entertainment’ both use red within their colour scheme, another masculine colour, which is very conventional for film magazines to use as it is attention grabbing and signifies something is urgent. The use of red within the horror film magazines is used differently however as it is there to connote danger and blood. Seen in ‘Fangoria’ where there is actually blood in the main image.

The sell lines of the generalised film magazines seem to take over the image. This is because it needs to appear as if it has as much to offer as it possibly can in order to appeal to a wider target audience which is its main aim. While the horror film magazines have very little sell lines and a very simple layout because the audience will not need too much to attract them to buy it as because it has such a specific target audience they would have probably sought out the magazine itself so the desire to buy it is already there. Also while the general film magazine uses promotion words such as ‘massive’, ‘mind-blowing’ and ‘ultimate’ to appeal to its masculine target audience as they are all attention grabbing, the horror film magazines uses words such as ‘dead’ and ‘horrifying’ in order to appeal to its specific target audience that need to be reassured that what is being reviewed is actually scary.

Overall all these magazines fulfil their objective in attracting their target audience and I hope to do the same as I create my own general film magazine

Poster Overview

   

All the six of these posters have been design to appeal to a specific target audience. They have all been created with the codes and conventions of supernatural horror in mind. By analysing and comparing how they are used I will be able to pick out repeated patterns and effective techniques that I will be able to use in my own Poster.

The colour schemes throughout them all stay relatively similar to each other staying within the conventional palette ranges of red, grey, white and black. This is because these colours all connote fear and danger, which is why they are used so widely in anything regarding horror films, giving the target audience a clear impression of what is being advertised. This can be seen especially in the poster for ‘Trick ‘n treat’ as not only is it red but its looks to be burning not unlike when something has been branded into the skin with a red hot poker already sending warning signals to the audience as this would not have been a pleasant experience. Most of the poster’s titles are in red which contrasts to their black or dark backgrounds meaning the title is highlighted and grabs the audience’s attention effectively. It is also the largest text seen which also promotes the name of the film so that the audience will know what it’s called when they go to cinema to see it. Some of the titles are in fonts that are very bold making them even more visible. However ‘The Rite’ in cooperates a cross as the ‘T’ indicating the narrative will involve some sort of religious references and ‘Trick ‘n treat’ has a sort of distorted font indicating that the antagonist is distorted. The titles all seem to be placed at the bottom of the poster given a clear convention for layout. This is because the audience will first focus on the image and then relate the title to the image allowing them to already piece together a narrative teasing them in to finding out the full narrative.

In three of these posters the background is a relatively normal looking house which has been tainted by the editing; either making it look grey and drab or by covering in mist and smoke leaving it hidden implying that whatever is happening within the house is so terrible it has to be hidden away. Also by using something that will be so familiar to the audience gives the film a sense of realism. It is in such an ordinary setting that it implies that the goings on in the film could happen to the audience. This is a convention of supernatural horrors which is why it has been repeated in these supernatural film posters. The other three posters do not contain a house but instead in cooperate a lot of the colour red to signal suffering, pain and danger. In most of the posters the antagonist almost blends into the background implying that the dark colours and overall cold, moody feeling created is emanating from the antagonist. They are tainting normality. The lighting in the background is also very dark showing that the world inside the film is very dark and full of evil or the unknown.

Four out of the six posters show the antagonist and even though they are shown they are usually masked by the darkness. For example ‘The Amityville Horror’ shows only the outline of the antagonist just like ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’. Meaning the audience knows that there is something to fear but they do not know exactly what it looks like creating a sense of fear and curiosity leading them to go and see the film so they will be able to see them clearly. It seems to be a convention to have the antagonist shown but not in clear view so the audience is still left afraid of the unknown. The images that include people’s face show them to have a cold expressionless look showing that the world within the film also has no warmth or compassion.

In all of the posters a repeated pattern of placing the institutional information at the bottom and is in very small text as to draw less attention to it. This is because drawing attention to these things will make the fact that it is only a film become more prominent to the audience therefore making the film lose its realism and therefore its scare factor.  The tag lines secure the fear created by the image by reinforcing the developing ideas in the audience’s imagination. It is also the audience will remember effectively making it stick in their mind creating a stronger brand identity for the film.

All these posters are effective in the way they use conventions in order to create a poster that appeals to an audience that enjoys supernatural horror. There are definitely clear patterns that occur within them all which I will be using in my own poster.

Inspirations

I have taken inspiration from the narratives of The Fourth kind, Hannibal, Jennifer's Body and Sinister.

The Fourth Kind - The owl that reoccurs in the possessed peoples dreams is how I want the symbol to be. That it keeps reoccurring and almost haunting victims. it creates a sense that you cannot escape because as the character sees the owl they know what is happening to them but have no solution so almost wait for their deterioration to begin. However my main character won't know what is happening to her, she may even enjoy the change in her confidence levels

Hannibal- The demonic nature of Hannibal inspires my main characters 'second' personality as she changes from sweet and innocent to demonic after being exposed to this satanic symbol. I would like to in cooperate Hannibal's smug expression and over all auro of knowing something the audience and other chracters do not. This will create more mystery and make the audiecne want to find out what it is the main charcter knows.

Jennifer's Body - This film inspired me because it's about a group of teenagers and one becomes possessed and begins preying on her friends at school which is like my own narrative. Some of the shots in the forest also inspired me as i would like to have something similar in my trailer.

 

 

Most shots during this scene are obstructed by trees and plants, this gives the scene a feeling of mystery, like something is being hidden away from the audience. It also makes the audience feel as if they are in the woods themselves watching the events taking place. This makes them feel more involved. I will use this technique in my trailer in order to achieve maximum audience satisfaction.

Sinister - The spirit that murders its victims is seen in imagery and then later comes to terrorise its victims and wont leave them alone even when they try to run, also he posseses others to do his biding. This will be like the symbol my character keeps seeing and the spirit attached to this symbol will then possess her amd cause her to kill her friends and others.

 

Horror Conventions

Horror Films

Usually set in a isolated place as to cause a sense of being alone with no hope of being saved. Like the setting of The Uninvited. It also allows murders or terrible happenings to happen without interference of the police or someone else. The fact that are so alone leaves the audience thinking that something will happen as it is a common fear of people in general that something bad will happen to them while they are in the home alone. Also because it is so isolated the audience begins to why. There must be something wrong with the house for it to be so far aaway from civlization. Generally the house are covered by greenery which make it look as if it is being hidden emphasisnt that something bad has or will happen in the house. The architecture itself makes the house looks sinister as if it is a scary face. This aids the feeling of unease the audience already has about the house.

 

 

Dark, dim lighting cause a sense of mystery as everything is hidden in darknessand therefore a fear of the unknown. The use of profile ligting also implies that something is being hidden but usually within a character making the audience suspicious of that particular character. However it can be used to show a victim is consumed by darkness leaving the audience in suspense as they wait for something to spring out from the dark. Throughout The House AT The End Of The Street there is very dim greyish lighting signalling that something is wrong or being hidden.

 

Eerie music and loud sounds signalling danger especially if they are used after an eerie silence as they are not expected and the audience has been lulled into a sense of secruity. The sound then shocks them even more as it is a complete contrast to the quiet. The stabs of sound are usually followed by something bad happening which is a very strong convention that the audience will probably know meaning they are now expecting something to happen. However some stabs of sounds did not follow with a negative event leaving the audience kicking themselves for getting scared lulling them back into a false sense of secruity. Just like in the Trailer for Silent Hill where the woman knocks into a bucket which creates a loud noise that makes the audience jump.

A final girl that the audience roots for to overcome the protagonist. The protagonist is usual a female because it is more acceptable to see a woman acting friegtened ; screaming and crying, etc. It also means any one can relate to her less powerful state because even a male would not be able to pyshically overcome the antagonist as they wouldn't know how to while a female is automatically seen as pyshically weaker.

A protagonist that creates terror to disrupt the equilibrium, usually early on in the narrative. The protagonist is usually male in order to show a contrast in pyshically power making it seem like the female antagonist has no hope of overcoming him. however in supernaturual horrors the antagonist is usually a possed child which leaves the audience feeling uneasy as the protagonist will probaly not want to fight agaisnt an child who seems innocent, again leaving little hope of the antoganist surviving.

Usually a trauma behind the protagonist's desire to create havoc which may be explained by some sort of mediator in the film. Revenge, etc.

Death is a prominent threat throughout the movie ad is hinted during the begginning and throughout through editing, sounds and lighting along with the actual events happening on screen.

Use unknown actors/actresses to make narrative more believable so that the audience will not have an image of how they should be have or have images of them acting in another role like a romance which would make the realism of the movie decrease rapidly.

Trailers

Start with equilibrium to create a sense of security.

Stings to create fear and tag lines usually at the end so that it is the last thing the audience remembers.

A summary of the narrative without giving away to much in order to create interest and curiosity.

Loud bursts of sound which play on a human beings natural fear of loud noises.

Eerie music to create suspense- and a general feeling of something being abnormal.

Fast editing - fast montages so that the audience is left not knowing what is going on therefore creating fear.

Distorted editing - eg. green-ish hue.

Low, dim, dark lighting so it looks as if something isn't right because things are hidden in the dark and shadows, also gives connotations of evil.

Close up shots to concentrate on expressions of fear to create sympathy in the audience making them feel more involved.

All of this is presented in the trailer of Sinister.

Posters

Usually involve black, red and white in the colour scheme and all colours indicate danger or fear.

One large main image usually of the victim or the protagonist to draw the audiences attention. Also allows the narrative to be hinted at before the title is seen by the audience as this will bve the first thing their eye is drawn to.

Title of the film is usually at the bottom of the poster along with credits which are usually small to make them less of a focus in order to maintain realism within the narrative.

A strap line to stick in the mind of the audience usually at the top of the poster.

A great example is the Friday 13th poster which uses all of these conventions.

Film Magazine Front Covers

Image is usually of main character and normally would be a close up/medium shot this is to show off the actor as this is a highly attractive advertyising feature and will draw in many readers.

Sell lines usually to the left where the eye is drawn first so that the audience will know what the magazine is supplying and will make an informed decision on whether to buy it or not.

Masthead is usually in bold font and very big to show  the stautus of the magazine. Big masthead attracts audience's as they will think the magazine is succesful and therefore will satify their needs.

Very masculine colour scheme, fonts, images, etc.

A very popular film magazine called Empire always in cooperates these conventions into its front cover maybe being the reason why it is so successful.

Target Audience Research Analysis

 The majority of the people I surveyed where from the age bracket I am targeting my products at this means I will get a clear view of what they want. I also included some people from different age brackets just to be able to compare their answers. A clear contrast in opinions showed up between the different age brackets in regards to the type of genre that appeals to them.

 

My target audience are mainly females but I would like to appeal to both genders this is why I chose to ask more females than males but still took in the opinion of males. The information will allow me to compare and contrast the preferences of each gender and what I need to do to appeal to as much of my target market as possible.

 The narrative of my trailer would relate mainly to students therefore this is who I aim to target as this will create a sense of realism and heightened fear. This is why I chose to survey more students rather than any other professions However I did want to know how others would perceive my narrative and if it would appeal to them as well, meaning I would have to adjust my products to suit a wider audience. My results showed that many students preferred the genre my narrative was under more than the other professions.

 

 

 

 

Knowing how often my audience goes to see horror films was highly important as this would allow me to decide whether I should stick strictly to codes and conventions of horror as they would be genre-savvy and would only appreciate a trailer, poster and magazine that contained them or if I would be able to adjust a couple of conventions with my own take on them. Overall it seems that my target audience doesn't indulge in watching horrors a lot meaning I could possibly play around with the codes and conventions of horror to make it a little bit different to other horror films.

 

 

 

Knowing my audience's other interests will help me when creating the film magazine as I hope to create a general film magazine rather than just a horror film magazine so will need to know what other popular genres to put in it as well. This will make my film seem more interesting as horror is a very niche market and are not generally advertised in big, well known film magazines meaning that my film was good enough to make it on the front cover. Comedies, Rom-Com's and Action films are the most popular choice meaning that I should possibly try to in cooperate their codes and conventions to my horror film to make it appeal to a wider audience and satisfy my target audience even more. The other sub-genres do not have enough of a response for it to effect my planning

 

 

In order to chose a sub-genre that would appeal to my target audience the most I chose to ask this question in order to find out what genres seemed the most popular. It was clear to see that supernatural was a favourite. This secured the fact that I questioned the right people as they fit the specificaions of my target audience.

 

The realism of the film makes the audience feel as if they could be in the situation themselves, heightening their fear ultimately satisfying their needs as an audience that enjoys watching horror films. This means I will have to in cooperate this into my narrative and trailer. For example Paranormal Activity and The Fourth Kind both use the 'found footage' approach and I will use this as inspiration for my own trailer. Also the events in the film could hlp with inspiration on how to create a sense that something is wrong.

 

I noticed from these results that many people will watch the trailer before they go to see a film. Possibly for a teaser meaning I will have to tailor my trailer to to give away some of the plot but not enough to make the audience feel like they know to much and lose interest.

These results again give me enough knowledge to tailor my trailer to my audience's preferences and needs. It revealed that the taget market do not want to much of the narrative shown, so I have to plan the trailer so that it teases the audience rather then saturate the narrative. Fast editing also is a must have considering the response, so I will have to include some sort of fast montage to it.

 



Focus Group

 

My target audience specifications changed from 18 - 30 to 15-18 as i thought the narrative would appeal to them more. They are also more likely to be interested in this genre of film.

 

 

I have carried out this research in the form of a focus group in order to find out what aspects of each promotional media text they enjoy the most and what aspects they would change in order to create a promotional package that fits directly to the target audience's needs. I have two members of my target audience included with two members that do not directly fit target audience specifications in order to get a contrasting view of my target audience, making their views and opinions clearer in the feedback.

 

 

Poster

Does the colour scheme appeal to you?

• "It shows the genre because its dark with lots of shadows, and in black and white. Dark shows evil"

 

 

From this response I will definitely be using conventional colours schemes as the audience will get an immediate sense of what genre the film is in.

 

 

 

If you were going to see a horror film, would you be attracted to this poster?

• "The image itself is eerie and the mist connotes mysterious elements so you wouldn't know whats wrong with the boy because obviously there must be something weird about him"

 

What stands out the most?

• "The boy on the swing"

 

Is this because its the main image? Or is it the colour? The size?

• "Its the colour and the main image, because you associate kids on swings with happiness but this is all dark and mysterious so it just attracts your eyes to it"

 

• "He looks evil, he looks really strange"

 

 

The image plays a very important part as it is the main focus, I will have to use an image that implies it is a horror film to attract the right audience.

 

 

What do you think of the tag line?

• "Its not very snappy is it? Its quite long. I do like the 666 its very mark- able and I enjoy it but i think it could have been shorter"

 

Would you say because the tag line is so long it would put you off seeing this film?

• "It would put me off, if made it I wouldn't make it like that"
• "Short and snappy"

 

 

A memorable tag line will be shorter than others but also apply to the narrative in the way the 666 did in the Omen poster.

 

 

 

 

Film Magazine Front Cover

 

Does this colour scheme appeal to you?

• "Not really, it's kind of boring...and really manly as well"

 

• "If you didn't know what genre it was about you wouldn't know what the film was about. They usually have something in the background, something to show the genre"

 

• "I'm confused by it because it's got Sherlock Holmes which is quite an adult film and then Fantastic Mr.Fox which is a children's film. I don't know who would buy it"

 

 

Colour scheme should be bright to be eye-catching and interesting. However this may lead away from the genre my film is in meaning I attract the wrong audience and therefore stunt the effectiveness of promoting the film in a magazine. Using darker colours will imply that it is a horror film.

 

 

 

Would you be more likely to buy a film magazine with a background on it?

• "I like the actor, I'd buy it just for the actor"

 

 

So you wouldn't read this magazine?

• "Only because of the actor"

 

 

Are the sell lines appealing or attention grabbing?

• "That ones quite rude"
 

 

 

Would sell lines influence you into buying a magazine?

• "Yeah because it tells you whats inside the magazine"
• "This magazine doesn't really do that"

 

 

For the magazine to be interesting to the target audience the magazine will have to show them that it can offer them what they want, I will have to do this through the use of sell lines that apply to their target market.

 

 

Does the font, colour and size of the masthead appeal to you and would you change it?

• "Its really dull, I would change it"
• "Its clear and straight to the point. Its called total film so its going to be everything about film its going to be serious about film"

 

 

Would it appeal to you more if the mast head was in front of the image?

• "It'd be silly if it was over his forehead"

 

 

 

The title itself plays a big part in the interest shown in a magazine as it implies what it is selling. I will have to come up with a title that appeals to my specific target audience. The font, colour and size also help in making it noticeable, as well as the placement. Which means the audience will know how well known the magazine is, as if it is quite big they will think that it is well known.

 

 

Trailer

 

What was the most memorable about the trailer

• "The strap line, even though it was scary it leaves you thinking, lets you know the character will have to believe in the demon to overcome it"

 

 

 

 

It order to make the audience remember the film from the trailer the strap line will have to relate to the narrative and be short and sweet. This will leave the audience thinking and make them curious about the narrative therefore encouraging them to see the film.

 

Is the way in which the trailer is set out make the narrative clear or did it reveal too much or too little?

• "It didn't reveal that much, you get the just but that's about it"
• "Its not in chronological order, but you know there's going to be exorcisms"

 

Would you have liked a more solid story line or was it enough to tease you into seeing the film?

• "It was enough, if it was more solid it would give too much away"

 

 

 

 

The trailer will only have to hint at the narrative because if too much is given away then the audience won't be interested as they already know what is going to happen. They need to be left in the dark and curious as to what happens. Enough has to be revealed in order to show what sub-genre it is however.

 

Did it scare you? If it did, what was the scariest part?

• "The religious imagery, I don't like supernaturals because they seem to real"

 

How would you improve it?

• "A bit more jumpy moments in it. It was just creepy but didn't make me jump"

 

• "It wasn't scary, I'm not really sure what the plot was. It was like they were ticking cliches. I wouldn't go to see it"

 

• "Its like every other horror film it needs something different about it"

 

 

 

 

Jumpy moments leave the audience thinking that the film will have even more and as a audience that enjoys horror this will appeal to them. The narrative being quite close to home will make the audience able to relate to it therefore making it more scary.

"The religious imagery, I don't like supernaturals because they seem to real" This comment secures the fact that currently I should focus on creating a supernaturual horror as society in the present day is most concerned about what they do not understand which happens to be the forces of the suprenaturual world. I will be applying this to my promotional package by adding a lot of religious imagery.

Overall the feedback I recieved is very useful as I have learnt that each media text has its own set of conventions regarding colour schemes, layout and text or narrative and that my target audience can clearly pick these out. This means I will have to strongly consider including these conventions heavily throughout each piece in order to appeal to the largets share of my target audience.

Questionnaire

I distributed a questionnaire in order to find out some information about my target audience. This information will help me create a promotional package that will cater to their specific needs so that it will appeal to them and they will want to be involved with the whole franchise. I distributed it out to nine different people; five females and four males. Most of the females met mt target audience specifications while one did not this was to see a contrasting view in opinion. This was also my thoughts behind distributing them to males.  

 

 

 

Target Audience Research

In order to find out as much as my target audience as possible so that I will be able to cater my products to their specific needs successfully. I hope to find out what genres of film appeal to them the most and also what sub-genre of horror that appeals them the most so that I will have a good idea of what type of sub-genre my own narrative should come under. I will also need to know what age bracket they come under and what position they have in relation to their occupation so that I will be able to design a narrative that can entertain their level of intelligence and experience in life. In order to gain all this knowledge I will have to carry out some research in the form of surveys and a focus group. A survey will secure the knowledge of what my target audience prefers, their occupation and age. While a focus group will focus on existing medias and they preferences regarding conventions within horror film trailers, posters and magazines.

Target audience profile

As seen in the table below the Horror genre appeals to a very niche market meaning that the target audience is not very wide as it only holds under five percent of market share. However this will make it easier to tailor my products to their specific needs as they have a clearer view of what they want because they can't find the films they like to watch with too much ease, unlike romances for example, because they have expections of a set of conventions within the film. If they do not find these conventions they will move on to find another film. This will mean that my target audience will enjoy watching films and reading reviews about films on a regular basis because they have a clear view of the codes and conventions of horror. They will be highly interested in the genre of horror and go out of their way to go see a new horror film that has come out in cinemas or will know about films that haven't even been released in cinemas. They will also have a clear view of what sub-genre appeals to them most and will be able to tell what conventions make up each different sub-genre. As well as liking horror films they have an interest in other films and will also spend time watching comedy, romances, etc.

I am aiming my products at a market aged fifteen to twenty-three females as my narrative will appeal to them more as they will generally be in a form of education either in sixth form or university (students). They could study any topic or course but they will most likely involve some form of creativity as they will enjoy using their imagination which is why horror films appeal to them because it caters to their want for the weird and wonderful. My narrative is very relevant to their own lives creating more interest in the film itself as they will want to see how it ends or how the protagonist is defeated as it is now a possibility it could happen to them. Therefore making the idea of the story seem more realistic leading to a heightened sense of fear. The characters in the narrative will relate strongly to my Target audience. They will be inquisitive and independent with a passion for knowledge. They will also be laid back with their friends and rarely get into arguments with them but instead create harmony within their group of friends. She will have many friends but will only keep a select few close to her heart meaning that she has people around her that care for her and will notice a drastic change in her personality. She may not be interested in boys or a relationship but has not ruled out the opposite sex completely and often has 'girly' talks with her peers about boys.

My products are aimed at households that have an average income so they have a comfortable life style and are able to treat themselves to cinema tickets every so often but they wont buy them everyday. They will also have enough income to spend on other luxuries such as film magazine subscriptions. However as a majority of my targeted age group will still be living at home with family so they may be funded by their parents or have a part-time job meaning that their funds will be limited.
Overall the main type of person I will be targeting will be very adventerous so will have an a big appetite for trying out new situations whether it be what they order at a restaurant or even the restaurant they chose. Their adventurous streaks means they like trying out new ideas whether they are accompanied by their friends or on their own. They do not mind doing things by themselves as they are quite independent shown in their interest in a less popular genre of film.


As their preference of film will be horror they will have to have quite an inquisitive mind in order to seek out these type of films that portray things that are generally unknown/undiscovered. The fact that they seek these films could also mean that they are seeking a resolution to the problem presented, for example, how to overcome a supernatural force. Also in order to comprehend the concepts in horror films they would have to have an open-mind. This will help them believe that this could happen in reality therefore making the film more terrifying as it could possible happen to them. This also means they will be able to accept  the narratives and charcters of a supernaturual horror as reality and will therefore be more scared of them.

The target audience will love watching something that will provoke their curiosity or leave them with an indefinite resolution to the problem such as Paranormal Activity because they are set in a normal household making them feel uncomfortable as it could happen in their own home and it also leaves the audience with enough information to be curious but not enough for them to understand what is fully going on. The film will also have to cause a certain level of adrenaline to rush through them as they enjoy the thrill. They seek the thrill of the unknown.

Overall my target audience will be an average teenage girl who enjoys exploring all areas of life in her free time. She will be someone who is driven to be something great and has a firm hold on what is reality and how to go about achieving her dreams. She will interact with friends using social medias such as her mobile phone. She will regularily watch films but not neccesarily watch T.V series. She enjoys many types of films but prefers the thrill of a horror film. Watching horror films will then be her escape from the 'real world' giving her ideas about things out of the control of humans unlike the rest of her life which is controlled down to the last detail.