AUDIENCE PROFILE – A2 Coursework:

The target audience for my short film is particularly aimed at females, and it is revolved around a wedding which the male audience may not take as much interest in as a female would do, but because of the twist I think the male audience may also enjoy it. My short film will aim at the audience aged between 18-25 years. The target audience is mainly shown through the main character, as it is a female, and also in that age group. The demographics for that film would also be C1’s/C2 within the social grade. This is because I believe those people would enjoy romantic films, where something is going to go wrong, and they may dream of having their perfect wedding day. The psychodynamic group for this film would be Utopians, these are people who try and put social messages through their work so that the audience can be educated by their work, this is because I have tried to put a message through to the audience that sometimes words hurt more than actions and can have a very strong affect on the person at the receiving end. The Audience Theory that applies to my short film is also Effects Theory. This is because at the end it is a mystery to the characters about what happened, but the audience know right at the last second what happened. 

AUDIENCE PROFILE - AS Coursework:

The target audience for my previous, AS coursework, 'Hidden' was particularly aimed at males. This was because, the other members in my group were two males, and they knew exactly what were needed in terms of codes and conventions for an action/war film. 

Due to the nature of the genre we included some aspects of danger and a little violence, the film was rated a 15, so, the violence will be limited but this helped to create the tension and suspense. The age range as a target audience was from 15-25 years, this is shown through the number of violence scenes, the extent of the violence, and the actors, who are also in that age group. The demographics for that film would be C1’s/C2 within the social grade. This is because I believe those people would enjoy films like this which involved war and action scenes. The psychodynamic groups for this film would be Egoists, and Rebels, this is because it is more likely these two groups would enjoy the violence more than the other groups and take more pleasure from it. The Audience Theory that applies to Hidden is Effects Theory. This is because of the violence; other people that do not particularly enjoy violence may call it the ‘Mean Violence Syndrome’.

MAJOR INFLUENCES:

The major influence for my short films is from the British Soap, Hollyoaks.

I really enjoyed the storyline, where the bride (Texas) was having an affair with the groom's brother (Mark) and his girlfriend (Theresa) over hears Mark saying he loves Texas.

Texas is pushed out of the window and dies. And there are a number of suspects who all have a very good reason to want Texas dead, but no-one actually knows that the real murderer is the groom (Will) even though he has also got a reason, as he knows about Mark and Texas, but no-one suspects him as he is in a wheelchair, but what everyone else doesn’t know is that he can walk.

The two clips below are the scenes that inspired me. The first one is seeing Texas falling out of the castle, and the second clip is Will having a flash back of what he had done to his wife, Texas.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNLPmDrRdxk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xawd7S99RwU

In this image, it is of all the suspects of Texas's death.

  

This plot particularly interested me and influenced me for my short film, as it is about a sweet, girl that the audience love, and will be shocked that someone had so much hatred that they want to kill her. The audience know it is one of those people (in the image above) that murdered her, but don’t know who it was as they all have an excuse. It leaves the audience guessing about who it is for a while. This is why I enjoyed it so much because there is suspense and keeps the audience wondering who it was.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

Who are you making a short film for?

• My short film will aim at the audience aged between 18-25. It may possibly appeal to the female audience more than the male audience as it is about a wedding, but because of the twist I think the male audience will also enjoy it.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

Who are the target audience for the short films you have looked at?

• The short films I have looked at have been for various target audience.
• For example Late Bloomer, the target audience would be aged from 18 onward because it shows how kids at that age see their peers, and the target audience would be able to relate to that feeling because they've been in that position, but it could also be aimed at the younger audience aged between 12-16 years old because they can also relate to it as they are going through that phase at that age.
• However, Interpretation, is for the 18+ who enjoy action films.
• The Desk would be aimed at the audience aged between 15-18 as it is about two students at school, so may not appeal to anyone older than that age. However, it may appeal more to females than males as it is a sweet, romantic film.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

Who is the audience for short films in general?

• The audience for short films is more specific than mainstream films.
• The main two groups who will be familiar with short films are; students hoping to aspire a career in the industry, and people who are already in the media industry.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

How are they distributed and exhibited?

• The British Council can help with distributing. They select films that are promoted to a number of major international film festivals. 
• There are festivals such as 'The Smalls'

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

How do they get made?

• The main source of funding short films are produced from is from the UK Film Council.
• Local Councils would also put some money towards a short film especially if it deals with social exclusions or aids.
• Charities will also often fund for short films. The charities will usually fund those short films that the topic/goal of the film is in some way related to their charity, for example Welcome Trust (UK's largest medical research) has an Arts Award for funding various projects including a short film about biomedical science.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

Why do short films get made?

• Short films may get made because the person wants to get experience in the film business because they may want to get into the media industry, and they are experimenting on all the different aspects of the industry.
• Someone may have a great idea but it may not be long enough to be a feature film but just long enough to be a short film.
• They may have been asked to produce a film with a limited amount of money and it only covers for a short film.
• Short films may be produced to get the message across instantly, without making it hours long, where the audience get the message at the end, short films are on average for 10/15 minutes so the audience will understand within minutes what the message is.

NARRATIVE THEORIES:

Todorov’s theory is used in World War Z. In the first 10/15 minutes everything is fine, then the audience see’s the zombies start to attack, and most of the rest of the film is the characters trying to escape and find a cure to get rid of the zombies. In the last 15/20 minutes they show how they escaped from the zombie and Brad Pitt returning to his family, safely. This theory will be used in my short film as it gives the audience a sense of closure. If the new equilibrium is for 5 minutes or less, the audience might feel they want to know more of what happens, how the happy ending comes to a close.

I think using Vladimir Propp’s theory, proposing that is was to classify the characters and their actions into clearly defined roles and functions, would be useful to use as the audience will noticeably recognise which role each character plays instead of getting confused about whose who, which could lead them to no to enjoy the film. A good example of a film that used Propp’s theory is Harry Potter. The audience instantly identify: The hero; Harry Potter, the false hero; Ron, the dispatcher; Hagrid, the helper; Hermione, and the villain; Voldemort/Malfoy.

MEDIA KEY CONCEPTS

Narrative:

The narrative in short films are different from mainstream films. This is done through the twist at the end. In short films, there’s one main event happening then right at the end the audience see that there is a twist in the narrative. For example, in 'The Desk' the narrative is about a guy and girl in school having a conversation through a desk, in the end the girl turns out to be from a different dimension and they are united as she moves to his school.

MEDIA KEY CONCEPTS

Media Language:

Typically, short films run for no longer than 40 minutes. Which include the begining, middle and end and aslo the credits. 

The camera shorts that I have noticed when watching short films are usually long shots or close ups. This is because there is not a lot of time so they try to get the whole film into a short time so they show as much of the seeting as possible so the audience are familiarised with the setting in which there are in. For example in Interpretation, there are more long shots to show the audience the surroundings of the film which can represent the genre. They are in an ally way at night which could suggest something may happen before anything does happen. In The Desk, the majority of the shots are close ups, this allows the audience to see the characters facial expressions when he finds the reply on the desk. It also shows close up of the desk so it is clear what has been written. I think the camera shots depend on what genre the film is, in a horror film there may be more close up shots and extreme close ups, than any other shots to allow to audience to see how the character is feeling and their emotions during that scene.

MEDIA KEY CONCEPTS

Genre:

There are all different genres. The two examples in 'Audience' section; "The Longest Daycare" and "Late Bloomer" are two different genres. The Longest Daycare is animated, whereas Late Bloomer is comedy. Another example is 'Interpretation' this short film is an Action film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ayS8SqIqbg

I dont think there is a specific seperate genre for short films, as I have watched all different types of genres and they all use codes and conventions for each genre type.

For example, the genre for ‘Interpretation’ is represented through the lighting. It shows that something bad is going to happen and there would be an action scene. This would be targetted to the male audience, however as a girl, I found it interesting and enjoyed it.

MEDIA KEY CONCEPTS

Audience:

The audience for short films in general would be people who are interested in the film industry, media or art, or enjoy graphic works.

The audience for this short film: "The Longest Daycare",  would be the audience who are already a fan of The Simpsons, but also the younger audience as it is mainly aimed at life of the youngest Simpson who is a child, and this would attract the young audience more than the older audience who do not watch The Simpsons.

Whereas, the target audience for this short film would be aged 18+, as it shows the view of a 11 year old boy, in Sex Education, and how all students felt during that time, and how boys saw girls as 'disgusting' and how differently they act towards the opposite sex now than they did when they were at school. As I watched it, it reminded me of how different the boys in my class used to act towards us girls in year 7, and how different it is now in college.

MEDIA KEY CONCEPTS

Institutions:

Short films are produced by small-time film producers aspiring to become a big name in the film industry. However, short films are more often produced by students for their work, or who want to go into the media industry.
Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals. Short films are often made by independent film makers for non profit, either with a low budget, no budget at all, and in rare cases big budgets. Short films are usually funded by film grants, non profit organizations, sponser, or out of pocket funds. These films are used by indie filmmakers to prove their talent in order to gain funding for future films from private investors, entertainment companies, or film studios. Short films do qualify for Academy Awards if screened in Los Angeles.