Evaluation- Part Five

Evaluation Question 5
How did you attract/ address your audience?
Our audience was addressed through playing on their expectations. Our primary audience would go to see the film expecting to see:

• An imperfect but dynamic hero, likely to be a private eye.
• A dangerous nemesis for the hero.
• A downbeat, moody setting demonstrated by low- key lighting.

We included things like these because the audience expects them, and enjoys seeing and recognising them. As regards the Thriller elements of the film, Thriller fans want to see things that will give them a shock, or a thrill, e.g. the attack on the protagonist, the gunshot at the end. This is one of the audience pleasures that this audience wants to experience, and which they go to the film hoping to undergo.

The exciting events happening in a normal setting, e.g. a suburban neighbourhood, which helps to attract the audience through realism; a more believable setting, i.e. one in which most of the audience live, aids in the suspension of disbelief for the audience, which means that they will become more involved with the story. The normal setting also provides an experience known to fans of the Thriller and Horror genres; the fear of being attacked when you think you are in a place of safety.

Also, the audience is attracted through the main character; the opening sequence presents him as an enigmatic hero surrounded by mystery, and by the time the title of the film appears, the audience already has several questions to consider: Why is he obsessing so much over this particular case? Why is he targeted by the killer? Was he expecting an attack? Why does he have a gun? This build up of mystery attracts the audience as they anticipate finding the answers to these questions later in the film.

Audience feedback to the film was positive, with praise given to the atmosphere and camera work and lighting. Many were confused by the sequence, indicating the enigmatic nature of the opening. Some of the test audience were critical of the pace, however; the time devoted to establishing the location meant less time on action shots, which would have seemed more interesting to the audience.

The Audience of the test screening was, on the whole, attracted by the features used to draw them in and enhance their enjoyment of the film. This shows that our methods of addressing the audience were mainly successful.