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.

Evaluation- Part Four

Evaluation Question 4
Who would be the audience for your media product?
The target audience for our film would have been more than Film Noir fans; this would only have attracted a small part of the potential audience. The Thriller aspects of "The Case" also appeals to the much larger audience of Thriller fans.
The core audience would be teenage or young adult males; the sort of audience that usually enjoy action and adventure movies. These people would be able to identify with the protagonist, also a young adult male in an ordinary setting, energetic enough to involve himself in action scenes, and also a man with an interesting and unusual job, making him stand out from the crowd and be somebody to look up to.
The audience of Film Noir fans would also be very important to us. The efforts made throughout the film, with the characters, lighting and Mise-en-Scene, to invoke the style of classic Film Noir, would be an effort to draw in this audience and satisfy them that the film is "true" Film Noir.
The broader audience would be appealed to through the Thriller aspects of the film; 57% of the audience at our test screening believed that the genre of "The Case" was Thriller, showing that these aspects are strong. Thriller is a popular genre, and advertising the Thriller elements would draw in a bigger, secondary audience of casual movie- goers who might choose this over other films being shown at the time.
The fact that a British film is being made of an American genre could possibly damage any potential international audience. If more was made of the British location in the rest of the film, this would appeal to an American audience who want to see a quintessential British setting to firmly establish the film and give it an identity. "The Case" also seeks to attract American Film Noir fans by showing them that the film stays true to the conventions and style of the genre while still shifting the setting away from tradition.
The core audience of Film Noir fans are the true target, as we have to attract them by showing them that we have made something which the experts can recognise as Film Noir, while still making it an original film with a sense of identity to appeal to the mass audience.