Audience theory and research

1. Audience Theory and Research
Eman, Lucy Katie & Hamza
A2 Media Studies

2. Questionnaire
We asked 50 people to take part in a questionnaire to help us
understand who watches short films. This will benefit us when it
comes to planning and making the short film, as we may begin to
understand our audience. Knowing the target audience will help
us when it comes to relating the film to the viewers. By doing this,
we asked questions such as, what they look for in a short film,
what genre they prefer and how they like to watch the film e.g. at
the cinema, online, on t.v or at a film festival. These questions help
us as we know where to focus when making a short film. Also this
helps as we will then know what our audience likes to see in a
film. We can make representations using semiology, to relate the
film to the audience.

3. Question1: Male or female
who took the
questionnaire, it is
still a mixed gender
as its not a large
amount more. This
also might mean
that we may have
to consider and
make our film
relate to both
genders.
There were 28 females and 22 males who took the questionnaire.
Even though there are more females than males

4. Question 2: Age Group
The second question asked the audience their age group. The results
below show there were 8 people who were 12 to 18 years of age, 17
people who were 19 to 25 years of age, 12 people who were in the 33 to
39 years of age and lastly, 4 people who were of the age 40+ who took the
questionnaire.
This question
combined with
the next, will help
us figure out what
age group watch
short films. After
finding this out,
we can then know
the age group of
our target
audience.

5. Question 3: Do you watch short films?
This diagram shows that in total, 29 people watch short films and 21 people don’t. As
we got the questionnaire sheets back the results came back as followed in the
diagram, the most people who watch short film are the age group 19 to 25. this will
be our target audience as they are the people who would watch and be interested in
our film. In the 12 to 18 age
group, 6 watch short films and
2 don’t. in the age group 26 to
32, four people watch short
films and 8 people don’t. also,
in the age group 33 to 39 4
people watch short films and 5
people don’t. which brings us
to our last age group of 40+
years of age and 1 person
watches short films whilst the
other 3 ticked no. after this
question was asked, all those
who ticked no, did not carry on
with the questionnaire.

6. Question 4: what attracts you to a short film?
Overall, 12 people said they are attracted to a short film by the storyline, 8 of which
were in the age group 19 to 25. 2 that preferred a storyline were from the age group
26 to 32 and 2 more people from the age group 33 to 39 are attracted to a short film
because of a storyline. Seven people said they are more attracted by the cast who are
in the film. 4 of whom were in the age group 12 to 18, one person preferred this
factor in the age group of 19 to 25. one person from the age group of 26 to 32 prefers
the cast aspect of a short film, as well as one more person from the age group 33 to
39. 8 people preferred the genre aspect of a short film. 4 of which were in the age
group 19 to 25. also one person from the age group 12 to 18, one person from the
age group 26 to 32, one person
from the age group 33 to 39 and
one person from the age group of
40+. Lastly 2 people were
attracted to a short film because
of the producers. One of these
people were from the age group
12 to 18 and the other was from
the age group 19 to 25. however
not one person ticked the other
box.

7. Question 5:what Genre do You Prefer?
These results show that, six people preferred short films with horror content, 2 of
these people were 12 to 18, 2 were 19 to 25 and the last two were in the age group of
26 to 32. only 2 people preferred a comedy genre, one of these people were in the
age group 19 to 25 and the other was In the age group of 33 to 39. 19 people
preferred the drama genre, 2 of whom were in the age group 12 to 18, 11 of these
people were in the age group of 19 to 25, a further 2 people from the age group of 26
to 32, preferred a dramatic short film as well as 3 other people in the age group of 33
to 39 year olds. Lastly, the remaining one person in the age group of 40+ preferred a
drama genre. One person
preferred a romantic genre
and they were from the 12 to
18 age group, Lastly one
person ticked the other box
and listed that they preferred
a documentary but it was only
one person, which makes this
irrelevant compared to our
other results.

8. Question 6: Where do you watch them?
The result of this question told us that the easiest way for people to access short
films and the most popular way to watch short films. This is proven as 20 people
out of 29 chose watching short films online as their preferred option. 5 of these
were preferred by some people in the age group of 12 to 18 year olds. In the age
group 26 to 32, 1 person prefers to watch short films online. 12 people in the age
group 19 to 25 prefer to watch short films online, leaving 2 people in the age group
of 33 to 39 who prefer watching films online. Only 3 people prefer watching
short films online. One of these
people were from the age group
12 to 18 and the other two are
from the age group 26
to 32. 6 people prefer to watch
short films at film festivals. 2 of
whom are in the age group 19 to
25, one person from the age
group 26 to 32, two people from
the age group 33 to 39 and one
person from the age group 40+

9. Our Target Audience
Our film would predominantly appeal to the age range of 19-25 year olds and can
appeal to a mixed gender audience. We picked this age range as, we asked students in
sixth form and younger years in secondary school if they watched films and it became
clear that there is a vast majority of students who don’t watch short films unless they
are celebrity endorsed as the majority of 12 to 18 year olds in the questionnaire said
they prefer the casting element of a short film as many short films with iconic
celebrities to them in whom they admire, have been released. The best example to use
to explain this would a short film called “break free” starring celebrity Ruby Rose, who
grabbed a lot of student attention with her short film on gender roles. This is why we
are not targeting short films to students under the age of 19. On the other hand, people
who are in the age range 19 to 25, may be more influenced by short films and may
enjoy them. They may also be at the age where they can afford to go to film festivals
which show a variety of short films. As people come out of their teens, they may
become more independent and not follow trends or social norms like students do by
only going on social networking sites. Meaning this age range may be more open to
exploring other sites such as short film show cases. We have also got a mixed gender
target audience as the film is not set to one gender as it is a psychological drama which
is appealing to both genders. Also the younger side to this age group may mean they
could be studying in higher education, such as university, which could mean they may
begin to look for new hobbies such as watching or making short films as they take a
break from their student/working life.

10. Our target group is between the age of 19 to 25 and this age group mainly
watches short films through the use of the internet. This represents the
youth of this age group as the internet is easily accessible for them . Also,
the most votes for what genre would you prefer to watch was drama
followed by horror for this age range. This lead us on to think about our
genre and we would like to make a psychological drama. This takes the
horror element and adds to the drama to make it more intense and
slightly spooky, without being a full on horror film. Question 4 (what
attracts you to a short film?) relates to this as most people in this age
range preferred a good story line, which would be found in a psychological
drama. We decided to target our audience at a mixed gender as dramas
don’t seem to relate to just one gender, unlike a romance as it may be
seen as more feminine as opposed to an action film which alternatively
could be seen as more of a masculine genre. We will guarantee that our
short film will not follow stereotypical gender roles, making it relatable
and relevant for both genders to watch and enjoy.
Refined…