This is question 4 of my AS product evaluation

Why this audience?Emilia Waterhouse

Did we make the right choice?

O I believe that we chose the correct Target Audience for our production. This is because the feed back from our questionnaires mainly corresponded with our original ideas and there were no problems involving communication. In addition we have taken into account all of the feed back we were given by our target audience, and some from the secondary audience. We have also made a conscious effort to consider any changes which may have displeased or effected the audience.

O From viewing our production, and responses from our audience, if I was able to edit the production I would ensure the music was changed and use a stronger voice to reflect the harsh environment in which the working and under class live and also to connoted the anger, pain and fear of the protagonist.

Did we make the right choice?

O During the audience feedback video (displayed above) Gary makes a reference to the genre of thriller. In our production we use flashbacks, which indicate a previous disequilibrium. We also continually cut from flashback to Laura in the police station. These aspects could be read as thriller, however we clearly indicate the genre of Social realism through setting, (establishing shot of the council estate and police station) Shot types (Close up on Laura and Dave’s hands and the money etc.) and the soundtrack, which references issues within society such as ‘fitting in’ and stealing.

O For this reason I believe the genre of Social Realism was conveyed more than that of thriller and was therefore an aid rather than a hindrance because it added excitement, entertainment and diversion and problem solving for our Target Audience.

Why the audience was appropriate

O The audience were appropriate for our media product because they realize that the representations in our product are stereotypical ones and they enjoy the way in which they can actively challenge them. Also the way we have challenged certain convents; such as having a female protagonist.

O The secondary audience were appropriate because they are the people who will appreciate and experience issues such as the pressure of popularity, peer pressure and bullying.

O The audience was also appropriate because they are sophisticated and would recognize that the representation of the working class is a stereotypical representation and not real. Additionally they would recognize the circumstances in which the crime was committed. The two-step flow theory can be applied to this because our Primary Audience are sophisticated opinion leaders, therefore the production could lead to a greater understanding and further challenge of assumption that the working class are responsible for the majority of crime.

Continued

O The film appealed to a sophisticated audience who actively wanted to challenge and be challenged by the product and who also wanted to be engaged by the product and learn from it. Our target audience will receive entertainment and diversion, social interaction, information and surveillance.

O People of a lower income bracket were also targeted by the film because they would receive personal identity from it, we could have chosen this group as our target audience. However the younger people from a lower income bracket are our secondary audience because they do no wish to be challenged and would only receive entertainment, diversion and personal identity from the production. This suggests that our audience choice was correct because our primary audience receive more from our product.

The questionnaire

How does this indicate a correct choice of audience?

O Questions two and 9 shows us that we do have an understanding of our audience because the large majority were in agreement that we should use an inner city location and parks and high streets rather than flats. Also the audience want something that is informative and thought provoking rather than laid back. This indicates that we have chosen a narrative that appeals to our Target Audience as these locations and themes were in our original, rough, narrative.

O On the other hand, there were certain things the audience didn’t want. For example, the results of our questionnaires informed us that our audience wanted minimal dialogue. We later found that this also allowed the production to flow better. I believe the audience would want minimal dialogue as they would enjoy interpreting the production for themselves, because they are more sophisticated. We didn’t recognize before that our audience were sophisticated enough to not need constant indications of what is happening.

Secondary AudienceO The age and income bracket of our Secondary

Audience is appropriate because they would be the similar age and same class of the characters within our production and therefore be provided with personal identity.

O The fact that the production is for any race is indicated by the multicultural ideologies within the production. E.g Shannon being accepted into the group despite being black.

O The production can appeal to both males and females because there are characters of both sexes displayed within the production. Furthermore the issues elucidated in our production could be experienced by both men and women.

Further Audience Research

O We wanted to refer to issues in order to provide a large amount of verisimilitude through an accurate representation of the working class. This is because:O The accurate representation would be

acknowledged by our sophisticated Target Audience who enjoy questioning stereotypes.

O The secondary Audience would appreciate the representation because they would be able to identify with it.

Further Audience Research

O We also discovered that only 39% of participants (in the results of the survey we looked at) belong in the established traditional class, which is because the traditional working class is becoming smaller due to the fact that the new generation are more likely to be affluent workers.

We found that the official definition of the traditional working class: “low on all forms of the three capitals although they are not the poorest group. The average age of this class is older than others.

We found that our product also targets the Precariat class: Thee most deprived class of all with low levels of economic, cultural and social capital. The everyday lives of members of this class are precarious.

Further Audience Research

Questions 2, 11 and 12 indicate that despite choosing the correct audience, our understanding of them could have been improved and there were certain things in our production, which we needed to change. Our audience wanted minimal dialogue and we had originally planned for an almost even amount of dialogue and music. They also wanted an even amount of low and high-key lighting whereas we had planned for more low-key lighting.

Only after research did we discover that our Target Audience also includes the Precariat class (under class), therefore we should have previously have classified our Audience to a better standard.

On the other hand, our research indicates that we also Targeted the correct audience because our production displays a modern, young form of working class, who would be the affluent workers. Furthermore, we displayed a certain lack of money and material goods in our production, through the mise-en-scene of clothing and the setting of the council estate.

Theory

O In our production we address the needs of the Target Audience such as morality, problem solving and acceptance of facts.O Problem solving is provided because we leave room for the audience

to question the stereotypical representation of the working class. Furthermore they can solve the disequilibrium within our narrative. However the acceptance of facts is also provided because there is a limited amount of fact in our stereotypical representation of the working class, so the Audience can see, to a certain extent, how they live.

O Morality is provided in our product because we display the lifestyle of the working class, who have far less resources and materials than our Target Audience. Additionally we display the suffering of our protagonist, causing the audience to pity her. An example of this is the use of the CCTV footage of Laura in the shop, the high0angke Very Long Shot connotes Laura bowing to the outside pressure of others, the audience are made to see it at a comfortable distance, which would cause them to acknowledge the suffering of others, which is not experienced by them.

Theory

O We offer a stereotypical representation of the working class within our product, which our Target Audience would question because they are active. O David Morley's reception theory suggests that an

audience is active and acknowledge how they interpret an ideology. They will either reject the opinion the producer wanted you to have, accept the reading or will recognize and understand the dominant reading but adjust it to suit their personal circumstance.

O We believe that because our Target Audience are both sophisticated, educated and active, they will take the third approach to the stereotypical representations in our production.