How did you attract/address your audience?

My target audience is the teenage bracket, aged 15 to 24 with the focus more on the male gender because for the female audience of this bracket there tends to be genres that cater for them e.g. Chick films, Romp coms etc. As a male teenager myself I feel that our chosen genre isnt catered for to the same extent as the female market. I am aware of the popularity of the dystopian genre and such films as;

Shaun of the Dead

The Worlds End

Which have been culturally very popular with some of the teenage audience bracket, particularly males and we wanted to tap into this influential interest. We did not use violence in our film is that we could keep it I this age bracket and not move to an 18 certification. Our findings from the focus group showed that there was little understanding of the dystopian genre, which we were quite surprised at as we had all watched the Pegg/Frost films and presumed that many people had as well. The older section of our age bracket was much more aware of this type of film than the younger ones. The focus group were shown three example extracts from this genre namely Wall E Children of Men and The Matrix and they commented that they didnt like how Dark and gritty the second two films were because they preferred the more childlike, upbeat and happier atmosphere of Wall- E but yet the film has a serious message for the future. The focus group and the questionnaire group liked the moral message that Wall-e had as opposed to the fighting and violence of the other two films viewed. They also said they wanted to see and feel the isolation of the characters rather than have characters fighting for power. Also the results from the questionnaire showed that Wall-E was the most popular dystopian film because it appeals to all ages through its childlike, comedic attributes .We incorporated these ideas into our own film by making the two main characters seem rather unaffected by the cataclysmic disaster that had befallen the world, looking through their rather

naive eyes and yet there is a serious message that the film contains even though it was only the initial opening of the film sequence. We also decided to draw the audience in with the two main characters, who are just normal people much like Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

They are three dimensional with a backstory that people can relate to and not stereotypically stock characters that are not realistic. From the questionnaire data we also discovered that characters are the second most important attribute to a films success so we wanted to focus on this in our film. My character is called Jack and Zacs character is called Ollie. We are both normal everyday teenagers, which is relatable to an audience.

Our dialogue sequences revolve around an argument about a biscuit which is really quite trivial and ordinary. Also within the script we used current language that people use to allow them to connect with the characters on a familiar basis. We employed many features from Black Comedy. Black comedy is comic work that employs black humour; humour that makes light of otherwise serious subject matter, and in my film it is the possible end of the world scenario through a deadly virus that is the issue. I personally feel the main ways we attracted and addressed our audience were how we set the scene of the desolated future by filming in the run down docks and established the setting of the locations, namely the home and the docks. This setting was chosen because the docks were derelict and run down but not to the point that they were completely destroyed. The focus group wanted this kind of setting because the aftermath of the cataclysmic disease would not affect the scenery in a

dramatic way to start with but the world would deteriorate more slowly as time went on, so we wanted to keep the realism of the situation alive. The questionnaire also stated that many people said that the location of the film was as important as it showed how the director would envisage a dystopian future. Many people said they liked the way the film left them thinking about the future of the human race.

We also filmed the close up of the syringe injecting an experimental vaccination into a patients arm.

The oscilloscope moving up and down showed the fact that they have had to resort to the more old fashioned ways of communication. It makes the audience ask what is happening, whether there are any survivors and its significance.

We also made sure we were aware of our audience research and what they expected of this genre by making the opening sequence tense and foreboding. This attracts the audience by making them question what could have happened and what is expected in the future of the film. A couple of answers from our target audience questionnaire stated that theyd like to see something that starts in a realistic way but at the end it makes you realise that it could actually happen in real life i.e. that the world could suffer a pandemic. I feel that we have achieved a realistic storyline. The focus group said that they wanted humour within the piece, reminiscent of Pegg and Frost. I believe that myself as the straight man and Zac as the comedic sidekick added this humour to the piece. Arguing over a custard cream biscuit is a very humorous situation when compared to the realisation of the severity of the situation. The focus group wanted to see a more subtle, nave comedy rather than a slapstick approach that is not realistic and we achieved this in my opinion. .