Critical approaches assignment 2 poster analysis

Critical approaches poster analysis

In this assignment I will be analysing the audiences and the codes and conventions of the theatrical posters of A girl walks home alone at night (2014) and Beauty and the beast (2017)

Audience Profiling of Beauty and the Beast
As this film is a mainstream live action remake of a mainstream animation film, Beauty and the Beast already has a variety of established audiences. The typical gender of their audience is female and the typical age of their audience will be 10+; with younger children being taken by their parents, and teens wanting to go as they have grown up with the original film. 
The members of this audience would be mainstreamers- as it is a mainstream, family film- and aspirers- as the female audience are likely to aspire to be a princess, no matter their age. As well as this they will aspire to match the elevation of Belle's social status. The socio-economic split for this film would be from A to E as it is aimed at everybody and would be commonly liked, mass produced and commercially successful. 

Audience Profiling of A girl walks home alone at night
This film is an independent horror focused on Iranian culture, therefore will target a small audience. The typical age of the audience will be 15+ as it is rated as a 15 in the UK and similarly around the world and the typical gender of the audience would be an equal female/ male split as the film could be said to be quite feminist as the main focus is the girl in the title, however as the film is a horror; this typically attracts a male audience. The members of this audience would be strugglers seeking escapism by joining a different reality and explorers seeking discovery and something different. The socio-economic split for this film would be from C1 to E as these are likely to be the strugglers and as it is independent it would capture the attention of students more than adults.

Selection/Construction of content on the Beauty and the Beast poster
The first thing that stands out in this poster are the main characters- Belle and the Beast- as a spotlight is shone on them dancing. This is a throwback to one of the unique features of the original animation which combined hand drawn characters with computer generated camera sweeping to grab the effect of a panoramic view.
People familiar with the original film will be aware that these characters are the focus of the film and the use of the spotlight effect makes this very clear through this poster. 
The title has the Disney logo above it for familiarity as everyone is aware that Disney is one of the biggest film companies in the world; and this is a pulling effect because many people will go see something Disney because they like the other work from the company, as well as the quality. The title has a regal look to it as it is gold coloured which is fitting since it is a princess film of the fantasy genre.
At the top of the poster the cast names are listed; something which shows that the film is mainstream as the cast are famous enough to each be pulling factors for the film, however the names are all the same size which shows that they are equally as famous as each other. 
At the bottom of the poster, the film crew is listed and there is a release date for the film positioned centrally, as people are likely to want to see the film after just seeing the poster. Next to the release dates are the variations of how the film can be seen in cinemas which will interest people who enjoy 3D more than 2D.

Selection/Construction of content on the poster of A girl walks home alone at night
A girl walks home alone at night is a horror film and conventions of horror films include blood, darkness, threats and the colour red. The films title is red in colour which has connotations of blood and danger, and as well as this; one of the letters in the title has what appears to be a droplet of blood falling which relates to the vampire theme of the film.
The main image shows a character that at first we assume is a threat as the character appears sinister and shadowed. On further examination, we see that the character is wearing a chador (a large piece of cloth that is wrapped around the head and upper body leaving only the face exposed, worn especially by Muslim women). The red lips on this character could indicate that the character is female, but could also indicate vampire blood.
The factors which tell us that this film is independently produced are awards from film festivals such as sundance on the poster, and the review which is centrally placed and gives away the genre- 'Vampire classic'- to attract interested audiences. 

How film producers use audience feedback to improve their products

• Focus groups are used to get a variety of feedback from a mixed audience. The producers could show footage, read scripts or show posters to encourage a reaction from the group, whether positive or negative. The audience leave comments on products which then allows the producers to take these into consideration and make changes as necessary before releasing the products to the general public.
• Test screenings are similar to focus groups, however are done closer to release of the finished film, and the audience are asked for feedback so that producers know who they are targeting products to.
• Vox pops are short, random quotes from members of the public and are an informal way of carrying out a questionnaire. The producers would take the quotes and possibly the persons details (age and gender) to know who was reacting well to their product, again to know who to target the products at.

How Media Producers Define Audiences

Audience research is important because they allow the companies to build a picture of their audiences attitudes, knowledge, interests, preferences, or behaviours (By using psychographics and demographics). In building a picture of their audience it enables the companies to see which target audience their product will do best with and then they can market it towards that audience which will gain them the most money as they won't waste money on marketing campaigns aimed at the wrong audience.

Audiences are profiled based on a number of factors.
Simple demographic factors include age, gender, sexual orientation.
Psychographics categorises audiences based on their personalities, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. The 4 C's (Cross Cultural Consumer Categorization) are a way to analyse lifestyles by assigning people into a certain group.




















Another factor companies take into consideration is Geo-demographics which is based on your location in the country. It is assumed by media producers that people in the same area will live through the same conditions and will therefore have similar demands and requirements.
Socio-economic status segments people based on their work experience and theirs or their families economic and social position compared to others. This can be based on income, education and occupation. 
A similar segmentation to this is NRS social grades which are a system of demographic classification used in the UK that was developed by the National Readership Survey to classify readers and is now used by other organisations as a standard for market research.
The grades use occupation to classify people to a grade, as shown below.

These grades are what is mainly used for audience profiling, as an example the profile of the target audience for Assassins Creed Syndicate would be similar to this one below:

The age of the players would range from teenage to 25.
The gender division is mostly males as the main character of the game is male, however there are females which enjoy the action type game such as this.
The socio-economic split would be from B to E because these are typically the types of people who would enjoy gaming.
The main occupations would be students who may have part time jobs.

The target audience for Downton Abbey would be quite different to this:
The age of the viewers would be anywhere from 30 to 60
The gender division would be an equal male/female audience due to both genders being represented in the program.
The socio-economic split would be AB as the characters represented are of higher class.
Their main occupations would be higher managerial jobs such as managers or principals.

Audiences can also be profiled based on the kind of things they like- this is split determined on whether they like Mainstream film, Independent film, or niche film.
Mainstream is commonly liked and is mass produced and distributed due to the popularity of it. Mainstream films are usually commercial successes- films such as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, and the James Bond series. These films are simple to understand and are based upon a single stranded narrative. More often than not, these films use their stars to market the films and will commonly include product placement. These films have large scale marketing campaigns and a universal appeal.
Independent films are produced outside of the major film studio system and are known for having a complex narrative. These films go against Hollywood conventions and have a limited UK cinema release. These films usually do not have big stars in, however can sometimes provide a breakthrough for their cast or crew to work on bigger projects afterwards. The marketing on these films are limited and Word of Mouth is usually the most useful marketing. An example of an independent film is The Texas Chain Saw Massacre directed by Tobe Hooper in 1974, which was shot for around $140,000
Niche films are serious, independent 'art films' which are aimed at a specific market rather than a mass market audience. These films have targeted marketing campaigns.

Media producers carry out research into their audience by using both Quantitative and Qualitative research.
Quantitative research is data which involves numerical figures such as box office data and viewing figures.
For example, Gravity falls originally aired on Disney Channel as a trial show and has now been moved over to Disney XD Despite only reruns being aired the show still gets in the top ten data for the channel week after week, for example on the BARB website in the week ending 11 september the show was the 4th most watched with figures of 64000.
Another example is the box office data for Finding Dory; as Finding Dory has made $970,135,653 since it's release in June 2016, but had already made $135,060,273 on its opening weekend in the US.
Qualitative data is data which involves words such as a review.
Reviews are normally more based on opinion rather than facts since the reviewer themselves is an audience member when they watch the film, however they give people a taste of the film without spoiling too much but rather explaining the film- This is what the following extract of a review of Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children does.
'The grandfather has old black and white pictures of his friends from the home, all of whom seem vaguely freakish (one is actually invisible.) Jake is a likeable but gauche adolescent who works part time in the local supermarket. His parents fret about him and have sent him to a psychiatrist.'
Wikia is a website created for different films and TV shows with information inputted by audiences, including facts, characters, etc. Wikia has a forum section which is also another form of qualitative audience research as the producers learn what the audience are interested in with the film or TV programme and can take that into consideration when researching into sequels or next episodes. 

More forms of qualitative audience research include focus groups, questionnaires, and face to face interviews.

Demographics

NRS Social Grades are a system of demographic classification used in the UK that was developed by the National Readership Survey to classify readers and is now used by other organisations as a standard for market research.
The grades use occupation to classify people to a grade, as shown below.














Audience Profiling

Assassins Creed- Syndicate
The age of the players would range from teenage to 25.
The gender division is mostly males as the main character of the game is male, however there are females which enjoy the action type game such as this.
The socio-economic split would be from B to E because these are typically the types of people who would enjoy gaming.
The main occupations would be students who may have part time jobs.

The Martian
The age of viewers would be 20+ as it seems more aimed at adults.
The gender division would be mostly male.
The socio-economic split would be ABC1



Downton Abbey
The age of the viewers would be anywhere from 30 to 60
The gender division would be an equal male/female audience due to both genders being represented in the program.
The socio-economic split would be AB as the characters represented are of higher class.

Game of Thrones
The age of the viewers

Audience Profiling

Demographics

Data relating to different groups within the population. For example categorising people by age or gender.

Psychographics

Looking at people based on their personalities, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles.

The 4 Cs are a way of categorising peoples psychographics.

http://www.examstutor.com/business/resources/studyroom/marketing/market_analysis/8_psychographic_segmentation.php

Geodemographics

Data relating to people based on the different locations they live in. 

Socio-economic status

Data relating to peoples' incomes/ based on the jobs they have. Six categories are used.

Lesson 2- critical approaches

Primary Research- Firsthand research that you carry out yourself- questionnaires/surveys (quantitative)
Interviews/focus groups/internet forums/audience panels (qualitative)
Secondary Research- Secondhand research that has already been carried out- programme ratings/box office figures/sales of cds and dvds (qualitative)
film reviews/game reviews (quantitative)

Quantitative data is data which involves numerical figures.
Gravity falls originally aired on Disney Channel as a trial show and has now been moved over to Disney XD; despite only reruns being aired the show still gets in the top ten data for the channel week after week, for example in the week ending 11 september the show was the 4th most watched with figures of 64000
http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-10/

Finding Dory has made $970,135,653 since it's release in June 2016, but had already made $135,060,273 on its opening weekend in the US.


Qualitative data is data which involves words such as a review.
Reviews are normally more based on opinion rather than facts as the reviewer themselves is an audience member when they watch the film, however they give people a taste of the film without spoiling too much but rather explaining the film- This is what the following extract of a review of Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children does.
'The grandfather has old black and white pictures of his friends from the home, all of whom seem vaguely freakish (one is actually invisible.) Jake is a likeable but gauche adolescent who works part time in the local supermarket. His parents fret about him and have sent him to a psychiatrist.'
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/miss-peregrines-home-for-peculiar-children-review-everything-you-want-from-a-tim-burton-movie-a7336906.html

Wikia is a website created for different films and TV shows with information inputted by audiences, including facts, characters, etc. 
http://thesecretlifeofpets.wikia.com/wiki/Max

Wikia has a forum section which is also another form of qualitative audience research.

Critical approaches to creative media products

Trailer analysis

Jack Reacher- The target audience is mainly male, from around 17-25 who would be attracted to the film by the action in the trailer.

Marketing campaign: Browser game entitled 'Jack Reacher: Never stop punching' would possibly attract a younger audience of males.

Doctor Strange- The target audience is mainly male, however main actor Benedict Cumberbatch has many female fans. The target age is 14-20.

Marketing campaigns: Concept art shown at D23 (Disney convention) would gain audience that were hardcore disney fans, possibly targeting more females.

Twitter account created (@drstrange) that tweets clips, pictures and promotional information (merchandise). This appeals to the teenage TA as they are more likely to have social media such as twitter.

Three comparable films

Three films which I think are comparable to Doctor strange are Dr Strange (the 1978 made for TV movie), Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Gods of Egypt.