Emma lewis audience research powerpoint

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Audience Research By Emma Lewis

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Transcript of Emma lewis audience research powerpoint

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Audience Research

By Emma Lewis

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Secondary Research

• 5 of the top 15 superhero films include:

- Spiderman

- The Incredibles

- Batman

- Superman Returns

- The Dark Knight

Theses films were all successful in attracting audiences, shown through their success in reaching the top 15 superhero films produced.

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How was each film successful in attracting their audience?

Spiderman: Firstly, the institution whom distributed this film was ‘Sony’.

Automatically this can attract people who are of interest of previous films produced by this institution, yet this only being a minor way of how audiences were attracted in comparison to other attractions. A major way the producers attracted an audience for Spiderman was by keeping to the rather typical superhero story, involving a binary opposition (villain), a love interest and the superhero being an average person on a day to day basis. People who enjoy this form of storyline are those who are likely to be interested in this film as that is there interest. Also, this film is aimed at wide age range of audiences yet most commonly children aged 7 or above where the film would also have secondary audiences being an adult with their child, say the parents, resulting in more viewers. However, this film is aimed at people of all ages. Another audience attraction is those simply interested in action films due to superhero films tending to contain a fair amount of action, like Spiderman.

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• The Incredibles: This successful superhero film was produced by Pixar and distributed by Walt Disney pictures. This would be a major attraction for children, especially knowing it was a Walt Disney film as this is a common institution, whom children know and enjoy their films. Due to the enjoyability of Disney films by children, knowing the Incredibles is also a Disney film would automatically attract a large audience of those whom are fans of Disney films. Therefore, there major target audience was aimed at children of both genders. It was created to be suitable for children of both genders through the use of male and female superhero figures within the production. However, yet again, The Incredibles would breach to a secondary audience being the parents of the children or whichever adult was to take them to the viewing, or allow them to watch it, developing their range of audiences. Also, people who are interested in superhero based films were interested in this film however not all ages interested due to some not being interested in animated films.

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• Batman: This film is a ‘Warner Bros’ production and was distributed by them. This already develops the range of audiences who are of interest in this film, as people who enjoy previous productions by Warner Bros, are likely to be interested in another one of their viewings. This being one form of how Batman attracted a part of their audience. Another interest for viewers would be the fact that this a slightly different style superhero story, where ‘Batman’ , isn’t an ordinary guy such as in ‘Spiderman’ or ‘Superman Returns’, he’s a billionaire who is well- known by everyone but not his secret identity (batman). This is also slightly different to typical superhero films due to him not having actual powers just using his sheer body strength. This would attract an audience as people are interested in a change from the usual story. The main audience for this film, is people interested in action as it is majorly action packed, in comparison to some superhero films. Furthermore, people of both genders will be of interest as there’s both male and female characters, where there is a love interest involved and this could attract those interested in a sense of romance within a film. In relation to age, this film appeals to people of any age mostly those in the teenage generation and middle-aged.

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• Superman Returns: Being within the top 15 superhero films, Warner Bros is the institution for this film. People whom are of interest of previous Warner Bros films they have seen are likely to be attracted to another one of their productions, being a way of intriguing some audiences. Due to this film being an extension film to the sequel of the four superman films, creating a fifth one was likely to attract the audience of whom were of interest of the previous 4. This story is slightly different to the ‘typical superhero’ story having a major focus on a female character within the story being ‘superman’s’ love interest, aswell as his binary opposition (villain) throughout most of the production. Furthermore, ‘superman’s’ powers aren’t like other superhero films, he was born with them, also giving a twist to the typical superhero story attracting certain audiences who a like a change or variety to story lines. This attracted people of both genders due to the use of male and female characters. The main age range with interest in this film is those who are in their late teens due to them being most likely to have seen the previous superman films than those a younger generation and anyone above this age.

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• The Dark Knight: Finally, the most popular successful superhero film, again made by Warner Bros. Although the institution of this film is extremely popular and well known and attracts a massive audience due to people enjoying previous films by these producers, this clearly wasn’t the main audience attraction as fellow Warner Bros films such as ‘Batman Forever’ and ‘Superman Returns’ weren’t and aren’t as popular as this production. A major attraction for people in this film may have been the actors within such as Heath Ledger, of whom plays ‘The Joker’, playing the villain in the film. Also, due to the current death of this actor, this could have impacted upon the number of audience viewers due to the common mentioning of him through different forms of media. However, another way of how Warner Bros attracted an audience for this film was that this film appears to have a twist to such as it having a darker side to it by being more gruesome, dramatic and having a major focus on the villain. The age range for this film would be for mid- teens and above. This is because this film seems to be a lot more violent being in-appropriate for younger children. Also, people of interest in action packed films would be a major audience for ‘The Dark Knight’ as it is full of action being its main focus.

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Target Audiences for ‘Upcoming Releases’

‘The Amazing Spiderman’: I believe the target audience for this film will be those who were interested in the previous Spiderman films, as they will give another Spiderman film an opportunity. Aswell as those who enjoyed ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ film which wasn’t in 3D. Due to this film being in 3D, this will attract a wider range, targeting those who enjoy viewing films in 3D. People of both genders will be targeted in order to get the largest audience as possible, as this results in the production company making money. When looking at the upcoming releases age of their target audience, I would say it is aimed at young children from age 7 and above, as children tend to be of interest in 3D movies, aswell as Spiderman being a more child friendly based superhero. Children below the age of 7 may struggle to understand the storyline hence why I believe the target audience would be above age 7. Finally, with the same producers (Sony) as the previous Spiderman films created this will attract an audience aswell as those of an interest in other Sony films.

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• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: This is another ‘upcoming release’ for 2013, produced by Paramount. I feel that their target audience would be primarily people who have an interest in their previous TV episodes and their film form the 1990’s. Although this release will be different, this could be an attraction for viewers, in order to see in what way it is different to the first film. A further target audience would be children, as they are likely to have seen the cartoon TV episodes of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ recently aswell as young adults who will have seen these TV episodes and the 1990’s film when they were younger. People of both genders could be their target audience as either gender may have enjoyed ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ previous productions.

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Reasons why ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is believed to be successful in finding

audiences: • A major advantage is that it’s the sequel to ‘The Dark Knight’, attracting the

rather huge audience who enjoyed ‘The Dark Knight’ making it a huge success.

• The involvement of new actress Anne Hathaway playing ‘Catwoman’ who could be a major source appealing to females due to her appearance in previous films such as ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ which many women love. This will widen the audience as more females will be interested, due to an interest the actress being used.

• Its already sold screening six months in advance of the release date (20/7/12), sugessting it has already achieved an audience before it’s been released.

• It will continue from the hype on ‘The Dark Knight’.

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Reasons why ‘The Avengers’ is believed to be successful in finding

audiences: • The combining of six characters from previous

blockbusters is a major reason as to why their will be a success in finding audiences, as if an individual has an interest in just one of these 6 characters, they are likely to view the film just to see them.

• A number of famous actors/actresses are featuring within the film such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L Jackson, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. This will be another success to finding audiences as with a range of famous actors you get a variety of audiences, being people who are interested in them as individuals or their acting in previous films.

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Reasons why ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ is believed to be successful in finding

audiences: • The first Spiderman movie set the mark for all the following $100

million superhero movies which have opened since then such as ‘Ironman’. People who are aware of this will go to the viewing. in the hope that it will be as much of a success as their first film.

• People interested in the Spiderman sequels, are prone to be viewers of ‘The Amazing Spiderman’.

• A big global event was held, promoting the film making people more aware the production, on the basis the audience will widen due to being informed of the new creation.

• It is being released the day before the 4th july, being Americas independence day, a bank holiday, in the hope to having more viewers, as more people will have the time to go and view the film in cinemas.

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The Importance of star actors & star directors in helping superhero films to

be successful • Through the use of star actors and star

directors, this can have a major impact upon a film’s success. If an audience is aware of who has directed the movie, they are likely to watch the film and if enjoy their viewing, then continue to purchase it when released. This generates income for the producers, allowing them to use this money to create new films or develop on new technologies . For example, director James Cameron did so in his film ‘Avatar’, advancing on 3D technology.

• Also, the appearance of star actors will attract audiences, due to them having a sheer interest in that actor due to seeing them in previous films. For example, ‘The Avengers’ has a high chance of success due to the starring of famous Hollywood actor, Robert Downey Jr. who previously featured in iron man.

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Primary Research

• Depending on what is involved with any media product but in this case, the superhero genre in particular, has a major impact on who the target audience is for that product.

• We can see this through the secondary research, as different types of audiences are attracted to different films within the same genre such as children are more interested in ‘The Incredibles’, whereas mid - teenagers to adults, have more of an interest in ‘The Dark Knight’ due to both genres having different aspects such as ‘The Incredibles’ is a cartoon, whereas ‘The dark knight’ is reality action, with famous actors. This is how media products address different audiences through how they portray their film.

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• When conducting one form of primary research I spoke to a group of 3 people where I found out:

- What aspects they like about the superhero genre - What aspects they dislike about the superhero genre - What they expect to see in superhero genre products.

• Within the audience I asked, the majority mostly enjoy the action scenes

in the superhero genre. Where one of them stated ‘it gets your pulse racing, wanting to know what’s going to happen next’, where these scenes give them that feeling of being on the edge of their seat. Also I found that the audience feel superhero films are a successful way to witness high action stunts in this type of genre.

• Two of the people in the group I spoke to being female, relish the opportunity to see attractive or ‘hot’ as one female from the group stated, physically strong male superhero’s, participating in the dramatic scenes within superhero films.

What I found…

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Research Continued… From a much deeper discussion on this research, it became clear that the audience also like t he mysterious elements surrounding superhero’s ,who have a duel identity. This being the way they live their ‘ordinary’ life and how they undertake their superhero duties. All three people within the group stated what they expect to see in this genre, being the typical conventions associated with a superhero movie. This implies why film producers are reluctant to change the style of superhero films, as this is majorly appealing to a wide target audience. They also commented on how much they enjoy thrill and excitement linked to a super hero’s powers. The enjoyment of this is that this is usually the main focus of what helps them to defeat the villain (binary opposition).

Furthermore, one member of the group felt that some superhero films such as ‘Thor’ prolong the action scenes. The group member stated ‘this can frustrate some members of the audience as they would like to see action from the outset’. An improvement they wish to happen in this genre is to attempt to steer away from stereotypes such as the superhero always defeating the villain, as they feel this makes the film predictable.

In conclusion, people who I spoke to are entertained by superhero films. In order to prevent bias to this research, I asked people of both genders in order to obtain more reliable research as males and females could have a difference of opinion.

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Primary research (2)

For this I focused on just one persons opinion on superhero genre films in order to find out a more in depth opinion of them. Aswell as relating their opinions to specific superhero films. Here is what I found:

• When asking the individual what they particularly enjoy about the superhero genre they stated Superhero films are very enjoyable due to the action scenes within, on how well the institution has displayed these scenes. Also that the storylines are also enjoyable and fascinating, being a major interest for him for this style of film. An example given with reference to a superhero genre was Spiderman, on the creativeness of this idea, as to how someone created the idea of being bit by a spider and how this can give a person super powers, being the sense of fascination which the individual enjoys most.

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Continued…

• When asking what the individual disliked about superhero genres I discovered that:

- The individual felt these films are more drama than action based, where even though fight scenes are particularly enjoyable due to the use of special effects, there is a lot of dialogue where, the individual felt this spoils the viewing as superhero films should be based mostly on action, as this is what they feel the trailers portray, feeling more action is needed overall. - Furthermore, stated that superhero films have quite in depth storylines where they are gripping for the consumer, however, if the smallest piece of information is missed when viewing, it can effect the audiences idea of what is going on due to so much happening.

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… • When asking the individual of what they expect to find in superhero

genres I found that: • -He expects a person living who is living there everyday life, to then being

transformed either minutely or majorly, due to a change in their life, resulting in them becoming a superhero’. An example given being ‘IRONMAN’, where the individual stated, ‘although he doesn’t live a normal life due to him being a millionaire, he sells weapons making money, as he was kidnapped by terrorists, yet when escaping from them this changes his view on weapons, where he becomes ironman being a major change. A minute example is ‘superman’ where he was born with his powers.

• Also expected within the superhero genre is : - A Love interest - A Villain who seems to also have powers - A Sense of comedy to lighten up the mood -Great effects -And a hint towards a sequel.