4. Who would be the audience for your media

product?

ClassificationClassification depends on content, films get placed into one of the many different groups of classification. In order to find out which would be the most suitable audience for our thriller opening, the first steps were to work out who is legally allowed to watch it. To do this we had to understand which classification group our product is part of.

U Universal – Suitable for all

A U film should be suitable for audiences aged four years and over, although it is impossible to predict what might upset any particular child.

U films should be set within a positive framework and should offer reassuring counterbalances to any violence, threat or horror. If a work is particularly suitable for pre-school children, this will be indicated in the BBFC insight.

PG Parental Guidance

General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children A PG film should not unsettle a child aged around eight or older. Unaccompanied children of any age may watch, but parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger, or more sensitive, children.

12A/12 – Suitable for 12 years and over

Films classified 12A and video works classified 12 contain material that is not generally suitable for children aged under 12. No one younger than 12 may see a 12A film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult. Adults planning to take a child under 12 to view a 12A film should consider whether the film is suitable for that child.

It will include subjects of: moderate violence, some use of moderate/strong language, sex may be briefly or discretely portrayed, the tone of the film will not deeply affect the audience and no discriminatory language or behavior.

Individuals aged 15 and over are legally allowed to view films of this classification.

It may include subjects of: strong language, drug taking, discriminatory language or behavior, portrayals of sexual activity, frequent strong language.

No one younger than 18 may see an 18 film in a cinema. No one younger than 18 may rent or buy an 18 rated video work. Adults should be free to choose their own entertainment.

It can include subjects of: frequent strong language, discriminatory language or behavior, drug taking, strong portrayals of sexual activity, strong horror.

R18 - To be shown only in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults only.

Final DecisionWhen creating our thriller opening , we looked into different themes and what would appeal to certain age classification. We felt that a younger audience was more suitable for us as we had already got an idea on what we as teenagers/young adults would enjoy to watch. When deciding a target audience we felt it was important to look into what audience we would like to target, we discussed the issue of targeting an older audience. However, a more mature audience may also have a more constructive opinion towards our product as thrillers are usually watched by the younger generation and would appeal more to them than it would to an older audience.

Final Decision

We decided to give our film the classification of 15, so that we could gain a wider audience, therefore making more profit. We also decided it to be a 15 because there is a sense of strong threat and horror, this is shown with the protagonist connoting danger by her heavy, loud breathing suggesting she's panicked. Also by the use of blood with her nose and ears bleeding and by the non diegetic sound of the ambulance. We did not give our film a rating of 18 as this would limit the audience and not allow us to make as much money as we know we are capable of. I think our audience of a younger generation would enjoy this film due to its context involving danger ,fear, blood and a suspense narrative. When we did our research we found that this was popular with our target audience, and therefore we decided to adhere to stereotypes about the subject. This stereotype of teenagers is something commonly popular in films in the thriller genre, and our target audience is of a similar age to that of the female protagonist.