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My product is an introductory sequence ofa full film synopsis, created for afoundation portfolio blog.

My intro is using techniques and practices that we have researched as part of this blog. It also had specific planning for its production as well as how it would appeal to audiences.

What is my media product?

Through various research into the genre, (such as analysis of Samantha Lay’s “Social realism in the British context”) I placed my product into the social realism category of film.

My product uses forms and conventions from popular and niche social realist texts. However, it also develops these and tries to challenge some as well. This was to stop it from seeming ‘textbook’ to the average or fanatical viewer.

Social realism is defined as the realistic depiction in art of contemporary life, as a means of social or political comment. This means that I had to produce realistic representations of social groups, locations and events from everyday life. This means that audiences who watch film to escape reality – such as consumers of sci-fi and action films - would be deterred from watching this.

What genre of film is my product?

Earlier on in my project, I conducted an online questionnaire asking people questions concerning social realism.

I then analyzed the results of this, however there was not a large enough number of responses to make conclusive evidence towards something.

However, I did find from these that people of around the age of 16-18 use online streaming as their main and possibly only platform for viewing films.

This means that younger viewers may be more likely to watch my final product from the fact that it is free and online.

Who watches social realist films?

To find who the general consumers of social realist texts are, I undertook audience research concerning the exhibition and consumption of films from the genre.I visited the amazon website as well as the online film

database, IMDb to look through the reviews and information of popular social realist texts.

There were 73 user-written reviews of the 1969 film ‘Kes’ by Ken Loach and they gave

it an average rating of 7.7/10. From highlighting several high-rated reviews, we found that avid consumers of social realist

texts such as this tend to be:• literate • knowledgeable of the themes, issues and representations social

realism films feature• British (usually associating with the locations and cultures

presented)• Demographically young adults to middle aged

Who watches social realist films? Cont.

The reviews from amazon indicated that consumers of social realist texts such as ‘Kes’ also read social realist novels or books that are then made into films. This means that older

generations who avidly read books like these, could be interested in my product.

Also, some reviews from amazon showed that people from a poorer or ‘gritty’ background empathized with the storyline of the narrative and therefore enjoyed it more.

This suggests that people who come from the same social classes or cultures as the characters in my film, are likely to be attracted towards it.

Who watches social realism films? Cont.

Through research I have found that people tend to watch films that they can relate to either in first-hand or second-hand experiences. For example, if someone actually knows or has been to the areas in the film, they are more likely to be interested in watching it.There are several features that consumers could associate with in my film, including:

Teenage life

Drugs

Southern British dialect

Male lifestyles

Who would be the audience for my media product?

Teenage Life: People who are around the age of 15-18 are likely to watch my film due to its inclusion of non-professional actors who are all teens. This is because they can relate to the challenges they may face as well as their clothing choices, slang, hangouts etc.

Drug Abuse: People who have faced drug problems themselves, or have been directly affected by someone the love abusing these, productions concerning this (such as my intro) will be more attractive towards this type of audience. However it does also deter people who are do not feel comfortable with these themes. This may include elderly, religious or faint-hearted people. Not only this, but younger viewers will not be able to watch this through inappropriate or suggestive content, creating a more specific age boundary for my product.

Association and relation:

Male lifestyles: Men are more likely to watch a film if the lead roles include mostly men. So my product, which features an only-male cast is much more likely to attract an audience of the same gender, whereby females may be off put or uninterested by this.

British Dialect: Due to the niche industry that is British independent film, people who are from other countries are much less likely to view my product. For example, a film where there is strong northern or ‘chavy’ accents/dialects used, people from america may find it hard to understand. However, British people who know or come from the areas are then much more likely to be attracted towards this, and will have a better understanding of the points being made.

Association and relation:

Audiences can share, discuss and view films across many different mediums, but audiences now tend to be more specific with what they use themselves. For example, through research, I found that most 15-18 year olds use only online streaming to watch their films; whether this is using illegal downloads or simply subscribing to services like Netflix.

Online streaming: online streaming has become more and more popular over recent years, and because of this, people are using traditional methods of watching films such as cinemas, dvds or videos less and less. However, older generations are generally still using older mediums for film, and will therefore be much less likely to see my product, due to it being only exhibited online.

Platforms of media consumption

Almost all people who use the internet are part of one type of social

networking site. This means that people are much more likely to view your product if it has been shared or

talked about on these sites.

Youtube: Youtube has become the biggest video sharing site in the world. People can upload their own videos or can view and share others. This means that from my product being uploaded directly onto youtube, it can be shared directly onto several social media sites.

Demographically speaking, the most frequent and consistent users of social networking sites are youths from 14-24.

However there is no major difference in

numbers of boys and girls, so a mix of

genders could see my product on these sites.

Platforms of media consumption cont.

For my entire project, all media was filmed and edited digitally. This means that advocates of traditional filming techniques are less likely to be interested in the intro.

As well as this, people who own conventional film projectors for home cinema purposes or because they do not DVD players will be unable to view my film in their preferred fashion. This means that this will be an improbable audience for my product.

Who uses these methods?

Recording with film is very expensive for the average user, due camera prices, as well as the expensive of purchasing and processing the film. This suggests that people of higher class or older generations who still own the equipment, are the general advocates/users of classical filming methods.

Film VS Digital:

My introduction features an only-male cast. This will therefore create a more gender-biased audience demographic.

As well as this, due to none of the characters within being sexually provocative or portraying the hyper- masculine archetypes of other films.

Females or homosexuals may therefore be uninterested or apathetic towards the characters. However this may be more pleasing for heterosexual males and create more of a gender bias in the audience demographics.

Gender and Sexuality

My introductory sequence is set in a predominantly white area of southern England. However, this is unclear to the audience due to the secretive and concealing nature of the intro.

As well as this, my intro has non-trained British actors, where only one is not completely Caucasian.

Race/Ethnicity:

This suggests that there may be a bias towards white British people, in terms of features that the audience to empathize with. However, other social groups may be attracted to the production, from curiosity or interests in cultures unlike their own.

Conclusions:Age:My product will attract mostly people from the ages of 16-24.

Race/Ethnicity:People from southern areas of England who are Caucasian will be the most likely audience for my intro.

Gender: Males will be the largest demographic of consumers for my intro.

Class/status:Lower/working class people will identify most with this film, however intellectual or academic middle-class individuals would enjoy and understand the themes and issues being addressed.

Social groups: People who have had first/second hand experience with drug abuse would be most attracted to this production.

EVALU

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