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PRODUCT
AND
AUDIENCE
Products can have an effect on audiences. In the case of film, audiences can get an emotional response to a film or be influenced by the film. Audiences can also effect a film. They can influence the success of the film, the popularity of the film and its status in culture. As audiences are made up of individual people, the impact and understanding of the film will be different for every viewer.
ACTIVE VS PASSIVE SPECTATORS
Active spectator theory suggests that each viewer is different and people in the audience will question the film and react to it in other ways than others, not just blindly accepting the messages. Active spectators do not watch what they are told to by marketing techniques, but instead choose to watch what they want for different reasons. The passive spectator theory contradicts this. This theory suggests that all consumers think the same way, have the same level of intelligence and have the same life experiences.
Some filmmakers believe in the passive spectator theory. They fill their films with obvious and ambiguous signs. Others open their films to interpretation, making their films open to individual audience interpretation.
A preferred reading is where the producers of the script encode it with meaning using lighting, cinematography and music to create as wide of an audience understanding as possible. They make it very clear about how the want the audience to interpret the script and how they feel about the characters, story and events in the film. Blockbuster films have a generally clear reading, due to the wide target audience and
FRAGMENTED AUDIENCES:
The division of audiences into smaller groups due to the variety of media outlets.
TYPES OF AUDIENCE:
MASS AUDIENCE:
Often termed 'broadcast audience'. Those who consume mainstream or popular texts such as soaps or sitcoms.
NICHE AUDIENCE:
Much smaller but very influential. A niche audience is a small, select group of people with a very unique interest.
PSYCHOGRAPHICS
In terms of commercial media, much of their funding is generated by advertising revenue. Their product needs to appeal to a specific type of audience so that advertisers will pay to promote their products.
GROUP A:
GROUP B:
-Lawyers
-Doctors
-Scientists
-Teachers
-Middle Management
-Well Paid Professionals
GROUP C2:
GROUP D:
-Electricians
-Plumbers
-Carpenters
-'Blue Collar' Professionals
-Manual Workers
-Drivers
-Post Senders
GROUP C1:
-Junior Management
-Bank Clerks
-Nurses
-'White Collar' Professionals
GROUP E:
-Students
-Unemployed
-Pensioners
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