Q4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our audience for our thriller “alter-ego” would been teenagers based around 15-19 years old. I believe this is the case as it would interests many people of this age range due to the storyline and setting that the character is in such as a typical teenagers bedroom with posters. The main gender I think that would watch our thriller is girls. This is because I think that they would relate to the character well as she is effected by the media and how the media portrays ‘perfection’ which is something that teenagers girls will be able to relate to, more so than teenage boys. The age is 15-19. This is because people who are under the age of 15 may not fully understand the storyline and what is happening as they may not be able to relate to the character as much which is important as it does help the audience to understand the storyline. According to the BBFC there should not be too much detail on ‘pain’ or ‘injury’ which blood is classified under and therefore the classification for the film should be a 15. No one older than 19 would be interested in our thriller as it is something that they may not find interesting as there a lot of ‘teen’ posters around the room and therefore it is not aimed at their age group. We have made our thriller so that it is not aimed at any specific race or nationality and therefore not limiting the audience that can watch our thriller. The socio-economic group for our film would be group E. This is because this group has students in and most people watching ‘Alter-Ego’ would be students. 

 The age of this teenager girl is 17 whom is someone who would watch, and also who our thriller film is aimed at. Their race and nationality is white British. Similarly to most teenager girls they use a lot of social media, either on laptops, tablets or smart phone. Some of the social media websites they use are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. Facebook is used to talk to friends and see what friends are doing e.g statuses. Twitter is also used to talk to friends but also to look what her favourite celebrities are doing, such as one direction. Instagram is used to look at pictures and also to upload pictures as well. Tumblr is used as a blogging website where you can also look and upload pictures. Some of the films they would watch would be The Hunger Games, The Notebook, 500 Days of Summer and Dear John. These are mostly films of the romantic genre, apart from The Hunger Games which is a mix between adventure and sci-fi. Some other film genres they would watch would be romantic comedy’s.  Some of the TV shows which she watches are the typical teen dramas such as Waterloo Road, Skins, Gossip Girl. Detective/crime programmes are also a favourite such as Sherlock, Silent Witness, Broadchurch and Law and Order. She is also keen on soaps such as Eastenders and Hollyoaks. Their music preferences are pop music such as One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande and Jessie J. These music preferences would lead to a hobby of going to concerts and seeing her favourite artists live.

The magazines which they like are ‘gossip’ magazines such as Heat magazine, but also fashion magazines such Vogue and Elle. They would shop at places such as Topshop, Primark and New Look which are all aimed at around the teenager age also.

 We researched are audience by using many different research methods. We filmed a Vox Pop at the start of our research. Vox Pop or in Latin ‘Vox Populi’ also means "the voice of the people" or "man on the street.” A Vox Pop involves an interviewer asking the same few people more than one question and go back to them throughout the Vox Pop. In our Vox Pop we asked two different questions two find out what people’s opinions on thrillers are. These questions were “What makes a thriller thriller thrilling?” and “What is your favourite thriller sub-genre?” From the response from the first question, people  said that music can make a thriller thrilling as it creates suspense and tension. Also atmosphere and suspense are important as they make the thriller. The story line line also helps to make a thriller thrilling by having "twist and turns" and unexpected part of the story happen to create suspense and keep the audience hooked. For the second question, people said their favourite genre of thriller was psychological as it is like a "mind game for the audience." Action was also said because it is exciting, as was sci-fi as they are also exciting and interesting.

Our second research method was using a website called  “PollEverywhere.” For our pitch we created a poll so that our peers who were watching could vote for the typography they prefer and which they feel would be most effective as we needed to gain opinions from our target audience. This poll revealed that the most popular typography choice was the fourth style. I feel that this is a good choice as it reflects the story behind our opening titles sequence. At the beginning of our opening, we plan to have the normal teenage girl reading magazines, when she then hears unusual sounds coming from upstairs. She investigates the sound to find the "alter-ego" character on the floor in her bedroom surrounded by ripped paper and magazines. Typography four suits this because the white shadow behind the lettering correlates with the ripped up magazines which will be used. As this typography has a "type-writer" feel to it, it is typical of the thriller genre as it is used in many crime and mystery thrillers. 

BBFC stands for British Board of Film Classification, or as it used to be known British Board of Film Censors. They are responsible for the censorship and classification of films in the United Kingdom. This censorship is so that people of a certain age, such as children do not watch films that are unsuitable for them and which they may find upsetting or disturbing in some way. To decide on the decision of which age rating a film should be given, two people who work for BBFC called examiners will watch a film and take into consideration the different content within the film.

U stands for Universal which means that it should be suitable for almost everyone, however

 they may not be suitable for children under the age of four. A film which is rated U contains occasional mild bad language e.g "Damn!." It does not allow any sexual behaviour, however "kissing and cuddling" is allowed. If there is violence at all in a film, it will be very mild. In a U film there will be no reference to drugs which are illegal unless however it is for educational purposes.

PG stands for Parental Guidance. Films with this certificate should general suit all children, however similarly to Universal, aged 8 and above is the suggested age. Mild bad language can be used but it  may depend on how it is delivered by the actor (if it's aggressive or not.) If bad language is used frequently in the film then it may be considered for a higher rating. Sexual references may be allowed in a PG film if they are not very detailed and not used often in the film. The violence in a PG film would be similarly again to Universal mild, however blood may be allowed as long as it is not very graphic. There should not be a direct focus on illegal drugs in a PG film unless it is educational and will be able to be understood by a younger audience.

12A means that a child is required to have an adult with them if they go to the cinema to

watch the film which has this classification as is under the age of 12. 12 is a less complicated 12A which is put on DVD's and is easier for people in shops to understand. Strong language can be passed for a 12A/12 film depending on the way it is said and who in the film says it. The may be sexual references and nudity in a 12A/12 film but it has to be brief. There should be "moderate" violence in the film but should not be in lots of detail. There may be some drug use in a 12A/12 but it should not instruct someone how to do/use drugs or be portrayed as “glamorous."

15 films are designed for people ages 15 and over. No one under the age of 15 should go and watch a film of this classification at the cinema. There can be strong language used frequently in 15 films however it again depends on how it is portrayed by the actor and therefor could be classified a higher.Sexual references, activity  and nudity can be in an 15 film as long as it does no go into detail. In a 15 film the violence can be strong, as long as there is not much detail on pain or injury. "Gory images" and "strong sadistic violence" would most probably not be accepted. Drug taking can be included in a film rated 15 however it should not encourage drug use.

Films rated 18 are designed to be for adults and not for children. No one under the age of

18 will be allowed to watch a film classified as an 18 at the cinema. Strong language can be used throughout without and limit and how often it can be used.Sexual referenced and nudity can be in detail, and strong violence can also be used. Drug use can be used however it still cannot promote drug misuse. 

I think that our film will be classified at 15. 15 films are designed for people ages 15 and over. No one under the age of 15 should go and watch a film of this classification at the cinema. There can be strong language used frequently in 15 films however it again depends on how it is portrayed by the actor and therefor could be classified a higher.Sexual references, activity  and nudity can be in an 15 film as long as it does no go into detail. In a 15 film the violence can be strong, as long as there is not much detail on pain or injury. "Gory images" and "strong sadistic violence" would most probably not be accepted. Drug taking can be included in a film rated 15 however it should not encourage drug use. Our thriller does not involve drugs, gory images or strong sadistic view. It however does have blood featured in it which is ‘not much detail on pain or injury’ and is why it is a 15. This impacts our target audience as people under the age of 15 cannot watch this thriller. This effects the amount of people who will watch the thriller and it slims down the audience who can watch this. This however is good as people under the age of 15 may not enjoy or understand the thriller.