Target Audience and Audience Study

Media Institutions - The individuals or organisation that create the media project.

Media Institutions must aim their product at a specific group or division, ranging from different social and political stances, to the certificate rating of the film. For example, 'This is England', directed by Shane Meadows, is unlikely to have the same effect on an American audience as it does on a British one, as it focuses mainly on Skinhead culture, which American has never experienced in the way that England has. Furthermore, certificate ratings vary across the globe; America is far more restrictive of some content over others, and what one nation deems offensive, another manyt see as tolerable. The certificate ratings in American differ drastically from our own, with R signifying Restricted, meaning that the film is unable to be shown to under 17 year olds without an adult present, whilst various other rankings exist, such as SMA (Suggested for Mature Audiences). England on the other hand differs in that our ratings are somewhat less mandatory, and less restrictive than those in America; it is very much possible to enter a film designed for people older than the individual is, without any reprimanding at all. Certificate ratings are more linear, based upon age boundaries over content within. Whereas America focuses on their audience, and how they will be affected by the film, stating that the films may not be suitable for certain audiences (for example, Mel's Gibon's The Passion of Christ, which deals several blows to Jewish society, and thus may not be suitable for said religious individuals to see, in relation to members of another faith). England on the other hand bands everything into age ratings, without taking into consideration the psychological affects that the films may have. U, PG, 12, 12A, 15 and 18 are the bands placed upon British films, which is somewhat accurate for the films themselves, but does have problems; one film may be rated 18 for having explicit sex and nudity, which may not offend the viewer. However, another film may have extreme violence and murder, which could psychologically affect the individual, and it would still have the same rating. Several words when said in films instantly boost the ranking, and a film may be pushed up to a 15, or even an 18, purely based upon the utterance of one phrase. Following this, British films are ranked in a way that makes some viewers miss out, as a film may be rated with an 18 band without being too offensive at all.

Audience study is an essential aspect of the subject. Certificate rating, gender, social class, persona demographic are are different groups that can be targeted by films. A films appeal will not be to everyone's taste, and so catering to a certain group or trend is a tactic often employed, especially during low-budget films where a huge audience is not always available. It is in this way that some low-budget films act in the way of an indie band in the music industry, gaining followers and support through the media by starting off small and steadily gaining popularity. Specific companies will target a defined group with their product, a tactic employed in all areas of advertising to appeal the brand to a specific market. In this way, when making a film, the effects of the media, how well the people are influenced by said piece, and the controversal nature of the convention are all necessary to take into consideration.

Representation is also a mandatory consideration during the making of a film. The film has to express a certain point, and it must do so with accuracy; there is little point targeting a certain group if the information is wrong. Or how about a hospital-based film that gives false medical information? Everything must be pre-emptively studied during these pieces to achieve a desirable final product, and to hit home and relate to the given audience. Representation is the study of how a media text represents the world to the viewer, and in this way, media product, forms and conventions, camera angles and shots are all required for the synopsis and close analysis of the film. If we're filming a bridge, that's fair enough, but the question is why are we filming said bridge? There must be reason and purpose behind all elements of a media piece, and everything will be storyboarded beforehand to ensure this.

Working practices in an institution are significant in terms of decisions about the end results. Often during storyboarding, and even filming, pieces of film will be disbanded or deleted completely in favour of new ones. The original and initial idea is often just a road to the final conclusion, not the finishing specification itself. The owner of the distribution, and distribution companies must be entailed (Paramount, Universal Pictures etc), as well as any convergeances made, or affiliations with other companies and distribution labels. If a film is released in more than one country for example, there will often be several different marketeers to distribute the film in their home countries.