Evaluation Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience

The target audience for my film was mainly aimed at mostly males of the ages of 15 - 34 year olds and I believe that our group successfully managed to create an opening that attracts my target audience. To decide how best to come up with what the target audience is and how to go about attracting them into watching the film it was important that an age rating was chosen before setting out to record the opening footage. From my research I had decided on a BBFC rating of 15, this would make sure that we were not too restricted in what we could include, however, we can't go overboard. Once decided it then allowed our group to go ahead and think about what we need to include to attract our audience.

When it came to mise-en-scene each main character that was included in the opening was made to attract a separate part of the target audience. Firstly, Alpha is seen to be wearing the same clothing as Delta, however, the main difference between them is the fact that Alpha is not wearing a tactical vest, this is used to show that even though Alpha is still cautious about the job he is considered more carefree and laid back about the situation as he doesn't wear a tactical vest and eventually removes his goggles and mask, making him easily identifiable by any possible survivors. This would mainly associate with teens as people around this age are known to be incredibly laidback and don't have much to worry about. Delta on the other hand is opposite, wearing a tactical vest is made to show that he is much more serious and focused on the situation when compared to Alpha. This is used to associate with older audiences that have finished their education and have jobs, this is because older audiences can associate with the sense of responsible much more easily than that of younger teenage audiences. When it comes to one the antagonists named 'The Butcher' this character although is mentally ill is shown to be wearing a suit, which represents that he likes stability even if in his own twisted way, this attracts an audience of any age as younger audiences will find him interesting as he likes to use knives compared to guns and would appeal to older audiences as he has his own stability among the men he leads in his organisation. When it comes to Geoff Moses, his character is directed towards film fans that enjoy an antagonist that has planned ahead and likes to toy with his prey. Also, Geoff Moses is shown to have no weapon of any kind which is used to show the audience that he feels in control of the situation and that everything is going according to his plan.

The sounds in the opening is mainly just a non-digetic background and a few pieces of dialogue here and there, but the background track I feel is what draws the audience's attention as the style of track used is a common convention in the thriller genre and I feel that people will be more willing to watch the film further if past experiences of films with that style of track are films that the person has enjoyed. Also, the track helps set a tone for the film that I believe will make the audience wish to watch on and learn about each character more as little to no back story is presented in the opening.

One of the shots used is the low angle medium shot for the character Geoff Moses, this shot highlights that the even though the character hasn't spoken yet the audience can assume that he is quite powerful as the view the audience get is him towering over the audience to show that he is more dominant, this attracts the audience as the film gives them the sense of mystery that is expected out of the thriller genre, making them want to watch on.

Another shot that is used is an over the shoulder shot with the protagonists, the fact that the shot is close up to the character is to make the audience feel as though they are a part of the protagonists team and would create a feeling of suspense as the audience is unable to see around the corner, when people do appear around the corner and Alpha starts the fight between the guards the purpose is to make the audience in a way tense up as a fight has now begun and they are unaware if it was part of their plan or not. The next following shots of them fighting the guards is to show the trust that they have for each other as they both have faith in the others abilities to take their respective men out, this would make the audience curious as to how they became so close and trust each other with their very lives, making the audience want to see how they develop throughout  the film, the back story for each and if they can remain trustworthy to each other as the film progresses.