Tuesday, 26 April 2016
Monday, 25 April 2016
Target Audience Research
Who is my target audience?
During the process of creating the Impossible Goal I took influence from previous female football films in order to have my own style and opinion on the subject. My target audience is between the ages of 9-12, as Stephanie is the age that I am trying to expose to sport. I like the idea of having a strong female character that is in her early teens, as this is area that is not covered by the film medium as much as I would like it.
When I investigated into female football films in the last decade I noticed a gap in the market for my target audience. There is a lack of female football films in the film industry, mainly because of its suppression and lack of media coverage from 2000-20010. From personal experience, I didn't have a female football player to look up to until April 2010, when the official women's Super League started. I believe because of this lack of coverage football films with female leads where scarce, but I was able to track down three films that embody the attitudes of the media to female football at the time, and how this effects my target audience.
Films/ Documentary that focus on women in the last decade
Bend it like Beckham
Released: 2002
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Pressure Makes Us
Date Release: June 2011
Genre: Documentary/ Promotion
The 99ers
Date released: 2013
genre: Documentary
How do these products market themselves towards my target audience?
With all three examples, the films vary in how they market themselves towards the audience. With the 99ers was released as part of an ESPN breakfast show special, showing a one hour documentary on the development of football in hope of aspiring fellow youth players. ESPN began screening female football in 2010 after the surprise success of the Super League. This not only opened up the sport to young girls but also conveyed the rise of the US women's football team way before mainstream success.
I was disappointed with the representation of women in Bend It Like Beckham, as the girls are not taken seriously in the sport. The girls can be seen walking around in sports bras, whereas comparing this to the many male football films, few show skin so explicitly. I was impressed however, by the diversity of race and religion in the film, and felt this was a good moral message to convey to younger audiences in order to prevent social prejudices in later years.
Pressure Makes Us is by far the most motivational and impressive of the last decade. Produced by the sport brand Nike, the idea behind the marketing is to focus on the women's talent rather than a particular brand. I was impressed by this representation which took football seriously, creating new role models for females and young girls.
This is something I have included in my own film, giving the audience a role model that they can follow until the end of the narrative. I wanted by audience to be invested in my protagonist even if they are not into the sport particularly. I used the drama convention of the underdog in order to stimulate the audience:
Underdog
Definition: A competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest
How did I use this convention to interest my target audience?
During the process of creating the Impossible Goal I took influence from previous female football films in order to have my own style and opinion on the subject. My target audience is between the ages of 9-12, as Stephanie is the age that I am trying to expose to sport. I like the idea of having a strong female character that is in her early teens, as this is area that is not covered by the film medium as much as I would like it.
When I investigated into female football films in the last decade I noticed a gap in the market for my target audience. There is a lack of female football films in the film industry, mainly because of its suppression and lack of media coverage from 2000-20010. From personal experience, I didn't have a female football player to look up to until April 2010, when the official women's Super League started. I believe because of this lack of coverage football films with female leads where scarce, but I was able to track down three films that embody the attitudes of the media to female football at the time, and how this effects my target audience.
Films/ Documentary that focus on women in the last decade
Bend it like Beckham
Released: 2002
Genre: Comedy/ Drama
Pressure Makes Us
Date Release: June 2011
Genre: Documentary/ Promotion
The 99ers
Date released: 2013
genre: Documentary
How do these products market themselves towards my target audience?
With all three examples, the films vary in how they market themselves towards the audience. With the 99ers was released as part of an ESPN breakfast show special, showing a one hour documentary on the development of football in hope of aspiring fellow youth players. ESPN began screening female football in 2010 after the surprise success of the Super League. This not only opened up the sport to young girls but also conveyed the rise of the US women's football team way before mainstream success.
I was disappointed with the representation of women in Bend It Like Beckham, as the girls are not taken seriously in the sport. The girls can be seen walking around in sports bras, whereas comparing this to the many male football films, few show skin so explicitly. I was impressed however, by the diversity of race and religion in the film, and felt this was a good moral message to convey to younger audiences in order to prevent social prejudices in later years.
Pressure Makes Us is by far the most motivational and impressive of the last decade. Produced by the sport brand Nike, the idea behind the marketing is to focus on the women's talent rather than a particular brand. I was impressed by this representation which took football seriously, creating new role models for females and young girls.
This is something I have included in my own film, giving the audience a role model that they can follow until the end of the narrative. I wanted by audience to be invested in my protagonist even if they are not into the sport particularly. I used the drama convention of the underdog in order to stimulate the audience:
Underdog
Definition: A competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest
How did I use this convention to interest my target audience?
I used the cinematography in these shots to allow the audience to align with their hero. By having a shallow depth of field I allow the audience to hear what Jane is saying but not allow her to have any power in the scene. This reflects Stephanie's physiological status during the scene and manipulate the audience to follow Stephanie with her battle.
This help magnitude the effect of the goal as Stephanie attempts a shot. The goal outweighs her, but Stephanie's action to carry on anyway gives the audience a reason to retain interest in her character. By doing so the younger audience members can become inspired by the protagonist's efforts, even if it is not in the context of football but simply standing up for yourself.
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