Analyse and research the audience 10.1.1, 10.1.2

---

Initial idea:

For Unit 13, my initial idea is an action thriller titled, ‘Richie’s Lost & Found’ which follows four individuals trying to retrieve a stolen crystal from a gang of criminals. However, when they are all reported dead the fight turns to those around them and they soon have to make a decision before the plan, surrounding the crystal, is put into practice by an anonymous villain.

---

Identifying target audience:

My target audience will mainly consist of adults and viewers either fifteen years of age, or older.  It tends to be this age demographic that enjoy films of this genre and the style of which these films are made. For example, films such as Kingsman and Baby Driver are largely relevant to that of the style of my own film project. It is also these films which are rated fifteen and contain content better suited to that of a mature audience .Throughout the film, there will be strong language and violence relevant to the story line. This is why I have chosen the specific age demographics; fifteen years and above.

I will take to the social media platform, ‘Facebook’ as there are an increasing number of new releases being marketed through this site. It is also a platform I use, personally, therefore the familiarity and knowing what is possible is an added advantage. There is the ability to ‘share’ posts from different promotional pages and increase the anticipation of the overall product. For  example, Matthew Vaughn’s sequel, ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ is largely celebrated across social media platforms, including Facebook. There are short trailers uploaded every few days along with teaser posters and fans share their excitement through sharing these posts on their own profiles for their friends and family to see.

According to statistics in an article from, ‘Fluent’ thirty six percent of millennials aged eighteen to twenty four use Facebook everyday. It is also recorded that fifty percent of older millennials aged twenty five to thirty four use Facebook everyday. This proves most positive to my project as it is aimed more towards more mature audiences but also to audiences aged fifteen or slightly over. Another collection of statistics, from the ‘Britton Marketing & Design Group’ state that seventy one percent of internet users use Facebook.  It also stated that Instagram only holds seventeen percent of internet users. This is another reason why I have chosen Facebook as my key marketing platform. There is clearly popularity with Facebook and therefore many products are worked into the platform and advertised to regular users just as the commercials are fed into viewer’s experiences watching television. Most of these statistics have changed over time, but the principle still stands and the popularity only increases.

Here is another article from ‘Fluentco’ which talks of how Snapchat is ‘edging-out’ Facebook but still falls a little behind: goo.gl/k4kcRo

For actually targeting the audience, I will use several different methods of advertising. One example would be, short character clips which tend to last five to seven seconds. These videos often include shots of the specific character in the film and are accompanied by on-screen text, often stating their name and details surrounding them. These are a growing trend on Facebook and are guaranteed to spark up interest as they are similar to teasers; Keep audiences watching to see what else they can learn about the film. Another example would be, character posters which often follow the same design as the official poster for the film but focus, primarily, around one single character. They also feature the name of the actor portraying the role, above. Since the target audience tend to enjoy less time consuming content and enjoy more of the shorter lived videos such as TV spots and featurettes.

---

Below is an example of a character posted, shared on Kingsman: The Golden Circle’s official Facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/KingsmanUK/)

SOURCE: goo.gl/ez69EX The actor’s name does not feature, however the character’s name does. Most of the listed conventions stand. 

 

Here is a character poster which was posted on the official Baby Driver Facebook page. (https://www.facebook.com/OfficialBabyDriverMovie/)

SOURCE: goo.gl/g8rx9F Here, the actress’ name is listed. However, the design is completely different to the official poster for the film. There is even a quote from the film on the poster. This is something I will take into consideration with my own character posters.

---

Opportunities to show my film:

 

Shaff:

Though the deadline to submit films to Shaff is November the first, what they look for relates, closely, to my own film. On their site, they advertise the festival using such phrases as , ‘Action-packed’ and ‘Adventurous’ to describe the variety of films screened during the event. Not only is this closely related to the style of the film, itself, but it is also relevant to that of my ambitions for the film; I want it to be action-packed and fun for the audience. This way, if the story does not particularly entertain, there are other aspects which may do so.

As stated below, the deadline every year is the first November which is not particularly ideal for a film, such as my own, which will be in the early stages of production during this time. The time frame for each film seems ideal, ranging from fifteen to twenty minutes. It is even based in Sheffield therefore, if I could have submitted my film in-time, I could have attended the event at the Showroom cinema.

 

Sensoria: 

Sensoria appears to specialize in showing films which involve music. These often tend to be musicals and clearly the style of my film does not fall under this category. However, the film is largely driven by musical scores, composed by myself, and therefore I believe that it will be suitable and appreciated for the Sensoria film festival.

There is no clear indication of whether or not you can submit films to this festival. It may be the case that the films are already listed as directors announced the production. Either way, this type of festival is driving towards a more ideal option for my film.

 

Aesthetica:

Aesthetica focuses around short films, as a whole, as opposed to just one specific genre. Entries for next year begin in December. The deadline will be the thirty first of may.  There is no mention of any payments required for submission.

The screening event takes place in York from the ninth until the thirteenth of November, next year. Later, the winners will be announced on the last day (The thirteenth of November)

 

 

Raindance Film Festival:

The entries date for next year has not yet been released on the official website. As seen below there are fees for the type of film and the date it is entered. This will be something to consider if I intend to enter my short, next year.

Again, there is no specific genre for the films being submitted therefore, there is advantage for my short which depicts a specific genre.

 

Oxiff:

Oxiff covers a variety of different media-based entertainment products. These, listed below, range from documentaries through to animated features. Again, this allows space for my film which depicts action and conventions of the thriller genre. It is based in the city of Oxford and takes place over a weekend, from the eleventh until the thirteenth of May.

 

As seen below, there are a number of deadlines in place. These may be inconvenient for my film as the production may run over the deadlines. The proof of concept is to be filmed on the 21st of November and having considered the deadlines, entering the film into this festival is not particularly feasible.

I believe that the film festival most fitting to my project would be Aesthetica as having attended, recently, I have seen the diversity of the films submitted and how my own may suit it with its cinematic approach to a lower budget production.

---

Survey:

I have created a survey, addressing my audience and asking questions which will influence the advertising and promotional aspects of my final film.

Below, is the first wave of results. Luckily, the majority have voted for Facebook as their frequently used social media platform.

Looking over the current list of results, the majority of those who participated in the survey said that they would feel encouraged to watch a film depending on how it was advertised online. This reassures me that, if done correctly, I would be able to successfully sell my product to my chosen audience.

With a total of twenty seven participants for my survey, nineteen claimed to be currently following an official page, on social media, promoting a new release. This is a positive turn-out as the majority of those who answered were closer to the age of fifteen or a little over. Of course, my target audience ranges from fifteen to the above. However, I am aiming to reach out to audiences of a similar age to myself, at the same time, and try to entertain them on the level I feel entertained.

From the two images above, there is a significant increase in people claiming that they would feel encourage to watch a film, based on its online advertising. Originally, those who answered yes took the percentage to nearly forty six percent, with no in at only twenty seven percent. Now, the percentage of yes answers is at almost sixty seven percent with no falling at only eleven percent.

This is an extremely positive turn-out as the greatest majority of my target audience would feel encouraged to watch a film based on its online advertising. Of course, this means that the material posted to promote the film has to be effective and entertaining. If not, then this may effect the level of interest the audience has in the product.

---

Crowd funding:

Crowd funding is when an independent film maker takes to an online platform to raise money for their own film project. There, they reach out to their audience and present, to them, their idea. They will persuade audiences with rewards; if they choose to give a sum of money. These rewards could vary from a signed poster to a mention in the final film.

This method can help strengthen the success of your final film and allow you to go further with your ideas. If your proposal is successful, you will be given money by your audience and be able to access resources you could not, beforehand.

On the ‘Lights Film School’website it is said that projects can run from one through to sixty days, on crowdfunding sites. Kickstarter is said to suggest a thirty day, or less, deadline. Supposedly, forty four percent of crowdfunding campaigns have reached their aims for funding.

Below is the story of Chris Piscopo, an independent film maker from Peterborough. He took to Kickstarter to fund a project titled, ‘Perfect Justice’ which was an 80s styled action comedy. He aimed to raise $500 and, in the end, raised $981. He had a total of 20 backers.

In terms of rewards, for $1 your name would be mentioned in the ‘Special thanks to’ area of the credits. For $30 or more, a signed copy of ‘Perfect Justice’ will be mailed to backers on DVD. For $50 or more, backers will be given the opportunity to write three catchphrases and one of which will be used in the final film. In terms of content, there is only really a brief film poster visible. This may not even be the final poster but it is still a representative of the film and sets the tone.

Much like myself, Chris already had certain resources such as editing software and both camera and audio equipment. However, he was trying to raise funding for other aspects such as props, costumes and catering. Personally, I am not planning on using crowd funding as I have the props, for the movie, covered along with camera equipment and audio equipment. Regardless, I will still take into consideration how important crowdfunding is and how it is a growing resource within modern day film making.

---

Existing social media campaigns:

There are hundreds of existing social media campaigns, centered around film. Specifically, for my project, I will be looking at those of which promote films under the action and thriller genres.

 

Kingsman: The Golden Circle-

In terms of contents on this page, there are interviews, red carpet premieres, character posters and even fan videos. One particular video, shared, features a flip book animation short, created by a fan.

Here is one of the featurettes which was used on the official page:

With regards to the success of the page, there are currently one million, three hundred and six thousand, five hundred and ninety one likes. There are also one million, three hundred and six thousand, one hundred and twenty seven people following the page.

As well as this, the film itself has broken a box office record in South Korea. This is down to a number of reasons but online campaigning is most certainly one of them. There is a growing audience and the popularity of this ongoing franchise is partly influenced by its online advertising.

The interactivity of this page is particularly strong; There are several advertisements for products related to the film. You are given the opportunity to get involved and gain access to one of these products.

There was even a poll made for audiences to decide whether they were more interested in the Kingsman or the Statesman. These are all what bring the audience further towards the film.

From what I have gathered, I feel that using character posters as well as short videos will greatly advantage my campaign as these are expected, by audiences, and influence them their interests as they give insight into the film, itself, as opposed to just an idea. I may use polls but feel that I need to focus more on selling the characters and the story. Of course, this will be without giving away any secrets or twists.

 

Baby Driver-

Here, there are a number of cinemagraphs including the one below.

There is even a ‘Shop’ button added to the page to influence audiences to purchase merchandise. This is even after the film has left cinemas, however it is soon to hit DVD and therefore there is still demand for online promotion.

Again, of course, there are character posters along with details regarding screenings of the film and its release date. This is something I will be using to promote my film.

Here is a TV spot featured on the official page:

In terms of the success, the page has two hundred and forty one thousand, eight hundred and thirty seven likes along with two hundred and forty two thousand, one hundred and ninety eight followers. Worldwide, it grossed two hundred and twenty four million, seven hundred and thirty two thousand, eight hundred and thirty five dollars. The advertising for this movie, both online and offline, sparked a lot of interest within the public and the media. Like the movie, it was largely fueled by music and therefore had a number of different platforms to work from.

In terms of interactivity there were a number of methods used including the page linking the audience to Itunes and other music streaming sites to download the official soundtrack for the movie. This is a promotional method which very rarely relates as closely to a movie as this.

 

The Cleaner & The Dead Man-

Again, there are a number of posters on the page including the official poster. These often change over time and are re-posted. Though a considerably lower budget than the other two films, the advertising for this product is of a very similar standard and what I aim to promote my project like.

Further down the page, there are behind the scenes videos featured.

There are even featurettes, linked from YouTube. Here is the official traielr which was featured on the page:

 

Much like the higher budget film pages, this one also features a review for the film. This is not something I am considering using on my own but, all the same, it is useful to be aware of these features and how they further influence audiences.

The page includes a poll for audiences to decide where they want to see the film. This is very much like the survey I made where one question is used to determine where the audience would prefer to see my final film.

The success of the page is very impressive, coming in at three hundred and thirty one thousand, six hundred and fifty likes. In terms of followers, there were an extra two hundred and forty six added on to the amount of those who liked.

Looking at the about page, there are a number of links featured to the different social media pages for the same product. There are different ways of getting into contact and taking part.

The synopsis is fully detailed and to a professional standard, avoiding any spoilers.

 

---

How will this help:

From looking at the several pages on social media, there are a number of useful advertising techniques which were used. Each of these relate to my ambitions for my own promotional page. For one, the use of posters and the persistent updates on them. Now that I have seen a range of different film-based pages and the posters which are featured, I can begin to interpret my own advertising and begin to piece together ideas for posters.

As well as posters, there were also a number of trailers and teasers posted on each page. These will be another area of the advertising I interpret into my own page as they allow the audience insight into the product. However, if done correctly,  they do not release too much information about the story line or characters.

In the survey I created, the greatest majority of responses, regarding content, were centered around trailers and videos. People seemed to enjoy the idea of videos being regularly posted, displaying the progression of the project. Of course, with the work being a product of film, there is every reason for the audience to want to see more video-based content, leading up to the final piece. I will be able to properly take this on-board now that I have seen video content used in  all three of the pages I analysed.

There was also a substantial amount of detail invested into the, ‘About’ section of each page, with the synopsis, actors, release date and director credits displayed to both sides. This was something I did not properly take into consideration when initially envisioning my page. Having researched the three pages, above, I now know what I intend to do for the, ‘About’ page.

Looking specifically at Baby Driver and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, there are no major changes in the advertising techniques. Being that these two are more fitted to my genre(s), this gained my confidence in the ideas I had formulated. The continued interactivity with the audiences is something I intend to take seriously and make sure that I update the page at every golden opportunity. For example, Wednesdays could be dedicated to character trailers or posters. So long as I maintain the spark I will have hopefully created with the initial advertising, the updating should only further the audience anticipation for the final product.

---