My Target Audience
During the planning of my film, I used several different sources of information to try to establish what my target audience would be. From this research, I believe my film would be a profile of my target audience because of the representation of the lifestyle the characters live. My two main characters are presented as very upper class and well put together, with a very romanticised perception of life. This is not necessarily why my target audience may feel they are represented in this film, but rather why they may enjoy watching it. Aspects of the film, such as the aesthetically pleasing atmosphere of the park at the end of the opening, or the pretty dress the female character wears may be appealing to members of my target audience as they would enjoy looking at the world through 'rose coloured glasses', in the same way the film presents its environment in its opening. Since me and Olivia did two separate edits of our opening, the tone is very different in both of them and for this reason, our target audiences may be a little different, considering the styles of editing and music choices. The typical middle class lifestyle of the characters is very similar to that of films such as 'The Hunt' (2020) and 'The Girl On The Train' (2016), which features a very aesthetically pleasing setting that the main character, an alcoholic divorcee who is involved in a missing person investigation. Although this film is different to mine as it instead features a protagonist investigating a missing person, whereas mine depicts more of a suggested psychological disorder, I believe that the target audience for that film would be similar to mine due to the appealing scenery and rich world the character lives in.
I believe that my target audience would be split fairly evenly in gender, since both genders can relate to either of the characters in the film, however, I also believe that since the film is very romanticised, this could appeal more to female audiences because they may aspire to live in this world the characters live in. There's a slight sense of escapism within the warmly lit, colourful world the characters are shown driving through in the opening, and I think that would appeal more to female viewers overall. Since this is a psychological thriller, I think this would appeal more to younger viewers, specifically aged about 18-30, especially also because the film takes place in the modern day with modern technology. However, the middle class lifestyle is also applicable to older audiences, around the ages 40-60, since a lot of older people do live those lifestyles and may relate a bit better to them. The recognizable imagery such as the food and costumes of the characters, or the pearls, which represent wealth, on the female character's necklace, could appeal more to these types of viewers.
Audience profiling
From the data I collected from Pearl and Dean, I can conclude my film would have a slightly larger female audience, based on looking at other films with similar characteristics to mine, however this is only by a small percentage - otherwise the audience is very evenly split in gender. In terms of class, C1 would probably be the most popular class for my film.
When me and Olivia talked about our film, we concluded that the representation of the characters was quite abstract and unconventional. Unlike traditional thriller villains, who look, sound or act evil, our characters are very composed, with nice clothing, and are depicted as going on a picnic - even though they are murderers. The enigma code we discussed together is introduced here because the viewer doesn't actually ever see the characters' faces, nor do they ever see a cause and effect in the opening as the murder is never shown. It leaves it up to the audience to solve what is happening through the help of the dark undertones and imagery of the film; for example, the peace of the jam sandwich being made carefully being interrupted by the loud sound of the knife cutting it. Therefore, this appeals a lot more to our viewers, who are analytical and thoughtful about the deeper meaning of the film, and what is really going on behind what we see; they want to know who has been murdered, why and how.
My film could be seen as a form of escapism for its target audience, with older members around 40-60 enjoying the world it's set in because of the peacefulness of the atmosphere, but also the familiarity of that middle class lifestyle I mentioned earlier. People in the ABC1 class category would engage with my film because they may be tired of everyday life, and they may see my film as a way of looking at a life that is similar to theirs, but through rose coloured glasses. The fact that the two characters have total and complete control over their actions and sense of freedom is something viewers can enjoy observing, as this is something they cannot obtain, but can get a sense of through this film.
My film can also represent the theme of the rich versus the poor, with the idea of the two rich characters living by their own rules, perhaps due to their privilege of having nice things and therefore not needing to comply to the rules of society like everybody else. there's almost a suggestion that they kill for enjoyment, emphasized by the song choice of 'It's All Forgotten Now' by Al Bowlly - used in my film. This idea that the characters simply forget about actions like this, since they are mentally ill but also extremely wealthy and well off. This is good as it can appeal to the well-educated, people who enjoy tackling these kind of societal issues, but also lower class people, as it is a slight criticism of the rich.
In terms of the tone, like the setting, my film is slightly romanticised. The song used is cheerful but also slightly sinister, with a vintage and upbeat combination of piano, trumpet and violin before the vocals come in. The song is a main point of interest for the audience, as it right at the beginning of the film, accompanying the expositional shot of the knife, and as the singing begins around the one minute mark, the audience already knows enough from the imagery to understand what the film is about - this is just emphasized now because their suspicions are confirmed by the lyrics of the song. The use of the diegetic sounds of the food-making also gives an unsettling tone, as the audience is subjected to a spectrum of sounds similar to the sounds they would hear from a murder.
My distribution strategy
In terms of distributing my film, the best option for me would be film festivals, such as the Toronto International Film Festival. My film is low budget, small scale and individual, as well as it not being released by any major film companies such as Sony, Universal Studios or Paramount Pictures. Because of this, audiences will not recognise the company and therefore may not be as interested in watching my film, hence why releasing it via film festivals would be the best idea. There, a film distributor could be able to pick up the film and possibly add it to a streaming service, such as Amazon Prime or Netflix. This would also be good as streaming services already have a wide audience of frequent users who subscribe specifically for that service's content. They also look for unique and new films to watch, which they can access easily. The Toronto film festival is held in early September, therefore I would probably release my film around then, since it would also be shown there and would attract more viewers. Since the type of target audience my film attracts are people who are often willing to explore new films and ideas, this would also fit. Early September is also a fairly good time to release a film as most people are coming home from summer holidays (which would also fit the summery theme of the film's setting) and a lot of young people, specifically students, are beginning their school year - so will have a lot of free time.
My marketing strategy
I decided that the easiest way to market my film would be on social media as it is a cheap and efficient way to target people. By using Instagram to place an advertisement for my film or a trailer in a sponsor or in between a story, this would target a lot of young people, aged about 16-35, which is a large portion of my target audience. TikTok would also be a good app to use as it is a good way for people to respond to my film. Lots of trends and fan work appears on TikTok, therefore by advertising it on there, it would be encouraging people to talk about the film more and this would spread awareness for my film even more. If any large accounts on TikTok were to post about my film, it would show up on all their followers' pages, as well as many other people's recommended videos and would be a very effective way of reaching my target audience.
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