What do we mean by the term ‘audience’?

Usually we think of people spectating – watching a play or sport. And, in short, it is also what is meant in the media by the term ‘audience’ – that is, the people who watch films or television, or read newspapers.

However, let us not overlook the fact that the word ‘audience’ has its origins in the Latin verb 'audire' meaning 'to hear', so that audience literally means ‘an assembly of hearers and listeners’.

Often we think of a film as a visual experience which, of course, it is but that is only part of the package. The soundtrack accompanying moving images is particularly vital in our modern world of mass media, in creating an effect or reaction in the film’s audience.

In basic terms then, audience means the people who watch and listen to films.

Giving the public what they want

Although films can be classed as works of art in that they are the end product of a creative process, the bottom line in the film industry is that it is a moneymaking business and box-office statistics decide a film’s success or failure. As in any industry, the usual market forces apply and the product must make a profit. In real terms that means the number of people prepared to pay the ever-increasing cinema admission fee to the film decides its fate.

In order to make the film in the first place a great deal of sponsorship and financial investment is needed. If a film bombs at the box office and the backers lose vast amounts of money, it could mean the end of an ambitious producer/director's career. As the saying goes in Hollywood ‘You’re only as good as your last film’.

Looking at some recent box office hits will help you recognise how filmmakers ‘get it right’ and how producers persuade the backers that the public will pay to see their film in sufficiently large numbers to at least cover their investment, and if they are lucky, make money too.

What do you notice about genre? Are some genres more popular than others? Are any major genres missing from the list? Can you suggest why this might be? How many of the films are sequels or remakes of previously successful films? Which of the actors/actresses could be considered ‘stars’ and could be counted on to draw a big audience?

Of course, audiences, being human, can be unpredictable and no new film is ever a guaranteed smash ‘hit’. By looking at your chart you should be able to identify three key ingredients that a film backer would consider when deciding if a potential film is a safe bet or not.

What genres are popular at the moment? Which age range are the majority of films aimed at? If you were a director, which

actors/actresses might you seek to star in your film in order to ensure that it would have, to an extent, a guaranteed audience?

The fans of some stars can be relied on to see them whatever the film. Naturally, some stars are more ‘bankable’ than others. Who are the latest ‘hot’ actors and actresses?

Who are the Audience?

Task 3Look again at your chart: what does the certification of the films you listed suggest about the target audience for new films? Carry out a family survey comparing the number of times (i) your parents, (ii) your grandparents, (iii) any brothers and sisters have been to the cinema. Share your findings with others in the group and make a bar chart illustrating your research. What conclusions can you draw about the most common age range of people who regularly go to the cinema?

• So do film makers really give all the public what they want?

• What about those members of the public who do not like comedy, horror or action films?

• Can you identify any minority groups, in terms of age, race and interest that are not catered for?

The film industry is currently enjoying a steady increase in the number of people paying to see films. Cinemas had seen a slump in admissions figures in the mid 1950s through to the mid 1970s. Try and think why this was so.

• What makes millions of people leave the comfort of their own homes with 'on tap' entertainment on television and video, and spend good money to go and see a film?

Think of the last few times you went to the cinema.

• What made you go?

• With whom did you go?

• What made you choose 'that' film?

Share your experiences and work out at least six reasons for seeing a film at the cinema rather than waiting for it to be released on video.

The rise of the multiplex cinema has had a lot to do with the return to the cinema.

• So, what do the new multiplex cinemas offer their audience?

Think about both their physical environment and the fact that they have so many screens.

Expectations

Going to the cinema is a luxury, yet it is a leisure activity that millions of people choose above an increasing range of alternatives. What is it that the audience expects from watching a film at the cinema?

Think back to the last film you saw.

• What expectations did you have? • Where did these come from?

Maybe you had seen the ‘prequel’ and hoped for more of the same. Maybe you liked the lead actor or actress and the kind of roles they usually play. Or maybe you liked the type of film.

• But how did you know what type of film it was?• Were you tempted by the wealth of publicity and promotional material launched to ‘bring in the punters’?

Remember film making is a business and films are marketed and advertised in the same way any other product is advertised. The aim is still to persuade you to buy. One of the marketing tools that has greatest impact on a potential audience is the film poster.

• People go to the cinema expecting to experience some kind of emotion. Look back at your chart from task 1: what emotional reaction would you expect if you saw each of those films?

• Which ones offer thrills and spills and excitement, laughter and pleasure, fear, fantasy, romance or escapism? Are there any obvious weepies that might move you to tears?

• Although you might have thought that going to the cinema was a passive activity, your list will prove that most films provoke a reaction and as an audience you respond. How often have you seen a romantic comedy and felt it was a tonic to your spirits or felt that a tragic documentary was a harrowing and emotionally draining experience?

• Film makers need to respond to the current trends in society. Why, in your opinion, at the height of a recession would romantic comedies have a new lease of life?

• Another obvious way of setting up audience expectations is through the film trailer. These are advertised at the cinema before the main feature and, where budget allows, also on television. As with film posters, their aim is to persuade people to go and see the film.

Promotion

Before a film opens, the distributors responsible for promoting it spend a lot of time and money finding their target audience, so that by the time the film is released their audience is aware of it, and will want to go and see it.As well as using posters, trailers, merchandise and so on to sell their film, the distributor will work with journalists in order to get press and other media coverage.

It is no coincidence therefore that when a new film is about to be released the leading actors and actresses suddenly appear on numerous chat shows or in gossip columns. Newspapers, magazines and TV shows all want their entertainment information. They want interviews with the stars, clips from films to show, merchandise as prizes for competitions and so on. As well as publishing articles, most newspapers also publish reviews of new releases. Although the value of a good review is indisputable, a bad review does not always mean the end for a film. For well-hyped, commercial films such as 'The Blair Witch Project' and 'Charlie's Angels', unfavourable reviews do not seem to have much effect. It seems that negative ‘word of mouth’ comments will do far more damage.

How might a good review help low budget films whose distributors could not afford a huge publicity campaign?

How might they help build up an audience for films targeting a specialist or minority group? (Think about where the review might be published as well.)

How many in your class have ever been to see a film because they had read a really good magazine or newspaper review?

Media Interdependence

Another popular method of attracting an audience is to pre-release songs from the music soundtrack.

How many recent singles can you think of which fit this category? Why do film distributors pre-release songs by top bands/singers before a film has opened? How often have you or others in the group seen a film because you already knew or liked the title song? Why is it in the interest of a band to record a film soundtrack? What is in it for them?

Music and other promotional materials have helped fill seats at many a cinema. Look around the classroom, around your home, and in local shop windows. What other examples of spin-off goods can you see? How many more have you been tempted by in the past? Were these products on sale before or after the film was released, or did they just ‘happen’ to flood the market at about the same time?

A huge amount of investment usually accompanies the real ‘blockbuster’ films targeting a family audience. You might like to consider whether some of these films would have been

blockbusters without all the promotional merchandise. Are spin-off goods really spin-offs then? How crucial are they in selling the film?

Nothing is left to chance in film distribution. It is a carefully planned and well- timed schedule: the round of interviews, posters, trailers and merchandise production goes ahead according to a timetable co-ordinated well in advance.

A major 'U' (universal) film aimed at a family audience, or 'all ages', might be released in June in the States but held back until the end of July in the UK. Why do you think this is?

What other types of films play well at particular times of year? How does 'What's On' change during school holidays, for instance?

As well as linking certain types of film to certain times of the year, how does the genre or classification of a film affect the time at which it is screened?

Film Classification

There might be times when, having seen a trailer, you wanted to see a film but were disappointed to find that it had an 18 certificate. The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) views every film and decides what kind of audience it is suitable for. This decision can affect the box-office figures and is something else producers and directors have to take into consideration when making and marketing their film. For example, there is no point allowing bad language in a film aimed at a family audience that the makers hope will receive a U certificate.

The certificates are:U - universal (family audience)PG – parental guidance12 – 12 years and over15 – 15 years and over18 – 18 years and over

The impact of films on audience

The intention of the BBFC is to control the kind of film content seen by younger children and teenagers. There is a great deal of study and debate about whether watching violence on the screen provokes or relieves aggressive behaviour in those who watch. 'Copycat' crimes have indeed occurred but can we be sure that a crime would not have been committed whether the criminal had seen the violent film or not?

Undoubtedly films do have an impact on their audience. We have mentioned film as an emotional experience.

Can you think of films which have set trends, launched new 'lookalike' fashions and have even become cult films being watched over and over again by their fans?

Why should anyone want to watch a film more than once?

Conclusion

We began by saying that, in a nutshell, 'audience' means those who watch films, but who these people are and how, why and what they watch cannot be ignored. These questions are all integral to the concept of the ‘audience’.

The film industry makes and markets many films to tried and tested formulas. The value of previous box-office hits must be recognised but it is also worth remembering the 'human factor' that can lead to unpredictable successes and failures.

To claim that a popular genre, a top actor and a high budget promotion campaign is all it takes to guarantee an automatic smash would be to trivialise film making and marketing. These ingredients can indeed help to create and to an extent, manipulate an audience. They can set up expectations and a desire to see a film, but similarly, to think that the cinema-going public could be satisfied by a continuous diet of formula films, remakes and sequels would be to insult the demands of the discriminating public, the all important 'audience'.