Evaluation: question five

How did you attract/address your audience?

We chose to set our film in contemporary Britain, as our audience would be able to identify with the characters and the setting in a deeper way. We used contemporary fashion for our characters to reflect this, placing them into their era.

The strong female central character would attract a young female audience, as they will easily be able to identify with this character, and live vicariously through her. The short, stark shots of the male character, however, appeal to a young male audience as they create suspense and tension, causing heightened adrenaline levels.

The soundtrack also adds to this by reinforcing the visual image and becoming gradually louder as the scene becomes more fast paced. The specific soundtrack we chose would appeal to a predominantly younger audience, due to the 'urban' style sounds; the noise resembles that of underground tube trains and cars.

The choice of a derelict house as the location for the scene also appeals to our target demographic, as the 'urban exploration' movement is becoming increasingly more popular. This stems from the childhood instinct to wish to explore our surroundings; at the age of 16-25, this instinct has become more developed and sophisticated, yet we still have a desire to venture out of our usual setting and discover new things. This makes the audience consider what they themselves would do if faced with a similar scenario.

The cross cutting shots at the most tense moment of the scene reflect a similar technique used in Shane Meadows' “Dead Man's Shoes”, a film aimed at the same target audience that we focused on. These gave a foreboding feel to the mise-en-scene, appealing to the audience as it gives them a sense of dramatic irony.

The audience feedback from Year 12 students indicated that overall the scene was effective and portrayed the build in tension that we aimed to create. Particular mention was made of the soundtrack, the location choice and the uncomfortable, claustrophobic close up shots. One of the weaknesses that was commented upon was the acting roles, which were both carried out by amateurs and so were less easy to identify with as they were less convincing. It was suggested that the soundtrack could have been made slightly louder during the key moment of the scene, as this would have made it more uncomfortable and shocking.