Target Audience

                                                                                           

Target audience

The target audience for our film would I think be quite mixed. It would probably be aimed towards 18-34 year olds because this is at the moment the golden demographic in terms of making money and overall success. Through my research I have noticed that a lot of heist films are aimed at this demographic, as the action sequences and gadgets appeal to a younger audience while the overall style and tone help to make the films appeal to an older audience as there is something quite retro about it and there isn't too much overt violence. It is very important when making films to make money so it is understandable that heist films are made specifically for this target audience. The reviewer in this article says that heist films are popular because they are all about wanting to acquire a lot of money, which is something we are all familar with:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/movies/02raff.html?_r=0

And this site also refers to heist's "universal appeal":

http://dailyfilmfix.com/?p=2040

I believe there would be quite an mix in terms of gender because in today’s society there are a growing number of men and women watching this genre of film. This is as opposed to the common stereotype that men are the ones who watch the action packed heist films.

 

It is quite likely that the reason people of this age like this genre of film, is because of the action. People of this age enjoy this kind of action because it is has been represented as ‘cool’. Heist films are about, in reality, people stealing from someone else, yet somehow they are managed to come across to the audience as very cool and exciting. It is probably to do with the fact the characters are portrayed as quite stylish and appealing people. Something men almost want to be, as those main characters are the ones who always get the girl, and end up rich with a good life.

 

Most heist films get the audience engaged straight away with the action that’s about to happen as it makes the audience think about what they would in circumstances that appear onscreen. It makes the audience very interested in the film as they know the action happening isn’t real, yet they the way it is made makes the audience have that sense of wonder. Heist films target a very wide age range, around 15-50. This age range is probably the largest out of all genres target audiences. Critically it includes the 'golden age' category of 18-34, which are the people that have the money to afford to watch movies and most importantly the leisure time as well.

Heist films often use prominent actors so the audience feels more sympathy for there characters if something does happen to them. The directors of a heist film often are able to use this to their advantage. The actors chosen are usually between the ages of the target audience. This means the audience are able to relate to the characters on an age level and therefore often become more engaged. An example is the movie “Takers”; there are young characters within the group as to relate to the younger target audience. However there are also older characters (often the leader) that are there to show a side of sophistication and wisdom which the older target audience can relate to.

The viewing of heist films comes down to more on the side of personal tastes these days, and less about the gender. This is because often in heist films nowadays there is either a woman or group of women involved in the heist in some way. This shows that women are no longer the ‘damsels in distress’ but rather the ones who can do everything men can. This has a great appeal to most women as it has broken the common stereotype of women being inferior to men in this genre of film. An example of this is ‘Fast and Furious 5’, where the women are often shown as being better at driving then their male counterparts, and play a crucial part within the heist.

http://youtu.be/ARkR3LKmJtU

The link above is a trailer for Mad Money. We see how it may attract many female views, as it’s a movie that encourages the theory that women can perform in an advanced and intellectual plot as well as men.

‘The heist film still steals hearts’

December 13, 2004 | James Verini, Special to The Times

“During a century of cinema, the world has enjoyed seeing our anxieties about crime and criminals sublimated in the movie theatre in any number of ways. After the gritty-gangster-film craze of the 1930s, audiences turned to the more fanciful western. Sometime later a hankering for reality returned, and movies about beat cops and grizzled detectives took hold. And now, it seems, as the world grows more worrisome, we've rediscovered our need for whimsy on the wrong side of the law.”

I agree with this statement and think that it can apply to target audience choice as well. As films develop to keep up with the fast paced world we can see a dramatic change in who becomes the focus of a films target audience. In the 1930s it would have definitely been men, this is because the common iconography for heist films back then were that men are strong and independent  and that women always need a mans help. As times changed so did the focus on target audience, directors could no longer just focus on men to view there films and they had to change according to the times. Later on in the movie business heist film target audiences began to broaden there horizon looking for female viewers. Now to the present day heist films are able to accommodate the female audiences more and more.

When it comes to our film, I have taken into account what heist films need to include to be called a heist film but at the same time looked at what changes have been made in recent times to show how heist film target audience is more based on age (15-50) not gender. Therefore I think that if our film were to be made it would have an age rating of 15, and be viewed by both male and female within are target audience.