Audience Feedback

Audience Feedback

The general target audience for our film are teenagers and young adults that enjoy psychological horrors; typically they would be aged 15-30. We did not aim our film to a specific gender, race or class. However we suspect that our film would be most popular with teenagers. The audience would find mental health issues and horror films interesting. 

During the production of our film, we created a questionnaire with questions that could tell us what the audience thought about the general plan of our film, Psychosis. One question that we asked was "what would you assume the certificate would be after reading the opening of the film?" and another question was "would you watch the whole film and why?". The questionnaire told us that 100% of the people that we asked questions to said that they'd be interested in watching our film. It also gave us these results on what they thought the certificate of the film would be:

Even though we asked people of a different age, gender and occupation, Our results may be biased as 60% of our participants were male and only 40% of them were female. This could've affected the results. The fact that we questioned different people connotes that a variety of different people would be interested in our film and suggests that if our film was to be distributed by a major film company such as Warner Bros, it would be successful. 

Certificate Research

Certificate Research 

(Age Ratings)

Films in Britain all have a specific age rating, set by the British Board of Film Classification. They do this to clarify what age is suitable for the film you're about to watch. For example if the film is inappropriate for younger children, the film will have an Age Rating suited to the films content. 

 The first age rating is U, the U stands for Universal. This explains that the following film is suitable for all ages. However a U film should be suitable for people aged four and over. In a U film there is minimal bad language, the extent it reaches is 'hell' and 'damn'. There is minimal sexual references, for example it may include kissing or cuddling. Violence will be generally mild, for example there might be a 'bad guy' however they typically don't tend to be scary, incase young children watch.

 This certificate is PG. This stands for Parental Guidance. This explains that it is suitable for general viewing however it may not be suitable for some children, therefore parental guidance is advised. Things such as Violence and Sex are kept mild, for example if a child is unlikely to understand a sexual reference it might be used in the context.

This certificate explains that it isn't suitable for children under the age of 12. However the A explains that if a child wishes to see the film that is under the age of 12, they must be accompanied with an Adult incase the child is upset by any of the content. Things such as sex, violence and strong language are brief however might be mentioned, this explains why an adult must accompany the child.

This certificate isn't that much different from 12A however it means that children under the age of 12 are not permitted to watch the film as inappropriate scenes or comments may be included, people over the age of 12 are permitted to watch the movie with or without an adult present. Things such as Verbal sex references and violence should not go beyond what young teenagers would be comfortable with.

The age certificate of 15 explains that children under the age of 15 are not permitted to watch. Age 15 films may include:

• Strong language
• Violence
• Sexual nudity
• Discriminatory behaviour or language
• Drug use

The certificate of 18 explains that the film is only suitable for adults over the age of 18. Films that are given the certificate of 18 are likely to include things such as:

• Strong Violence
• Scenes of Sexual Violence
• Strong discriminatory behaviour or language
• Strong horror, blood, gore etc.
• Sex (in certain circumstances)

Psychosis - Final Film

Final film

Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Question One

Our film, Psychosis, is a psychological horror. We tried to make the film feel as relatable as possible by having a stereotypical teenager as the main character, as that fits our target audience, but with mental health issues. Such as the film: Cabin in the Woods. One of the main codes and conventions that represent our chosen genre is the setting. Psychosis’ first two minutes features two major locations; Jenifer’s home and the woods. We chose to film in an estate to give the film verisimilitude and to make it more relatable to the audience, therefore making them more involved in the film.

Filming Psychosis in the bedroom scene was key for us due to the low-key lighting and red light, signifying danger from an early stage. Filming in the woods gave Psychosis a scary feel and a moody atmosphere created by the natural low key lighting in certain areas the links to many other horrors based in the woods. For Example, The Blair Which Project was filmed in a forest, gave the film a good atmosphere, and amerced the audience by creating tension (as shown below.)

The Blair Witch Project

We began our film with a pan to establish the bedroom scene, whilst using a red light and non-diegetic tense music to tell the audience what genre the film is. One of the codes and conventions of our film is costume and make-up, with the main character having a simple appearance to connote to the audience that she is not one to stand out. This is juxtaposed with the mysterious figure.

Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Question Two

Our Film, Psychosis uses a 17-year-old female as the main character. She is presented as an ordinary, stereotypical teenager on the outside via the use of specific clothes and her hairstyle. However, she is struggling on the inside with mental health issues, which is what our film is primarily about. Furthermore, women in our film fit in the media stereotype, of a weak, vulnerable role where as the main male character has the most power, also fitting in with the stereotypical male role. For example, Jenifer (the main character) fits the vulnerable role due to her mental health issues and struggles at school, this is shown via the high angle shots and the long shots occasionally used, which implies that she is alone most of the time and has nobody to accompany her, Jenifer also wears full black pyjamas, juxtaposing with the white walls all around the house. The dull colour palette of white, black grey and red in the house reflects the emotions of the characters in the film. Jenifer’s sister, Amanda also fits the stereotypical ‘motherly’ role, which is seen when she is in the kitchen baking muffins and is also seen doing the ironing via close ups, showing that she is doing motherly jobs due to her mother’s absence. Amanda also wears a white top in the shots which blends in with the walls in which she is situated. This connotes that there is no colour in her life and that her life is pretty dull and boring due to her having to take over from her mother.  Finally, the male character fits the stereotypical alpha male role as he stands over Jenifer when she has fallen. This implies he is the one in power due to him been shown in a low angle shot.