Pre-Production - Audience

Audience Research

Age Certificates

In order to gage who our target audience is, it is worth noting who is actually able to watch our film. Our film will not contain too many scenes of a graphic nature, for example there is not too much swearing in our film and when a character does swear it fits the context of the story well. The only scene of violence or threat is one of the very last scenes in the story and the character, David, does not go through with killing Stephen and leaves him to die at his own accord (which we do not see).

While violence, threat and foul language are fairly minimal, it still has its own presence. With this in mind, the British Board of Film Classification indicates that our film would be suitable for anyone aged 12 or over (12, 12A).

There may be moderate language. Strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification.

There may be moderate physical and psychological threat and horror sequences. Although some scenes may be disturbing, the overall tone should not be. Horror sequences should not be frequent or sustained.

There may be moderate violence but it should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, and its depiction must be justified by context.

British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)

Statistics on Target Audience

Another important aspect we need to consider is ‘who watches what?’. It is important to find out who most frequently visits the cinema, who the largest audiences are for our genre and film type and who watches what, where.

Statistics from the British Film Institute answer all of the above questions and more.

In 2015, 15-24 year olds made up the largest proportion of the UK cinema audience, at 29%.

UK films were popular across all demographic groups, with a particularly strong appeal for

those aged 45 and over. UK independent films were most popular among cinema-goers in this demographic.

A wide range of genres appealed to women, whereas men were drawn to films with a strong

action element.

British Film Institute (BFI)

From the statistics shown here, it is clear that our audience will likely fall in the category of males aged 45 and over. This makes sense as our two main characters are both in their late 50’s while our youngest character is in his mid 30’s. However, seeing as female’s interests in film vary greatly and with the majority of cinema goers being between the ages of 15 and 24, there may also be a market for these people as well.