How audiences have been constructed for these films?
Warm Bodies
Warm Bodies is an american romantic comedy released in 2013. The film follows the zombie R and a young woman named Julie and how their eventual romance develops throughout the film.
Age
From my understand from viewing the marketing campiagn of warm bodies one could assume that the film is marketed towards the 15- 24 year old demographic. This can be evidence by the use of featuring teens as the central image and central protagonists on the posters as they offer to the teen viewer characters which they can relate and connect to. Furthermore the poster also features the "ideal looking teenager" and therefore younger audiences will be much more attracted to see this film on the basis of watch an "attractive" actor. In addition in the films other posters it features language that isn't to be used by an older audience such as "hot" and"bros" and lexis
that would be considered as taboo among an older audience but would be acceptable among younger audiences such as "sexy". From this one could suggest that warm body marketing campaign mixes slight sexualised imagery and more slang and colloquial language to appear relatable and more appealing to a younger audience (such slang and colloquial language can be consider much of a thing found in the speech of someone younger).
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Moreover the film is a comedy, this may evidence my prediction of its target demographic as according to research found on the BFI statistical yearbook comedies such as The Hangover part 2 and The Inbetweeners movie. See Audience Tasks part 1 post
Gender
From watching the trailer for the film one could assume that the film has constructed a male audience whether this is intended or not its up for debate. One could assume this via the very action like themes that are seen within the trailer such as many scenes which inolve guns and comic violence; from my research using the BFI statistical year book these sort of features appeal to the male audience as men preferred action films such as Captain America, Mission Impossible - Ghost protocol, and transformers dark of the moon than women. (See Gender section of Audience Tasks part 1). Additionally after watching the trailer I found a two comments on you tube that I believe to further evidence the point of the film appealing to the male audience more as seen on the right.From my understanding the first comment"finally a zombie movie to show your girlfriends. LOL" may evidence how this film can appeal to the male audience,it serves as a film in which both people in a couple can enjoy since it features themes which can be considered as themes which are consumed by both male and females,i.e. mixing romance with action. Whereas the second comment,"Just watched it, it was so good, could have had more action scenes but hey, im a dude", may evidence how action theme appeal to men as this male viewer has mentioned how he liked the film but it needed more action.Social Grade
From my research on the BFI yearbook one could speculate that perhaps Warm Bodies may appeal to a more DE audience as from my findings I have noticed that films that are popular among DE audiences such as Fast and Furious 5 and Johnny English Reborn are either action films or comedy films. This genre can be stereotyped as a genre which is simply for escapism and allows audiences to "wind down" and immerse themselves in the narrative. The same effect can be applied to Warm Bodies; it features a fantasy like narrative with over the top action and comic elements which allow audiences to be sucked into these worlds, this as an effect may appeal more to the DE audience and not the AB audience since from analysing the films which were popular among said audience i.e. Jane Eyre, Kings Speech, One Day, Senna and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, I have noticed that these films are either biopics or have a sense of grounded realism in contrast to the fantasy films which may be enjoyed more by the DE audience.
Characteristics and values
Skyfall
Skyfall is the 23rd James Bond film produced by Eon productions and was distributed by MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2012. The film was directed by Sam Mendes and features Daniel Craig as James Bond.
Age
Furthermore notice how on the film poster for skyfall on the right it feature quite a dull colour scheme which may connote a sense of gritty realism to the film rather than using an array of over the top explosion graphics to convey a more action like title. This colour scheme adds some sophistication to the film and makes the film seem more mature and grounded in realism; features that according to the BFI yearbook appeal to older audiences with films such as Kings speech, Sherlock Holmes: A game of thrones and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy managed to attracting a mass audience of cinema-goers in the 45- 54 age group. Most of those films use a dark colour pallete to convey grittyness and ground their films more in reality to appeal to their audience.
Gender
From looking at the skyfall marketing campaign and the products that associate themselves with the film one may assume that the film is directed at more of a male audience featuring Daniel Craig on most of the graphics as bond" the ideal man"; looking tough and powerful with his big gun (phallic symbol) and expensive cars. He serves as a model that all men need to aspire to be" and as an effect man may be inclined to watch the film to see their model in action and to see how they can alter themselves to be this perfect man. Moreover the film features numerous amounts of sponsorship and product placement from other products and brands which are known to target the male demographic such as Aston Martin,coke zero and Heineken. This may clearly signify how this film is directed towards the male audience as it heavily features products that are believed to be very masculine. Additionally this point can be further evidenced with the image below a luxury car with a james bond graphic on it. Cars are stereotypically known as something that appeals to more of the male audience with shows such as top gear which evidence this trope.
Social grade
From my research on the BFI yearbook one could speculate that perhaps Skyfall may appeal to a more AB audience. Although it features action themes which may be more appealling to those of a DE audience, the action seen in the film is much more grounded in reality in a sense and features very little over the top violence that DE audiences may enjoy however the film may appeal to DE audiences as the character Bond and the values he holds may seem appealing to said audience in the form of a role model.
Characteristics and Values
One may assume that those who may watch this film are the bond type of person, those who live on the edge and seek thrills and danger however one may argue that those who see this aspire to be these thrill seeker characters. As evidenced by the products which associate themselves with the bond brand such as Aston martin cars which are known for their speed and luxury. This aspect of speed may be appealing to those who want to seek thrills in their life. By associating the bond brand with these cars this conveys how the bond brand is for those who want thrills in their life.
A Good Day to Die Hard
A Good Day to Die Hard is an American action film directed by John Moore which was release in 2013.It is the 5th installment in the Die Hard film series and features Bruce Willis reprising his role as John Mcclane.Age
One may already assume that this films target demographic would be 15- 24 year olds since since the film falls into the action genre which according to the BFI research is found to be very appealing to said demographic. This can also be evidenced by the tagline on the on the films poster "yippee ki-yay mother russia" which is a play on Mcclane's famous catchphrase which does include some vulgarity. This insinuation may not be appropriate for younger audiences and thus evidences that the film may be more appealing to an older audience. However one can also argue that the film may have also have an older following to it i.e. audiences who were old enough to watch the original Die Hard.
Gender
Furthermore the offical website to the film further reinforces this idea of a male direction by playing various action clips in the background with a colour palette that consists of reds and blacks which are considered very masculine colours.
Social grade
From my previous research on the BFI website similar films to Die Hard 5 such as the fast and furious performed well among the DE audience. This may evidence the Die Hard 5 may appeal more to a DE audience as it features many themes that are similar and according to the BFI yearbook may be appealing to DE audiences such as simple action for audiences to enjoy for the purpose of escapism.
Characteristics and values
One may assume that viewers that may watch the new Die hard film may be viewers who watch films for the purpose of a "rollercoaster ride" rather than to be challenged or informed as evidenced by the trailer which features many typical action comnventions such as over the top violence. These viewers want to watch something they are used to and allows them to relax rather than to be constantly thinking about what is going on.
