Research; Genre + Target Audiences

In class we looked at different types of sub genre's and what we thought was their target audiences and the key signifies to why we thought a certain group was the audience that they are targeting.

'The others' is a psychological horror film. It stars Nicole Kidman. It was a 2001 film and was directed by Alejandro Amenabar. I believe the profile of the film aims at teenagers and above that likes to feel frightened and scared. The age rating is most likely rated at 15+ because her facial expression and the font style hints that it may not be suitable for younger viewers. The key signifers that show that 'The Others' is a psychological horror thriller are:

- The women in the poster's facial expression; The look coming from the actress face shows that she is terrified and scared. She seems to be looking at something from the corner of her eye anxiously with meaning something is wrong;someone or something is after her. 

- The font style; The font title is written in spooky text style which signifies the sub genre of the thriller. The letter O is played about and has a glow that could be used to brighten up the dark background. 

- The black background; The colour black always represents something bad. It could link to death, something that could happen later on in the film.

- The sub title; 'Sooner or later they will find you'. This is a scary saying and suggests someone is after her and she is in danger.

'Fair Game' released in 2010 starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. The film was directed by Doug Liman. The profile of the film is a far cry from any childish and fun humour. It looks more appealing to an older audience, targeting at late teens and above.  The Sub- genre for 'Fair Game' is Political Thriller. The key signifiers that show that 'Fair Game' is a Political Thriller are:

- The facial expressions of the actors; their facial expression is very sturn and serious which you can tell they are working on something serious.

- The actors clothing; through the characters clothing you could tell they look like they are investing in a crime.

'Tower Heist' is a crime comedy film that stars Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy. Directed by Brett Ratner and released in 2011 it was a blockbuster success with a box office gross of $142,679,520. I believe the target audience aims at older teenagers(15+) and above because they may be more suited towards crime. The key signifiers that show that 'Tower Heist' is a crime comedy film are:

To do with the choice of the actors; Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy are in most comedy films and they are most known to have successful films with the genre being comedy. They are positioned at the front of the poster so that audiences can recognize them and be able to guess that this film is a comedy. 

The title; The word 'Heist' is a term used to describe a robbery from any institution like a bank so straight away the audience will know that there is crime involved suggesting that crime plays a lot to the film. 

'Friends with Benefits' is an america romantic comedy film directed by Will Glurk starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. The target audience would be aimed at a younger audience who would be mostly females because the use of the actor Justin Timberlake who is seen as a 'heart throb' to many. The key signifiers that show that 'Friends with Benefits' is a romantic comedy film are:
The title; The title of the film suggests that the genre could be a romance.
Body Language; The way the two actors are posing it looks like they are posing in a comedy way, they do not look too serious which could reinforce the fact that the film is not that serious too. 

'In Time' is a 2011 science fiction action thriller film that stars Amanda Seyfried and Justin Timberlake. 'In Time' was directed written and produced by Andrew Niccol. Again I believe the profile of the film aims at a younger audience, targeted to mostly teenagers and above because of the actor Justin Timberlake who is well known and successful to the younger market. Audiences will get the impression that he and Amanda are the main character's because of the way they are so close up on the image. This would be a great thing for members of the public who like both actors or one of them. The key signifers that show that 'In Time' is a Sci- Fi action thriller film are:

- The Image; The connection between the two actors seems very intimate and tactile. Justin Timberlake has his hand held very protectively on Amanda Seyfried's head. The closeness shows that they are both in a team and the audience would see this connection linked to the action aspect of the film.

- Props; On their arms they both have numbers with their own time imprinted on them which goes back to the name of the film. There is also a gun held on Amanda Seyfried's hand which audiences will instantly know it is an action movie. Audiences will pay to see this even more as they are seeing a female holding a gun often the role of a male actor. Nowadays men do not have to action all the action movies, women can do that too that men have traditionally dominated.

- The Background; Visually the background image looks futuristic and science based that links to the sub- genre to be Science Fiction. 

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1' is a fantasy film released in 2010 starring Daniel Radcliffe Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. It had a world wide gross of $956,399,711, the third highest grossing film of 2010. I believe the Target Audience for the film aims at younger teenagers, rated 12A as it has child humour and mature themes deemed for 12 year olds and above. The sub-genre for 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1' is Adventure. The key signifers that show that 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows Part 1' is an Adventure film are:

The background image; The woods in the background gives it an adventure feeling to the film as the character's are seen running.

The main image; Harry potter fans will know that the three character's in the profile are the main character's and the image itself shows the importance of the character's to the audience. They seem focused in running to where ever they are going which could hint of some sort of adventure they are heading.

Finally, 'Kung Fu Panda' is a animated action comedy film directed by John Wayne Stevenson and produced by Melissa Cobb. It was a 2008 film that stars the voice Jack Black. 'Kung Fu Panda' was a major box office success with an impressive box office gross of $631,744,560. Instantly I would think the target audience for this film is for young children because of the type of genre and the way the film poster is presented. The age certificate for the film is actually PG. The key signifers that show 'Kung Fu Panda' is an animated action comedy are:

- Choice of the main actor; Jack Black is an actor that is known to be in most comedy films however he is also known to be an american comedian. 

- The image; The image shows an animated character at the centre of the image which suggests that this character is the main character and the film involves animated characters only.

- The colours; Bright colours such as red orange and yellow have livened up the image making it look more fun and child friendly. This gives an insight to the type of audience the film aims at, a younger demographic.

The font of the title; The font of the title has a simple and easy style in order for the younger audience to read it and understand. The title is written in a big size of lettering to also be easy to read and to not look too complicatedly presented.