The audience is a crucial part of the media, without them there would be no sales, therefore no money. This is why audience research is compulsory before targeting a certain audience group. Once researched and targeted audiences should respond to a new movie positively. Audiences will be categorized using demographics which include the age, ethnicity, gender, religion and income. Audiences are also categorized into social classes, which categorize people depending on there social status, the categories range from A-E were by 'A' represents the upper middle class and 'E' represents lower class citizens.
Theoretically speaking, the relationship between audiences and the media can be best represented with various different theories. The hypodermic needle effect is one which suggests the media is capable of 'mass manipulation', this is based on the assumption that the believe what they see, meaning they could spread the word to others. Another theory which i personally favour is the two step flow model, this allows a mass media to be channelled to the 'masses' through opinion leadership, the people with most access to the media, and having a more literate understanding of the media context, explain and diffuse the context to others. The theory which i believe shows more dominance towards the media over the audience would be the effects debate which allows the media to 'morally panic' and therefore panic is created through the use of press and other forms of media. An example of this theory would be the Jamie Bulger incident in 1993.
I believe 'surveillance' to be the main use of the media as a whole however there are other reasons people choose to use it, such as:
Personal identity - Audiences like to compare themselves, or even dress like certain celebrities from newspapers or on the television for example
Diversion - Media acts as a diversion, diverting audiences from a life of stress to some entertainment.
Personal Relationship - The media is without a doubt an advantage when communicating with the public, as it allows advertising new movies or music for example.
The genre for the film opening for pulp fiction lies a mystery as we do not no who the couple are and what they have planned. Up until the seventh second of the opening the genre would appeal to be romantic until the man reveals a gun. The purpose of the gun communicates with audiences alerting them that this is no romantic movie and something bad is going to happen. Deeper into the opening the man reveals that it is a robbery, the women seems to be more aggressive than the man and comes across as the mans sidekick.
Technical and Symbolic codes
Technical codes include close up camera shots and medium range shots. The close shots only reveal the couple/partners but doesn't really show any other characters clearly, this gives the impression of a romantic scene until the man reveals a gun. A medium range shot with a low angle is used at 0:25 seconds of the opening when the couples use aggression to imply a robber, the low angle makes it look like they are in power. At the very end of the opening, credits appear and audio is played, The music sounds very techno and makes the couple look cool and the font of the credits are very 70's which sets the theme of the movie.
The symbolic codes such as the costumes of the individuals represent them as ordinary people. The scene is set in a cafe, the reason for this is because the man believes they are less likely to get caught as its a unexpected robbery. The expressions on the characters tell us a lot about them, for example the women seems to show a lot of aggression. High key lighting is used, and at the beginning of the opening the faces of each of the characters are half shaded which may suggest they have two sides to them.#
Key Signifiers
A key signifier in the opening of pulp fiction is the gun, this changes the whole theme of the scene from being romantic to quite violent and aggressive.
Audience Expectations
The opening reveals the genre of the movie to its audience. The scene starts of very differently in comparison to what it results in, the male and female characters seem quite relaxed and romantic with each other, up until the male character reveals a gun, from there a robbery takes place involving the two. This reveals that the film is no romance, but rather a thriller/crime.
Target Audience
The type of audience being targeted judging from the opening would be adults as the violence and language would not be suitable for anybody under the age of 18.
The Psycho (1998)
Genre And Conventions
The genre of this particular film is horror. The conventions of this movie are displayed in the opening of the movie due to the type of audio, images and text used.
Technical And Symbolic Codes
The technical codes used in the film opening include the fast paced instrumental which is used as the audio and also the effect created in the background with the use of images. The effect created shows lines transitioning over one another, resulting in a slashing effect.
The Symbolic code of the opening is the text, which seems to be very plain and bold until the slashing effect occurs and effectively slashes the text into bits, suggesting violence.
Key Signifiers
The key signifier's in this opening has got to be the audio and the transition effect on the text. The audio signifies danger whilst the transition effect signifies violence, together they are very effective as the put the audience in a vulnerable position.
Audience Expectations
From the opening credits i feel the movie is to be one that reflects a lot of violence and gore. I also believe it will have atmospheric scenes which are very tense due to the music which used in the opening. The transition effect depicts violence as it seems a blade of some sort is slashing through the text and screen.
Target Audience The type of audience which will be targeted will be ones who have a keen interest in horror and will be over the age of 18 due to the context of the film, it is not suitable for ages below 18.
Grindhouse
Genre And Conventions
The genre of this film seems confusing in the opening and it is hard to verify what it is, however i no the genre is horror, the conventions of this genre are composed in the opening of the movie with the use of text, images and audio.
Technical And Symbolic Codes
The technical codes in this opening include the audio which is quite different, it sounds like some sort of music which one would dance to, it sounds quite foreign but has elements of jazz in it. The strange music creates a strange effect as one is not sure what to think. However when a women who is seen dancing appears later on in the opening it makes sense that the music is used to represent her dance. The dance seems quite arousing as the women seems to be nearly naked, creating a sexual feeling to the scene. Towards the end of the opening it becomes interesting as the women is shown on the floor, and it seems a blast of fire is created in front of her, the audience can only hear it and not see it.
The symbolic codes are used at the beginning which are the the motion picture and the title of the movie. The title of the movie does seem as one which would be used in a horror film as it is bright red and the font looks as if it is a splatter of blood creating a gory effect.
Key Signifiers
The key signifier's in this film opening have got to be the sexual content, there is lot of gloomy colours such as a dull red and yellow, these colours may symbolise various things such as blood. The way the women is dancing is also very sexual and revealing.
Audience Expectations
After viewing the opening i believe audiences will be expected to look forward to a lot of violence and blood but along with that a lot of sexual content to.
Target Audience
Audience's above the ages of 18 are targeted in this film, this is made obvious through the use of sexual content used in the opening. The reference of blood and gore also indicates the the type of audiences who should view this film, audiences over the age of 18.
1. The only bright colour in the image is the actual title, it is of the colour red which may depict blood.
2. There is a image within the poster of a axe which is depicting violence.
3.The facial expressions of the two people in the image show there position as characters. The man on the left seems to be a psychopathic killer and the axe may also strike this thought, and the women seems to be in danger due to the axe, her facial expressions show fear.
Codes:
1.Technical Code - Images are taken at different angles and shots, the man on the left displays a close up shot for example.
2.Symbolic Code -Images are used, these include characters with there own look
3.Written Code - Text is used in the image, this includes the names of the film makers and the title.
Key Signifiers
The key signifier's in this image has without a doubt got to be the images, the axe depicts the film is violent and graphic. The expressions of the characters depict there personalities and there positions in the film, and the aesthetics of the individuals tell us a lot about the characters also.
The title of the film stands out due to the fact it is red and is the only bright colour used in the image, every other colour is quite dull. It is larger than other text due to the significance of it.
Denotative Levels
Images and text has been used in the poster. The images have been used because they imply a purpose and send a certain message to audiences, and text has been used for the title of the film, it has also been used where the names of the film makers are shown, however the title text stands out more for a purpose.
Connotative Levels
The imagery and text used in the poster has been done for a purpose, usually to send a message to the audience. For example the specific images used in the poster are of two characters (female and male) and an axe. The axe maybe used to resemble violence and the women who looks as if she is in danger of the axe, could be used to show her vulnerability, however the man seems to give the impression of a psychopath who is in domination of the women.
The text is big, bold and bright, to catch the audiences eye. It is of the colour red because it may resemble blood which links to the axe which again links to violence. The reason the film makers names are smaller in text than the title of the film is because they are not as important and less appealing to audiences.
Audience Response
The reason such connotative and denotative levels have been used in the image is because they imply a specific message for the audience. Due to previous analysis violence and fear has got to be something which has been themed in this poster.
