Audience

Audience is always an important factor in determining how a film appeals to a certain audience that a film is directed at. There are a variety of thriller genres that appeal to different audiences of different tastes in the thriller genre. However, in particular, ages from 18+ tend to favour the thriller aspect, in which mysteries, action and horror most commonly are used as a sub-genre, where people over the age of 18 are most capable of watching. Thrillers such as science fiction thrillers (Jurassic Park), may perhaps appeal to the young generation from 12+, techno thrillers such as (Robocop) may appeal to a universal audience, whereas a thriller such as Psychological (Se7en) may appeal to an older age of an audience, 18+ where the film portrays the exploits of a deranged serial killer. Older audiences may enjoy a genre hybrid like a

 romance thriller where a man chases through the streets of New York to find a mysterious admirer. As teenagers and people who fit into this 15-30 bracket we have a good knowledge of the kind of people we will be aiming a thriller at.

The various BBFC certificates differentiate in terms of the variety of audience that are able to watch the film, such as if a film was classified as “Universal” you would have a larger range of audience, therefore appealing to more people, however, in terms of a thriller

genre, the audience would

 be very limited as you wouldn’t be able to include a lot of the

 conventions of a thriller, for

 example scenes suspense or stronger language.

In similarity with the Universal classification, “PG” shares similar elements.

Although a PG film is directed at everyone, it may include some more mature content but still not enough to

meet the conventions of a thriller.

“12A” however, is suitable for those who are under 12 but have to be accompanied by adults at all times.

“15” on the other hand is only permitted for those who are 15 or over. A 15 certificate allows much more mature content in terms of suspense and language. Still, although 15 is directed at a limited audience, but the end product may be directed at them in a less complicated manner.

Nevertheless, “18” is only directed at adults. The most successful thrillers have their audiences directed at 18’s with a more complicated plot. Thrillers appeal more to adults (18+), therefore having more of a success in this classification.

 However, for our film is directed at an audience of the age of 16-25, mainly due to the fact that we are producing the film where, students our age can understand and communicate with my film more. Audiences 16-25 year olds who are looking for a film that scares them but does not disgust them. These films tend to be too developed for younger audiences unless they are specifically made for them, and they may be too racy for the older generation, as they typically do not like to get scared to often. In this process, we need to be aware how we need to attract them. By directing a certain aspect of a thriller that students are most likely to be comfortable with, such as a mystery in the plot we would achieve this. The way films are classified in the UK is by the age rating system of the BBFC (British Board Film Classification) the have 5 ratings U (for everyone) PG (Parental Guidance) 12A (twelve and above unless accompanied by an adult) 15 (Fifteen and older) and 18 (Adults only). The thriller genre offers a feeling of uneasiness which may be unsuitable for children so typically thriller films should be 12’s or higher.