Q4: Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience I would expect to enjoy our thriller would be aged between 15 and 30. This is because our film includes a kidnapping which could be scary for younger children. Also I don't believe our thriller would appeal to those over the age of 30 because of the fast paced shots, such as the car speeding away, I believe a slow paced film would more likely appeal to an older audience. I also believe our thriller would be more likely to appeal to a male audience than a female audience. The kidnapping could upset or offend a female audience due to them having a motherly nature. Also due to the protagonist being male, it is more likely a male audience would like to watch a thriller with a male lead. Other films that my target audience would enjoy watching are 'The hand that rocks the cradle' and 'Cape Fear' as these thrillers were the inspiration for our opening to 'Commander'. To find out more about my target audience I asked for them to fill out a questionnaire. The results showed that our target audience:

• Would like the protagonist to be a middle aged male.
• Would like the victim to be female.
• Would expect the child victim to be aged 10-15.
• Would like to view a psychological thriller.
• Would like the thriller to have elements of an action film.

To incorporate these main aspects into our thriller we:

• Had a middle aged male play the part of the protagonist, in our film the kidnapper.
• Asked a female to play the part of the victim, who we believed to be the mother.
• Had a child aged 11 play the part of the victim who is kidnapped.
• Chose to make our thriller a psychological thriller.
• Added elements of an action film into our thriller, such as the car speeding off.

Therefore our target audience would (be):

• Aged 15-30
• Male
• Enjoy action films
• Enjoy other psychological thrillers

The rating for our thriller, according to BBFC, would be a 12/12A. Our thriller has this age rating because in a 12/12A rated film:

• There may be strong language but it must be infrequent.
• There may be moderate language.
• Moderate violence may be included but there is no emphasise on injuries or blood.
• Dangerous behaviour (for example hanging, suicide and self-harming) may be present in 12 or 12A works, but will not dwell on detail which could be copied or present those activities as pain or harm free.

Although our opening does not include moderate/strong language the classification can allow our film to develop and have the freedom to use any of the elements shown above. We decided, due to the classification allowing us to include aspects we need, to chose a 12/12A rating. Although our target audience is aimed as 15-30 year olds it allows a wider audience to view and enjoy our thriller.