I forgot something

As I went to bed last night, I thought, to my self, what am I missing or doing wrong? That type of thinking couldn't have come at a better time! I woke up today in realization that I needed to do more research on target audience and genre in order to output a more interesting and effective film opening.



Honestly, I have no clue what I specific information I am looking for but I'll figure it out by the end of this posting. Since my film openings' genre, suspense, is a sub-genre of the thriller genre, I will be conducting the majority of my research on thrillers.

According to the National Metro, a majority of thriller moviegoers are under the age of 25, and 57% of all thriller moviegoers are female. So, based off of that we already know to skew our focus to the younger population and a little towards females. Furthermore, this target audience research website concluded that audiences like to relate themselves with the protagonist and antagonist in a thriller. See, typically in a thriller film there is a female protagonist (victim) and a male antagonist (dominant). This is done intentionally so the audience can relate with stereotypes: females as vulnerable and weak, and males as strong and dominant. We likely won't have a strong or dominant character in our opening since it will likely only feature one character.

filmsite.org states, "[Thriller and Suspense] are types of films know to promote intense excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety, and nerve-wrecking tension. [These] films are virtually [interchangeable], with similar characteristics and features." This can be done using fast-paced editing, along with good planning to incorporate various shots, angles, and movement.

Producing a film opening that hits the younger audience and employs thriller characteristics is critical in the 21st century. Not only is important to market, but is more important to market wisely. If you market using traditional brick-and-mortar stores, you will not hit your Millennial and Generation Z audience. It is easier, more effective, and cheaper to use social media to market a film.

All this gibberish might sound confusing to some, but what I am trying to say is that if my group does not utilize what I mentioned above, our opening would have a tough time surviving in the real world, where things can get ugly.