Audience research focus groups: blog task

Audience research focus groups: blog task

With the focus group, what we were required to do was present the pitch we had developed for the (full 30-minute) MEST2 film and take up any points of feedback on it mainly through answering any proposed questions. Our presentation was not only limited to explaining the plot step-by-step to the focus group, but more specific elements to it such as target audience and characters within it just to name a select few.

•  'A cliffhanger is a great idea, certainly for this genre [...] I think that's how you give it a more arthouse twist.'
• 'I love the idea about this concept of coming to the UK because you could also touch on one of the biggest issues of our age which is immigration and refugees.'
• 'Maybe having Spanish drug dealers who have a link to Mexico but they come through that particular route from the Channel Tunnel [...] this has been the focus of the UK for the last 12 months.'
• 'I love the idea of this antihero [...] a complex character that's again very good for the arthouse film because there's no obvious good or bad.'
• 'One thing you have to do a lot of research on is the dialogue [...] and try to capture some of the rhythms and language you'd see in film noir.'
• 'You need a voiceover in a film noir.'
• 'Speak to the Spanish department.'
• I think you should research into the psychology behind it [hitman's mind].'
• 'Don't just rely on Hollywood models [films which feature hitmen].'
• 'Think about how you can develop that role [femme fatale] and how you may be able to subvert it in some type of way, [...] don't just have her as a victim or a princess that has to be rescued, she has to have something about her as well.'

From the discussion, what I have been able to learn is the fact that our film concept has many aspects that we can touch upon in great detail. Not only can we provide a sense of social commentary on current affairs the world, or more locally the West is facing with things like immigration, but we can also reflect on things such as the portrayal of women in film as a whole as presenting her as somebody that can handle herself without the assistance of a man. Additionally from the feedback, something we'll definitely attempt to portray as accurately as possible is the psychology within the mind of a hitman. By doing this not only are we providing a more realistic outlook on what exactly goes through the mind of a hitman, but also we add an entirely new element to the authenticity of the film since we don't actually get a word from the hitman himself, rather just insights into his mind.

When it comes to target audience, the film will appeal to teenagers from the age of 15 all the way to middle-aged 45-year olds. While predominantly being targeted at more of a middle-class audience for its more experimental elements, e.g. silent hitman, the film is also bound to appeal more towards explorers and strugglers in terms of psychographic groups since its fast-paced nature provides a sense of refuge from the trouble everyday life may involve. This all said, the film will without a doubt entertain mafia/crime 'movie buffs' simply due to how much the film pertains to elements of the genre but also differs from it.