Proposal of Ideas

My plot is quite basic, and largely similar to other romantic comedies like 'Another Cinderella Story' or could even be reference to that of 'The Notebook'. My plot begins introducing one of the characters, which I have decided it will introduce my female character through the use of voiceover. However, I am not going to do this like a normal voice over but by having the female character speaking as if it was them telling the story on what is happening. I will have the female telling a normal story and then have her meet this male character when she is at work and then having the tone change. I am going to have the male character be quite rough, and lower class but have them look into each others eyes and then realise they are in love instantly. However, I will not have it develop straight from there and it will then fade into the next part of the film where they keep bumping into each other like in the film 'New York Minute' and I think this is where the relationship starts to develop as they keep talking and realise they are a lot alike. It turns out as she is telling the story it talks about her life in the past like in 'According to Greta' about how things used to be different and how she also used to be lower class on drugs, as the male character is now. This then turns to the drama as the woman the withdraws herself from this man and travels off with friends so that she does not also go back to that lifestyle. And as the trailer goes on the male character waits for her return and he then decides he needs to turn his life around. This will then be where the trailer shows him on his own walking around and then bumping into the female character and falling back into love by mistake. The girl then has to make a decision on whether she stays and helps him back on track, or goes for her dream job never to return. Below shows what I will include in each part of my product and because I did not have feedback I have done a detailed paragraph on what will be contained in each.

Trailer:
In the trailer, it will start by the narrative being introduced through an initial voiceover monologue by the main female character, in order to set the scene and break into the story. However, I do not want this to reveal too much of the storyline and I will have it showing bad parts of the females life in the past, and also good times of her now with a faster pace reflecting the bad times; almost like flashbacks to show that some of the pain is still there and cuts sharp like a knife. I think that it will then slow down after the scene is set and gradually go on to get slower to add more emotion and build up the tension. I wanted to use two different songs to reflect the two different sides to the ‘love story’ and these are the bad side and how it can hurt by using ‘I forgive you’ and the good side of when they first meet using ‘Lightning’. I am planning on using the bad clip near the end to show that all is okay in the end and forgotten, with the good song building the emotion at the beginning to reflect when they first fall in love. I think it would be good for some of the shots to have intertitles in-between to unravel some of the narrative, and also have credits and logos at the beginning and end to make it look more realistic. I think it may be easier to stick to stereotypical conventions instead of challenging these, as most of the romantic comedies I have researched were well liked and this is what I am aiming for.

Poster:

I will make the film poster containing both of my main character and this is to show full continuity between my products.  I would like my two characters to be dressed either very similar or very differently in order to show them as they are or were. I am planning on having the female quite smart and the male looking quite rough to show the contrast between them. I would like to do this by using a long shot so the characters look less isolated, however I do not want to use a location and this is due to the reason I want the image to stand off the page. The pose in which I am looking for is the characters back to back with the male looking over his shoulder at the female and them holding hands, and this is because I want to show some of the intense emotion between them. I would like the title to be the biggest font with the ‘two worlds’ being large than the beginning and end bit of the title just to add emphasis. The credits however will be smaller on the very bottom of the page just so that it looks like a professional poster.

Magazine:

I want my magazine to resemble that of a professional magazine and I want it to look quite artistic with the light shining from behind the two main characters. However, I want it to be very different from my poster and have an extreme close up of the two characters going in to kiss each other so that it shows the romance factor and the emotion between them. The title of my magazine will be “reel film” which is a mixture of both ‘real’ to reflect how it is a realistic occurrence and ‘reel’ to represent the cinema style. I think it sounded quite good in comparison to magazine titles such as “total film” or “entertainment” however I did base my layout on an entertainment issue, but I feel with a title like “reel film” it will appeal to a wider target audience. I will not cover my magazine in sell lines as this time I did want to challenge typical conventions but I will once again show continuity by using the same fonts as that in my poster.

Summary of Findings

Below I have created a video of my main findings and from these I have discussed what I have found in terms of genders, and the genre interests and how the genre is often replicated in professional products, and how this has influence my ideas. I have found that the main ages in which normally are interested in the genre are between the ages of 15-24 and mainly females, however I found this is quite stereotypical as some men are interested in these same movies and have commented on what they like within the genre. The video below discusses my findings and also shows the impact on my products and how I am going to use these as an ideal of how to appeal to my potential audience.

I have questionned ten people in total in which five were female, and five were male to interpret the finding fairly so that I can determine correctly whether the stereotypical gender interests are true. However, there are some finding in which contradict this alongside showing the truth in the assumption. This was found by some males being interested in Rom Coms, whereas some females were not. From this, I will use this to make my products equally appel to both males and females through the use of colours, images, etc. Furthermore, it is found that both males and females like watching trailers for Romantic Comedies mainly because they have a happy ending and a feel good factor.

In my questionnaire, I had given four posters and four magazines in which I wanted the audience to compare and contrast so that I could have a basic view in what I had to do to appeal to my potential audiences. I have found that the prefferred posters was 'The Ugly Truth' and from this I will use this as my main influence for my own poster with using the colours and poses from 'It's a boy girl thing' so that it is not too similar or plain and they were continuously commented on throughout my audience research. From the findings of the magazine I have found that the majority of people liked the first and second one's due to the use of contrasting colours and also the images of a happy couple. People seem to enjoy seeing a happy couple on the front cover mainly because of the fact that it clearly represents the genre and overall, from these findings I am using this to introduce my products yet adapt this to suit my trailer and adapt it so it is different.

Primary Audience Research Findings




Kate's Page 1

 


Kate's Page 2

 





Suzz Page 1





Suzz Page 2




Chloe Page 1




Chloe Page 2



Katie Page 1



Katie Page 2



Debra / Mum Page 1



Debra / Mum Page 2



Leslie / Dad Page 1



Leslie / Dad Page 2



Mark Page 1



Mark Page 2



Jamie Page 1



Jamie Page 2

Alex Page 1



Alex Page 2

 

Leslie / Brother Page 1

Leslie / Brother Page 2

Primary Audience Research

For my audience research I am planning on asking the following questions:

• Age: (age groups)
• Gender: (male/female)
• Current occupation or education:
• What would you expect of the Romantic comedy genre:
• What kind of scenes would you expect to see?
• What kind of props and locations would you expect to see?
• What films do you associate with this genre?
• Do you read film magazines? (yes/no)
• Names of the magazines you read:
• How often do you go to cinema approximately?
• Do you find film review comments and ratings an important factor on products: ie/ poster? and why?
• Which magazine is more appealing to you: (option of 3) and why?
• Which poster is more appealing to you: (option of 3) and why?
• Do you enjoy trailers of romantic comedies : (yes/no) and why?

I am intending on asking both open and closed questions because it would then give me long-winded information in which I may need in order to make my products appealing to the set audience. I feel it would be easier to evaluate these answers and give me a better insight on how I can make my products represent the genre well. I am intending on asking 10 different people the questions above; 5 males and 5 females in order to equally find out what different people think of the genre and learn from this how i can replicate this in my products.

My questionnaire will take the layout of the following:

I have done it like this so that the full questionnaire is not all text and therefore it wouldn't be as dull to answer.

Audience Conclusion

In conclusion of my secondary audience research of film profiles I have created pie charts in which show averages on the following data I had found from the Pearl and Dean statistical data. I have created charts in which show the averages of gender, age range, and also social class. The reason in which I had done this is because I think it will allow me to refer back to it when making my products, without looking at multiple amounts of research, to see whom I am aiming my products at in order for me to make it more realistic.

This chart clearly shows the average of genres for all of the films in which I had researched. I had done this by getting all of the percentages for the different genders on each film and on excel found the average and then turned this into a pie chart. The chart shows that with an average of 66:34 or a sum of 461:239 this suggests that the majority of people in which are interested in the genre I am doing (Romantic Comedies) are females, with some male interest. This will influene all of my decisions on from this point including primary research I will carry out, due to the large gap I am going to interview and question both males and females but I will focus mainly on women as these are my main target audience.

The chart above shows the age groups in which may, or may not be interested in the romantic comedy genre. The chart clearly shows that the main age group in which my products are most likely to entice is that between 15-24 with an average of 43 and a sum of 303 people of this group being interested in the romantic comedies I have researched, with barely any youngsters (15-) being interested in romantic comedies. This may be because of the content in which is in the products and from this data I am planning on interviewing a range of people of all ages for my primary research as well as look at how I can entice people from more age groups as well, but I will focus mainly on the age range of 15 to 24 as this is similar to my own age and interest.

This chart clearly shows the social classes in which are interested in the genre I have chosen. The chart represents that the 'romantic comedy' genre is most popular within the social class C1 with an average of 35 and a sum of 243, closely followed by the social class AB which has an average of 28 and a sum of 199, and the other two social classes C2 and DE having an average of  18:19, and sums of 128:130 which isn't much difference. The social classes in which they are most popular with are Upper Classes and in terms of primary research this suggests that when making my products and carrying out primary research I will need to specifically target these people, and this may include teachers at college, as well as those who are employed and been to uni for example.

In conclusion, from all of this data I have discovered I will mainly be aiming my products at females between the ages of 15-24 which are mainly in upper classes. However, I am planning on trying to entice a wider audience rather than just this specific area of people and I am going to do this through primary research and asking what people expect to see in this specific genre, and if people are not interested when filling in the questionnaire or completing interview on the genre I will ask what they want to see in order to make this genre better. Furthermore, in terms of magazines they often appeal mainly to men so I will have to create a magazine in which appeals mainly to women.

Audience Research on Magazines

I have created a poster in which I have researched into the profiles of three different magazines. From this I have discovered that film magazines often appeal mainly to men due to the use of colours and also due to the use of images. In conclusion, I have found out that I will have to make a magazine in which appeals mainly to women through the use of title, images and colours but this would mean that it is not in fact a mainstream magazine. However, I want my magazine to appeal to both genders but I don't think due to my findings that my magazine will be a mainstream magazine due to the fact that most mainstream magazines advertise action films such as inception, harry potter, etc. However, Total Film has advertised twilight new moon, which is similar to my genre but more a mixture between the three conventions romance, action and also fantasy than romantic comedy.




This glogster poster I have made shows the profiles of three different films 'GQ', 'Empire' and 'Total Film'. These are the three main magazines in which I always come across when doing my secondary research and from this I have discovered the age range all of the magazines account to is similar to those who are mainly interested in the film genre I am doing which is the age range '15-24' but not the same genre. This therefore means that I will have to change the conventions of magazines so that it appeals more to females, and this could be done through the use of images, stereotypical characters and also the colours used. I will further expand how I am going to do this in a weekly update of Ideas.

Audience Research

For each of the following profiles I had gone onto http://www.pearlanddean.com/ which shows both upcoming, and pre-released movies. Also looking at the specific profiles in which I had found it also compares the profile with that of similar data, or genre. However, I have compared a large variation of films within the same genre so that I have a strong estimation of who I am aiming my products at. From my research I have discovered that there is a wide range of ages that go to see the researched films, with the average of these estimates being of a female audience.

Friends With Benefits Profile

From looking at this profile I can see that the main age range in which had watched 'Friends with Benefits' was between the set 15-24 with 56%, this suggests that the comedy within this films is not relevant to that of people below the age 15 as there is no percentage below the set 15-24. Also from the data provided I can see the percentage of men and women in which had been to see this film, and from this it is clear that the movie was more popular with females but not by as much as expected. According to the profile it is clear that 55% of females had rated 'Friends with Benefits' and 45% of men also did. The profile also represents how popular the movie was amongst different social classes and from this I can see that 'friends with benefits' was most popular amongst the social class C1 with 37%. From research I have done the social class C1 is made up of doctors, managers, etc.


It's a Boy Girl thing Profile

 Looking closely at this profile confirms the hypothesis in which I had, and this was that the main target audience would be that of a large audience of females. The data connotates that 65% of the people in which are represented in the data were females with a small 35% being males and the most common social group was DE, with AB following closely after. The social group DE (Low working class) had 30% whilst AB (Upper Class) had 29%. This specific data shows that the film appealed to a majority of people from different social classes and this has further impact on my choices as more people would be interested in the products, if it has a relevant perspective to reach out to all social classes. However, from this data the main age range was between the ages of 12-14 with 28% then 7-11 with 22%. This further suggests that I will have to adapt my products in order to entice all age ranges because the majority of people from this research suggests the audiences are young or middle aged.

A Cinderella Story Profile

A cinderella story had proved the hypothesis in which I previously had because it shows that 78% of the people in which are represented by the data were females. From the title of the film being 'a cinderella story' this could connotate that it is like the fairytale 'cinderella' so I assumed that mainly younger people, or teenagers would be interested in this film with a mixture of social classes. Furthermore, from this data the main age range was between the section 7-11 with 35%, with a further mixture of the other ages. Also from this as assumed there was a mixture of social classes in which had seen this particular film with the main section being AB (33%) , followed by C1 (32%). This suggests that the film was not provided with an age limit and therefore reaches out mainly to a younger audience .

What Happens In Vegas Profile

 From this profile unlike the others, there is a mixture of genders in which are included in this data. However, the main gender in which were interested in this specific film were females with 57% and a male percentage of 43%. Furthermore, the main age range once again for this film was between the ages of 15-24 with a percentage of 50% which is half of the people involved in the data, and from this the rest of the data in terms of ages are fairly mixed. In terms of social class however there is a mixed variation represented in the data with the main popularity of film being amongst the social class C1 with 37% and AB closely following with 29%.




Love and Other Drugs Profile

From this profile my hypothesis is clearly marked as the majority of people in which have watched this movie were females and from research I feel that this is the case due to the plot being more in terms of romance and not the comedy. From this I realised I have to use an even mixture of both comedy and romance to entice a wider audience. However, in terms of age range the most popular age was once again 15-24 with 78% and unlike the other profiles there were no views below this section and barely any in other categories. In social class the main range of people were of the C1 class and this means that they were upper class, with profession such as teachers, etc. Furthermore this was not what was expected in terms of social class, yet it was the right estimate in terms of age.



Bride Wars profile

In terms of this profile the majority of views were by females with a large percentage of 87% to the male percentage of only 13%. This was what was expected in terms of the plot because it doesn't really involve much comedy and does not use forms and conventions in which appeal to men as well as women. In terms of social class the majority of ages were once again between the age range of 15-24 with 40% and the majority of viewers were mainly in the social class C1 (38%) closely followed by AB (35%).

John Tucker Must Die Profile

The profile for 'John Tucker must die' shows a variation of viewers with an equal split of 50% each for the genders in which have watched the film. However, in terms of ages the range in which is most popular is between 15-24 with 47% and 12-14 closely follows with 20%. This further suggests that the main age range in which watches these types of film is that of a teenage, or middle aged group. In terms of social class there was a wide variation with AB being the most popular with a percentage of 33% and the other social classes were between 20-25% meaning that there was quite a range of social classes being enticed by this movie.

In conclusion, from this research I am planning on using a wide range of language in order to attract a wider audience of all ages. From my research I have concluded that the majority of the audience in which Romantic Comedies appeal to are women of teenage years, or a middle age with a mixture of social classes; so in my products I am planning on challenging this ideology in terms of my poster, and also magazine cover to entice both male and female audiences of all social classes. Due to my findings I am going to do individual questionnaires and interviews so that I can expand my findings, the audience research has impacted my decision on the questions so that I can aim my products equally at males and females to see which both genders prefer to see in this genre. Also I am going to evenly interview at least 4 males and 4 females to see what they think about the genre, and possible plot I am doing. Alongside this I may ask people via facebook about what they think of the genre I am chosing to do and I will conclude this in my primary research.