When
we made our film trailer we had a certain target audience in mind – late teen
to young adult males – ourselves, essentially, though it was also made to
appeal to as many viewers as possible and so a number of audience theories can
be applied to the theatrical trailer for our sophomore feature, Osiris Unbound.
The
theory of ‘uses and gratifications’, as conceived by Katz and Blumler during
the early ‘70s, stipulates that audiences act as consumers of media products
and texts in order to satisfy any number of five reasons:
information/education; identification; entertainment; social interaction and
escapism. The most prominent features of our trailer that would draw audiences
would be that of entertainment and escapism. As a film of the action thriller
genre this would be expected as viewers seek films that explore extraordinary
exploits in order to escape the normality of their lives and to be entertained.
The exciting fight sequences in our trailer are an example of the sort of thing
that audiences would be interested in seeing to gratify their needs.
As
a piece of fiction, it is unlikely, however, that audiences would approach our
film with the idea of being informed or educated in mind, however they may
approach it in order to be up to speed with current trends. We feel that our
film, with its use of enigmas and return of legendary stars such as Lee
Davidson will provoke the attention of audience members who feel they need to
see it in order to socially interact with others and be part of the overall
discussion concerning the film. Our characters are larger than life, so
audiences may find it hard to relate to them on a superficial level, but at the
core of our characters, especially the lead, there are several personality
traits that audience members may identify with – notably flaws and weaknesses
that may make viewers connect even more.
The
‘male gaze’ theory also applies to our film, though our choice to include a
female character to solely appeal to male viewers was not a conscious one -
instead we needed her to represent the female demographic. However, the theory
by Laura Mulvey states that women in media texts such as film are objectified
through camera shots that perhaps linger on their bodies in order to entice heterosexual
males – that the camera is essentially the male audience’s, and not the female’s,
point of view. The fact that the female that appears in my film is my sister is
irrelevant, though it was my co-director Nicholas Ashurst, and not I, that was
adamant she be featured for this purpose. The ‘female gaze’ is something I
would say is more present in this film due to the largely male cast. While none
of the male actors are featured in various states of undress, we do use shots
that emphasise their prowess through fighting and running – this, in contrast
to the theory of the male gaze, would suggest that both women, and men, are
drawn to a film to witness the male form in all its glory, due to their
admiration of it or perhaps even envy in the case of some males. Adhering to
the conventions of these theories, however, was not a high priority during
production so, regardless of it being applicable, it was not necessarily our
intention.
Another theory relating
to our trailer would be that of Richard Dyer’s ‘utopian solutions’. The theory stipulates
that entertainment texts, such as our trailer, offer audiences a perfect ideal
that they can only access through media consumption. This is true to some
extent, as our scenarios and characters are, as previously mentioned, larger
than life, though the nature of the film’s storyline is rather dark and so not really
a ‘utopia’ as Dyer states. Audiences will want to experience the painful struggles
of our main characters rather than merely observe ‘perfect ideals’, and it is
not necessarily the case that the film will have a happy ending, though that is
conventional of the genre. Our trailer is an attempt to defy some of the genre’s
conventions so what happens in the film may or may not surprise audience
members depending on their outlook on the film prior to watching. Those looking solely for a ‘utopian solution’ may be disappointed.
In
conclusion, while several film theories can be applied to our film, others such
as the ‘hypodermic needle’ theory cannot be as the nature of our film is not
one of a strong political or social stance, and is instead simply an exciting
action thriller that audiences can enjoy without fear of being spoon-fed ideals
and values that are not necessarily theirs, or even ours, to begin with.