Target audience and audience expectations

-I gave this questionnaire out to 30 people in Belfast city, 15 women and 15 men, all of different ages in order to keep this a fair test. I also put out a poll on the internet so that I could get an idea of which nationality and specific social groups we would be targeting.

-As we can see from the results, the general preferred type of period drama is a documentary or drama. Upon asking some more questions to the people taking the quiz, I came to realise that this was because people watching period dramas prefer them to be real so that they can actually learn some history.
Below is a table showing the preferred genre results:

-As well as this, we can see that our movie is aiming at a slightly older crowd, anyone from the age of 30 onwards. When I asked my peers why exactly they wouldn’t enjoy watching our film, they met me with ‘because it’s boring’. As a teenager, I would generally agree with this, but I don’t feel the same about every period drama. For example, I enjoyed watching Jane Eyre because it’s more stylistic. It focuses more on the plots than on the stereotypical society at the time.
-In general, people recorded that they wanted to be either ‘informed’ and ‘interested’ by our film, which is to be expected of the genre. However, people under the age of 25 generally said that they expected to be bored, but that however, they would enjoy the supernatural undercurrents associated with whitchcraft.
- Everyone who took this questionnaire told me that they most enjoyed the plot of a period drama. This falls in with the codes and conventions of a period drama because the plots generally tend to be very complex and well thought out. When I asked some more questions, I found out that some favourite plotlines were family issues, complicated love triangles and mostly, stereotypical society and it’s treatment of specific groups at this time. Below is a chart showing the preferred element of period films:

-When I explained a general outline for our film, women of all ages seemed to be more interested than the men. They said this was because of the ‘strong female protagonist’ and that they could ‘relate’ to her better than men.
- As well as this, most people told me that the costume and setting where the two most important aspects of mise en scene and the films in general, as I expected.
-Below are a number of individual case studies of people of a number of ages:

Name: Mark Wildman

Age: 45

Location: England

I thoroughly enjoy period docudramas as  have a real passion for history and heritage. I love finding out more about the past and how it contrasts with the present time. Whilst I do enjoy literary adaptations, I also enjoy movies about true past events, such as the duchess. As I'm from England myself, I generally enjoy movies that are set in England as they are more applicable.

What really draws me to any movie is good acting, but with period dramas, I pay particular attention to the plot and I like how complex they usually are. I also like to see a very accurate setting and I think that mise en scene is so important as it shows what things looked like back in the given time that the movie is set. I always expect to be informed by a period drama and like to have my views challenged a little.

Name: Adam O'Loan

Age: 17

Location: Lurgan

I don't really enjoy watching period dramas, I generally find them very boring, but when there is some action in them, it makes them easier to watch. So the likes of Sherlock Holmes is ideal for me. i also enjoy period dramas about the various music eras, like punk, and hence, I really enjoyed 'good vibrations'. I also find that Period dramas are very hard to follow, I usually don't understand the difficult plots and I find them really boring. 

I believe that the most important aspect of period dramas is character development as it creates more dimensions to the film. I think I expect to be bored by period dramas because I don't care about history as such.

Name: Emer O'Kane

Age: 16

Location: Belfast

As a young woman, I generally like period films such as Jane Eyre or The Duchess, as I can relate to the strong female protagonists. That is why I think I would really like watching your media studies movie. I think that many women were very unfairly treated and as a feminist, this annoys me.

The main aspects of a period drama are definately plot lines and character development. Setting is important too for creating tone and atmosphere. I LOVE to see lavish costumes as I think they are so beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Due to my general interest in history and society, I'd expect to be interested by this film. 

The film makers thoughts and opinions...

"Typically, I'm not really a fan of period dramas, but prefer indie as a genre, e.g. the works of Wes Anderson and Tim Burton. However, i think I will be able to bring a stylistic approach to this film in order to incorporate a younger audience to our film. Tone and mood are very important for me, as is setting."

"I am a big fan of drama and how the society at different points influenced different drama techniques really interests me. All in all, I think I will enjoy making this movie and I'd love to direct the actors. I expect to be informed by our film and will love to create complex characters"

"I will really enjoy looking into the history of this film, I'm always up for a chance to learn about my Irish heritage and what better way to do it than looking at the Islandmagee witch trials. I will enjoy challenging the stereotypical treatment of women at the time and in doing so, creating a film which challenges the codes and conventions of the time."