Triangle of dependency

The triangle of dependency suggests that institution, text and audience are all interlinked and influence each other in a certain way.

For example:
The institution adapts their to text to keep it up with the needs and wants of the audience, otherwise no one will want to consume their texts.
The audience will influence the text as it will have to be something that the audience wants to consume, research may be done to find out what the audience would like to see. For example a horror film.
The institution will have to adapt to keep their audience if a change in society occurs. For example they may need to change their text if it is no longer popular.
It is important that the institution creates the text so it meets the audiences expectations of the genre. The reason for this is because an audience will watch a text purely because of the genre, if what is within the text does not meet the stereotypes of the specific genre then the audience will be let down and may not enjoy the film (text) because it does not fulfil their expectations. If this happened then the institution is targeting their text at the wrong audience, and would need to change the genre so it fits with the stereotypes (or at least the expectations) of the genre, or would need to target an audience that might enjoy the text.

The triangle of dependency will also influence my own project. For example, the audience was a huge impact on the text that i produced. I conducted audience research to find out what they wanted, as there is no point in creating a text that an audience would not want to watch. Therefore my product is based on audience ideas and feedback in order to create a successful production piece. The institution did not influence anything as it is a made up company for the purpose of the trailer. However, the purpose of researching film institutions is so that i could create my own institution that will be recognisable as a film company due to the conventions used.

BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION
The reason i have decided to research this institution, was so that i would no what content i can include in a certain certificating. However, form looking at their website trailers have to be suitable for all ages, therefore it was important that i know what a U certification would include.

U - Suitable for all ages, should be set within a positive moral framework and should offer counterbalances to any violence, treat or horror. (Disney movies- Cinderella, shrek, valiant)
- No discriminatory language or behaviour
- No references to illegal drugs or misuse of drugs
- Scary scenes must be mild and brief and should have a reassuring outcome
- No dangerous behaviour that young children can copy
- Infrequent use of mild bad language
- Occasional natural nudity
- Mild sexual behaviour
- Problematic themes must be sensitive and appropriate for young children
- Mild violence over

PG - General viewing but some scenes maybe unsuitable for children. (harry potter, scooby doo, elf)
- Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely, unless in an educational or historic context
- Illegal drugs or misuse of them must carry a suitable anti-drug message
- Frighting sequences should not be prolonged or intense
- No detail of dangerous behaviour that young children are likely to copy
- Mild bad language only
- Natural nudity, with no sexual content
- Mild sex and innuendo only, sexual content may be implied but must be discreet
- Where more serious issues are featured, nothing
in their treatment should condone unacceptable behaviour
- Moderate violence without detail may be allowed

12/12A - These both include the same content, 12 is used for the buying and rental of a video work and no one under 12 can purchase it. A 12A is used at a cinema and people under 12 can only watch it unless accompanied by an adult. (other harry potter films, coach carter)
- Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole
- Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give instructional detail.
- Moderate physical or psychological threat is permitted provided they are not frequent
- Dangerous behavior should not dwell on detail which could be copied
- Moderate language is allowed, strong language must be infrequent
- Nudity is allowed, but if in a sexual context it must be brief and discreet
- Sexual activity is allowed but must be brief and discreet, sexual references must be suitable for young teenagers
- Mature themes are acceptable but must be suitable for young teenagers
- Moderate violence is allowed but must not dwell on detail, no emphasis on injury or blood but can show occasional gory moments are permitted

15 - Suitable for 15 years and over (most of the horror films are certificate 15- the orphan, the ring, thirty days of night)
- The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behavior
- Drug taking is allowed but must not promote or encourage it
- Strong threat and menace are permitted sadistic or sexualised
- Dangerous behaviour should not dwell on detail that could be copied
- There may be frequent use of strong language
- Nudity is allowed in a sexual content but without strong detail, there are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context
- Sexual detail may be portrayed without strong detail, there may be strong use of verbal references to sexual behaviour
- No theme is prohibited, but must be suitable for 15 year old
- Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of injury or pain

18 - The BBFC, will not override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment. Except for the following conditions.
- Where material is in breach of the criminal law (Horror films - the fourth kind, the decent, saw series Other- American pie )
- Where material or treatment appears to risk harm to individuals of through their behavior to society
- Where there are more explicit images of sexual activity which cannot be justified by context

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/

The trailer that i will be producing will be certificate 15, so i will have to take inti consideration of all the points listed for this film type. However as i am creating a trailer, it has to be suitable for viewing by all ages therefore i will not be able to include content that young children should not see. By analysing film trailers i will be able to gain knowledge of the elements that are included in order to target the correct audience without showing any scenes into much detail, that it will not be suitable for everyone to see.
I also have to take into account that the BBFC is only relevant in Britain and these rules will not be relevant in other cultures as they will have their own way in which to classify a film. For example it may be a 15 in the UK could possibly be an 18 in Ireland, this couls be taken into consideration when targeting my audience.

Research Methods

There are 3 types of research methods, Qualitative, Quantitative and Triangulation.

Qualitative research will be a good method to use if you want to know the opinions of the participants in detail so that you get a more in depth result.

For my research i have decided to use the triangulation method, using both structured and unstructured methods.

In my group we decided to create a semi- structured questionnaire asking 20 participants about film genres and teaser trailers. This is to help us know what to include in our coursework and how we can attract an audience with our teaser trailer.

1. What is your sex? YES NO (asking this question will give us an idea what sex our target audience may be)
2. How old are you?... (we will know what age groups will like which genres, so that we know what age our trailer will appeal to)
3. What is/are your favourite genre/s? ... (we will know what genres they prefer, and what will be the most popular overall. we will consider this when choosing the genre of our trailer)
4. Why do these genres interest you the most? ... (knowing what it is about the genre the participants enjoy, we will have an idea of the types of elements to include in our trailer)
5. What is/are your favourite film/s? (we will be able to look at the films that they enjoy and the trailers to them and i might be able to get an idea of what was it that attracted the audience)
6. What criteria do you consider when choosing a film? CAST DIRECTOR GENRE NARRATIVE CRITICS RECOMMENDATIONS FRIENDS RECOMMENDATIONS OTHER...
7. What promotional methods attract you to a film and why?... (so i will know how to create my trailer, posters in a way that will attract an audience)
8. Do you find trailers helpful in your decision when choosing what film to watch? YES NO
9. If yes, what is it about them that attracts and persuades you to watch the film? ... (again this will help in the production of my trailer as i will know what to include in order to attract an audience)
10. What is your preferred method of watching a film?...
11. Do you enjoy going to the cinema? YES NO
12. If yes, why? ...
13. If yes, approximately how often do you go? ONCE A WEEK ONCE EVERY 2 WEEKS ONCE A MONTH TWICE A MONTH OTHER...
14. Who do you tend to watch films with?...

By using triangulation we are able to gain numerical data, which is easily measured, as well as finding out the opinions of the participants to create more detailed research.

The questions have been structured in a particular order to make it easy for us to collect the data and so we are able to compare results between participants. By creating this questionnaire we can find out who are target audience will be and will be able to use this in the production of our trailer.

RESULTS

My results show that: (all the participants were between the ages of 15 and 18 as this will be my target audience)

- 6 out of the 10 females that took part said that they like the genre of horror as well as others such as romantic comedy.

- All the males that took part said that horror was one of their favourite genres as well as thriller action and adventure.

- everyone of the participants said that they finds trailers helpful in their decision when choosing a film, as it gives them an insight into the narrative of the film and the genre. They all said that they watched them both on the television and at the cinema.

- Only 2 females said that other promotional methods attract them to a film, and this was in a magazine, such as an interview or film review.

TARGET AUDIENCE

From looking at my results i have chosen to make a horror movie trailer as that was the most popular overall, i think that it will be the most affective with my target audience which will be 15-21 years male and female. I think that my group will be able to target our audience well, as we all fit into the age group and will know what will attract the audience and what wont. All members of my group enjoy watching horror films so i think that we will gain a good understanding of what the audience will want. All the the horror movie trailers that i have looked at have been age 15 or above, which is the reason why we have chosen our target audience.

Coursework

For the A2 Media coursework, candidates will produce
- A media portfolio, comprising main task and ancillary texts
- A presentation of their research, planning and evaluation in electronic format.
I have chosen to produce a teaser trailer in a group of 4 for the main task, and for the ancillary tasks i have decided to create a website and a movie poster.
The reason that i chose to produce a teaser trailer is because i thought it would be fun to do and and is the one that i find the most interesting. I decided to work in a group because i like working as a team and there will also be more ideas generated from the group as whole than us individually. I also believe that each of us will bring our strengths towards the project which will therefore create a stronger production piece than it would if it was done separately.
I decided against creating a magazine cover as part of the ancillary task because it is what i did for my AS coursework, and i wanted to do something a little different this year.

Our group decided on the genre of horror for our trailer, as we thought we could be the most creative with it and gives us a wide range of story lines that we can work with. However, i do thing it will be the most challenging as it will be hard to make the trailer and the story realistic, but we as a group are willing to try our best to produce a piece that is to the best of our ability.