As sexism in the media is a controversial topic, it would be inappropriate to target my products to young audiences. Most young audiences would also have difficulty understanding my documentary content, due to the mature subject I am presenting. The readers of TV listings magazines and newspapers are also mainly within an older demographic. Therefore, it is clear that my target audience will be mature young adults - adults (17-35), as they are the most dominant media consumer demographic (making the issue I am discussing relevant to them), and will be comfortable with the theme of sexism in the media. They are also within the target audience for Channel 4 programming, TV listings magazines, and newspapers; making my products appropriate for them.
It is key for my planning and research that I identify my target audience using a balance of primary and secondary research, as this allows me to produce, market and distribute for the demographic which will be most likely to engage with my products. Primary research is the most reliable and precise, as I am researching specifically for my own target audience. Secondary is less reliable, however it will be useful for research which I could not complete in my timescale, such as wide studies and statistics into audiences similar to my own, as well as research into theorists such as Pete Buckingham. Therefore, I have organised the research which I will be carrying out below.
Primary research:
Interviews - I will be formally interviewing a person within my target audience in order to discover how I could engage them with my product, and gain a greater understanding of my target audience's generic pleasures. I will choose somebody who is interested in the documentary genre, as this will allow my interview to be more reliable. The interview will also be semi-formal, so that my information is as detailed and focused as possible; further increasing reliability. To record this research, I will film or record audio, as this will allow me to stay focused on interviewing rather than note-taking.
Focus group - I will form a focus group composed of people within my target audience in order to gather feedback of my documentary throughout my planning and production stages. This will allow me to improve and develop my product to specifically suit my target audience. To record, I will film my focus group feedback so that I can focus on presenting rather than note-taking.
Questionnaires - I will create online questionnaires to gather information from my target audience about how I will be producing, exhibiting and distributing my product to suit them. To determine that the information I am gathering if from my target audience, I will include a question asking their age and media consuming habits (e.g. interest in documentaries), and will record my research by presenting and evaluating my results on my blog.
Secondary research:
I will be researching audience theorists such as Pete Buckingham and his research into audience generic pleasures and archetypes, as well as statistical data based on my target audience such as their average viewing habits if appropriate. I will also be looking at essays and studies relating to my target audience and general audience research, to analyse and add to my blog. Finally, I will use smog testing to discover whether my script is appropriate for my target audience demographic, and will investigate the BBFC criteria for appropriate content relating to audience age. This is relevant to my documentary, as when discussing the issue of sexism within the media, some of my documentary content will be of a slight sexual nature to demonstrate this - requiring research into censorship and suitability for audiences.
Add screenomatic talking about the types of interview instruments to use and their pros/cons
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