Television Industry | Audience Homework

1A) Identify the main target audience of Madmen 
Madmen is a period drama series set in the 1960's and is aired on AMC, which is an American cable and satellite channel that viewers have to pay for. This text attracts a niche active audience. 

1B) Identify one way the text has been encoded to appeal to that type of audience. 
One way the text has been encoded to appeal to a niche active audience is the use of complex character representations. e.g females breaking away from their gender roles.
       
1C) Justify how this point/technique/convention would gratify your previously identified type of    audience.
By the show displaying a range of character and behaviour representations, it gives an insight to the viewers and helps them learn about the circumstances at this time. The audience of madmen would enjoy decoding the show, so the use of complex characters and complex narrative would gratify them, so they would be attracted to watch the show.

1D) Describe a narrative sequence where this point/technique/convention is present. 
In the episode Peggy, who has worked hard herself to work in a high position within the business, got offered a job working for another company in a higher-ranking job that earns more money. She takes this job and informs Don Draper that she is leaving his business. She opposes the gender role that women are controlled by men and proves that she makes her own decisions and has respect from her other colleagues.

2) Does Lost target a passive audience?
Yes, Lost does target a passive audience as the storyline is often explained for the audience and doesn't require the audience to work things out for themselves by closely watching the show.

3) Identify how Lost is encoded to gratify a passive audience?
The use of score helps gratify the passive audience as the score helps inform the audience about what might happen next in the show e.g if the score is tense it creates an enigma and the audience can decode the text and can anticipate what is going to happen.

4) Justify one point/technique/convention that would force Mad Men's audience to decode the text actively in order to gain gratifications. 
Mad men rarely use non-digetic sound throughout their episodes, which means that the audience would have to actively watch the show in order to be informed about what might happen next as their is no music/score to help them. The active audience would have to rely on the encoded text itself to help them decode it.

5) Explain and justify how Peaky Blinders has been encoded to gratify both passive and active audience. 
The use of historical context helps gratify the active audience. Peaky Blinders makes reference to WW1 and the king e.g When pictures of the king are being burnt in the fire as retaliation for the bad situation they are left to live in after fighting for the country, while the king lives in luxury. This would gratify the active audience as they would be interested in how it relates to the story and helps them understand the deeper storyline. The use of soundtrack helps to gratify the passive audience as they might need more help decoding the programme and the relatable soundtrack helps them to do so. It helps portray what emotions are being felt within the show and have a better understanding so they can be gratified.

6) Justify the statement 'Lost is encoded to be inclusive'.
Lost's target audience is a passive mainstream audience. Many conventions are used in show to help gratify these audience such as the use of an ensemble cast, the use of score, hybrid genres and relatable casts. Lost has encoded all of these conventions into the show so that their target audience can have a better understanding of the show and to be entertained so that they will be gratified.

7) Why does the use of score appeal to a more passive audience? 
The use of score appeals to a more passive audience as the score helps the audience to decode the show. The use of score helps to create enigmas which will keep the audience entertained but also helps portray emotions of the character within the show which the audience might find hard to decode without the use of score. An active audience might be able to decode the text without the need for the use of score which is why it is aimed towards the passive audiences.

Exam Question | Discuss the audience appeal of your three main texts

Discuss the audience appeal of your three main texts (30)

            The three main texts I will be looking at are Lost, Madmen and Peaky Blinders who all appeal to different audiences. Lost is a science fiction television drama aired on ABC, following the lives of survivors after a plane crashed onto an island. The intended audience for JJ Abrams 'Lost' is a wide mainstream audience, where passive and active audience can be gratified. Madmen is a period drama series created by Matthew Weiner. The series is aired on AMC, which is an American cable and satellite channel that viewers have to pay for. It is set in the 1960’s and focuses on the life of Don Draper and his business. This text attracts a niche audience due to the advanced cinematography and complex character representations. Peaky Blinders is a six-part crime drama aired on BBC 2. It is set in Birmingham in 1919 and follows the lives of former soldiers who have returned home and formed a criminal gang. Peaky Blinders has elements of highbrow but also has mainstream conventions appealing to both niche and mainstream audience.

            A range of conventions have been used to appeal to the audience of Lost. One convention that has been used to appeal to this wide mainstream audience is an ensemble cast. 'Lost' has a wide range of actors and character roles with different ages, races, genders and nationalities included. Each character also has a different personality style with different views and opinions on things, so that there is a character that relates to everyone watching. An example of this is that there is a young American female called Shannon who is perceived as being vain and selfish. When asked by her brother to come help the survivors of the plane crash, Shannon rejects him and continues to sunbathe amongst the rubble. On the contrary, their is Hurley, a teenager with long curly hair and is much larger than the rest of the cast. He is willing to get to know the people on the island and get stuck in helping out. When Sawyer is fighting with Syiid he states 'we are all in this together man'.

Combining escapism and relatable plot is another convention that will help appeal to a wide audience. By each character having a somewhat relatable back-story that is revealed in the flashbacks and flash-forwards, it gives the audience not only a character to relate to but a situation or problem that they can relate to as well. An example of this would be the relationship between Michael and his son Walt. It is revealed that Walt's mother has recently died so Michael is responsible for taking care of Walt however because Michael is new to this, his relationship between him and his son is flawed. The audience might be able to personally identify with Michael, influencing them to watch more episodes of Lost to see how his situation turns out. On the other hand the series is set on an island somewhere which is not relatable to many peoples personal situations, leaving them a place to escape to while watching it. By using a neutral location it appeals to all different types of audiences and doesn’t alienate any group of people.

A third convention is the use of score, which is the background music of a film. A composer writes a score specifically for a particular film or TV show. It is written specifically to match the emotion in that particular scene of the show with the purpose that the audience will feel that same emotion at the particular time watching it. In Season 1 Episode 2, the use of score is used to create tension amongst the audience. When some of the characters are walking through the jungle on the island, they hear the sound of an animal running towards them. As they start to run away the score starts playing, getting louder and faster with high and low pitches to make the audience feel what the characters in the show are feeling; scared and anxious. This will appeal to the audience as they will feel a variety of emotions watching the show making it more entertaining for them as well again being able to escape to the island by feeling the emotions of the characters.

            Peaky Blinders also has high audience appeal. One reason why this series appeals to its intended audience is because of the historical context featured on the show. Peaky Blinders make reference to historical events, such as WW1 and the lives of the people during and after this time. An example of this in the text is when Thomas Shelby states ‘we fought for our country, fighting for the upper class’, which explains that when they came back from war they lived in poverty while the king lived in luxury and they are getting nothing in return for it. Peaky Blinders is also based around a real gang that formed in Birmingham in 1919, so by giving an insight into the circumstances of others, it attracts and gratifies an audience that wants to learn about the circumstances of the past. This appeals to the niche audience watching the show.

            High production value and cinematography is also an aspect that appeals to the niche audience of Peaky Blinders. An example of this is the fight scene in the beginning of season 1 episode 2. The fight starts with a slow motion close up of Thomas Shelby taking off his hat and hitting a man across the face with the blades cutting him. This is then followed by slow motion mid shots of all the other men fighting with close ups of their faces showing their emotions. As the shots are slow motion the camera cuts are slow and a shallow depth of field is used. There is also rewinded music played over the fight scene to create the confused and chaotic emotion.  This high quality cinematography will appeal to eh niche audience.

A third reason for this is the use of film stars on the show. By using popular faces on the show, it helps attract the audience to watch their favourite actresses and actors on the show. Such actors and actresses include Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby, Sam Neil as CI Chester Campell and Helen Mcroy as Aunt Polly. This cast will attract a wider audience to watch the TV drama. Using a well known cast will also help give a good reputation for the show, as the film stars are in high quality films, which will attract an audience looking fro that same quality.

            Madmen appeals to a niche audience with particular aspects of the show attracting this audience to watch. One of these aspects is the representation of the characters on the show. The females present in season 5 episode 11, are keen to break out of their gender roles present in the 1960’s. This might gratify a female audience as it gives them a model of behaviour and a character to inspire to themselves. In the episode Peggy, who has worked hard herself to work in a high position within the business, got offered a job working for another company in a higher-ranking job that earns more money. She takes this job and informs Don Draper that she is leaving his business. She opposes the gender role that women are controlled by men and proves that she makes her own decisions and has respect from her other colleagues. By the show displaying a range of behaviour and representation of women, it gives an insight to the viewers and helps them learn about the circumstances at this time. Again this could gratify the audience, as women would enjoy seeing other women do well in their business place. The audience of madmen would enjoy decoding the show, so the use of complex characters and complex narrative would gratify them, so they would be attracted to watch the show.

            Another aspect of Madmen that might appeal to the audience is the common context occurring in the show. The characters all work for a business and are shown working in the office. We also follow the personal life of Don Draper as well which is relatable to the audience that are also experiencing this. The preferred audience for Madmen are middle aged, middle class males, similar to the characters in the show. This means they would be able to relate to these characters, which would gratify them.