Developed Idea

Looking back at my first film idea, I have decided to change some things and keep some things the same. Following the idea Domestic Violence, I've decided to change the opening of the film.

I have decided in order to appeal to my target audience more, at the start of my film I going to merge some scenes from ‘The Blind Eye Campaign’ and the ‘Keira Knightley’s women’s Aid Domestic Violence Advert’ together to show some of the different situations Domestic Violence can take place in. This is to give my target audience an idea of what to expect, and for those who are watching that aren’t within my target audience demographic, this would give them an idea of what my film is based on and the objective of it; which is to create awareness.

Film Poster- Idea#1

Developed Film Idea

The main idea for my film production revolves around the idea of Domestic Violence in relationships. One of the ideas i had for my film production is about a girl with no family, or anyone to turn to, she is in and out of foster homes due to her quick temper and bad behaviour. But all that changes when she finally meets a guy that can change her life. He presents himself to her to be a nice guy that can provide her with a stable home, warmth and love. Being very gullible and naive she agrees to date the guy and they take their relationship to the next level when he asks her to move in with him so he can fulfil all his promises to her. They have been living together for about 2 years now, she is 18 and they guy is 20, things have been going exceptionally well for her, she’s happy, she’s stable and most of all she thinks she found the man of her dreams; until everything gradually starts taking a turn for the worst and her world is turned upside down.

He starts telling her not to hang out with her friends, and when she does go out, he makes her have curfew, he stops her from going to college, which leads her to failing her exams and having no qualifications to support herself. All this goes on but she thinks he wants the best for her so she complies with everything he does and says to her. As the months went on, things started to get heated between them. Their relationship wasn't like it used to be, he would shout at her suddenly for no exact reason or push her out of the way if he feels she isn't doing what she’s doing right, this went on for a couple more weeks until one day he came back home from Uni and meet her asleep on the sofa in the living room, he get angry and slaps her awake, this is where her abuse begins. He would come home every day and find a reason to hit her or shout at her. This went on for months and months, she didn’t know what to do, she had no friends to turn to or family to live with, she felt trapped and enslaved. She wanted to leave but she had nowhere to go.

About My Film Production

I am currently developing my synopsis of my short film. I've put a lot of thought into what I want my production to be about and the message I want to send out to the viewers especially my target audience. I have decided to make my film based on the idea of ‘Domestic Violence’ in relationships with young adults. It took a lot for me to actually decide to do this, but I thought about and realized that there isn't a lot of awareness about domestic violence within young relationships. A lot of teenagers and some young adults I have come across believe that domestic violence only happens with older people or married couples with dysfunctional families. I want my production to create awareness and also allow anyone that views it to be able to relate to it. It might not be perfect, but the main message I want to try to deliver to whoever it is that is watching is giving them an idea of the sign and what it is to look out for if they are or know anyone that is in an abusive relationship especially young teenagers who are unaware of the indicators of being trapped and being in an abusive relationship they can’t get out of.

Target Audience Profile

I have decided that the main Demographic for my film production is going to be 15-18 year olds. I decided on this group of people to be my target audience because when I did my questionnaire I found out that the majority of this age group are aware of short films and they know what to expect for my film production. The reason I have decided to make the age group for my target audience 15- 18 years old, is because I know the content of my film won’t be suitable for anyone under these age group. 

Another reason for this decision is that my film production has roughly the same aged characters; I think this will make it easier for my audience to relate to and also it also makes it more understandable. The psychographics of my target audience would be secondary school kids, or young adults in college or University, this is because they are more mature and more aware and educated on things that are happening in society.

For my production I think the most suitable BBFC would be a 15. This is because my film has some scenes of violence in it. According to the BBFC no-one under the age of 15 is allowed to see a 15 rated film.

Ethnicity:

For my production the main ethnicity is going to be Black British, but I will also be having other ethnicities play some roles. By doing this I feel my production will appeal more to a wider range of audiences with different ethic backgrounds. Not only appealing to audiences of different ethnic backgrounds, I want my film production to portray the idea that everyone in society is equal, and it’s not a matter of race, gender or ethnic backgrounds, it about treating people with respect and dignity.

Gender:

Due to the content and storyline of my film, it would appeal to both male and female audiences. This is very vital as it creates awareness of what my film would be about; which is domestic violence. To attract male audiences I would be using an attractive female character, also there will be some fast paced scenes which would create some excitement for the male audience/viewers. To appeal to the female audience, the male protagonist in my film will be presented as a mean and violent person, and the female character is presented to be a survivor because she finds a way to escape from him and makes something better of her life. 
This also links to theory of the ‘Male Gaze’ by Laura Mulvey. The concept of the gaze is one that deals with how an audience views the characters that are presented in any media text. For feminists it can be thought of in 3 ways: How men look at women, how women look at themselves how women look at other women.  For my film it will be how the  male and female characters are looked at.

Socio- Economic Group:

I think my film would appeal to the lower-middle class group; this is because in short films industry there is a low budget, this would very much appeal to them.