12. Channel 4/4Music Audience Breakdown

Channel 4's 'Audience Breakdown'

After surfing the channel 4 website for a while, this is the only thing resembling an Audience Breakdown that I could find. Although it is not as detailed as I was hoping for, it does give quite a good overview on the channel's target audience, claiming that their viewers are generally female lead between the ages of 16 and 24. I think this does provide me with some good insight on what kind of people would be attracted to my video, as although it can be appealing to boys and girls, I feel the upbeat tune of my track could be considered as more 'feminine' than 'masculine'. Also the content of the actual video will not be displaying any kind of voyuerism, which could be a potential turn off for boys. However, I will be keeping it quiet 'unisex' in the sense that it could be appealing to boys as well as girls due to my choice of mixed gender actors, and the fact that the mise en scene will not be targeted towards a specific gender, but more of an age group revolving around teens as my actors' ages range from 16-18 and will be depicted messing around and generally having a good time like most teenagers do.

After searching around the website in a little more detail, I found a technique engaging with the semiometrie theory that will definitely aid me with the development of my own vid:

" Measuring subconscious desires

Semio is a quantitative tool by which the subconscious desires of adults can be measured. The idea behind it is similar to that of Semiotics, but rather than looking at associations with images, Semio looks at how respondents feel towards words. Semio maps users of brands and media to gain a deeper understanding of what motivates them and to identify synergies.

Warm or cold responses

Respondents are asked to rate how warm or cold they feel towards over 200 key words that broadly cover the English language. The difference in response is explained by five Freudian conflicts:
Community vs Individual
Pleasure vs Duty
Spirituality vs Materialism
Sophistication vs Simplicity
Idealism vs Common Sense "

To apply this technique I'll have to question whom I believe to be my target audience, and note which words appeal to them most. By doing this I will be able to establish the main themes that will be explored in my vid. Using the research I have done asking a group of people ranging from 16-18 years of age, these are the themes I will be exploring in relation to semiometrie:

-Indiviualism as opposed to community, due to the audience's self expression in relation to a more generalized society.
-Pleasure as opposed to duty, due to their sense of 'joie de vivre' and carefree/rebellious attitudes.
-Spiritualism, as opposed to materialism, due to their shying away from material goods and their strong sense of spiritualism.
-Simplicity as opposed to sophistaction, due to their ability to find beauty in the simplest things.
-Idealism as opposed to common sense, due to their strong beliefs and disregard to what may be right or wrong.

A study of audience

E4's study shows that it's viewers are predominantly female ranging from the ages of 16 to 24, much like Channel 4's findings. As they are sister channels, this is not surprising, however it does slightly alter my view on my target audience. I was previously aiming towards a more mixed gender audience, however after discovering these findings I see that females are much more like to consume music videos in general. Therefore, I shall have to alter the planning of my music video in order to appeal slightly more to a young female audience.