D2

It is clear how some aspects of Star Wars' appeals to various elements of the target audience. This can clearly be found through different groups such as age, gender and social class. This is illustrated below:


A.) Gender
It was found through the Box Office sales, how those viewing Star Wars: The Force Awakens were generally from the male population. This was found through the tickets being sold, where most were male with no children- 71%. 21% were found to be families purchasing tickets, which is a lot less popular with regards to this film. Although the film's opening shown 71% of the audience being made up by men, this later fell to 65%. Therefore the results found can clearly show how it is males that are more interested in viewing this film. we can find several reasons for this, such as the attraction of males to several characters involved in the film. For instance, Kylo Ren takes centre stage in the film and ultimately replaces Darth Vader who was the villain in the original trilogy. Finn, who is the new found main character, also may appeal to the male genre as he is a storm trooper who has broken out of the First Order. He may clearly appeal to younger and older males as those younger may find him interesting and illuminating in the film, whereas the older generation may be attracted to him as they are relating this with the traditional idea of star wars and the transition from the dark to the light side.


B.) Age
It was announced by Director J.J. Abrams, how he wished to make 'adults feel like children' in the latest film by Star Wars. Therefore the film is heavily marketed towards the traditional fans who grew up with the franchise. 70% of ticket holders were found to be between the ages of 18 and 49 and were male. To support this, researchers found that the typical follower of the Star Wars franchise is a 46 year old married male with children, this is the perfect age demographic from a marketing point of view as the older male will most likely buy his children all of the Star Wars merchandise and may even take them to see the film, this will then be a huge part of the children’s childhood and the thoughts and feelings for the franchise can keep being passed down to each generation, forever keeping the franchise alive. If the male is a fan himself, he may want to go and see the film on his own first, then either go again with his children or purchase a DVD or digital copy for home viewing.

IMDB found that reviews were more positive from under 18’s whilst those over 18 were more negative, under 18’s both males and females gave an average review of 8.8, whilst females over 18 gave an average of 8.4, then males under 18 gave the lowest average of 8.2, this may be because they are comparing it to the past trilogy which they have grown up on, however now they’re older and no longer children they aren’t as impressed as they were when they were younger.

C.) Lifestyle
With the demographic of Star Wars being older males with some sort of an income, their spending power can be seen in the sales of cinema tickets and merchandise. For example, Movio Media found that the average purchaser of an advance ticket for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, in the US, is a 34-year-old male, it was also found that 70% of ticket holders are men between 18 and 49. The average purchaser, according to Movio Media, was known to travel to see big-budget fantasies such as Jurassic World or Avengers: Age of Ultron on the opening night.


D.) Spending Power
The spending power of the average demographic is highly noticed by Disney and so they create and price merchandise that will be accessible to their audience. For example, in comic book stores around the world you can purchase figurines of some of the characters, these can price somewhere between £250-£350, this may appeal to some of the male demographic who have nothing to else they wish to spend their money on, this type of merchandise is aimed more at the older audience as the figurines would be treated like collectors’ items, rather than the figurines you can buy in the Disney store which are designed for the children to play with. For the wealthier demographic merchandise such as $2000 Stormtrooper Costume can be purchased from some online sites. As well as watches being sold for around $200-300, these products are something which would highly appeal to some of the wealthier demographic.


Sources:
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/majority-of-star-wars-the-force-awakens-goers-are-adult-men-with-no-kids-a6781341.html
https://www.quantcast.co.uk/blog/the-fans-behind-the-force/
http://money.cnn.com/2015/12/21/media/star-wars-the-force-awakens-box-office-numbers/
http://variety.com/2015/film/news/star-wars-the-force-awakens-ticket-sales-breakdown-gender-average-age-1201625277/

P3/ D1 Focus Group

Featured above is evidence for the focus group which we created in order to present how the audience engages with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We asked several questions during this, each regarding the film, such as what each person's favourite film genre was, along with specifically addressing Star Wars, by asking who their favourite characters were and why. It was discovered through this how the males preferred the characters who are portrayed more dominantly in the film, such as Kylo Ren and Finn, whereas the girls preferred the characters such as Princess Leia, who comes across as more feminine and is a clear independent female role model throughout the film. It is clear how Charlotte prefers character 'Rey', who is also evident for portraying a positive and strong representation with reference to the female population. Where both genders agreed however, was through the use of special effects in the film, as both agreed that this is an excellent way of enhancing the film's settings and atmospheres in scenes such as the 'Village Scene'.
It is clear through the video, how several age groups are mentioned, such as older viewers along with those from the younger generation- "My younger brother also enjoyed this film" and "My dad enjoys the older characters in the film". It is clear from this, how not only do several age groups enjoy the film, but the older category of the audience are most likely to view the film to see the older and more traditional characters, perhaps to relate to them from the previous Star Wars films. We see also, how certain scenes are 'favourited', such as the 'Village Scene' and are enjoyed most by those who are male and of a similar age group (17-18yrs).  This can clearly be used as evidence to show varying perspectives of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, by addressing various age groups and discovering the views of those male and female.

P4 B- Advertising

P4 B- Advertising
It is clear how each of the Star Wars films, such as The Force Awakens were advertised through various trailers that were each distributed across the globe. This was through various different platforms such as on TV, through cinema trailers and on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The first of the trailers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released on the 28/11/14 and was 1 minute and 37 seconds long. The second trailer was released on 16/04/15 and was 1 minute and 45 seconds long. The third trailer was released on 19/10/15 and was 2 minutes and 1 second long. The fourth trailer was released on 12/11/15 and was 60 seconds long.
Below I have added a screenshot from each of the trailers that were released as mentioned above.





Along with the use of commercials, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was advertised in various ways such as through the use of billboards. These involved clear advertisements of the film which used text and images displayed on them, revealing the release date for the film and the title: Star Wars: The Force Awakens. This may have been one of the most successful ways to advertise the film as they are displayed through busy areas where large numbers of people can see them at various times throughout the day. This can also create a hype about the film as it will allow people to become excited for the film's release.
Below is an image of a billboard that was displayed to promote the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.


Along with this, Disney promoted the release of their new film by advertising various new products which were designed specifically for the film. This involved T-Shirts, Toys, Posters and even online games which clearly promoted the film to those of various age groups.

Below is a link for each of the trailers owned by Disney for the promotion of Star Wars: The Force Awakens:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB4I68XVPzQ

P4 A- Distribution Channels

P4 A- Distribution Channels

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released by Walt Disney Studios and premiered on the 14th December, four days before the ultimate release which was on the 18th December 2015. The complete gross of the film was $2 Billion, with The Force Awakens breaking the Block Buster records from making $57 Million in just the first day of being premiered. Along with this, the IMAX screenings of the film broke their own record across 391 screenings.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was available on DVD from 5th April 2016 and was sold at a retail price of £24.99 across the UK. The film was able to make worldwide headlines and break the record of being the fastest selling DVD/ Blu- Ray of 2016. The Force Awakens sold 1.89 million copies within the first seven days of sale. It clearly took over the film Spectre, which only sold 987,000 copies as compared to The Force Awakens. It is clear how the film was one of the most long- awaited sequels in the history of cinema, which may be a clear reason as to why the film was so popular on selling the film through DVD's.

The film debuted on 'Home Media Magazine's rental chart, along with Walt Disney's home video market, where the film outsold all other DVD and Blu-ray releases. Along with this, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was distributed through several retail outlets, including Asda, Tesco, HMV, The Disney Store and many other retailers throughout the UK who began to sell the film from the release date on 5th April 2016. The DVD was also distributed internationally, to over 13 Countries across the globe, such as Canada, Denmark, Finland, South Africa and Australia. Along with the DVD being distributed, the film was also available to view in the cinemas worldwide, which means it is very accessible for Star Wars fans to view the film through different platforms.

A screen premier was made for the film on the TV Network 'Starz', and was shown from September 2016 . The CEO of this network made it clear how the audience is able to view this in various different ways, such as through the Stars Network, on Demand or through streaming the Starz app. Along with this, consumers are able to purchase a rent of the film on TV Networks such as through the Sky Channel or Sky Movies. The cost of this is £6.99, although it is also available to watch for free through Netflix.

P3 C- Lifestyle, P3 D- Spending Power

P3 C- Lifestyle
It is clear according to Movio Media, how an average Star Wars viewer is someone regularly involved with watching films and travelling around to see films with a large budget, such as Jurassic World. It is also noted how this person spends 2.6 times more than the average person on going to the cinema or paying to see films in a different form, for example through buying a DVD. The average Star Wars fan is also interested in science according to Movio Media, along with having a career through the involvement of IT or which is computer based. This is understandable, as Star Wars: The Force Awakens can be considered as a film that is 'technical' as it includes themes such as science fiction.
Source- https://movio.co/en/blog/movio-reveals-audience-insights-star-wars-force-awakens/


P3 D- Spending Power
According to Movio Media, it is clear how fans of Star Wars: The Force Awakens have a large spending power. They state how Star Wars fans are 9 times more likely than the average person to be in a household earning $70,000 or more. It is clear how the Star Wars films have invite a large profile through sponsors, as they are often featured on large brands involving food, technology and children's entertainment. It is understandable for the people who are in charge of promoting Star Wars to target those of a larger spending power, for instance Star Wars fans on average spend more than the normal moviegoer across these products. If we were to combine this, the average Star Wars fan spends at least $4,300 per year.
Source- https://movio.co/en/blog/movio-reveals-audience-insights-star-wars-force-awakens/

P3 A- Gender, P3 B- Age

P3 A- Gender






According to research, it is clear how the majority of viewers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens are from the male population. Out of the opening weekend audience, men made up 58%, with 71% of these also being adults. This clearly shows how men were most likely to view this film as opposed to women.
It could be concluded that the reasons for this are that there are more male characters in the film, meaning the viewers can relate to this. In addition, males may have chosen to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens due to the space opera in society becoming more popular with males. In the past, people have associated Star Wars with men and portraying it as a 'manly' film, which is why they are likely to stick with this trait over time and continue to watch the films, as opposed to women.
P3 B- Age




According to Movio Media, the average Star Wars fan is of age 34. 70% of ticket holders are also male and are between the ages of 18 and 49. This shows how although Disney has become very child-orientated, it is clear how adults have represented 71% of people during the opening films, whereas children covered just 20%.
Although Star Wars: The Force Awakens is considered to capture the image of a new generation, it is clearly proving to be most popular with people who have grown up and have watched the original trilogy of the Star Wars films. This means that there will clearly be an older audience involved as opposed to the younger population, which has also proved to be the case in the past.

P2 G- Production Process

P2 G- Production Process

Pre- Production
During the pre-production stage of Star Wars: The Force awakens, it was confirmed during May 2013, how the film was going to be shot in the UK. It is evident through Movio Media, how the film's representatives through Lucas Film, had met with George Osborne (chancellor of the Exchequer), in order to discuss the filming locations. It was found that Osborne had given $25 million towards the production of the film, as he claimed it would "boast Britain's culture and style". During September 2013, The Force Awakens moved to their set location, which was also where the film 'bad robot' was being produced. The costume designer was decided to be Michael Kaplan, who had previously worked on producing the costumes for 'Star Trek', meaning he had previously been associated within the sci-fi genre. The film editors were Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey, along with cinematographer Daniel Mindel, who was decided upon to shoot the film.

Casting
The casting process took place in August 2013, whereby JJ Brahms had met up with the potential actors and actresses to provide them with scripts and screen-tests. The auditions confirmed places in November 2013 and took place in both the USA and the UK, although the filming was unable to begin for a following few months due to a problem with the original scripts. It was announced that the film's actors, agents and publicists held strict agreements not to comment on the actor's involvement within the film, and around the same time Brahms released how they were looking for other actors to play the lead roles, although it is unknown on why this was the case.

Production
It was originally announced that the filming for Star Wars: The Force Awakens would take place in May 2014. Along with this, Lucas Film and Disney each stated how principal photography would begin in May 2014, being based in the UK at Pinewood Studios. In March the location shots took place, as they began to gather images from Iceland which they could later use as landscape shots for the scenery used throughout the film. It was confirmed by the chair man at Disney Studios, how the filming had begun in April, however it was suspended for two weeks when Harrison Ford had fractured his ankle when working on set.

Post- Production
Cinematographer Daniel Mindel stated online how Star Wars: The Force Awakens would use real set locations as opposed to computer generated images, in order to not only make the film more effective and realistic, but to uphold the previous status from the original Star Wars films and allow the previous fans to compare the similar traits in which he wished to keep during production. An estimated running time of 124 minutes was made for the film in August 2015, although it is estimated that this is unclear, due to Abrahms making changes throughout the pre-production, such as removing some of the sequences shown in the original trailer, which he did through the film's editing process. During the Post- Production Process, the film was also converted in 3D, in order to be presented as such throughout the various cinemas worldwide.

Music
It was confirmed in July 2013, how the film's music would be composed by John Williams. The music presented through each of the firstly produced two trailers, were re-worked pieces which had previously been owned by Williams in personal tracks. In June 2016, the recording sessions began for The Force Awakens, being held in the Sony Picture Studios. In collaboration with the film for it's ultimate release date, the South Korean boy band 'EXO' had released their own song named 'Lightsabre', in collaboration with the film in the lead up to it's release in their home country.