Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/210707

Title

Feature film audience testing in Australia: capturing the audience before it bites

Author(s)

Griff, Catherine

Abstract

Producers of screen fiction face a daunting challenge in capturing the attention of audiences. Films are watched on multiple platforms at a wide array of venues. A new perspective is demanded on the part of content creators who seek to fathom and anticipate audience response wherever viewing or interaction takes place. New delivery and information platforms are challenging for audience research specialists. The Internet and social media have endowed the audience with a new power, giving it a visibility and voice to express early judgements on screen entertainment. This paper approached the audience through the lens of feature film audience testing. My main focus is test or preview screenings, whereby a selected audience views a film prior to its release, at various stages of completion. These are sometimes known as production screenings because they focus on testing story, character and elements that can still be refined. These can be distinguished from marketing or distributor screenings, which occur later, with a larger audience to assess appeal across demographics, and to focus on elements of the marketing campaign (trailer, poster etc), plus potential for the all-important word of mouth (recommendation to friends)... To examine the practice of audience testing in Australia, I undertook a pilot study of screen producers who released feature films in 2009 /10. In addition the perspective of other key roles in the domain were canvassed: distributors who use audience testing to hone marketing; research companies who undertake audience testing and render the results; and the federal funding agency whose policies stipulate a quarantined marketing budget. The paper also outlines overseas practice, particularly in Hollywood - where testing is virtually mandatory.

Publication type

Conference paper

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology

Source

Proceedings of the Communications Policy and Research Forum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 07-08 November 2011 / Franco Papandrea and Mark Armstrong (eds.), pp. 214-221

Publication year

2011

FOR Code(s)

2001 Communication and Media Studies

Keyword(s)

Audience testing;  Australia;  Feature films;  Films;  Preview screenings;  Test screenings

Publisher

Network Insight Institute

ISBN

9780980434446, 0980434440

Publisher URL

http://www.networkinsight.org/publications/publications.html

Copyright

Copyright © Catherine Griff (2011).

Research Projects

Spreading fictions: distributing stories in the online age, Australian Research Council grant number LP100200656

Peer reviewed