Who are the niche audience?
Niche generally means small but specialised, so the niche film audience are the small groups of people who tend to have a more acquired taste in film. They perhaps look for film with certain meaning or cleverness rather than seek out a film simply for entertainment purposes.
I believe my audience to vary from late teens to the elderly- to begin my research I will use a variety of primary and secondary research beginning with the useful youth site: uktribes.com
and the sub-catgories...
On uktribes, Creatives are described as: "not bothered by fleeting trends and have no time for throwaway culture – attracted to provenance and brand histories that reflect their own values."
I believe this is a true aspect of some art house films out there as they fully concentrate on affecting an audience rather than entertaining them. They fight against consumerism in a way, as art house film is not about getting a massive profit or blockbuster hit. This shows me that the audience may also feel the same, which tells me that when I make my film it has to be full of meaning rather than action and predictability.
Creatives interests:
exploring Secret Cinema
"Open-minded and non-judgmental, Young Alts have their eyes and ears open to different genres and scenes – both new and old…"
This shows me that some audiences are open to anything and are willing to experiment with different types of media in general. I can see that some people are not restricted to one exact style. This inspires me to create a piece of film that will encourage other audiences to discover new styles and genres.
Their favourite brands are mostly music orientated. Obviously, music is a key element to film, especially the art house type. Sometimes music is the only sound used. I need to make sure the music I choose to use is suitable and appealing as it is of significant importance to my target audience.
"Spending hours trawling through records, Indie Scenesters have their fingers on the pulse on the current artists du jour…"
This group seems very much orientated around new music and bands. They are also described as quick in finding new interests that are fresh and modern. I believe my short film needs to include an element such as this, it needs to be pioneering.
"Like the 60s Mods and Rockers and the 70s Punks, Hipsters are as ubiquitous as Chavs in their role defining UK youth culture in the 2000s..."
It seems hipsters are the disliked sub group of the indie culture. They are described as taking in authentic fads and regurgitating them as their own, in the most unauthentic way possible. I still believe this group to be important as they specifically seek out the latest 'cool' underground films/music/style etc and make them more popular by presenting it to a wider audience. Therefore, hipsters are valuable marketing strategy...
Social Media sites such as Tumblr are full of 'niche' blogs. I can find out the preferences of my target audience and can then decide on what my films unique selling point could be.
exploring Tumblr
Questionnaires
This person likes art house film for their uniqueness, as shown by the persons choice of experimental structure. They also believe that it is important to have dialogue in an art house film which is interesting. I will consider the use of dialogue in my short film.
This person enjoys the lack of escapism in art house film, I also believe that this is quite a significant aspect in the niche genre, as the people viewing them need to be prepared to think about the film for days after rather then only enjoy the film for entertainment purposes.
This person has chosen 'Don't Look Now' as their favourite film of the art house genre. Having viewed this film I also enjoyed it and found it extremely thought provoking. There was a lot of symbolism and artistic elements to the film which I plan to use within mine. They also stated that they would enjoy a faction film but it would depend on the period. The period I choose may not appeal to all people but I need to make the film interesting in order to captivate the more cynical audience.
This person enjoys films that are 'beautifully shot', with my film, I am going to make sure that the content is visually striking and engaging so as to capture the audiences imagination. They also enjoy the abstract nature of niche film which is a key element. My film will contain abstract elements.
From this interview I can conclude that my audience will enjoy a film that somehow diverges away from the norms that we see in everyday cinema. My audience want something creative and though provoking, I hope to create something that fits these standards.
Sourced from Phoenix art house cinema in Leicester :
http://phoenix.org.uk/index.php?cms_id=877
Research sourced from an art house cinema may help me to get an idea about the type of people who enjoy art house film/ if there even is a certain group of people.
Blue is the Warmest Colour
This French come of age indie film from 2013 appeared three times in the Phoenix theatre's top ten out of 13 people. Two men and one woman chose this film which suggests that art house film is not a gender preferred genre.
The Selfish Giant is a modern day adaptation of an Oscar Wilde story. It appears twice in the survey. Although art house film is proposed to be an underground film market, The Selfish Giant seems well known and well reviewed. This suggests that art house may be developing into a mainstream category as more people are exposed to it. This would have certain implications for my short film if it was to really be distributed to an audience.
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Foreign films seem to appear in the art house genre from a British perspective. Wadjda appears in this survey twice which is interesting, as it may be seen as an art house film here but where it was originally distributed (Germany/ Saudi Arabia) it may be seen as mainstream. My short is based upon a Polish musician, it is interesting to question whether it would appeal more to a Polish audience as a mainstream film and more to a British audience as a niche film.
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