Audience Theory

Demographic - physical differences amongst audiences
Psychographic - difference in interests amongst audiences


Stuart Hall - texts are encoded with a message that suits society which is then decoded by the audience and interpreted in three different ways

• DOMINANT READING - interpreted as the institution intended
• NEGOTIATED READING - audience agrees and disagrees with the text
• OPPOSITIONAL READING - audience is in conflict with the text

Uses and Gratifications Theory - Blumer and Kats theorised that audiences are active and use the text, rather than the text using the audience
- The audience seeks pleasure from the text so chooses to consume it e.g.
        > escapism                                          > comparing
        > diversion                                          > sexual stimulation
        > information
        > counter cultural experiences


Why would an audience watch a short film?
       An audience would be likely to watch a short film for a number of different reasons which are all listed under the Uses and Gratifications Theory which was set out by Blumer and Kats. They argued that the audience sought pleasure when consuming a text so they chose to watch it rather than being consumed by the text. This list of reason ranges from a sense of escapism all the way up to sexual stimulation.

What meaning would and audience take from the film?