4) Who would be the audience for you media product? AND 5) How did you attract/address the audience?

The specific target audience of PA would be people ranging from 16 to late 30s years old. The film’s genre includes gambling, illnesses, family issues, and perhaps some witty humour therefore it would not appeal to younger years. Older men in particular would be appealed because the character Dave may be relatable as he is imaged to be “the average bloke caught up in something extraordinary”. Teenagers may relate to the characters as people they want to be. Such as Holly, the rich girl who plays poker for the sake of it and does not care to lose – younger generations may find this character as an escape, therefore be attracted to the film.

In terms of creative choices, such as editing and soundtrack choices, the target audience was given great consideration. For example, children would not know Jimmy Hendrix or Black Sabbath. This music represents an older generation of target audience and in particular people who enjoy Rock music and movies with a lot of tension and action.
Cuts are quick and small gestures lasting for a few seconds are suitable for a more mature target audience as they can pick up on the implications of these details. Children would notice but may not consider how much an eye movement or tapping finger can mean. The pace of the movie may also be confusing for younger and less attentive years. Therefore PA caters for people who’ve watched many poker movies or has experience in it, and can keep up with the speed of events within a short amount of time.

On the other hand, those who have a vast amount of experience in poker might find this film irritating as creative and dramatic choices are taken in to make the game more interesting than it actually is. The opening features a short clip of the protagonist’s hallucinations. Those who play poker might find this unrealistic. Moreover, the experience poker player might notice that the cards on the table and in the hand have a flaw and cannot be used in the game. During filming, creative liberties were taken and although the game was thought out, it was not planned properly as it is just a film opening.


The titles of the card trick in black and white may also seem mediocre to a real dealer, but as we did not have a dealer this could not be changed. Looking at the wider aspects, however, the titles suit the target audience as it gives an adventurous mood and suits the tense/action parts of the film. The short snappy cuts suit the pace of the music well in that they are in relative synch and build up atmosphere before the actual plot begins.

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This idea, inspired from Train Spotting and various spy movies appeals to the target audience. It reveals the cool rebellious side of the characters and film and makes it serious but fun. This attracts both the teenager and older audiences of PA.

For casting, it would be ideal to cast characters around the ages of 27 to late 40s. However this was difficult to time table and to find people willing to act for us. To show the involvement of gangsters and loan sharks in PA, the character Leo was made. His clothing and body language was meant to reveal his “Big-man” attitude, and for convenience we had quite a muscular extra to play the part. However, on film day this extra was not accessible so this character had to be cut out. This was not a huge problem, but it decreased our range of target audience and perhaps made the variety of characters less interesting. On the other hand, the specific target audience would not be affected as much without this character.

Plans on how to attract and edit for the target audience was followed and successfully fulfilled overall. With the exception of certain shots due to bad camera work and extra transitions such as the peep hole. These were added during the process of post production but the end result still suited and improved the film for the target market.

In conclusion, the target audience for Poker’s Advocate are teenagers who enjoy the idea of a secret and wild life, as well as a more mature audience who have experience in gambling and can relate to the older characters within the film.