My Syfy Brief

I wrote down what I plan on creating for the Syfy brief in this sheet in my own words, so that you could get a better understanding on what I plan to create.

This isn't exactly a finalised brief; depends if it's straight-forward enough or that I have the right idea about what I want to do. I might lower the frame rate a tad. While I am planning on using short little tweens for the animation, that would move very smoothly, it might change over time to frame-by-frame animation, simply because it has it's own appeal, and I might enjoy it a lot more.

Responding to my Target Audience: Imagery

I was wondering what sort of imagery is actually appealing to my target audience. By that I mean, what colours, symbolism, and art style will grab their attention? I thought a lot about this, since this is a key aspect for my brief, and, as an animator, I should always be thinking about everything visually. So what sort of imagery actually appeals to my target audience?

One thing's for sure, I should always remember one huge key thing. Simplicity. As much as you might want to deny it, it is a fact that simple looking images are far more appealing to the brain than huge and complex images. This usually refers to images comprised of solid colours, simple shapes, and a distinct lack of realism. As an example of this, here are screenshots of two animes with entirely different styles, one very simple and the other more detailed:

Most likely, your eyes were drawn to the latter image, despite being slightly smaller and lower down than the first image. It automatically stands out more because of its vibrant solid colours, and dynamic lines. The first image is more dull and realistic, which your eye is instantly drawn away from.

Ironically, though, images can actually be too simple, and it instead becomes unappealing. Creating simple images is one thing, but an important key factor is that it needs to come to life, still be well-drawn, and contain at least SOME semblance of realism. I'm going take one of the 12 principles of animation as an example, as it applies to art in general. The principle known as "Solid Drawing" describes images that give people a sense of solidity, as the name suggests, depending on how it is drawn. This is done by drawing an image as if it was a three-dimensional object, rather than a simple 2D image on a canvas.

This image, taken from The Simpsons Handbook by Matt Groening, explains why a 2D image looks really bad without the solid drawing principle in mind. If the character appears to exist in a 3D plain, it just automatically looks better. 

I made this image to describe in my own words this concept. Perhaps I've gone into detail a bit too much, but this is important for people working mainly in 2D, like me.

Now with all that said, how does this apply to my target audience exactly? Well, quite a bit actually. The target audience is fairly young, for starters, which means their minds are still at the development stage, so simple 2D images would look especially appealing to them. Since they are sci-fi fans as well, I should also apply this entire concept with the genre signifiers that I mentioned in a previous post.

Responding to my Target Audience: Genre Signifiers

Colour actually plays an important role in this as well. An audience searching for a specific genre will likely find a specific colour that comes along with it. They are just one of many genre signifiers. All genres for visual mediums are given key signifiers that represent what type of medium audiences are consuming. In fact, that's literally the definition of a genre. It is one of many aspects of human nature we take for granted, the need to simplify/label everything so that it instantly makes sense to us. Though, what is a genre signifier? Everybody should know already, but haven't quite thought about it yet. A genre signifier is one aspect of any given genre that defines it.

A genre signifier for any visual medium would be a specific type of mise-en-scene that would normally be associated with that medium. A horror movie, for example, would normally contain very dark and bleak colours (usually red, because of the association with blood and danger, and black, because of its association with the dark), threatening monsters, and very serious, edgy, subtle body language (from human characters). A comedy, on the other hand, depending on what type of comedy it would be, would use more vibrant colours, exaggerated body language, and typically a real-world setting. A comedy and horror hybrid would combine these two types of images, exaggerating the red and black colours (whilst also making them more vibrant), using threatening monsters but depicting them in a comedic manner, and using human characters with exaggerated scares and body language.

In order to appeal to sci-fi fans, I will look at whatever visual genre signifiers I can find.

Colours: Usually, a sci-fi will emphasise heavily on blue colours, since the blue will remind audiences of space and high tech. Green is typically used for sci-fi films about aliens, because those two are things that people will associate with each other, despite aliens rather rarely being depicted as green. White is usually used for sci-fi films set in a futuristic utopia, brown and grey for apocalyptic future settings, and black and dark blue for dystopian future settings.

Mise en Scene: High tech machines and objects are normally used for sci-fi films. The clothing of a character would either be a funky looking uniform for a space crew, or some bizarre outfit as a futuristic fashion choice. If the film is about monsters, they wouldn't be supernatural creatures/myths like vampires, werewolves, etc., they would normally be some kind of mutated version of existing creatures, usually insects, sea creatures, and reptiles (and at one point, clowns). The marketing of the films, if they were targeted towards men, would normally depict a nameless scantily clad woman in danger (normally in the 50s but occasionally nowadays as well).

Non-verbal Communication: Mainly in a marketing standpoint, a sci-fi poster would usually show a character brandishing a laser gun, or any kind of high tech weapon, within the poster of an action/sci-fi. A sci-fi monster movie would either show the monster in a threatening pose or fighting another monster, both of which next to a skyscraper in a city to emphasise scale. There would also be a group of the main characters looking in terror at the monsters. The poster of a film set in the future would usually show a character looking up, presumably at the world around them, with a stunned expression on their face, to establish the spectacle of this world. In a dystopian future, the narrative is more bleak so there wouldn't be as much focus an the characters' entire bodies, just their serious facial expressions, and possibly a weapon they have held in front of their faces.

Responding to my Target Audience: Overview

The brief I have chosen for Responsive describes their target audience simply as "18-25 year old sci-fi fans". They obviously make it sound like a simple audience because if they went onto full detail about their target audience, it would be too overwhelming for people if they looked at "Target Audience" and saw a huge essay about several groups of people. I can see where they are coming from, though, even with that vague description. Very quickly, though, I'm going to take a look at two key target audience types:

Primary Audience: This describes the audience a product would focus on, mainly; that would mean adapting a product or content that fits the needs of a very specific group of people.

Secondary Audience: An audience a product would appeal to without even trying to. This could be due to said audience being related in some way to the primary audience of a type of product or content; for example, parents watching a kid's show with their children would be said kid's show's secondary audience, while the kids are the primary audience.

This relates heavily to how I plan on appealing to my target audience, so I'm going to try and translate what Syfy calls "18-25 year old sci-fi fans" into something more literal. I'm going to apply more audience theory into this, but I won't explain things like "Segmenting Psychographics" or even just the aspects like "The 4 Cs" and "Social Classes" or else we're gonna be here forever, so I'm going to describe what I think Syfy's target audience comprise of, with reference to "Segmenting Psychographics".

When I think of 18-25 year old sci-fi fans, within the context of this brief, I immediately think of huge nerds, like me; to be specific, I think of people who are fans of TV, cinema, and anime; typically follow the action, comedy, horror, and fantasy (as well as sci-fi, obviously), and are particularly into cheesy cult films. I don't have a specific race or gender in mind, and let's keep it that way! I have nothing against appealing to this audience. I actually think they have the right idea, too.

Of course, that's only the tip of the ice berg, I want to go way deeper now. Potential secondary audiences could be audiences between the ages 7-13 years old, watching these shows with an older sibling or even their parents. I, personally, watched shows like Buffy and Angel rather religiously when I was at least nine years old, so there's no denying this. Not only that, but children generally have an interest in shows or movies considered too mature for them. The more mainstream audiences, fans of more popular stuff from Syfy's competing networks (Channel 4, E4, ITV 1 & 2, etc.) could find something appealing about the Syfy channel, too. Thanks to shows like The Big Bang Theory, Parks & Recreation, and other shows/movies with "typical nerd" character types, "geek culture" is more mainstream nowadays, so it might appeal to fans of more popular TV and Film. A more mature audience of 35 years and up might even find this channel appealing as well, since these are the type of people who may get a sense of relaxation from watching cheesy cult shows/movies, since people that age normally go through everyday stress from work and seek comfort from the TV they watch, so they wouldn't really want something that would make them "think" too much.

Brief Selection - Part 2: Syfy Brief - What is the Problem?

Syfy set up a YCN brief recently, due to their apparent loss of viewers, and it very much fit in with what I wanted to achieve from this module. I'm happy to do this because it seems very relevant to me, personally. This is a good opportunity to understand audiences better, especially within the realm of entertainment and storytelling. What do I specifically need to know first?

For starters, what are the problems the brief describes?

Syfy has been losing viewing figures lately, and there are multiple reasons for this. Audiences are not appreciating the content of Syfy enough to see the channel as anything relevant on the same level as other TV channels, and don't see it as a place to go for sci fi. They are often overlooked because they must compete with higher budget TV channels, some that aren't sci fi oriented, that air sci fi of higher quality to conventional audiences. Syfy doesn't have the budget to broadcast Hollywood blockbusters, and they are overlooked because of this.

So I know the problem, but what are they asking me to do about it? What do they want to achieve?

They seem intent on letting a target audience of sci fi fans of the age range 18 to 25 know that the level of passion they have for sci fi is extremely high and that my work should convince them of that. They are asking me to make something, it could be anything since this is an open brief, that will communicate the idea that the Syfy brand is a creative and imaginative one, and that the Syfy channel should be sold more for what it represents ("Imagine Greater") than just the content they air.

Who will benefit from this, though?
This will be beneficial for Syfy, of course. They want sci fi fans to see Syfy as a creative environment, where people go to fulfil their need for something imaginative. Audiences will also benefit from this, if what they gain from this is as great as Syfy wants it to be.

What message are they trying to convey?
Quite simply, they want to send the message that they are a more than a channel, but a creative realm of ideas. They are fun and entertaining, imaginative, can enrich people's lives, passionate about the sci fi genre. That Syfy is a place for sci fi fans, by sci fi fans. To be the ultimate fan!

Who exactly are the audience for this brief
I highlight "exactly" because while the brief only says "18-25 sci fi fans", I believe it goes much deeper than that, but I'll go more into detail with this in a later post. To put it simply, the target audience is not race and gender biased. They are people that enjoy sci fi, good story-telling, engaging stories, and fun ideas.

So we know the message and the audience, we just need to know how the message will be delivered.
Going by these bullet points in the brief:

• Be the ultimate fan
• Be impactful
• Be engaging
• Be playful
• Be surprising

They're kind of vague, but I can see where they're coming from. They want whatever I make to establish that they are huge fans of sci fi, and they want to do it in a manner that relates to the genre, while being light-hearted about it. They also want my work to have an impact and to do that, I need to engage with their audience's love for surprise and the unexpected.

Can I foresee any issues with this brief?
I don't think so. I guess the fact that this is an open brief is kind of overwhelming, because I'm not sure what I could make that relates to my area of practice. I guess an ident would be the most appropriate.

Brief Selection - Part 1:

I will be taking part in some selected briefs to practice some areas of interest involving my skills as an animator. I looked at and considered several areas I need to focus on in the future. I thought a lot about it and I feel that the areas to focus on are, character design, 2D animation, and appealing to a target audience. The reason for this is that for character design, I have a bad habit of designing a character and going with the first design I come up with. I tend to get lucky from doing this, of course, but I want to spend more time on character design so that I can get used to it and develop each character I design more and more until they are perfect. I want to practice 2D animation, because that is the medium I am undoubtedly the most interested in, and I want to maintain, or even improve, the skills I already have while I'm learning 3D in my other module. I want to develop my understanding on target audiences because I want to know how to appeal to an audience, in terms of how to advertise myself and possibly even others, and creating appropriate content for specific audiences; because while I enjoy storytelling, I never really take target audience into consideration enough and I want to take my current knowledge even deeper, because I know I'm capable of being successful at this, having gotten high grades in the past in media studies, when looking at audience theory.