Potential Audiences of a Short Film

The audience of a short film isn't your usual film watcher. They are usually passionate experts about movies, that watch short films not only for entertainment purposes, but to educate themselves as well. Before the internet, short films were very hard to get hold of. DVDs, video tapes and cinemas were the only ways that you could watch one, and they were therefore usually completely limited to serious film goers. However, with the rise of the internet, and sites such as YouTube and Facebook being created, access to short films has become much easier, meaning a wider audience, leading to a higher chance of recognition.

Film producers, such as Fede Alvarez (the creator of Ataque de Panico) have benefited massively from the growth of the internet. Alvarez's film was recognised via YouTube after it went viral. A few decades ago, Alvarez would not have had a big chance to get recognised, because of the limited ways of distribution.

Therefore, the potential audience for a short film is likely to be people who take an interest in going to watch a film, and don't just turn up for entertainment purposes. Despite this, normal people would be considered as a secondary type audience for a short film, they may only watch it for entertainment purposes, but it is still a form of recognition for the producer.

Intended Audience for 'Ataque de Panico'

The film 'Ataque de Panico', by Fede Alvarez, is a Sci-Fi themed film, and is therefore aimed more towards males than females. Science Fiction tends to be a more male based theme, plus the inclusion of violence in the film (the robots bombing the city) further points towards the film being targeted at males.
The age group targeted is harder to conclude, being a short film, you don't get to see much and therefore it is not clear about what age group Alvarez was aiming for, but it was most probably aimed at adolescents. However, the violence in the film isn't too explicit, therefore the film would probably receive a 12 rating from The British Board of Film Classification.

BBFC impact on Short Film audiences

As with 'mainstream' feature length films, the BBFC determines the age a person has to be to be able to watch the film. Therefore, explicit short films- i.e. films featuring sex scenes, violence, etc- would be limited to a higher age group (e.g. 15, 18) ultimately limiting their potential audience. However, short films without explicit material would probably be awarded a lower age rating, which would allow them to reach a wider audience. Despite this, a low age rating certificate from the BBFC can have the opposite effect to widening a short films audience. Older people may be put off a film due to its low age rating, believing it to be for children, and this would have negative effect on the short films purpose, whether that purpose is for entertainment, educational or promotional purposes. 

How this will affect our Short Film

When we create our short film we will have to take all of the above information in to account. If violence is a strong feature in our film (which it is likely to be) then we will have to consider how much that may limit our audience, and if it will relate to our target audience. However, if we decide against this and exclude explicit scenes from our film, we will have to consider if our target audience will be put off by this, and if we are prepared to make a film that targets the younger generation.