#31: Engaging with audiences

Strategies to maximize audience engagement and interest level

    It shouldn't be a surprise...that "audiences love conventions". They often expect to have a sense of familiarity and predictability while consuming a media product.
An approach to this 'predictability' would be seen through the situation when a series of films somehow fell into a standardised structure. In some specific cases, it also lies in the intention of filmmakers, to actually make it possible for viewers to anticipate what happens next.
Additionally, conventions are known as these accepted norms, in the social context as well as media products. So for audiences, their existence adds a sense of realism, not only making the fictional world and characters in the film suddenly become much more relatable but also triggering a deeper level of emotional impact. 
    Still, as more and more media products nowadays apply these conventions in a formulaic way, by keep replicating frustratingly the same tropes or archetypes, audiences are starting to demand creativity from filmmakers.
 ➼ So first by just being a balanced combination of conventions and originality, this is a strategic approach to maximize audience engagement and interest level.

    I also see well-developed characters as an important aspect. Cause it's when the audience is drawn to the character that they would start to invest in the story, meaning the film itself. Relatability is what engages the audience, s0 it is also one aspect we emphasize throughout the film.  Voiceovers or close-up, handheld shots, all serve to establish a connection of the audience with the film, and the character, drawing a feeling of intimacy. Since our main target audience was young people - Millenial and Gen Z - we introduce young characters, to stimulate interest from the audience, and trigger intrigue to reflect on their representation portrayed on-screen. Mention of social issues associated with their generation is included, sort of blurring the fourth wall that separates the audience and therefore, strengthens the emotional weight on them. Additionally, the idea of the character exposing her weakness, and carrying the audience through her past with her diary-like voiceover stimulate a deeper level of emotional investment from audiences

Netflix as a streaming platform for our media product?

    Bluntly said, with the population growing and every industry just becoming more and more competitive through time, only with a brand name might people know your products' existence.
    Not necessarily, of course, but likely.
    And everyone knows... Netflix is a popular streaming service or even can be said "most popular" (with more than 200 million subscribers worldwide).
   Netflix is, indeed, the first choice, as to reach a broader audience.
    If saying from a non-profit aspect, and then mentioning the fact that my film aims in a niche market, Netflix is still a 'promising' choice as it is a strong player in targeted marking, as though might only limit its marketing campaigns in specific areas but still effective in reaching the range of audiences that it intended at. 
    Recently, Netflix is also known for diversifying it into many different genres or working with not-so-familiar filmmakers. To see it from reality, this would most likely be the only streaming service to accept an 'unknown' indie film with 'unknown' casts as ours, almost certainly in comparison to others like Disney+ or Amazon Prime :).