Writing about a media product of my choice - 'Titanic' the film.

'Titanic' is a 1997 film, written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron. Left is an image of the DVD cover for this film. Films on DVD are an effective and popular form of media, and available to everybody with a DVD player. This film in particular is also frequently played on BBC channels, making this media product available to an even wider range of people. Films are one of the more expensive types of media, both to make and to consume, as it is necessary to own certain equipment to be able to view them. Therefore, this does restrict the overall target audience.

I think that 'Titanic' is aimed at an older audience, as it includes 'adult' themes and is a fictionalized account of a real event, which a younger audience might not understand. The rating of the film is PG-13, so the original target audience would have been any person from aged 13 and upwards. However, I think that the film would primarily appeal more to older teenagers and adults. Personally, I don't feel that 'Titanic' is gender-specific, however the genre of the film might appeal more to a certain gender, depending as to which genre an individual would class the film as. The main genres of the film are:

• disaster
• romance
• drama

A romance might appeal to a female audience, however the other genres that 'Titanic' is classed as are not strictly aimed at a particular gender.

There is also an alternative animated version of this film, which is aimed at a younger audience. The bright colours and simple language used would appeal to children, helping them to understand the whole concept of the Titanic sinking, so that the original version of the film might appeal to them when they are older. This helps to widen the audience of 'Titanic'.

Usually, released along with a film is a trailer. A trailer is a form of advertisement for newly-released films, helping to promote it and persuade people to view/buy the film. Adverts are a different type of media, however both adverts and films are visual forms of media. Below is the official trailer to 'Titanic'. Watching this trailer, the viewer would notice that the most interesting and engaging moments in the film are included in short glimpses, leaving the audience interested and wanting to see more. A trailer that makes the viewer feel this way is fulfilling it's purpose. This trailer in particular is suitable for an audience of all ages, as the more serious themes in the film itself aren't included in full. Most trailers also state the rating of the film, to warn any viewer about whether the film would be suitable for them to see.