Film Audience and Spectator Experience: Exploring Film’s Impact

Understand the role of film audiences and spectators

The world of film and entertainment is ever-evolving. Understanding its impact on audiences is crucial to staying up-to-date with the latest trends in film and audience engagement.

On this three week-long course, you’ll discover how the film industry targets specific audiences, influencing both the films shown in cinemas and the expectations built around a film.

You’ll explore how the industry shapes our understanding of films and our role as viewers.

Dive into the psychology of film spectatorship

Uncover how individual viewers engage with films on a personal level. From emotional responses to personal reflections, explore how psychological and societal factors shape the way people interpret narratives, as well as visual and technical aspects.

With this knowledge, you’ll understand how films position viewers to engage with deeper themes, characters, and ideologies.

Explore the influence of cinema vs home viewing

Throughout your learning, you’ll investigate how different viewing contexts—cinema versus home viewing—alter the way we experience films.

You’ll consider how these settings influence interpretation and emotional response.

Compare the collective and personal experience of film viewing

Analysing the physical and emotional environments of watching films in various settings, you’ll compare the communal experience of cinema with the more personal, private nature of home viewing.

By the end of the course, you’ll have a deeper understanding of film and the role of the audience and spectator experience.

This course is designed for anyone interested in how films communicate with audiences.

It’s particularly suited for beginners new to film theory, A Level Film Studies students, or those keen to expand their understanding of film culture.

This course is designed for anyone interested in how films communicate with audiences.

It’s particularly suited for beginners new to film theory, A Level Film Studies students, or those keen to expand their understanding of film culture.

• o Compare the concepts of audience and spectatorship and how they relate to us as film viewers.
• o Explain the various roles and behaviours of film audiences across different eras of cinema.
• o Explore theories of film spectatorship, including psychoanalytic, cognitive, and phenomenological approaches.
• o Describe how cinematic techniques such as framing, editing, sound, and mise-en-scène influence audience interpretation and emotional responses.
• o Discuss the factors that shape how different audiences (based on gender, race, culture, class) engage with and interpret films.
• o Reflect on how digital platforms and social media contribute to new modes of viewing, sharing, and critiquing films.
• o Investigate how films address or exploit the audience’s emotional responses.
• o Engage in discussions on how filmmakers manipulate spectatorship to create ideological messages or challenge societal norms.