Our film 'Isn't that Illegal' is aimed mainly at teens from 15-19, although it may also attract young adults.
Because our film is specifically a 'teen drama' and, of course, has its main characters played by teenage actors, it is important to know what the teen audience will like and what they will most want to see in our film.
I started by carrying out some secondary research on what matters to teenagers. Here are some thoughts:
Teens share five characteristics that make them 'uniquely young':
Detached: No one desires the company of teens—they’re not unreserved as the way children are, which is why adults and children love being around each other. Because adults have reservations about spending time with teenagers and teens are skeptical of other teens—that leaves teens essentially on their own.
Oppositional: Teens define themselves not as who they are but who they are not—so the street savvy girl is highly focused on, say, not being the girl who likes riding horses.
High on influence: Teens develop special mix of exalted optimism and self-confidence when they discover their ability to understand and influence areas they’re interested in, such as politics and NGO causes.
Boundless: Teens experiment with limitations—they don’t try to experience their existence (like children do to feel the love of their parents) or to seriously engage in activities on the other side of social norms (as when adults visit swinger clubs to feel “free”). Instead, teens are simply interested in answering big questions about their abilities.
Fleeting: Teens feel entitled to change their mind and shift their fundamental ideas about the world—not because of insecurity or a lack of reliability but because that ability is seen as a fundamental privilege exclusive to being a teenager.
(Research used from www.redassociates.com)
By discovering these five aspects of what makes a teenager, well, a teenager, I can now get some further ideas of how to portray 'typical teenagers' in our film.
