Being part of an audience: patterns of contemporary film audience experience

Hanchard, M. , Merrington, P. and Wessels, B. (2020) Being part of an audience: patterns of contemporary film audience experience. Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies, 17(2), pp. 115-132.

[img] Text
218205.pdf - Published Version

822kB

Publisher's URL: https://www.participations.org/Volume%2017/Issue%202/6.pdf

Abstract

Although audiences are often defined as being multiple, diffuse, and fragmented, in terms of film audiences there are five distinct patterns of experience within that multiplicity. These are individualised, group, venue-specific, global, and digital, and people are flexible in moving between them. Drawing on Livingstone’s (1998) notion of audiences being interactive and relational, we show that these patterns are created through the ways people interact with and relate to film. This is seen in the way people choose which film to watch, when, where, and with whom. People create and seek out specific audience experiences by choosing to take up opportunities to watch film at cinemas, at home, and through mobile devices. To understand how and why people create and select specific film audience experiences, we undertook 200 semi-structured interviews that explored audience members’ own experiences. This identified five patterns of experience, which our large sample survey confirmed occurred at scale. In general, people enjoy film through five distinct audience experiences, selecting and moving between these experiences.

Item Type:Articles (Editorial)
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Wessels, Professor Bridgette and Merrington, Dr Peter and Hanchard, Dr Matthew
Authors: Hanchard, M., Merrington, P., and Wessels, B.
Subjects:N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Sociology Anthropology and Applied Social Sciences
Journal Name:Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies
Publisher:Participations
ISSN:1749-8716
ISSN (Online):1749-8716
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2020 The Author
First Published:First published in Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies 17(2):115-132
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher
Related URLs:
Data DOI:10.5525/gla.researchdata.883

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record

Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
304999Beyond the Multiplex: Audiences for Specialised Film in English RegionsBridgette WesselsArts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)AH/P005780/2S&PS - Sociology