Lost is a mainstream hybrid text that combines genres such as fantasy, sci-fi, drama and action to a certain extent. Lost was produced ABC Studios, with multiple executive producers including the world renowned writer J.J Abrams. It originally aired on ABC, before moving to a more mainstream channel on Sky Tv. It was on for six seasons which in total showed 121 episodes with its finale reaching 13.5million viewers worldwide.
Lost tries to attract as wide an audience as possible by using different techniques in their show. An example of this is the ensemble cast. The producers have specifically chosen actors and actresses that make up a 48 character cast of different gender, race, age, nationality and subcultures. Each character has an equal role, and by doing this the audience have at least one person they can personally identify with which can attract audiences worldwide, making higher viewing figures and more money.
Targeting a wide audience appears to have worked as fans have made fan sites such as lostpedia, where members can discuss episodes and characters. This is a clear example of how the show has been successful by targeting a wide audience.
Another way in which producers of Lost have appealed to their audience is through the use of a score, which can control how the audience feel when watching different scenes. The producers have created scenes that inflict different emotions, and the music will tell a passive audience when to feel happy or sad or tense. This is also an efficient way to use music instead of already released songs as there is more control over when and how it can be used, and also saves money. This feature will attract a passive and mainstream audience as its easy to watch.
Mad Men is a period drama that differs completely to Lost. It is aimed at a niche audience that has to be active in order to understand and enjoy the text. It is created and produced by Matthew Weiner, who knew exactly what he wanted to make and focused more on his own vision rather that satisfying a wide audience. The series premiered on AMC, an American cable network and is also frequently shown on Sky Atlantic.
To gratify a niche audience, Mad Men has absolutely no mainstream devices.
The use of camera shots and subtle dialog is a way in which an active audience can decode the text. There is no ensemble cast, the cast mostly consists of middle aged business men. There are only three women in the text, who are used to represent the sexism in the time of the 1960s. Peggy, Joan and Megan Draper are constantly seen as being degraded by the men in the office. We see this particularly when Don Draper throws money in Peggy's face, signifying his wealth in a humiliating and arrogant fashion. This realistic representation of the 60s can be appealing to a niche audience as there it provides an insight into that time period.
The use of diegetic sound is perhaps the only sound we get throughout the episode, until the very end. The constant sound of typewriters sets the location of an office, the producers were clever in the sense of making the sounds louder when the door opened for example, and all these details make up for an active viewer to really decode the text. At the very end of the episode is the first time we hear non diegetic music of the Beatles song 'Tomorrow Never Knows', for which the producers of Mad Men paid $250,000 to use. This is an example that the writer was more intrigued by the details of the text rather than making money. Matthew Weiner states 'Whatever people think, this is not about money.' He used the Beatles song because it was appropriate to that time period, and he's dedicated to getting everything accurate.
Peaky Blinders is a period drama set in 1919 in Birmingham, created by Steven Knight. It is shown on BBC 2, a channel known for high brow cultural dramas, which has helped it succeed in attracting its target audience. it is about a gang post world war 1, which has historical interest, however is dramatised for entertainment. This text is a mixture of both mainstream and niche and there are elements to gratify both an active and passive audience.
The first technique the producers of the text use of the non diegetic soundtrack, performed mostly by the White Stripes and Nick Cave; quite contemporary music to create drama in a historical text. The way this music is used essentially controls the way the audience is supposed to feel at any given moment or scene, at lot like in Lost. This can gratify a passive audience as they don't have to think too much.
For an active audience, the producers have ensured good quality cinematography, like the slow motion during the fight scene and the long shots of the streets to see the working environment. An active audience would appreciate this and be attracted by the high quality. A colour palette is used for the detail, a niche convention that would be noticed by an active audience that can decode the text.
