The Inbetweeners Analysis

The Inbetweeners analysis 7;00-11:40       

The 'inbetweeners' uses different aspects to appeal to its target audience. Its target audience is young people aged 15-25. This can be seen from its use of young characters and its implementation of the characters within a modern social and school environment. It appeals to its target audience through its' mise en scene' in a variety of ways. Firstly,  the use of costumes on the main characters in the segment,  help appeal to the target audience. The referent of the main characters costumes,  are what would normally be considered ‘trendy’ or 'in fashion 'clothing. This signifies that as these characters are ‘trendy’ in appearance  this show must also be ‘trendy.’ This is a marketing technique used to engage the target audience more so as it makes the characters seem more appealing, and more people can relate to them.  The suburban setting of the show also remains appealing for many,  as this again enables more people to relate to it. This setting also signifies a more realistic element to the show, which in turn makes it more immersive.  The performance within the show is appealing as the comedic value of it offers a sense of escapism. Furthermore,  the crude humour used in the show  appeals to the target audience far more than other comedy shows. The fact that this humour is also used in the context of situations,  (like having an embarrassing first car) further assists in enabling more people to relate to it and it is overall more appealing for the target audience.

The use of no' non diegetic' music whilst the characters are in direct conversation, makes the dialogue and conversations so more realistic and as much more immersive. This ultimately offers a greater sense of escapism,  which makes the show more appealing to the viewer,  as it  means they can forget about everyday life more easily. Furthermore,  the use of 'non-diegetic' and 'diegetic' music when the characters are traveling in a car,  makes the traveling seem more instant, thus creating a greater sense of excitement and interest for what would otherwise be seen as a boring, pointless scene. In addition to this, the use of narration or “voice of God” in these sequences, not only helps to continue the narrative through these scenes, but allows the viewer to establish a more personal relationship with characters. This appeals to the target audience more,   because the characters are put into situations which the target audience can easily relate to -  the more personal link with them,  causes the viewer to feel as if they too are experiencing the characters experiences with them.

The shots are predominantly 'medium close ups'. This fits in  with the fact that most of the scenes are predominantly dialogue. This connotes a more personal aspect to the conversations,  and makes the audience feel more immersed -  almost as if they themselves are part of the conversation. Additionally,  this element is developed further by the large use of' shot reverse shot' editing to keep the conversations fast paced and to again keep the viewer’s concentration and attention. This also helps the dialogue seem quicker and more realistic. Other camera angles are used for comedic effect, like long shots focusing on the yellow car (a figure of fun, and main joke point of the segment).  This helps contribute to the comedic aspect of the show and ultimately helps the show fit into its purpose of making the audience laugh and entertaining them. However the yellow car is only successful as a comedic device,  in the context that it has been given to a young adult male, whereas stereotypically,  the colour yellow is associated with females. The editing (as previously mentioned) is mostly 'shot reverse shot' as the programme revolves around and relies upon its dialogue for comedy. When not using 'shot reverse shot', mainly regular cuts are used. This is because the genre (sitcom) does not typically try to convey messages through editing, rather the main aim is to just try to entertain the audience.

Finally,  the lighting is kept fairly high key. This is to fit in with the genre and humour of the programme,  to appeal to and entertain the target audience. The high key lighting,  promotes general light heartedness, which links to the crude humour in the show,  as it connotes that it is not something to be taken too seriously and is generally there to be laughed at. This light hearted atmosphere achieved from the lighting,  also helps to anchor the shows in the comedy genre. This appeals to the target audience as they find that with this they can simply watch this show, be entertained and laugh at it, without taking it too seriously. This appeals to THIS shows target audience as they, (young people aged 15-25), are people who are stereotypically thought to enjoy comedy shows more than drama. The syntagmatic order of the show is basic and linear with standard continuity. This helps to anchor the show also as it fits the conventions of syntagm’s of sitcoms.

In conclusion, this show uses multiple aspects to appeal to its target audience, entertain audience, and to overall immerse the target audience in the programme more. This is achieved successfully as the show occurs in a realistic suburban environment. Given the regularity of this setting,  this creates another easily forged link that the audience can form between themselves and the show, making the events and occurrences more relative and ultimately making the show more immersive and entertaining.