The importance and functional role of qualitative audience analysis within the stakeholders of Malaysia screen industry

In the words of Justin Lewis (1991), any screen production power lies in its encounter with the audience. One cannot exist without the other. As he immediately proceeds to acknowledge, however this idea is "often difficult to grasp empirically" (p. 61) and the issue of how the idea works in practice remain full of methodological confusion and perplexity. This article reviews the contemporary shift and the importance of understanding of audience preferences, perspectives, behaviours, and routines towards the production of films, movies, and television production in Malaysia. It proceeds to examine the comparatively underdeveloped state of Malaysian research about screen production audience, and the variety of incentives to develop such research. The distance between academic and industry research in Malaysia is discussed, and the possible explanations of gap in our academic knowledge of Malaysian screen and film audiences are ofered. Finally, the article considers possible means to approach the meaningful study of the media reception process within Malaysian audiences or viewers. The audience profile is considered as a key factor for programming of screen production. Understanding audience and their preferences could sustain continuous programming and development of new production. This article advocated the need for the profssionals in the industry to incalculate such understanding and call for more qualitative research into audience analysis for sustainable development of the industry in this country