Question 3: What Have You Learnt From Your Audience Feedback

Question 3: What Have You Learnt From Your Audience Feedback

• 1.
  George Mugglestone
• 2.
  The feedback Ihave received from my audience has been extremely positive. It is extremely rewarding to know that something you have worked tremendously hard upon is being appreciated and enjoyed by others.
• 3.
   To beginmy questionnaire, I asked my audience their gender as I felt this was important to gage who was watching my video. The majority being a female demographic, however this was perhaps due to mostly female’s taking part in the survey, you can see the results below:
• 4.
   I alsoasked my audience their age, this was because I wanted the Target Age of my audience to be established, it would give me more of an idea on their interests and how I could market not only this product but future products too. The responses suggested the majority that listen to this genre are between the ages of 12-24. Here are the results:
• 5.
   As partof my research, I directly asked my audience if they liked or disliked my product. Presenting it in this format. I wanted them to give me their honest opinion; therefore I asked them to pick the options:  Strongly Dislike  Dislike  Neutral  Like  Strongly Like  This I felt was extremely broad, allowing them to make their own decision; 6.25% being ‘Neutral’ towards my product, 62.50% ‘Liking’ my product and 31.25% having a ‘Strongly Like’ opinion. After doing so, asking them to explain their answer. See responses on the next slide.
• 6.
   “It wasenjoyable to watch and kept my attention.”  “I think that the concept was really interesting and I liked how it was edited. However, I think that miming all/a majority of lyrics isn’t very effective in a music video unless it’s showing a live performance of the song.”  “Amazing song voice, matches perfectly with the video, actress fits great with the look.”  “The concept was very interesting and engaging and the editing was good, although I didn’t like the first half as much because it wasn’t so bold.”  “The video represents the genre well, it captures what the song is about. Not only this but it contributes to the feel of the music itself.”
• 7.
  Looking at thisfeedback was not only tremendously beneficial towards by product/media development. It also highlighted certain elements that I hadn’t considered before. For example, one of my feedback comments stated that “The video represents the genre well” yet I had always thought I had always subverted the conventions of the genre.
• 8.
   One ofthe conventions of the Electronic Dance Music genre is known to be love/sexuality. Therefore I asked my audience if they saw examples of this within my video and asked them to expand their answer on this.  5 out of 16 answering ‘Yes’; 4 out of 16 answering ‘No’ and 7 out of 16 stating they were “Not Sure”.
• 9.
  Some responses onif my viewer saw Love/Sexuality within my Music Video: “It seemed maybe that the girl in the video had unrequited love, or was suffering from a recent break-up? There was also a shot of her lying down, which could perhaps be seen as a sexualised scene?” “The song seemed to be about love and heartbreak but didn’t see much in the acting.” “Unfortunately, I can’t think of something that does show this.” “The lone girl and the graveyard made me think more of isolation rather than sexuality or love.” “Not sure because there was only one person in the video.” “When there were close-ups of the girl’s short dress and her legs, it was clear you were portraying a girl in a sexual nature. The use of wedding bells and the settings of a church also helped to demonstrate love.”
• 10.
  These responses werevery interesting for me as some of the aspects my audience picked up on were not intentional. For example, the sexualisation of my female performer and the use of wedding bells and the church location to connote love. This emphasises, although we have come a long way in terms of representation and the sexualisation of females, how theories like The Male Gaze and being forced to look upon media from a heterosexual male’s viewpoint really is still heavily prevalent with today’s media and society. This also shows that female sexualisation still is inadvertently thrust into contemporary culture and media.
• 11.
   I wantedmy Target Audience’s opinion on what demographic they would say my Music Video appealed to (I wanted to see if they’d pick themselves as this would be vitally important if I was going to develop products in the future).  14/16 people said my Music Video would appeal to Teenagers/Young Adults from the ages of 13-19 years.  1/16 people said my Music Video would appeal to Males from the ages of 20-35 years.  1/16 people said my Music Video would appeal to Females from the ages of 20-35 years. My respondents commented:  “The actress used to create this video appears to be between the age range of 13-19, which makes her relatable to the audience, they share something in common. She is also wearing a plain white dress which is representative of Youth and Innocence. However the church and faded theme makes me think of an older generation where religion was a necessity, not a choice.”  “It’s like some of the videos that teens watch today”  This age group are able to relate more to the character, as they are of a similar age. As well as this, the music fits the type of music that you would stereotypically expect teenagers to listen to- a mix of lyrics as well as dance music. The change in the music emphasises how much the editing means to the video. E.g. when special effects are used (when clip is flipped upside down).”
• 12.
  Gaining feedback fromthis question was beneficial to me as I was able to gather my audience’s viewpoint towards my intended audience. The latter responses highlighting one of the exact conventions of an Electronic Dance Music track. For example, this survey participant highlighted “how much the editing means to the video”. One of the main conventions of an Electronic Dance Music video is how edited it is/ the type of computer generated imagery is incorporated, and therefore, my audience could see this intention within my Video and how I had used it.
• 13.
  Also keen toknow whether my audience feel my video could relate to a younger generation. I asked them. See the statistics here:
• 14.
   Exactly 50%said Yes; 18.7% said No; with 31.25% Not Sure. Asking them to expand on their response, they said:  “A younger audience could relate to this video (particularly the way I interpreted it) because when you’re an adolescent, there is a lot of pressure in school and outside, socially, to find a partner or to gain attention from someone, and if/when this doesn’t happen, it can cause any individual to be upset or frustrated. The way the video was filmed and edited seemed (in my opinion) to reflect confusion and frustration, as a result of a failed relationship (Of course the video could have any number of interpretations).”  “I don’t think there was much to relate to in the acting.”  “Everyone has moments where they feel lost and alone”.  “I think they [younger generation] would because they may see themselves within the characters played. The lyrics to a song may also be relatable to an audience. I feel girls would relate to this more than a male would.”
• 15.
  These responses helpedme as I was able to understand if my video was clear and effective, being able to gage my products more appropriately if need be. The first opinion, on my previous slide, regarding school-like love, I find to be interesting as although this was not MY OWN intention it’s fascinating to see that others interpreted it differently.
• 16.
  Aside from mymusic video, I also presented my audience with my Digipak and Homepage; which you can both find below, and through the link: http://georgemugglestone9.wix.com/a2mediawebsite
• 17.
   It wasidentified that they liked all three products and when asked to expand their response it was stated:  “Both the Digipak and Homepage showcase a very professional looking design in appearance and structure, and continue with the distinct, rather abstract visual style introduced in the original music video. This helps in promotion by creating an instantly recognisable brand design, that in terms of the Digipak, would stand out prominently on any retailer’s shelf, and with the website, quickly and visually informs any newcomers as to what to expect. The fact the art style of these two other products flows so well with the unique sound and flow of the music only enforces a brand identity that will do more to encourage audiences to check it out”  This response I found extremely encouraging as it allowed me to realise my products were extremely strong and not only was I proud of them myself, others were appreciating the art/style/products I had created; letting me know that what I had developed certainly was marketable. This information I could use for future projects/products.
• 18.
   I alsoasked if it was clear my products followed a theme, the responses indicating it was. When asked for my audience to expand upon this, they stated:  “All three products share the same themes of loss and regret, as heard in the lyrics of the song itself and further indicated by the repetitive, symbolic imagery of the church and the gravestones for the former, and through hazy, almost ethereal visuals editing style for the latter. All featuring in some consistency throughout the whole project, the fine details also keep up these themes, such as the high contrast image of the church on the homepage to make it look more foreboding and therefore highlight the idea that what the subject has lost is great. Even the name of the subject herself is an indication to the theme of loss and regret – Since Hank. All these details are well designed to help immerse the audience in the themes of the song and its true meaning.”
• 19.
  This feedback issignificantly advantageous to me as it allowed me to realise the theme I had followed throughout was strong and clear towards my audience. One aspect that I perhaps should have considered more so was making it clear to my audience that “Since Hank” was the artist behind the track, not my performer, as my last respondent referred to ‘Since Hank’ by using female pronouns.
• 20.
  To conclude, obtainingthe Audience Feedback for my three products allowed me to determine patterns within my audience on their likes, dislikes and opinions. This way, not only have I gained constructive feedback, it has also given me valuable information I can take with me and utilise for future reference. I.E. when I come to make more/develop future products or projects.