What
have you learned from your audience feedback?
I set out on gathering feedback on my final song choice,
artist name and initial concept for my music video. firstly proposed the idea
to a number of people by simply explaining the concept and then displaying the planning
I had already undertook. I then gave them an questionnaire to fill out and
return to me. I used these methods as I wanted to identify if my initial
perception of my target audience was correct and if my media products were
presenting themselves to the target audience to the desired effect.
I chose to use a questionnaire as it is a simple and
practical way of collecting reliable
information from a large number of people. The information collected is also
often precise and so can be used effectively to make alterations to my media
products. Also by simply talking to members of my target audience I could
quickly receive information by making notes and once finished I could go
through the notes and pick out what were the most popular ideas put forward and
what ideas would be most realistic to achieve.
Music Video Concept Questionnaire
This is the basic initial questionnaire I used to get a general idea of what my target audience wanted to get out of my media product. I has very simple questions that I would go on to use when choosing what to do for my own media product. These simple questions would help me determine who my target audience is and what they want to see in a media product like mine. It also enables me to explore other groups of people that may not be interested in my product initially but may possibly be convinced to take more interest in such products in future.
The second piece of audience research I did was after I had made a draft production of my video. I then went on to show this draft to an audience and ask for feedback. I compiled 7 questions which I would ask after the audience had watched my product.
Here are the questions:
1. On a scale of 1 to 10 how much did you enjoy watching the video?
I decided to use this question first as it compels the audience to think on the spot as to what they think of my video. By using a simple scale, when asked, the audience needs to condense their whole perception of the video into one. By using a numerical scale I can determine the percentage of people who rated my video highest and who rated it the lowest, this enables me to make precise improvements to my product. This type of question is vital as it gives me an insight as to weather my product is doing its job, which is to entertain and be enjoyable to watch.
2. Did you find the video interesting or did it struggle to hold your attention?
This question is very alike to the first question as often if someone enjoys watching a video they are likely to find it interesting. For a music video to spark someones interest it needs to connect to their life directly. I left this question without a scale as I wanted the audience to elaborate on why the found it interesting or not. I could then make changes according to what ideas come up the most.
Would you want to watch the music video again?
This once again is very important as I wan my product to make a lasting impact on the audience and be a good, representative example of a music video from my chosen genre. This also gives me a definitive answer as to weather the audience really enjoyed my video or not.
What did you think of the camera work/editing/mise en scene?
This question is necessary as it firstly, tells me what exact moments in the video did the audience notice the most and if it had the desired effect. Secondly, it tells me weather the things I wanted the audience to notice or relate to were noticed and also if they were successful. Furthermore this also allows the audience to judge my video on its content and rather than look at the acting or focusing on the music being played. This gives me a technical insight as to weather the techniques I used were effective.
Did you like or dislike any particular aspect of the video?
This question gives the audience the opportunity to point out flaws in the video and give me their own opinion on how to improve it. This gives me the chance to make any drastic changes if many of the audience members agree on a particular flaw.
What parts of the video did you consider a success?
This question gives the audience to highlight the successes of the video and just generally praise the video for anything they thought went well.
Does the music video reflect the song, genre and artist?
This is a very important question, as it is the goal of every potential music video to do the song and the artist justice. If a music video reflects this correctly the music video will not only have purpose but also will help set the connotations of peoples first perception of the song or artist if they haven't seen them before.
Audience Feedback
Questionnaire
After giving out the questionnaires and receiving them back I had a much better idea of my target audience and exactly what they wanted out of a music video. for example the responses I received for the last question were very interesting. I asked 'If you could describe your 'ideal' music video, what would it consist of?'. I was expecting a wide range of responses but what I received was fascinating. The majority chose similar genres such as alternative, rock and pop/punk but the interesting aspect was that many of the female participants favored a narrative based music video whilst the males preferred performance based. This was also reflected in the section below where the participant can elaborate. Many females explained that they would prefer if the artist or another character had a pre-set narrative, that relates to the song and would develop over the duration of the video. They also like the idea of a mix of performance and narrative, for example one participant said "the best videos normally have the artist performing in some shots and then acting along with the narrative in the other shots. It makes it seem like the performance is the artists subconscious and the other shots are reality."
On the other hand the male participants evidently preferred a fast paced, performance based music video. The males explained that although narratives are interesting they can distract from the song and so dampen down its effectiveness. One quoted "A fast pace video with a upbeat, loud song would be best. This would easily hold my attention and definitely would encourage me to re watch the video"
This show a clear divide between male and female opinions but shows it is possible to converge various types of video to make a hybrid that ideally suits everyone's taste.
Q&A
After showing and audience my draft video I proposed to them the questions. I received a lot of positive feedback and some very helpful constructive criticism.
In general the feedback I received was positive but it was very helpful to have them watch the video and point out any fault within the video that I hadn't noticed so I could quickly correct them as best as I could. Furthermore the comments on camera work and editing were positive but also the viewers suggested possible editing techniques. I then went back and trialed these techniques and ended up using some for a particular clip that I found very effective.
Overall I found the audience very enlightening as not only did it help me understand the connotations and expectations of certain genres of music but also allowed me to delve into the ideas and concepts that really provoke peoples interest and curiosity that will keep drawing them back to watch a video once more.
Further more the question and answer session I had with the group of peers was very successful in helping me make the best out of my video.
