What have you learned from your audience feedback?
To gain feedback on my final products I decided to ask my peers a variety of questions, obtained from survey, focus groups and social networking.
Music Video
Survey
I started by jotting down some possible questions I could ask and then from there I created a survey in both written and online formats. This meant that I could hand out the written version in class and post the link to the online survey on social networking. Below are examples of both surveys.
Once I had created my online survey I used Facebook chat to share it with some of my more trustworthy friends who I thought might complete it. This allowed me to obtain feedback fairly quickly as they could simply fill out my survey when they had the chance and I would receive their response automatically. I also shared the link on my twitter page so that I could receive feedback from my followers. Below are screenshots of how I've used social networking to obtain feedback.
Could some of you friendly people watch my A2 music video and complete my survey pleaaase :) https://t.co/dkB5fe5FU9
— Emily (@Emily_Rhian18) March 24, 2015
Results
Written Format:
Online Format:
GoAnimate example:
Feedback 2 by emilyrhianlawson on GoAnimate
Q1 - Do you think my video matches its genre (Indie Rock)? Why?
From looking at my responses it is clear that my music video was identifiable as a product from the indie rock genre with 100% of the respondents answering 'yes' to this question. The reasons for this were almost completely down to the costume/style of the cast and the narrative which people thought to be 'unconventional', 'unique' and 'controversial'. This tells me that my careful planning and preparation of costume really paid off. One of the respondents said that 'the unconventional narrative links with the genre which generally breaks conventions' showing that my thought processes when planning and constructing my music video have been understood as breaking the right amount of conventions to match my genre was something that I was constantly considering. I feel that from these matching responses I can infer that my product is effective in portraying the indie rock style.
Q2 - Do you think that it is effective as a media text? Why?
As with the previous question there was a unanimous vote with everyone answering 'yes' to this question. This informs me that everyone thought it was effective and fulfilled its purpose as a music video. The reasons for this decision are quite varied showing that it is consumed differently by everyone. However some of the given reasons were that it is 'engaging', 'entertaining' and has an 'impact'. This tells me that my video was successful in attracting my audience and didn't lose their attention. One person said that 'parts were entertaining using various techniques to link the narrative to the song' suggesting that my planning (through my storyboard, etc) has really paid off as when thinking up my shots I was always seeing how I could link them to the song via the editing, cinematography, etc. From looking at these responses I feel that I can say that my product has achieved its purpose and is an effective and successful media text.
Q3 - What was your favourite part of the video? Why?
There were differing opinions on what was thought to be the best part of my video which again shows that the way my product is consumed depends on the individual. It also tells me that there isn't particularly a boring section in my video. The most commonly suggested sections were when the shot switches between the two characters faces whilst the females head is turning, the scenes involving blood (due to the realisticness) and the flashback section. All of these sections are towards the end of my video suggesting that the end of my video is possibly more entertaining than the beginning and so if I was to further improve my video I would maybe change some of the shots or add more editing effects, etc to the beginning of my video. Other than that this feedback is very positive and tells me that I have a range of entertaining parts in my video.
Q4 - What would you change/improve? Why?
In general people said that they wouldn't improve anything which is reassuring as it tells me have constructed a good music video however there were a few minor improvements that people suggested. These were things such as the acting, slight continuity errors and bad lighting in some shots. There was a particular suggestion in the feedback saying that I should match the lighting to the mood and so it should be slightly darker. This would have been hard to do however as the shots would have become grainy and unclear without the proper lighting equipment but I had originally planned to film when it was dark cause I also thought that darker lighting would compliment the mood. Looking from an audiences point of view I can see how the acting in some of the shots may have let the video down slightly however the narrative is still understandable and interpreted correctly therefore I don't think this has had that great an impact on the quality of my video. This is also something which I am unable to change therefore for a college production I think this is acceptable. The minor continuity errors are something that I may consider looking at editing. These are mainly a result of changes in lighting having shot shots on different days. To change this I would either have to refilm all of these shots again to make sure the lighting matches or I would have to replace the non fitting shots to the ones previously filmed with the original lighting, however this would make the quality of these shots decrease because I changed them in the first place because of their low quality. These suggested improvements are only minor things which tells me that on a whole my video is to a fairly professional standard as minor improvements are expected at this level.
Q5 - Do you think the narrative is effective? Why?
On a whole people said that they did think it was an effective narrative (93% of respondents) however one person said that they did not and their reason for this was 'I was a bit confused what was happening so couldn't always follow it'. This allows me to view my product from the eyes of an audience member and see that some things may not have been represented clearly and therefore resulted in confusion. To resolve this I could sit down with the respondent and go through exactly what or which section may have confused them and see how I could change or alter it. Although the majority of responses said that they did think that the narrative was effective and therefore this one odd result may be because of a lack of full attention to the video. The majority of cases completely understood the narrative and that it had a non chronological order therefore I am confident that the correct message is portrayed. The main given reasons for my narrative being effective was that it was 'interesting' or 'unique', it had a 'good/clear message' and it 'fit with the song/lyrics'. From this I can conclude that my narrative is not a direct copy of any other and therefore has its own style and is memorable. This is good because the purpose of my video is to sell the song therefore if the music video is memorable this will make the song more attractive to potential buyers. The fact the people also think that the narrative links with my song/ lyrics is good because I spent time conducting a lyrics analysis and deciding how I could link the video to the lyrics. Having this connection again makes the video and therefore the song memorable. Overall I can see from this feedback that my narrative has been interpreted properly and has had a big impact on the audience, therefore it has done what I had hoped.
Q6 - Do you think it looks like a real/conventional music video? Why?
Everyone I asked said they did think it looked like a real/conventional video which is reassuring as it tells me that it is of a high quality and looks professional. However on a few occasions people said that the acting in the video made it look considerably less like a real music video. As mentioned previously this is something that I didn't have much control over and was down to my cast members to perform properly. I tried to prompt them and show them exactly what I wanted them to do but with them being quite shy people getting the result I had hoped for from my cast was difficult at times. The main reason for the conventionality of my music video was down to the range of cinematography and the editing (particularly its link with the beat of the music). From this I am able to deduce that the professionalism of my product is mainly down to my creative skills and also my ability to film and edit well. This is good because this is what I spent the most of my time on whilst constructing my music video. Some other respondents also said that it looked similar to a real music video because it followed conventions and the high quality of the shots made it look professional. These are things that I have carefully considered in the planning and making processes and therefore it is clear that my video has been interpreted in the way that I had hoped whilst I was making it. This feedback has allowed me to see that although minor things (such as the acting) have lowered the professionalism of my product is generally of a high quality and mimics an actual real life video, therefore I can deduce that my video has been a success.
Focus Group
I decided that as well as written feedback it would be good to also get some verbal feedback in the form of a focus group. I came up with a different set of questions to ask 2 of my friends who also do media studies at A level. These questions were:
-What genre do you think my video belongs to and why?
-What do you think the best part of my video is?
-What do you think the worst part of my video is?
-Do you think my video has continuity?
-Do you think my video and my ancillary texts match?
-Would you watch my video again?
I got my friends Kayleigh and Kate (who are both 18 and media students) to take part in my focus group. This is because they have an awareness of media terminology and could evaluate my work practically, having been through the process themselves. Below is the video.
Once I had recorded and reviewed my focus group I decided that it would probably be helpful to do another video but this time with a male, who doesn't study media. I got my brother who is 21 and a government and politics student to feature in another video but still answering the same questions as before. This is because it would give me feedback from a differing demographic so that I could consider a range of opinions. The fact that he doesn't study media and has no awareness of the subject also meant that I would be receiving feedback from an ordinary audience member.
The feedback I have received from these videos has been very influential and has helped me to judge whether my final music video has been successful and if it has been interpreted in the manor I had hoped. The answers given from all three subjects are generally very similar which tells me that my video has overall been effective.
The genre was identified by all three respondents as Indie/Indie Rock which combined with the comments from my surveys tells me that my product is clearly identifiable as from that genre. This is good because it means that the style I was hoping to achieve has been successful and previous planning to create the style has clearly helped with this. The reasons that were suggested for it being an indie style video were that it 'follows the conventions of the genre' and the 'narrative' and 'clothing and music' are indie. The fact that Kate (a media student) could identify my product as following the conventions of this genre is promising as it tells me that I have successfully captured the essence of the indie rock genre. This also tells me that my product has an element of professionalism as it is similar to other indie rock music videos. The comments about the narrative and clothing by Kayleigh and Ben also back this up as they form part of the conventions of the indie genre. I carefully planned these out through storyboarding and outfit preparation posts telling me such planning was necessary in creating a realistic indie rock music video.
Thoughts on the best part of my video varied with each person but this, as mentioned with the survey responses, is because my product is consumed differently by everyone due to their outside influences. Kate said 'you've got a really wide range of cinematography and editing so it looks really professional' which is really helpful as being a media student she knows what is needed in a music video to make it look effective. The cinematography of my video is something I carefully considered whilst creating my storyboard as this is something I'm particularly interested in. I did lots of prior research by looking at existing videos and what they have used, this helped me to decide on how I could use cinematography in my video. I am glad that this has been successful. I also spent a lot of time listening to and then re listening to my song to see where I could/should place my edits which I think has been effective because they fit well with the music. Kayleigh said she liked the lip sync section in my video which is again conventional, this tells me I have edited it effectively and it looks professional. She specifically said how she liked how they were singing 'next to each other' which tells me that the similarity of the shots has been understood as a purposeful technique. I was worried how the use of a male lip syncing sections with a females voice actually singing the lyrics would be seen and whether people would believe this to lower the professionalism of the video but with the lyric 'the men cry out' matching I thought that it would provide an interesting link with the narrative and this comment tells me that appears to have been understood. Ben said that he liked the section with the female characters head spinning and the heads interchanging between the female and the male. This has been a popular part of my video with the audience and I am glad I involved this performance section. I think that this has been popular due to its simplicity and the editing which links well with the beat of the song.
There wasn't much negative feedback on my video which is good as it tells me that the vast majority of it is to a high standard. The girls could not think of anything to say on the spot and would maybe have had something to say if they had longer to think about it however my brother thought that the acting was 'wooden' and there were some 'minor continuity errors'. This is really helpful as it allows me to see my video from his eyes and see how minor things may have effected the professionalism of my video. The acting is something that is out of my control and is down to my cast however if I had access to performing arts students or keen actors I could have used these to make my video look more realistic and similar to existing products. This was not something I was able to do however and so I had to ask friends who I could trust to be reliable and not let me down. The continuity errors are only minor things that the majority of the time are only noticable when considerable attention is being paid. For example I shot some of the house scenes on different days which resulted in a change of lighting which can be noticeable. This is not something I was able to correct in the editing process and therefore the only way to correct this would be to refilm the whole section which I and my cast don't really have time to do before the official deadline. On a whole suggestions for improvements were small things which haven't had a major impact on my final product so I am not too worried about these.
The response to whether my video has continuity was mixed, the girls both thought that it did. Kate said that it follows the same style which is what I wanted from my product I didn't want any major changes in costume or setting because with it being narrative based I thought that this may cause confusion, whereas if I had done a video which was more abstract or performance based I may have used different styles. Kayleigh said that although the outfits change (which is conventional) they all match and go with the theme this is good because as I have previously said I spent a lot of time preparing and planning the outfits. Ben however said that he thought that there was a lack of continuity which links with his criticism, this however he pointed out is only a minor thing linking to the changes in lighting etc which can be noticeable at times. As I said previously I am not too bothered about this as its only a minor thing and doesn't have that big an impact.
In response to whether my subjects thought my ancillary texts and my video matched I found that they all agreed and thought that they did. This is good because this means that my promotional package is thought to be cohesive and linking. This also means that audience members will be able to identify the song by any of my products. Kate and Ben both thought that the use of blood on the digipak and in the video provides an identifiable link which was my intention. The idea of using props from the video on my ancillary texts was an idea I set out on using and had even experimented with using the knife prop but found that this did not work as well. If I wanted to make my products even more cohesive I could possible use the blood on my magazine ad however finding a place for this could be difficult as it is already very crowded. As Ben also pointed out, cohesion is also created through the use of the same characters on all of my products, therefore I believe that this is enough to create a link. Kayleigh also said that you can sort of tell the narrative through the ancillary texts which again tells me that my products are cohesive as if you were to see my digipak or magazine ad you would be able to identify the link with the video.
My final question was just asking whether they would watch the video again, I put this in as I way of finding out whether they thought my video was entertaining cause if they would voluntarily watch it again they must have liked it. All 3 respondents said that they would watch it again with Kate saying that she 'really liked it' which is reassuring that my hard work and effort has resulted in a successful product that members of the audience would enjoy watching.
Ancillary Texts
Social Networking
After obtaining the previous feedback on my music video I decided that I wanted to receive some more feedback on my ancillary texts. I thought that the best way to do this would be to post them on the popular social networking site Instagram. I asked for some general feedback, such as likes/dislikes/improvements as at this point I didn't have any specific questions and simply wanted to find out what people thought of my ancillary texts. This allowed me to gain responses fairly quickly instead of having to ask each individual separately. Below are screenshots of the feedback I received.
The majority of responses were fairly positive and they all picked out at least one good thing about my products. Most of the respondents mentioned the main image I used and how well it was edited which is great feedback for me as this is what is supposed to draw you to my products initially. The fact that the majority of my respondents mentioned the main images effectiveness is helpful as I spent of time researching and finding out how to edit the image successfully. One respondent said that it was 'aesthetically pleasing' informing me that my designing skills have been useful throughout the process of constructing both products. The colour scheme was also frequently mentioned with people liking the 'simplicity', 'cohesion' and 'continuity' within it. This is good because I carefully planned out the colour scheme I wished to use as to create a link throughout my products. The colour scheme used on products can often decrease or increase the effectiveness/professionalism of a product, therefore this positive feedback regarding the colour scheme is reassuring as it tells me that my products have been quite effective. I am glad that people think that the colour scheme has continuity as this means that they have an identifiable link which people will be able to recognise. One person did however say 'the colour scheme on the other hand is a bit plain and dull' which tells me that there are varying opinions. This may be because of the lack of brightness in the colour scheme which I can see how it may decrease the attractiveness of my products however if I were to add another bright, eye catching colour it may make my product look over powering and less professional. I also believe that the colour scheme and in particular its simplicity matches the genre of my video and adding more colours may decrease its similarity with other indie rock products. With this being a non recurring opinion I don't believe that the quality of my ancillary texts has been effected greatly by this and with the majority of people liking the colour scheme I do not feel like I need to change it. The only other dislike that was mentioned about my products was that the QR code on the magazine ad was thought to stand out too much against the white background and 'looks a bit daft'. This is quite helpful as I took a risk by putting it on my ad as it is not necessarily conventional to do so. I can now see how the placement may not be aesthetically pleasing and to improve I could possibly move it or alternatively make it smaller. Another suggested improvement was to make the background of the front cover of the digipak black as to make the image stand out more however I have already experimented with the background colour to see the effect it would have and after consideration decided that the plain white looked best. This is because the subjects hair and other features are often confused with the background. In addition to this the actual editing process is a lot harder and minor mistakes are a lot more visible essentially decreasing the professionalism of the product. If I was to change this now I would also have to change the background of the rest of the digipak and possibly the magazine ad to create continuity and cohesion. Therefore I don't believe changing the background colour at this stage would make the product look any better. On a whole the feedback I have maintained on my ancillary texts has been positive and has reassured me that my products have all been very successful. Any dislikes have been minor and generally easily reversible and therefore I am happy with the final outcome of my products.
In conclusion after gathering feedback via surveys, focus groups/video feedback and social networking, I believe that I have created a successful and professional promotional package. The feedback given will also allow me to develop/improve my work further if I wish to do so.
No comments:
Post a Comment