The first method of receiving audience feedback I used was to hand out ten questionnaires. These questionnaires heavily focused on the music video. I handed out questionnaires due to the fact I knew that they would be a non-time consuming method of gaining feedback, for both me and the audience that were filling them out. Below is an example of our target audience.
Looking over the results it was easy to categorise and get a collective idea for how the audience felt about certain shots etc. For example one audience member said that 'the shot of the fire' was their favourite shot because it was 'aesthetically nice and symbolic' therefore from this feedback I knew that in terms of this shot I got across what I wished to in terms of using nature to connote peace throughout the music video. Firstly I tried especially hard to create a visually stimulating music video; and I thought that the idealistic look of a warm open fire would create this impression.
However they continued to state that the shot at 1.37 (a shot of Ellie at the dinner table) wasn't a 'bad shot' it was just more 'simple' and 'plain' than the other shots. Another audience member also reiterated this point, that overall their least favourable shots were the dinner table ones. Therefore if there was a section within the music video that I would film again - it would be this scene which I would reshoot.
I would perhaps shoot it outside, to create an Alice In Wonderland (lost girl) tone to the scene, it would also make it much more visually appealing as the lighting would be brighter, natural light. In this scenario I could also make sure that there was nothing in the background apart from Ellie and her family - ensuring that the shot seemed much more interesting, like in the rest of the music video when the audience's attention is fully on Ellie.
Another option I could have approached, was to shorten this scene and create a completely different one. Perhaps another scenario of the parent characters arguing to reiterate how much fighting there is within the household. Then this would put less emphasis on the argument scene and if it was even more quickly edited - it would seem as interesting as the rest of the video.
Successfully, all of the audience feedback confirmed that they did empathise with Ellie in the music video. For example audience members said that:
'The eye contact throughout engages and acknowledges the active audience and she is portrayed as innocent, vulnerable and a likeable character.'
'I definitely felt sorry for her.'
It was very important that during the music video the audience empathised with the young girl because due to the lyrics, it was important that the audience felt this way about the young girl in order to understand and form a connection with the song itself (and therefore the artist). Also we didn't want the video to seem pointless with no connection to the main character at all - which is why there are a vast number of shots of Ellie looking into the camera therefore breaking the fourth wall. We deliberately used this method in order for the audience to form a connection with the girl.
One audience member referenced the 'active audience' and therefore I was very pleased to hear this since I wanted the audience to feel involved in the narrative, having to gradually put the pieces together to discover the story of the young girl. This was to keep the audience engaged and interested in the music video at the same time as portraying the message we wished to get across.
Many gave the answer that the shots with the flashing lights were their favourite ones. For reasons of aestheticism and for flashing co-ordinately with the beat of the music. Since this was one of the most time-consuming scenes to construct the mise-en-scene within the shot, I was pleased with the fact that it was reviewed as an impressive shot.
My final questionnaire question was 'one thing in the music video you would change?' and many examples said to include more shots of the boy drumming, since this was a shot which was exciting and worked well with generate interest in the narrative. Therefore, since especially males gave this feedback, if I made the video again I would incorporate more of these shots.
During constructing the music video, from planning to filming - I often asked members of the class/students who fell in my target audience for their thoughts on ideas such as the greyscale effect, whether to include certain shots, their thoughts of the narrative etc. This helped me to construct a music video that I felt would appeal to the target audience successfully.
An example of asking the opinion of my target audience; was when deciding the costume which Ellie's character should be presented in. As a young girl I wanted the costume to reflect her innocence yet a development in her character throughout the video by her clothing getting progressively darker to suggest her growing up. An example of this, was originally I wanted to use a white Victorian dress which would suitably portray the class and elegance of the young girl. However, I was unsure if this would create an alienating aspect and the audience would feel that the music video was dated. Therefore I asked the opinion of two of my classmates and they agreed that the idea of using a white dress would produce the connotations I wished to achieve, yet the Victorian style wouldn't suit the modern tone of the music video due to the theme of a broken home. Therefore I decided upon using a plain white dress which has neither heavy modern or retro connotations.
Another method of which I used to gain audience feedback was via interviewing a variety of people that fell within the bracket of my target audience. This meant that the audience could go as in depth as they pleased with their answers and gave me the opportunity to ask them to develop their answer if I felt it could be developed. For example, one of my interviewees was seventeen year-old Jade Smith. Jade explained 'I like the blue and green theme running through, it seems calming and serene. I also like the repetition of the half-underwater image and the fact that you cannot see the girls eyes. This means that whoever the girl is, is a mystery which means that as an audience member I was not alienated and felt that the image would relate to anyone.' in response to questions about the magazine advertisement from the print production package.
I was firstly pleased with the acknowledgment that the blue tint was calming, since the beginning of producing the print production I wanted the digipack to seem calming and serene. Therefore I was glad to hear that the cooling tints I put on all of the images used, created this impression. On the other hand, when using the half in and half out of water photograph the main reasons behind this were because I saw the connotations of claustrophobia and a difficulty to breath/survive.
I did not think, as Jade did, of the connotations of not being able to have sight. Which are obviously a murkiness and confused state (possibly looking into the future), a vulnerability - since a blind state would make the young girl vulnerable and a lack of identity.
Jade's reference to the young girl being inexplicit and therefore easy to relate to, or as an audience member see yourself in her shoes was something which I aimed for when creating my print productions. From the initial planning stages, I was determined that in both my music video and print productions I would use a young girl who was relatable to the target audience. Therefore by looking at the album or music video, they felt that the artist got where they were coming from and therefore there was a high likelihood that the album itself would also be relatable to Indie-Pop fans.
Another way in which interviews with my audience helped me evaluate my music video and print productions was through constructive criticism. 18 year-old Guy Hewson was another whom I interviewed and he explained 'I like the font it just does not stand out enough to grasp the audience'. Even though I aimed for tones of subtlety and elegance, I understood that something which some Indie-Pop fans look for is an album which is completely grasping in it's explicitness which mine is not.
Therefore if I recreated my digipack I may take a different approach to the digipack front cover. I would keep the majority of the digipack as it is, only change the front cover to seem more exciting and thrilling so that the likelihood of the target audience picking up the album is greater. Then the other subtle connotations may be seen after this such as the serenity and classic tone.
Another piece of useful information that I learnt from interviewing my target audience was from Charlie (a fifteen year old who falls into the category of target audience) he explained 'I like that it's not an average, normal music video, which makes it stand out'. The references to the music video not being normal and average, was something that I aimed for from planning both print productions and the music video. I wanted to represent Noccakani in a unique way, which would successfully appeal to an indie-pop target audience. Thereby Charlie suggests that the music video is original and interesting, therefore would appeal.
The positive feedback in general confirmed that some of the things which I aimed for in the creation of my music video and print productions came through and did successfully appeal to the audience. Overall since the music video 'stands out' from other music videos, on YouTube or when watching a music video channel, this music video would appeal most, thereby sell the brand most successfully.
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