What have you learned from your audience feedback? (Question 3)

In order to find out whether my music video would be successful and attract an audience, my group and I created a closed group on Facebook and invited people to comment upon the music video, giving us constructive feedback. The questions that I asked related to the genre and the conventions that we used. My group and I also wanted to see what aspects we could improve if we were to film this music video again; therefore we asked our focus group what could be improved.

The first question we devised was ‘what do you like about this video?’ The comments we received for this question were mainly based on the conventions that we encoded in the music video. One person answered that they enjoyed the section where the mobile phone is shown, and another stated that they liked the burning photograph at the end of the video. These are the conventions of the pop genre that we purposely encoded for the audience to decode. Therefore, this feedback shows that the audience were able to decode these conventions, which created a preferred reading. My group and I wanted these props to create meaning, and show the audience that the characters relationship has ended. One person said that they thought that the burning photograph symbolises the end of the relationship very effectively, suggesting that our use of props worked efficiently.

As well as commenting upon props, another person commented that they enjoyed the setting and location because it’s unique and adventurous. My group and I intended for the location to reflect the mood of the song, and hopefully anchor an audience. This comment suggests that our planning did work, and that the location choice was very successful for our video.

Following on from this, the next question my group and I asked was ‘do you think the location of our video is suitable for the storyline?’ We found that all of our feedback suggested that the location and setting choice was successful, and that by using this particular setting of a stormy beach really reflected the mood and the lyrical meaning. I really felt that by using a certain setting that did reflect the song choice would engage an audience more, and would enhance the meaning of the song.

My group and I then decided to ask whether our focus group understood the storyline within the music video and within the song. All of our feedback stated that the storyline was well understood, and that it was clear to the audience. My group and I tried to make the narrative as clear as possible, which is why we encoded certain conventions, and also why we structured the narrative in a linear way, which allowed the audience to understand it. We also wished for the narrative of our music video to reflect the lyrics of the song, enhancing the meaning of it, which I felt went successfully.

The genre my group and I based our music video around was pop, as we used a pop song and we also encoded many conventional features of this genre of music, such as the props; the characters; the narrative; and the location. We intended for the audience to be able to identify which genre of music we had chosen for our music video, which we then found, by asking this question, that the genre was easily identifiable.

The people that stated what genre they believed it was got it correct, as they all said that the video abides to the pop genre. This shows that by including certain conventions and features, the genre can be easily identifiable by the audience. As I wished for the genre to be easily decided by the audience, I feel that this was a success, as everyone guessed the genre correctly.

Even though my group and I wanted to find out what people enjoyed within our music video, we also wished to find out what people thought we could improve in our video if we were to film and edit it again. Therefore, to gain answers for this, we asked our focus group what we could improve if we made the video again.

The audience feedback from this question was extremely clear, as everyone commented upon the same aspects. My group and I found that improving the miming of the lyrics on our video would be beneficial, as this was a common aspect people commented on. If we were to film this video again, I would encourage the character to put more emotion into the miming of the lyrics, which would come across more convincing to the audience. Also, in some sections of our music video, the miming is slightly off synchronisation with the lyrics, which is noticeable to the audience. If we were to edit our video again, this would be something that my group and I would focus on more, in order to satisfy our target audience. One person also stated that filming footage in different locations would have improved our video. So, therefore, if my group and I had the chance to re-film our video, we could maybe film in a number of different locations, to intrigue an audience more and maybe even disorientate them, which would keep the interested in the music video.

So, overall, the audience feedback I received for our music video did prove that the conventions and features my group and I encoded did make it easier for the audience to indentify the genre, and also helped the narrative flow and become clear. However, there are a number of improvements we would make if we had the chance to film and edit our video again. These improvements would include; filming in many different locations, using more costume ideas and making sure all of the miming of the lyrics are in time with the actual lyrics of the song. However, I do feel as though our video did appeal to an audience, and did intrigue them into watching it.