What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Fahmida Begum

Who was the target audience?

The music video we created is widely aimed at 16-24 year olds, specifically males. My target age group is 16 - 24 year olds because I find they will be able to understand and relate to the lyrics the most. As the song is representing change, this is usually a point in time where young males who may be on ‘the wrong path’ are looking for guidance, improvement and forgiveness.

Rough cut feedback

When the rough-cut was shown to my peers, I found that the majority of people found it slightly disengaging because there was only one shot for each verse/chorus – but this was only due the fact that we did not start cutting our music video. They did, however, like the camera movement which made the rough cut dynamic and not static.

Official music video feedback

After the screening of the music video, I received a lot positive feedback.

- The main feedback being in relation to the chorus. The audience enjoyed this because of two reasons:

1) A female artist was introduced and appealed to the majority of the audience . This may be due the way in which she was dressed.

2) It added to the pace of the beat and the atmosphere.

What appealed to the audience?

From audience feedback, I had found that the use of a female artist was an important aspect of attracting my target audience. The female artist in my music video appealed to a young female audience because it meant the song wasn’t only male orientated. This would have also attracted a male audience as they do not particularly enjoy looking at a male artist throughout a video; and as the music video was not very materialistic, we could not just have T-C dancing with girls or have dismembered girls on screen.

What appealed to the audience?

The juxtaposition of dark and light settings appealed to the audience. They liked this because it made it atypical of hip-hop music videos.

From this particular feedback, I have learnt that people do not usually like hip-hop music videos because it is usually dark and people do not see much meaning behind them music videos. However, this is all open to opinion as not everyone enjoys hip-hop music videos.

This also showed me that sometimes people like to view something that’s not conventional and is unique. But, some things should stay conventional such as having a black rapper in the music video, as one of the audience mentioned.

What appealed to the audience?

The lightings used for the verses was also liked by the audience because they said it added to the meaning of the lyrics and to the atmosphere it created.

From this, I have learnt that the lighting is an important aspect of music videos as it can change the meaning of the lyrics and create a certain atmosphere.

Ancillary

The digipak and advert which I created also received positive feedback, mainly because it was consistent in the colours and images used. Also, the pictures were in focus.

What appealed to the audience?

The front of the digipak had T-C in two different outfits facing himself – which is what most people liked as it showed a battle and a fight for change.

From this, I have learnt that people like to see images which are simple but have a powerful meaning without having to be explained.

They also liked that it was easy to link the music video to the ancillary work due to costume and lighting.

What appealed to the audience?

I had used a clear font and simple colour scheme in my ancillary work, and people had liked this because it was easy on the eye and gave all the necessary information.

So, if I was to do this project again, I would make sure that I keep my layout, text and colour simple as this is what appeals to people.

What appealed to the audience?

In regards to the inside of the digipak, people liked the idea of T-C’s old character ‘going away’ and his new self appearing. People like to see something which has some sort of meaningful story behind it and relates to the album name.

From this, I have learnt that people like to see images which have significance and relate to the album.

Summary

When creating a product for a specific target audience, it is important to ask for feedback and constructive criticism during the planning and production stages. By doing this, it will ensure that my music video and ancillary products will be tailored for the right group of people and that they will enjoy it.

Upon receiving audience feedback I was able to evaluate how clear I had been in my storytelling, and what intended and/or unintended reactions came to light.  The responses played an integral part in how I constructed, edited and improved the music video.