What have you learned from your audience feedback?
During the planning stages of my production I regularly asked my audience for feedback so that I could get an idea on how I could improve or make the product more appealing to them. During the research process I asked the audience what they wanted to see in a music video, and what their expectations are. From this feedback I catered my planning to what they wanted, I made sure to include an in depth narrative which was intertwined with the performance I also made sure there were plenty of cuts so that the music video and a consistent pace and didn’t become boring. I also made a poll so that the audience could vote for which digipak and advert designs they liked the best. I then took the ones with the most votes and improved upon them so that they were up to the audiences’ expectations. I also hosted a focus group to give feedback on the first rough cut of the music video. This was probably the most important part of the feedback because it allowed me to gain precise answers on what the audience liked about the product as it was and how exactly I could improve it in order to meet their expectations. The focus group had questions relating to both the music video and the ancillary tasks, so that I could gather comprehensive information on both of them. I believe that my methods of gathering people’s opinions were effective which was due to the fact that I used lots of different techniques to gather my information, such as vox pop and polls.
Audience research is very important because I am making the products for the audience, not myself so I need to make sure that throughout the whole creation process I am making a product that the audience wants. At different stages during creation different methods of gathering feedback are more useful for example, after I had drawn out the initial designs for the magazine advert it was appropriate to use a poll to see which advert the audience liked the best. For the poll I labelled the three designed that I had drawn out with A, B and C and I then asked the viewers to text the letter which they preferred and from the response I was able to choose which design I liked the best. It wasn’t necessary for me to gather in depth information at this time, so a technique such as a focus group wouldn’t have been required at this time. On the left is poster design 'A' as indicated on the poll, on the right is the final poster- as you can see I followed the design so that I met the audience's expectations.
Later on when the final products were created I decided that I wanted more in depth feedback about the digipak- so Elle set up another poll on 'Poll Everywhere' that allowed the audience to text in their opinions on the overall design. The general consensus was that the red lips really stood out on the front cover and the fact they matched with the CD added a really good focus point. It was also said the typography works very well and the overall layout really looks effective. This feedback was very useful because I could see the elements of the design that the audience was picking out, so I knew what needed improving or changing to make some other elements more or less dominant in the composition.
I wanted more feedback on the product as a whole so Elle posted the digipak and magazine advert on Facebook which is a very popular social media site. Facebook was the suitable choice to get audience feedback because most people have and use Facebook regularly, so we were guaranteed to generate some feedback from it.
I used a vox pop to get the audience’s opinion on the final music video because I feel that vox pops are the easiest way for the audience to get their thoughts and opinions across. With a vox pop the audience gets to answer the question naturally without having to write down an answer or circle pre-defined answers which means that you get their true feelings on the product- in their own words. Another reason vox pops are the most effective is because they make sure that the audience give their honest opinion because they are being asked the question on the spot. The questions that I asked the audience on the final video are; “What do you like about it?”, “What would you change?”, “Does the editing pace suit the song?”, “Is the narrative clear?”, “Does it look professional?” and “Are the shots clear?”. The audience feedback was all similar, with everyone saying that they liked all the different shot varieties, locations, costume and the lighting. Answers to the second question were mixed, with some people saying that adding filters may make the video look more interesting. One answer that was very prevalent for question two is that they all wanted to see another actor in the video to make it more interesting. The audience all agreed on the third question, saying that the editing pace suits the song very well. The audience all said that the narrative isn’t clear and that they felt that if I had included a shot of the boyfriend leaving the narrative would’ve made much more sense. For the fifth question everyone said that they felt the video looks very professional and they wouldn’t change anything production wise. The feedback for the final question was also very positive with everyone saying that the shots are very clear and the lighting is very good. This feedback provided me with excellent responses and from them I can see that I don’t have many improvements that I need to make to the video, with the audience being very happy overall watching it.
Later on when the final products were created I decided that I wanted more in depth feedback about the digipak- so Elle set up another poll on 'Poll Everywhere' that allowed the audience to text in their opinions on the overall design. The general consensus was that the red lips really stood out on the front cover and the fact they matched with the CD added a really good focus point. It was also said the typography works very well and the overall layout really looks effective. This feedback was very useful because I could see the elements of the design that the audience was picking out, so I knew what needed improving or changing to make some other elements more or less dominant in the composition.
I wanted more feedback on the product as a whole so Elle posted the digipak and magazine advert on Facebook which is a very popular social media site. Facebook was the suitable choice to get audience feedback because most people have and use Facebook regularly, so we were guaranteed to generate some feedback from it.
Posting on Facebook made a lot of sense because it directly targeted our demographic as all of Elle's Facebook 'friends' are between the ages of 16 and 30. The overall reaction on Facebook was extremely positive with many people saying that they really liked the black, white and red theme. Another popular comment is that the products are extremely eye catching and the images are very detailed and interesting, one comment said that the concept was very 'modern'. One comment said that the 'brand image has a very clear selling point' which is an extremely good comment coming from our target audience. From the Facebook feedback it's clear that the audience feel that the two products are synergistically linked and that I have created a successful brand image. One issue with this feedback is that it could be biased since the people that have commented know Elle personally or through the social networking site, which means they may be more inclined to give praise on the product.
All three versions of the music video have been posted onto YouTube which is extremely useful in attracting viewers to the content because it will come up in suggestion boxes and auto playlists when people enter the website. YouTube has a comment feature similar to that of Facebook and on the final cut of the music video someone who is impartial to the school or media course has posted a comment praising the video. The comment says that the video is excellent, and they identify the genre without any labelling in the video description- this shows that I have successfully fulfilled the typical conventions of an indie music video. The comment also praises the editing and performance which shows that overall my music video has made a positive impact on the viewer. This feedback from someone totally impartial to the school and media course is very important, as it shows that other people genuinely feel that the production has been produced to a high standard, not just people that I know. Just below the video there is a views count which shows how many views the video has accumulated since it was first uploaded. The count shows 109 views which means that the video is being easily discovered by the YouTube audience.
I hosted a focus group for the first cut of the music video. The response I got from the focus group that watched the first cut of the video was extremely positive. They applauded the use of typical indie conventions in a new exciting way and all five members of the group gave a thumbs up to the question “Do you like it”. I feel that the feedback that I got from that focus group helped me to further develop my production because the audience told me specifically what conventions they felt I used well, and which ones I could do better. This answer sheet from the focus group shows an example of these answers. The first question on the sheet I felt would be best left as an open ended question that the audience could write their own personal answer to because it’s more about their opinion. The answers from this question could then be collected and I can tailor to each of their desires so that my production appeals to more people. All of the questions on the sheet also apply to the ancillary tasks, as I felt that it made sense to include them as one singular product rather than separate. This answer sheet says that the only thing that could be improved upon is the lighting, so I made sure that when I improved my music video I had very good lighting in the locations so that the shots weren’t grainy. Overall the response from the focus group is that the products overall were at a high standard, with just a few things that needed to be addressed and changed in order to make it better.
Facebook Feedback from Dsquared, a Web Software Engineer company:
One of Elle's Facebook friends saw the ancillary tasks that had been posted on Facebook and he works for a media company. He sent her a private message regarding the products asking if we wanted any feedback from him and his co-workers at the company.
He mentioned a few things that could be improved upon which would make the products look more effective. He asked if the typography had different weights added to it and Elle replied telling him that a drop shadow was added so that it was more visible against the light backgrounds. He then mentioned a method which would darken the background, meaning that we wouldn't have to add a drop shadow to the text. This could be achieved through the clone stamp tool and the burn tool, this is what he said:
This is his edited version he sent to Elle against the version I created:
It was extremely useful to receive feedback from someone that works in the media industry, because they have extensive knowledge in the software that I used and also what clients expect from their products. This feedback proves that Facebook is an extremely effective method of gathering feedback because it attracts the attention of a large group of people. Also Jason's colleagues are impartial to Elle and the school so all of their advice and criticisms were completely unbiased and effective.
I didn’t contact the artist about the completion of my products because she didn’t respond to my original message asking for her permission to use her song. Three versions of the music video have been uploaded to YouTube and appear in the search results just below the artist’s own video, so the artist may have seen the video but she hasn’t commented or contacted me in any way about the production. Overall I feel that the feedback I have received throughout the course has helped me to further my design ideas and change elements about the production that may not have been as good if I hadn’t asked people’s opinions.
This is his edited version he sent to Elle against the version I created:
It was extremely useful to receive feedback from someone that works in the media industry, because they have extensive knowledge in the software that I used and also what clients expect from their products. This feedback proves that Facebook is an extremely effective method of gathering feedback because it attracts the attention of a large group of people. Also Jason's colleagues are impartial to Elle and the school so all of their advice and criticisms were completely unbiased and effective.
I didn’t contact the artist about the completion of my products because she didn’t respond to my original message asking for her permission to use her song. Three versions of the music video have been uploaded to YouTube and appear in the search results just below the artist’s own video, so the artist may have seen the video but she hasn’t commented or contacted me in any way about the production. Overall I feel that the feedback I have received throughout the course has helped me to further my design ideas and change elements about the production that may not have been as good if I hadn’t asked people’s opinions.
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