Question 3: What have you learned from your audience

feedback?

I used two different methods to gain feedback from my target audience

about my music video….

1) My music video was showcased to my media class which is mostly girls aged 17-18. This meant that I would be getting feedback from people within my target audience. I gave each of them a short questionnaire to fill in whilst watching my video.

1. How has the video obeyed the conventions of the genre?

The story is very fittingLip syncing, and the video was slow which followed the slow song genre.

Lip close-up.

Broken plates like Adele.

Very abstract visuals,

matches audio.Good slow pace

zooming, clip length and transitions. Mysterious and scary.

Images fits the music – slow and scary.

As you can see the feedback I got for this question was very positive. I have used suitable visuals for my song/genre, and the way I have edited the video has worked well.

Ethical feel. Objects used to represent aspects of the video, Slow cuts to fit the music.

2. How has the selection of Mise-en-scene helped to create a convincing video?

The feedback I got from this question was also very positive. I have used a good setting and range of props to make my video realistic but also quite different and strange.

The use of the doll house

pretending to be the actual

house that they are in is

very clever.The doll house and the scene where there were the bird and weasel.

Lip stick on neck.Realistic settings.

The bedroom is very glamorous and makes the artist look good. Great shot at the start.

Plate smashing was

good.

Although it’s in a normal setting there are weird factors about it which made it convincing as a conceptual video.

3. What most impressed you about the camerawork and editing?

From this feedback I can see that I’ve used a good range of camera angles and effects to make my music video flow well.

The increasing kisses on the two

girls flows very well.

Use of different camera angles zoom/pan/the reference to The Watchmen.

Lip synch whilst walking.

Good tracking shots.

Slow motion plate drop, good lip syncing.

Panning shots.

The effects made it seem really

mystical and showed it was supposed

to be conceptual.

4. Any other comments?

Only two people left other comments on my questionnaire. These were a smiley face and a question about the link to ‘The Watchmen’. Because of this I feel that my video was successful and my intertextuality reference to ‘The Watchmen’ was good, however I could have made it slightly clearer.

Is the still from The Watchmen?

2) I created a survey using SurveyMonkey and posted it to Facebook. Many of the people I have on this social networking site are within my target audience so I was able to get some useful feedback.

The following slides show some of the responses I got.

Yes, the video really suits the style of the music and the lyrics in the song. yes, the music was quite quirky and so was the music video.It was very indie music which I

thought went well with the visual

yes.Yes definitely, and so did the

variety of transitions.

YUP :)

The costumes matched the music and the editing with transitions matched the more sad theme of the song.

yes, sort of haunting? but in a good way!Yes.

1. Did the visuals match the genre of music?

I was really pleased with the responses I got from this question. Everyone agreed that I had effectively matched the visuals in my music video to the genre of the song. The visuals were described as “quirky” and “haunting”, therefore going well with the narrative of the story.

My Thoughts

There are many different camera angles

used throughout the video, so this is

successful in changing the views and

keeping the viewer interested. The

editing is also successful as it does not

jump and the whole video flows

smoothly, I like the use of the

transitions you used.

It looked really good! I liked the plates smashing and the blurred edges.

You used several different camera

angles with interlinking with each

other and different effects.

Yes, I loved the fades to add exaggeration on the man with the knife and the more and more bleeding shown on the two girls. I also loved the high angled shot of the plates smashing.Yes it made it spooky.

Yes, there was a huge variety so it held the interest the whole way through the video. And the different transitions gave a softer feel than a load of jump cuts would have, which matches the song more than jumpy.

The camera work and clip

lengths were slow matching

the song and the lip-synching

was very good.

2. Was the use of camera angles and editing successful? why?

Again I was very pleased with the responses to this question. A variety of different parts of the video were mentioned suggesting that the choice of camera angles and editing was successful throughout the video. I can also see that the slow/smooth transitions I used worked well with the slow pace of the song.

My Thoughts

Yes, the video is very interesting and the

storyline makes you want to carry on watching

it.

The video was strange and I wanted to see what was going to happen next.

It kept me curious yes.

Yes, because I wanted to know the ending to the story being told, as well as my attention being caught by the unusual yet effective range of different props.

Yes, even though it is not my

preferred taste in music.

Yes due to the variety.

yes, very captivating

3. Did the video keep hold of your attention throughout?

I was very happy with the results to this question as everyone said yes, which meant I had managed to make the video interesting throughout. Many people said they wanted to know what was going to happen next in the story of the song, indicating that they wanted to see more of it. This is very successful. I was also very pleased that someone had answered “yes, even though it is not my preferred taste in music”. This suggests that even if they didn’t like the song I managed to keep them interested.

My Thoughts

Yes, it looks like Lucy is singing when it is lip syncing.

It did look like she was singing

it herself.

Definitely, would have loved to see more

but this could have taken away some of

the story so I think you made the right

decision.

Yes, slightly slow at times, but overall yes.

Yes, very in time and made interesting by the story incorporated into it.Yes, very well done.

4. Was the lip syncing successful?

Again I was very happy with the responses I got to this question. Overall the lip syncing worked well as I had managed to make it look as if Lucy was singing as the music played. It was slightly slow at times but I am still happy with it.

My Thoughts

Yes I think the video does represent this

successfully, I like the use of the lipstick on

the neck to show that the girls are

homosexual, and I like how you represented

the killer in a dark setting.

I didn't think that's what it was about but now you said it I can see how it is represented.

Although I've never seen "The Watchmen" but I knew there was some sort of intertextual referencing.

Definitely, I thought this intertextual reference

was portrayed really accurately, and I could tell

that there was definitely a link.

I haven't seen the film, but from your description it does represent it.

Its very clear what the two are to each other and the shots of them lying still on the bed portray the deaths well.

Kind of..

yes, good reference.

5. The video is about a 3 second clip at the beginning of 'The Watchmen' where two homosexual lovers are lying on a bed after being killed by a homophobic killer. Do you think the video represents this successfully? how?

The answers I got for this question were positive. People could see the links I had made to ‘The Watchmen’ although not everyone had seen the film.

My Thoughts

6. Do you think the use of props, costumes and locations worked well?

Yes, I liked the dolls house idea and the tree

as the start was lovely- very convincing shot.

The costumes were good as they were stylish

like other artists would have. I liked the motif

of having the lipstick marks increasing - creative.

Yeah it was all so abnormal

and looked good!

There was such confusion to why the dollhouse was used but the plates breaking, lipstick mark worked very well.

I thought they were all really interesting and different,

matching the genre of the song really well, as well as

grabbing my attention the whole way through.

The house wasn't really lesbian it didn't look spooky like they were dead.

Yes. Costumes matched the music, doll

house edit made it look as if character

lived in the house and the location was

very simple.

I was happy with the responses I got to this question. The lipstick and dollhouse were mentioned the most. Many people loved the lipstick marks on the necks and also the glittery lips because they were “creative” and “clever”. Someone mentioned that “there was such confusion as to why the dollhouse was used” and also the fact that the “location was simple” and not very “spooky”. The reason for this was because it was showing the idea of a ‘perfect’ home, but inside it’s not quite right.

My Thoughts

7. What stood out to you most in the video?The people in the video you felt you could connect with them, like the brown haired girl seemed like she hated how she was being treated and the lighter brown haired girl seemed really bossy. I don't know just felt something for the characters.

The idea that the kiss was sort of

irresistible but rather lethal.

I loved the bit where Lucy smudges her glittery lips, thought it was brilliant! But also the storyline and the unique props.

The kisses.

The fact that you have made a clear

link between the characters and the

genre of music used, through both the

emotional sympathy the viewer shares

and also the well selected mise-en-

scene.

The direct address from the singer was effective, you can't help but look her back in the eye which made the video emotional. The close-ups of the eyes and lips were very good.

The cool little

house :D!

I was very pleased with the responses I got for this question. Again the lipstick and kisses on the necks were mentioned several times and someone mentioned that “the kiss was sort of irresistible but rather lethal”. This is really good as it matches the story of the homosexual lovers being killed by a homophobic killer. Also the connection made between the characters and the audience was mentioned a lot, suggesting that it made the video emotional.

My Thoughts

8. Is there anything you would do to improve the video?

You could use more transitions between scenes to add more effect to the video.

Try to make the storyline

more clear, other wise it was

so good.

The watchman clip looked like a still image which could be improved by using a different clip? such as use a clip where we can see a clearer reference to the watchmen?

If there was a way to add more lip synching without

losing any of the story I think that would look good,

maybe by shortening some of the longer shots? But

this wouldn't be necessary because I think it's

fantastic as it is! Definitely 10/10!

Nope, firstly it'd take too long, and secondly, you do a fab job :)

More dark and scary.The still photo shot of the man in the door, just seemed a little too static.

I had some good feedback for this question. A couple of people suggested that I should make the intertextuality reference to ‘The Watchmen’ clearer in some way. This would be difficult to do as the clip from the film it’s based on is only 3 seconds long. Someone also suggested using more transitions, however I didn’t want to make the video look too ‘tacky’ by doing this. The clip of the man in the doorway was described as “a little too static”. I had purposely made it like this as it’s the last thing the two girls see before they get killed, and so it’s like a picture imprinted into their memory.

My Thoughts

I put all of my questionnaire results into ‘Wordle’ so that I could see what words were used the most when talking about my video. This was the result…

I thought that the image motifs such as the lips and lipstick, the dolls house, and the plates smashing would be mentioned a lot. This is because they stand out and are repeated several times.I didn’t expect people to connect with the emotional aspect of the video so much. Also I wasn’t expecting someone to rate it 10/10, this is because I felt there were elements that could have been improved slightly.

Were there any unexpected or predictable answers?

If I created the video again I would use more lip syncing as I feel it helps to create the connection between the characters and the audience, and it also influences the emotional sympathy the audience feels for them. I would also try to make the intertextuality reference to ‘The Watchmen’ more obvious. I could possibly do this by dressing the two girls in superhero costumes as the film is about superheroes.

What would you change if you created this video again?

I was pleased with many things about my video. The positive feedback I got from my audience through the questionnaires was very pleasing. After reading it I felt very proud of myself as I had managed to make my video appeal to my target audience as well as some others. I am also pleased that I have successfully managed to make the video itself as I had very little experience of making any type of video, or of using the macs and camera equipment to do so.

What were you particularly pleased with?