What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Audience feedback is the main element when making media products. It allows us to have an idea of what the consumers are looking for and what will be accepted by the audience being targeted. Throughout the process of the project, feedback was being given by people in the surroundings. This was useful as we had an idea what the audience liked before the actual products were finished. We also gathered feedback and ideas which came from media professionals and teachers alike, which helped give us an idea into what was needed to create the optimum product. It allowed us to collect different ideas and opinions and use the ideas that is best suited to our targeted audience.

We also conducted a questionnaire which was the main way we gathered our information. We had a series of questions to be answered which helped identify the age group and what each of them think. The questionnaire allowed us to see if our products were sellable and acceptable. This was done so we could identify the strongest points of our products, to emphasis it even more, to make it appealing. We also wanted to see if the audience understood the meaning and connotations behind our products as this would help to see if the would need to be any change would be necessary.

Initial ideas and feedback.

Music video.

We also done research into similar videos to see the reception and use that feedback in our own videos. We uploaded a preliminary video on YouTube where we received a positive reception from. The video was up for only 3 days and we got over 200 views on it. This gave us the impression that we was on the right track but we still wanted to improve the video further. During the next couple of weeks, the video began getting positive feedback. The like and dislike function on YouTube helped us to see that our ideas are being accepted by the audience, receiving 3 likes out of 4 votes cast.

We wanted to have an initial idea of what people thought about our video. During the editing the process, many people around us gave us suggestions and tips on how to make it better. The first comments identified that the video was in need of more cuts to stay inline with the tempo and speed of the song.

Yes No

Music video continued.

To begin with, we asked various questions for each product.. This allowed us to get enough information for each product in order to make it better. 1. Do you like the video and

why?

2. Can you indicate which genre the video belongs to?

90%

10%

90% - From this question almost everyone liked the video and commented on why they like it.

10% - Only a very small minority did not like the video

Rap Hip-HopPopGrime Indie ElectroHouse

60%

20%

10%

10%

Most of the people got the genre we was trying to portray correct. The other people chose genre closely related to the rap genre such as hip-hop and grime. Thankfully, no one chose the other non-rap related genre of music such as pop or house.

Music video continued.

Some of the reasons given for liking the video:

Reason 1: “The cuts and effects really make the video look fast paced and fun. I also enjoyed the fact that there wasn’t a huge group behind the rapper seen in most artists. I can tell the artist just wants to show his feelings and the surroundings help relate to his words. But on certain scenes I can see smudges.”

Reason 2: “I like where the video is set as it is in as it looks like the area I live in so I can relate to it. The artist also seems humble not like other artists who boast about how many chains and cars they have. Good job!”

Reason3:“The camera angles are good as some of the angles represent what the artist is feeling at that particular moment. I also like the flow of the music and how the artist is not showing himself in a luxury lifestyle.”

Some of the reasons given for disliking the video:

Reason 1: “ There is not enough bling as there are in many rap videos. I also think there are too many effects. The artist appearance is ok but it looks like he ran out of clothes. I like more hard core rap with lots of props, so this wasn’t really my taste.”

Reason 2:“There are many smudges on the some of the scenes which make the video look unprofessional.”

Music video continued.

1. Now you know the genre, is the video representing the rap genre and why? Yes

NoEveryone was able to agree that the video does represent the rap genre. Much of the feedback was related to the surroundings in the video, as many people said the graffiti gives a strong indication it is actually a rap related video.

2. Would you watch the video on music channels?

Yes No

20%

80%

100%

Most people said they would watch the video on music channels. But on the other hand, some people said, though it was a good video, the video was not glamorised enough to be featured on TV music channels.

What music channel do you think the video will be shown on?

We then asked the audience about 4 different music channels our video can potentially feature on and weather they agree or disagree with the chosen channels.

Everyone in the group we asked said the video can be shown on MTV Base. The channel focuses primarily on music from the R'n'B, hip-hop, reggae, soul and urban genre. This suggested that the video was created correctly as many rap related videos are shown on this channel. This also gave us the indication that we are appealing to our target audience.

Again, everyone in the focus group agreed that the video can be shown on Channel AKA. It is a music channel, focusing on playing upcoming UK rap/urban/hip-hop music . Again this suggested we was on the right track and that the video is being accepted by the audience we are targeting. This also helps as our artist was born and raised in London, so most people watch thins channel can relate to the song.

Not many people suggested that the video can be shown on this channel. Due to the channel having a various mix of music played, only 50% of our focus group said that the video can be shown on this channel. We had intended our video to be shown along with other mainstream music and some people do think this can be achieved.

Not one person in our focus group suggested the video would be featured on MTV Classic. As our video is very modern it was seen as not fitting in as MTV Classic showcases music from the 60’s and 70’s.

Magazine advert.The magazine advert gained huge compliments from the people I asked. Almost all of the group said that my magazine advert conveyed a different side to the conventional rap adverts. As I anticipated, many of the people understood some of the design concepts and acknowledged the different ideas and meanings I was trying to create.

Some reason for liking the advert:

Reason 1:“ The light and bright colours give a refreshing side to the rap genre. From this magazine I can see that there is a softer and more meaningful side to the genre

Reason 2: “ I like the idea of the artists name being linked to the iconography of the advert. The name concept is related to some of the pictures which enforces the name of the artist into my brain”

Some reason for disliking the advert:

Reason 1:“ The ad does not have any of the typical things seen on most rap related products such as graffiti and a hostile look from the artist. Even though the concept of the advert is good, it does seem to like a rap product to me. Sorry !”

Magazine advert continued.

The feedback given as to why the magazine was not the best, allowed me to upgrade the advert and make it very appealing to the audience. My previous advert (left hand side), did not have many rap related detailing and just looked like a picture. But due to the feedback, I improved the look of the magazine but adding a few details such as, where to buy the CD Digipak from, graffiti off the banner of the album name, more streaks and designs on the banner and the background.

I also used the same picture on the CD cover as I did on the advert, which the focus group indicated helped link the products

All in all I think the feedback helped improve my advert to look professional and acceptable. The advert now looks very authentic and rap related.

CD Digipak.The CD Digipak was where I excelled the most. Everyone in the group said that the digipak looked authentic, rap related and that they would actually buy it. I wanted to use the picture of the artist as it would help create a personal link between the artist and the audience. On person in the group said that the picture helped him identify who the artist is and that he thinks he understands the artist more.

I used the typical conventions with the CD cover such as the barcode and ‘parental guidance’ logo which helped with the authenticity.

One member of the group said; “This looks like a real music product, I can picture it being on the shelf of a shop. I would defiantly buy the CD.”

Another member indicated; “ The picture of the advert and the digipak is the same which helped me identify what the CD for the advert was.”

I did not have to make any changes to the covers as it was widely regarded as a success. I was very proud with the reaction I got which suggested I created the product which best suited to the audience we was targeting.

Overall feedback and opinions

The feedback allowed us to indicate the flaws with our music video and gave us the opportunity to rectify the problems. The main problem we had was the smudges in the scenes. To rectify this, we had to go out and shoot again. This also meant we had to log and capture our footage again and reinsert the footage into the video editing timeline. Even though the process was long, it was beneficial as it allowed the video to look very neat and professional. We then individually made questionnaires for the ancillary texts products we had created. This was also done to see if anything could be improved in my products. The magazine advert was given healthy criticism, which allowed the ad to be improved even further, to make it look natural and real.

In relation to our overall feedback, I think the focus group reacted very well to the video and my products. Many had said that the products looked authentic but some changes were made as suggested by the group, which in fact, made my product look even better. This research helped us get the optimum feedback to create the ultimate product to promote to our target audience.

Outcome of the feedback: