evaluation - question 3

(Below is a transcript of what I said in the camera interview)

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Explain why you think it is important to evaluate your work
Receiving target feedback is essential as it allows the group members to ensure that the music video is considered as appealing to the target market and follows the necessary conventions. The feedback also allows us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the main product, weaknesses which we may not have been aware of due to seeing the product numerous times on Final Cut Pro. By taking into account the feedback, the music video can then be improved in order to achieve the mass appeal that the pop genre is known to achieve. This is the way in which the draft version is improved to create the final product. Audience feedback therefore allows the group to discuss how to modify the product in order to effectively target the audience by potentially using different editing techniques or attempting to make the audience feel emotionally connected to the audience. By improving the music video, the target audience is able to gain a higher level of satisfaction through the viewing of the video. The overall impact on the audience is the most predominant factor due to them determining the success of the product. Evaluating the project is therefore a vital process as it allows group members to assess whether the brief of creating a music video in conjunction with two ancillary products that are conventional to the given genre is being met. It also allows group members to see whether the right decisions were made in terms of the mise-en-scene and artist portrayal.

Explain why you picked YouTube to showcase your music video
Music video consumption has significantly increased over the years due to the development of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter allowing artists to directly connect with the audience. Youtube is one of the websites which has evolved and is a highly successful online platform that allows videos such as the rough cut and final version of the music video to be uploaded and made public to millions of users. Youtube is a video sharing website that has been specifically formulated to allow audiences access to videos of both the general public as well as artists. Youtube is commonly used to view music videos due to being a free website that allows the public to consume latest videos. Videos are therefore easily accessible by a mass audience. The target audience is targeted as Youtube is mainly aimed at young adults therefore the video is likely to be viewed by individuals of the target market. It enables videos to go viral if it receives a large view count therefore creating hype around the video. In terms of the music video, although it only received around 50 views, Youtube enabled it to receive comments. The feedback received from the target audience is both positive as well as constructive. Youtube is therefore effective in showcasing the music video due to being easily accessible and allowing comments to be gathered. Also, the html link can easily be copied onto social networking sites to attract more views of the video.

Include 3 to 4 audience comments that you received as feedback of your products
One of the comments was “The male actually reminds me of James Arthur” which suggests we have successfully portrayed the artist by following genre characteristics. This is a vital element which has been considered and so the audience being able to acknowledge this is important. The artist portrayal is extremely important as it allows the audience to build a relationship and relate to the emotions or experiences of the artist, develop an interest and purchase their products.

A comment received from a class member “The music video displays elements that are typically seen in these kind of songs” is seen as extremely positive as this shows that the video is conventional i.e. typically seen characteristics of these ‘kind’ of songs referring to the pop genre. Therefore this suggests the video is highly appealing to the target audience and successfully meets the criteria of the specified genre. As the comment has been provided by an 18 year old male, this suggests that the target market has been successfully targeted.

In terms of constructive criticism, a Youtube comment “The artist is only present in the performance and so it is not his situation the audience is relating to” may be seen as a negative. However it may be argued that as mentioned in Richard Dyer’s theory, the artist should be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer. Therefore the artist being missing from the narrative may imply that he aims to illustrate how what he experienced is experienced in other relationships. This doesn’t prevent the audience from forming a relationship with the artist as they are able to relate to the artist throughout the performance aspect.

Another comment received on Youtube “the performance should be more integrated with the narrative and effects should be added to make the video more visually appealing” can be seen as criticism. However the music video aims to involve both the narrative and performance. There is no direct link between the two due to the scenery used for performance not linking with the narrative, there is however a relationship between the lyrics and visuals. It is therefore difficult to integrate the two based on the setting however if the video could be modified, the performance would be placed in between shots of narrative continuously. The lack of effects is a criticism that was taken into consideration as the visual appeal of the music video is important.

Did you take on board the audience comments/ change anything?
Following the completion of the rough cut, it was exported onto youtube and the link copied onto facebook of the individual group members. The comments received were taken into account. However drastic changes such as changes of location could not be made as this would require the music video to be re-filmed. Editing was the most modified in order to make the music video visually appealing. This involved having to play around with Final Cut Pro in order to identify effects that would be suitable. For example, a rain effect was used when the male and female are seen arguing. This is conventional as the visuals reflect the emotion evoked by the scene therefore having a greater impact on the viewer.

How did the comments make you feel as a media producer and how would your feedback help if you were working in the music industry?
After continuously researching the pop genre as well as its conventions and the expectations of the audience, creating a music video allowed all group members to incorporate the knowledge into an original product. Overall, the music video received positive comments which ensures that the brief was successfully met and the video conforms to conventions such as those stated in Richard Dyer's and Goodwin's theory. As a media producer, receiving positive comments is rewarding as it suggests that

the audience that was targeted has been satisfied. Nevertheless criticisms are also useful as they enabled us to identify the weaknesses of the music video and how they can be corrected if given the opportunity to do so.