Audience feedback on all products - 16 year old female

 

 

 

I have received some feedback on all of my products from a girl aged 16. It could be argued that 16 is too young of an age for someone to understand what being drunk feels like or to understand the emotions of my protagonist, however in todays society where drinking in young people is a very big problem it is clear to see that many 16 year olds do in fact drink. This piece of audience feedback from this 16 year old girl proves that someone in the lower band of the ages of my target audience still likes my products and understands them and the message they are trying to put across.

 

Not only this, it is positive to see some feedback on my ancillary tasks as even though I have received some verbally and have spoken about them in some constructive evidence and planning posts I have not documented them as much on my blog. The fact that this person is also able to understand that all three products were together and used to promote each other due to the main image illustrates how important it is to include an image on my magazine advert. Also it has proved that in breaking conventions of drum and bass adverts and digipaks by placing an image on them has actually brought success to my products.

 

I feel that as my music video follows the Reception Theory rather than an Effects theory such as the hypodermic needle model, it has allowed the different age ranges interpret the music video and the messages in a way that is suitable to their age group. For example, a 16 year old may not understand or have ever drunk because they have been lonely, meaning they interpret that the protagonist is drinking to have fun but it has just gone wrong. Someone who is 20+ however, would of had more life experience and may have gone through more problems such as relationships meaning that they have dealt with these issues via drinking, allowing them to understand the more prominent message of drinking because you are lonely. This is a positive thing as it means that my target audience will be able to identify with the protagonist is the way that they decode the message. If there was a set message that was clear cut it would maybe mean that a younger audience would not understand the feeling of loneliness, thus meaning they would not be able to relate of emphasize with the protagonist.

 

 

 

Diary entry 21/2/14

Diary entry 13/2/14

A state of intoxication is typical of the genre of drum and bass, that's why I felt the emphasis on the stages of being drunk was important to carry through to the digipak. The target audience of male and females aged 16-25 will understand the phrases 'euphoria' and 'come down' as they will be familiar with these occurrences through either personal experience or previous knowledge, due to their frequent use of alcohol. It is wrong the base this on assumption, so I want to point out that I myself, who is included in this target audience agrees that this assumption is correct for the majority of young adults who do go out to parties and clubs.

Digipak (completed)

Digipak finishedt from emmacalder123


Here is my finished Digipak. I am very pleased with the outcome of it as I feel that it confroms well the the genre of Drum and Bass. This is mainly throught the two inside images, one which is a picture of my protaganist with a blurred effect on it and one which captures a crowd at a concert/festival. The image which has a blurred effect portrays the feeling intoxication. The image distorts your vision making you feel too distorted and out of place. In looking at this picture, my target audience will be able to feel how my main protaganist is feeling, i.e. intoxicated allowing the feel empathetic toward my protaganist and the situation that she is in. My target audience are also likley be able to identify and relate to my protaganists situation, as 16-25 are heavily criticised by the media for their love of alcohol and the activity of binge drinking they undertake, meaning they are likley to have been or know some one to have been in a situation like my portaganists, allow them again to connect with my portaganist on a emotion level, also allowing them to really delve into the narrative, making them watch it till the end, additionally meaning my digipak follows Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory. 

I feel that my digipak also allows my target to make a link with the magazine advert and music video. The colour of the saturation placed on the images of both my magazine ad and digipak mean that the audiene will be able to link the two products together, in turn promoting eachother. I feel that font 'birth of a hero' also allows this to occur due to its orginality. Moreover, the theme of intoxication from the music video is carried on to my digipak, again meaning that my target audience will be able to link the two together.

Technical difficulties

Luckily enough I didnt have many technical difficulties when it came down to making my music video. However, when going to edit my second draft, (In Adobe Premiere CS6) which then became my final music video, I found that about 1/4 of my footage was missing and replacing it was text saying 'Media offline' on a red background. Unfortuneatly the easiest way to solve this would be through finding and re-linking the footage, however for some reason I could not do this, so I had to import all the lost footage and re-edit it in by watching the first draft of my video. In doing this I was able to look into my music video in detail and then correct mistakes and things that I did not like in the first draft. Also I was able to alter parts of my music video that my target audience gave me constructive feedback on. For example, I was told to shorted or slip up a few of the longer clips. I took this onboard and place in quick cuts of my protaganists (Hannah) face, showing different emotions. I also used a clip of her hands in ther air which then led of to the crowd shots which had peoples hands in the air.

I feel that having a technical difficulty actually was positive for me as it allowed me to alter, change and add shots in my muisc video. I also able to include the changes my target audience wanted, hopefully meaning my music video will entertain and be visually pleasing to my target audience.

In terms, of my digipak and magazine advert I faced no technical difficulties which was great. InDesign allowed me to create profesional looking anicillary products smoothly and efficiently.

Photographs from filming

 

 

 

 

Here is a photo from the time I filmed in the studio. As you can see I have set up the lights behind Hannah to enlighten her face as the room was black. This produced a mysterious and eery feel to the footage but also meant it looked professional and of high quailty. The whole point of filming in the studio was the gather footage to represent my protagonist (Hannahs) concious mind. The white colour of the lights gave a pure and angellic feel which then contrasted with Hannahs heavy drinking in the other shots. This contrasting narrative represents the genre of drum and bass. Drum and bass is heavily associated with intoxication but also is has connotation of euphoria, from dancing and being in a crowd. Through the use of the studio shots, filming at the concert and filming in a bedroom, I have portrayed the genre of drum and bass, thus meaning my music video is conventional of its genre.

 

 

 



 

A picture from the Calvin Harris concert I filmed at.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts - Question 2

Question 2 powerpoint from emmacalder123

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts q2 from emmacalder123

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? Question 1

Question 1 completely finished from emmacalder123

 

Question 1 from emmacalder123

Diary entry 5/2/14

What have you learned from your audience feedback? - Question 3

Text format:

Audience feedback was a vital element of my production process, as it allowed me find out what was going well in my products and also what I needed to improve on. Moreover, it ensured that I was creating high quality and visually pleasing products that appealed to my target audience.

The primary target audience for my products are male and females of the ages 16-25. My primary demographic is BC1 and C2. I feel that this is appropriate demographic as it is mainly middle class, lower middle class and skilled working class that listen to drum and bass. It would be unlikely that a grade A (upper middleclass) such as a lawyer or accountant would listen to this genre due to the stereotype’s it carries i.e. drug/alcohol use. People of demographic BC1 and C2 are heavily stereotyped with the use of substances and alcohol in their everyday lives, thus making them the appropriate target audience for my products which are heavily revolved around this usage.  I also have a secondary audience, which consists of both females and males aged from 12 to 35. The demographic for my secondary audience would include AD and E. This again is down to the stereotypes of the genre; as aforementioned an upper middle class person would most likely not listen to drum and bass, however, it could be possible that a percentage of that demographic do enjoy the genre.

 

To continue, I chose my primary target audience based on the genre of the song. ‘Afterglow’ by Wilkinson which comes under the genre of Drum and Bass. Drum and Bass, is similar to the genre of Dance and is usually associated with clubs, festivals, raves and parties. The target audience of male and females aged 16-25 regularly attend places such as clubs and festivals which play Drum and Bass. The genre is also heavily associated with intoxication, whether that be through the method of using illegal drugs and alcohol. This age group is well associated with heavy drinking and drug use, this being the reason my products, particularly my music video was based heavily on my protagonist drinking, and the effect that this had on her mind and physical state. I also feel that my target audience will primarily be individualistic. Drum and Bass, even though stems from the genre of Dance which is very mainstream at this current time; is a very new and different type of music. Individualists are interested in new, un-tried things such as music. They also are determined to be different and not to follow the crowd. Even though the genre of Drum and Bass is becoming more prominent in today’s society, it takes a specific audience to actually listen to it and like it, thus showings its individualistic tendencies in comparison to say the genre of pop which would attract mainstreamers and conformers and also aspirers who consider social status important and want to fit into the crowd. My target audience will include all races and ethnicities however I feel my music video will attract predominately those who are classed as white British and Irish. This is due to the stereotype of those who are of other races, such those who are Black and Asian for example, who tend to listen to other genres of music such as Hip-Hop and RnB. Moreover, those who are white are more associated with binge drinking, drug intake and also attending dance festivals than those who are of other races, implying they are more likely to be able to relate to my protagonists position. However, this assumption is based on media stereotype and does not apply to everybody.

 

I feel that my products follow Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications Theory. My music video more specifically will allow the audience to identify with the protagonists thoughts, behaviours and even find reinforcement for their own personal values, due to the fact they can relate to my protagonist and my protagonists situation as they too would have been in a similar situation or know someone who has from drinking too much, as this target audience are heavily related with binge drinking. Moreover, my audience can gain entertainment from my music video, allowing them to escape from their own issues and problems in their lives. My music video could also allow the audience to release their emotions through the connection they can make with the protagonist, thus making them feel like they are not alone. Moreover, my music video, digipak and magazine advert will allow my target audience to socially interact with others. My product could potentially be a conversation starter and even develop into a conversation topic for peer groups, allowing them to create connections and relationships with others. Lastly, my music video could provide information for those in my target audience, but more importantly for those who do not come under my target audience. The narrative of a young women drinking herself into a state because of personal issues such as loneliness could inform maybe an older audience of the struggles that young people face in this generation, particularly with the problem of trying to fit in with others and how they deal with the stress of everyday life, such as unemployment.   

 

When it came down to it, I made sure that I gathered audience feedback for all of my products. A way of generating feedback came from the use of social networking sites. Sites such as Facebook and twitter allowed me to post my products on my profile and publicize then to my target audience. Both male and females in this age group are well known for their use and love of social networking sites to connect with friends and other people around the globe. As I knew that a lot of my target audience had profiles on Facebook and Twitter I felt it appropriate to post the products on there. Alongside my music video, I also created a survey on a website called surveymonkey.com, which allowed me to come up with ten questions I felt it important to ask. I asked questions like ‘Rate how professional my music video looks out of 10’ and also ‘Please rate each element of my music video’ and then listed, Lighting, Editing, Narrative, Performance and Mise-en-scene’. These types of questions allowed me to collect quantitate data, which was easy and quick to analyse. From these questions I received positive feedback about my music video, for example my lighting and narrative, which was classed as being ‘successful’.  I also asked questions that would collect qualitative data such as ‘How does my music video relate to the genre’ and ‘how could my music video be improved’. This meant that my target audience could elaborate on how they felt about my music video and give detailed answers, thus allowing me to understand what I needed to change. For some of the feedback however, I did take into account but did not act on it. For example, someone suggested that to improve my music video ‘I should change the costume of my protagonist’. I did not act upon this as my narrative was about my protagonist over one night, which means that a change of costume would cause confusion in the narrative. A downfall of survey monkey however was that it did not gather a lot of feedback, I only had around 15 responses from a mixture of both male and female all in the age range of 16-25 and so felt I needed to undertake other methods of collecting audience feedback.

 

Another example of a way I collected audience feedback was through the use of group interviews. I was able to play my music video to my classmates and they gave me feedback verbally and in written format. I filmed this group session so I was able to relate back to it when changing aspects of my music video. I also asked people face to face what they thought of my products and then took down notes. Speaking to someone allowed me to collect rich qualitative date as my target audience were able to elaborate on their answers and reasoning’s. In terms of audience feedback for my ancillary tasks i.e. magazine advert and digipak, I did a one on one interview with a few people and asked them what they thought about my products. I received some positive and negative feedback. Before even beginning to create my digipak and magazine advert, I asked my class mates what they thought of a ‘purple and white’ house style. I showed them the pictures I was planning on using and what they thought of the saturation I had placed on the images. I received a positive response from my target audience and so felt that in using the purple and white house style and the images my ancillary products would impress the target audience, and give them what they wanted. Later on, I interviewed my target audience due to concerns with my second draft. My target audience stated that the back of my digipak needed some work i.e. adding more tracks and maybe another image. I agreed with this and so, when it came to making my third draft of my digipak I made the changes. In interviewing my target audience I was able to cater for what they wanted, thus making my ancillary tasks meet the needs of my target audience.

 

 

The most successful method of gaining audience feedback for me was talking to my target audience face to face, whether that is one on one or as a group. I felt that this method allowed me to ask productive questions to my audience and receive detailed and precise answers on what they wanted to see in my products. This was down to the fact they were able to elaborate on their answers and visually point out to me what they felt was a success and what needed to be changed. Even though publicizing my products with a survey on social networking sites was useful in collecting quantitative data, I felt that it wasn’t helpful in collecting qualitative date due to the fact my target audience gave brief answers. Also, due to the anonymity of the survey I was not able to ask the people what they ‘meant by this?’ This Meant that I was left with answers that I did not understand, meaning the feedback they gave was not helpful in improving my tasks, which was particularly a problem due to the fact I did not receive as many responses as I would of hoped for in the first place.

Overall, audience feedback has been a crucial process in producing my products. This is because it has allowed me to gain an insight into what my target audience (male and females aged 16-25) want in a drum and bass music video, magazine advert and also digipak.  This meant I was able to tailor and create my products to suit the needs of my audience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Question 4 - How did you use media technologies in the construction, research, planning and evaluation stages?

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research q4 completely finished from emmacalder123

3rd draft of my digipak (with some audience feedback)