Evaluation: Question 4

Evaluation q4 from cara633

Evaluation: Question 3

Evaluation – Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

            Audience feedback is vital when creating a product, whether it be the music video, the promotional poster or the digital pack for the CD cover. By receiving audience feedback, we was able to act upon improvements and by asking an audience of ages 16-19 years, my target audience would have been ideal as these are the ages of people I want to target with my products.

            I received audience feedback in many ways, throughout my product and at the end of my product. During research and planning, I constructed a questionnaire in which targeted my previously estimated and researched target audience for answers. I asked ages 16-25 years to answer the 10 questions I had constructed about what they would like to have seen in my music video I was creating by asking about previous experiences they have had with music videos. My research proved that a performance and narrative aspect would be beneficial for me to produce as this appealed most to my target audience.

            With knowing this, I set out to research into existing products, to develop ideas and understandings of what was needed to make a music video successful.

            I was able to construct my own music video, by following carefully my research audience analysis and my research into existing productions and artefacts. This is seen in task 12 for reference.

            I conducted my first feedback session after gathering raw footage and merging all the shots together in a certain format. Here are the responses I got given:

Improvements	Actions to Take
There needs to be a climax at the end of the music video to keep audiences interested. Could you shuffle around the order of the shots?	I originally had the shot of a memory between the lovers at the end. I got suggested at putting the part where the lover walks away and the love letters being ripped up might be a good way to end the music video to suggest their relationship was over.
There is strange sounds in the background due to being used from the original soundtrack including background noise. Maybe download the album version rather than the YouTube version.	I stripped all music from the first production prototype. I downloaded the iTunes version costing 99p, which was much better quality. I edited the music from 5 minutes 5 seconds to 3 minutes 44 seconds so I would have less need to fill the music with not needed shots. I also believe that music videos shouldn't last more than 4 minutes as this loses audience interest.
The shots looked professional and diverse. It really captured the break up situation well and using POV shots also made the audience feel more involved.	N/A

After making these improvements and adding some of my own stylistic elements and filters, I gained much more positive feedback:

Feedback

There isn't much wrong with the music video other than some lip syncing is slightly out which is easily fixed. Overall, the sepia filter captures Adele's original music video stylistic elements. The shots have been really thought out and the narrative is clear and cohesive.

The plot keeps the audience immersed at all times, the slow motion and the time lapses are very stylistic and professionally done. The balance of performance and narrative is even throughout, branding the artist and the plot still makes sense without the performance aspect yet they complement each other perfectly.

The settings and mise-en-scene used are all relevant, such as performing in a woodland area links with the memories the couple had and the indoor scenes also do the same. The props such as the love letters symbolise the break up as well as the phone, where the artist cries down the phone trying to contact her ex.

Audience feedback on my production was vital as my audience could notice flaws a lot easier than I could by looking at the production from an audience point of view rather than a producers eyes. The feedback was acted upon and feedback improved. This shows this is a valuable way of knowing how successful your production will be, as the audience are the target audience and who the producer caters for; the audience that makes the music video successful.

I decided asking for feedback in a classroom environment was a successful way in order to gain feedback. I did the same for my ancillary texts. I first produced my CD cover as I wanted this to feature on my promotional poster. My first production received many positive reviews however some constructive criticism was also included for my improvements to be made:

Feedback	Actions to Take
The CD cover has conveyed the original artists genre and style very well however the image is slightly fuzzy and low quality.	I discovered I used too much on the iPiccy airbrush filter and this made the picture fuzzy, looking like it was low quality when it wasn't. I redid the cover with this in mind and many agreed this looked better.
The CD cover matches the music video well and portrays the same mood.	N/A
The artist is branded well by using a close-up of the artists face, much like the original. The text also does this with 'CARA 19', the album name stands out well against the image.	N/A

Audience feedback here taught me that not always what the audience sees is the issue, for instance the image looked low quality but was a design flaw in my choosing. By retracing my creative process, I can pin point the issues and revert these changes.

After making my CD cover, I moved on to create my promotional poster. This included the CD cover also. I decided to use a screenshot of my music video to continue the theme of synergy throughout my products. After creating my promotional poster, I again used the classroom environment to gain a reaction from my ideal target audience. Here are the replies:

Feedback	Actions to Take
The poster doesn't include a release date or price range. This might be good to include as this distributes more information to the audience and follows conventional music promotional posters which usually include price and company logo's.	I will use the original copy and add another layer suggesting the RRP of £9.99 after researching into iTunes prices, the company in which I will also include on my poster.
The rating appeals to the audience as they enjoy opinion and reviews. The artist is branded clearly and also features what the album cover will look like so when released and available to buy, audiences will know what to look for and will notice it is this specific album.	N/A
The artist elements such as the lens flare adds to the genre of funk soul, and the almost opaque image of the artist layered onto of the solid image is very artistic and stylistic, capturing the artists style and genre of the album. The use of promoting the hit single song will drive sales as this is the most noticeable song off the album in which audiences strive to buy.	N/A

Audience realise media merchandise techniques such as including pricing and company logo's to create synergy as these techniques are now common and look odd when not used. The audiences can pick out missing information and report back to the producers to clarify and fix this.

Overall I believe audience feedback plays the biggest part when creating media products. This is because the audience decided on how successful the product is by driving sales and figures. Without an audience, there will be no product to create as the audience of media are essentially the creators. 

Evaluation: Question 1

Final Music Video Production

Evaluation: Question 2

Video Production feedback

The film has been edited with a sepia filter to mirror the original Adele video.  A lot of the techniques and the style of the video are drawn from the original and this shows an ability to achieve the look of a broadcast standard video.  The use of the focus allows close up detail and shifts in perspective and loses focus only on occasion without affecting the narrative.  A selection of shots are edited together in montage at the start using creative angles and focus to add variety. Use of the camera is steady and appropriate when it moves to add to the professional quality of the piece. Shots match the contemplative mood and atmosphere.  Canted angle and close ups are used to provide variety and detail and to engage the audience. This is an effect used in the original. Exterior shots are well composed using the rule of thirds and vanishing points cross cutting between a convincing performance and  a narrative.  The artist is clearly braded in a series of well directed close ups.  There is another montage of time lapses including well chosen mise-en-scene. The time lapse of the sky is scaled on Adobe premiere showing sophisticated editing skills. The emotion comes across due to the quality of the filming and editing 35/40

Video Production feedback

The film has been edited with a sepia filter to mirror the original Adele video.  A lot of the techniques and the style of the video are drawn from the original and this shows an ability to achieve the look of a broadcast standard video.  The use of the focus allows close up detail and shifts in perspective and loses focus only on occasion without affecting the narrative.  A selection of shots are edited together in montage at the start using creative angles and focus to add variety. Use of the camera is steady and appropriate when it moves to add to the professional quality of the piece. Shots match the contemplative mood and atmosphere.  Canted angle and close ups are used to provide variety and detail and to engage the audience. This is an effect used in the original. Exterior shots are well composed using the rule of thirds and vanishing points cross cutting between a convincing performance and  a narrative.  The artist is clearly braded in a series of well directed close ups.  There is another montage of time lapses including well chosen mise-en-scene. The time lapse of the sky is scaled on Adobe premiere showing sophisticated editing skills. The emotion comes across due to the quality of the filming and editing 35/40