Target audience feedback

Explain why audience feedback is important to a production?

As a group of Media producers creating a product for audiences to consume, receiving these comments on our final music video made us feel as though we had met the initial brief successfully and satisfied our consumers. Although we received a combination of positive comments praising our products, we also received some constructive and critical comments. We were not disheartened by the negative comments however, because if we were working within the industry of music, it would allow us to reflect on which elements we could improve upon to determine success from a mass audience and of course, approval from the artist we were working with. The positive comments however reinforced the fact that we have created conventional products which appeal to our young female target audience. By having people who had never seen our products before (with fresh eyes) commenting on them, it allowed us to reflect upon our creations critically and realise what we could possibly adapt and improve upon if we were provided with the opportunity to do so. Therefore, audience feedback is crucially imperative to a production of any kind.

How did you receive audience feedback from your target audience?
(Screening of production, focus group, questionnaires)

Before our production began and throughout the various processes, we recieved and considered feedback from our target audience consisting of females aged 16-25. By doing so, we believe it assisted us in creating a set of conventional products which would have a high appeal to the people who wish to consume them. If we did not consider our target audience at any stage, our products would not serve the purpose of appeal, which is the main outcome we strived for and wanted to maintain their interest and provide them with entertainment.


We decided the age range of 16-25 after conducting primary research which involved a questionnaire of which we asked 40 random people. As part of this, we asked them to state their age and the majority were aged 16-25 which meant that was the age we were to set to target. Our chosen artist Nina Nesbitt who we evolved into Daisy started her career in the industry at age 16 and is now 19 and very successful. This therefore means the lyrical content she produces is very appealing to a young audience as they can relate to it as they may be enduring similar experiences, expressed through the organic Indie genre. We also chose to target females too, mainly because our chosen artist is female and we believe the song itself is not appealing to males of our specified age range, although the video features a young male which may draw a niche/minority male audience. Once we had decided exactly who our target audience consists of, we then conducted further primary research into their preferences in order to consider them when planning and making our music video. These preferences were generalised to allow our products to be holistic. After this, we displayed our quantitative date onto pie charts for them to be visually appealing and easy to reference to. Therefore, questionnaires played a very fundamental role into creating consistent, coherent and conventional products which are highly appealing to our target audience (our primary consumers)


How would this feedback benefit your production and the industry?


By receiving feedback from our intended target audience via a number of different sources including social networking sites (Facebook, YouTube and Twitter), interviews and word of mouth has benefitted our small scale production massively. This is because it is evidence that we have created products that are popular amongst our audience and were appreciated as they served the purpose of appealing to them. Working in the music industry is very competitive and considered tough by many as it is fast-paced and respected therefore if I were to be working as part of it, the feedback recieved would benefit the production greatly. This is because the music industry is ever-changing and therefore, the needs of the product consumer/target audience change as a result of the fresh and new ideas that are being produced each day, deriving from all kinds of genres. If I was presented with the opportunity to improve upon my existing products, I would take each audience members feedback into account for example I would not change the artist image because they are able to relate to it but I would alter the editing of the argument scene. I would insert the argument shots earlier into the music video because I received a comment suggesting so in order to feel more sympathetic towards the artist and the position she is seen in. If I was to improve upon that specific area, my music video would increase in audience appeal which would thus benefit me as the product producers success in addition to the artists success. 

In addition to the central product (music video), I was presented with the task of creating 2 ancillary products to support it. This includes a magazine advert and digipak, both promoting the central product. Product promotion is absolutely fundamental in determining the main products success because without advertising it's existence or selling the product well enough, audiences would not consume or enjoy/give us feedback on them, hence why all 3 products are equal in how much effort we put into creating them because they are all imperative to present to the audience. Receiving feedback from the final magazine advert and digipak was also important and would be considered if I was working within the music industry. An example of this is when one audience member commented upon our magazine advert, stating that she felt the use of the brick wall as a background was uneccessary and not typical of the genre/what she expected from the genre. Therefore, taking this into account I would use a forest location as it conveys rawness of the artists talent and the organic Indie genre more conventionally and not use a brick wall as it may alienate or potentially confuse audience members as they did not witness a brick wall location within the music video. This means that our products are not coherent with each other, which would be something I would tackle if working within the ever-changing industry of music.


Include 3 positive comments and reflect on them (You must include
the same comments as your group)



Our first interview was with Bethany Smith aged 16. Bethany stated: “When watching an Indie music video, I expect to see the artist perform with an instrument which is typical for the genre. I think you have created a video that links to the supporting products as they are coherent in regard to the components you have combined together such as the artist Indie style image with her messy hair and red lipstick. I also think the locations you have used throughout your music video link to the song Noserings & Shoestrings because it mentions a skate park in the lyrics. Well done!”

When receiving this comment, it made me feel positive about our music video creation because it seemed she enjoyed it, therefore meaning it was appealing for her. Bethany stated that she felt that our products joined nicely together and were therefore coherent. This also ensures the fact that we have been successful including the correct conventional components within our products, thus being visually appealing and enjoyed by our target audience.


We questioned Penelope Miller aged 21. Penelope stated: “I really enjoyed your music video, mainly because the storyline links to the lyrics the artist is seen singing in the performance shots. I think that young people can relate to this storyline of a broken relationship and can therefore build a relationship with the artist. I also find your digipak effective because it really shows the artist in a positive light so the artist can act as a role model and potentially persuade people to express themselves with the guitar shots you included too”.

Penelope stated that she believes our artist, Daisy is successful in appealing to young people and has the potential to become a role model. This is something we wanted as an outcome from our organic artist image as it enables audiences to relate to the audience, thus bonding/building a relationship with her too. This directly follows Dyer's star theory of a star being 'ordinary' contrastingly to 'extraordinary' due to the highly relatable and easily achivable image we have created. This comment also made me feel as though our strong narrative element was successful too because it follows Goodwin's theory of parallel visuals to lyrics as suggested by the 21 year old female. We wanted to follow this point  deriving from Goodwin's theory because our target audience wanted a simplistic music video as conveyed within the questionnaires which allowed us to receive vital feedback form our audience targeted.


We also interviewed Karen Jarvis aged 19 who stated: “I think your framing of shots are good because the artist is central which is important when promoting her.  It allows me to relate to the artist more. Also, I think your digipak follows conventions of the Indie genre as it follows what is expected of the genre. Therefore I was able to recognise the artist's style in order to relate to her once again"

As a media producer, the comment we received from Karen made me feel as though we had enough knowledge to understand the importance particular camera shots and what a huge impact they can have on our audience. As a result of this, Karen confirms that our artist performance shots and framing are successful because they vitally provide the audience with the opportunity to build a relationship with Daisy which would benefit her career within the harsh industry of music.  

Include 3 constructive comments and reflect on them (You must
include the same comments as your group)

There was Samantha Hedge aged 25 who we interviewed to receive feedback upon our final music video. Samantha stated: “Although I enjoyed your music video and was introduced to a new artist of my favourite music genre, I wanted to see more of the artist performing because it looked believable and not like the bad lip-syncing videos you often see"

Samantha critisised us on our division between narrative (70%) and performance (30%) as she wanted increased performance from the artist. Although this is something I could potentially adjust, I personally believe we got the split between the 2 styles perfect because our main aim was to tell a story through visuals as opposed to focusing upon the artist performance. This is a positive comment to consider however because she praised the artist performance, claiming she believed what she was singing, therefore, an emotional connection was made between the audience member and artist.

We also received a second criticism from Samantha Hedge who stated "I think the narrative was effective because it links to the lyrics, however, I would have liked to see the argument scene at the end earlier on and seen the consequences of her boyfriend’s actions much sooner for dramatic effect to feel sympathy for the artist”

This comment adopts both a positive and negative aspect from the audience. Samantha states that she wanted to feel more sympathy for the artist, suggesting she did feel some amount of sympathy, just that she wanted it increased because she can relate to the artists situation. However, to achieve total satisfaction from our audience, I could make it more appealing by altering the narrative slightly to engage the audience further within the product, therefore increasing success.

As well as giving us positive feedback, Karen Jarvis gave us criticism to better the video; "However, I believe that the quality of your camera is not as highly defined as you would expect to see in a professional music video. Also, I believe your magazine advert does not follow conventions. This is because I don't see how the brick wall is relevant as I have seen it used in more grime/hip-hop genres”

Although Karen's comment is negative, I agree with it which means I am able to critisise my own product as after all, no creation is ever 100% successful unless it has been adapted to suit the audiences wants and needs. She states that the quality of the cameras aren't as highly defined as she would expect to see in a professional looking music video. If we were to re-create our video, we would have access to much more expensive and therefore better quality equipment. In addition to commenting upon our video, Karen also considered our magazine advert, one of our supporting ancillary product. I agree with what she stated which was that it could be presented more conventionally to be considered as a product belonging to the Indie genre, however, we used the brick wall background as during our research we spotted it frequently within many adverts, including that of Nina Nesbitt! Therefore, I disagree with her last comment regarding the existence of the brick wall because it is widely recognised by fans of the Indie genre.

Overall explain how you have followed the aims of the brief by
creating a music video




Our A2 coursework required a combination of individual and group work. As individuals, we conducted research into various elements of music videos, music genres and the music industry in general and maintained a blog as part of this. This research was prior to the creation of our music video and ancillary products because it was our research that assisted us in creating the products due to target audience research highly influencing it as they are the people consuming our products. Our brief was to create a music video to support the song of our chosen artist in conjunction to 2 ancillary products which include a digipak and magazine advert, promoting the central product. 

Whilst planning and creating our products, we had to consider whether we wanted to either strictly follow or bravely subvert the conventions/characteristics traditionally associated with the genre we had chosen. After conducting market research consisting of interviews and questionnaires, we created a video Vox Pops showing key people we interviewed and also collated all of the information we found from the general public into easily understandable/visually appealing pie charts. It then quickly became apparent who our target audience was, which made planning and creating our products much easier as we gained an insight into what they wanted the music video and ancillary texts to contain.
We have followed the aims of the brief by creating a music video in addition to supporting products (magazine advert and digipak) and therefore fulfilled these aims.