The document summarizes the results of a questionnaire given to the intended audience for a music video. Key findings include:
- The target audience prefers pop music and elements common in pop videos like narratives, performances, and dancing.
- Views on provocative behavior in videos were negative and most found it uncomfortable.
- Elements liked were dancing, performances, narratives, and interesting routines while disliked elements included length, provocative behavior, and unrealistic narratives.
- Expectations for a pop-rock video included upbeat dancing, relaxed atmospheres, and fun, playful scenarios.
1. Audience Research Conclusions In this presentation I will bring together all the feedback I obtained from the questionnaires and add my take on how it will affect the choices I make when producing my own music video.
2. For my audience questionnaire prior to producing the music video, I decided to ask 15 – 18 year olds, 11 questions about a range of different aspects to do with music videos in general, my chosen genre and possible ideas. In doing so, I have found out what my target audience expect, what they like and dislike and also what they prefer when it comes to camera tricks and computer generated imagery being included in 21 st Century music videos.
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4. I also found out about what my target audience expect to see in a music video. From this question I found out that they typically expect to see, the artist being included in the song, dancing of some sort and a performance be it a concert or band performance. Here I can develop on the typical codes and conventions of music videos and incorporate what the viewers expect to see, not just what the theory of music videos suggests.
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6. I asked my target audience about what elements they would and wouldn’t like to see in music videos. The elements in which many of them said they enjoy to see were, dancing, an artist performance, a possible narrative and interesting routines. The elements they dislike about music videos are the length of some videos, as some may be short, where as others may be too long. Other elements include, provocative behaviour, a narrative that doesn’t make sense, and ‘cheesy’ elements to a music video as it drifts away from real life scenarios.
7. I then went onto asking my target audience what they would expect to see in a pop-rock/acoustic music video. From this question I obtained answers such as, upbeat dancing, artist performance, relaxed atmosphere, fun and playful scenarios and something you don’t see every day. This question has helped me develop on what elements I may include in my music video. These include, the artist performing a fun and playful scenario with an overall relaxed/cheerful tone to the video. To develop more into the possible concept of my music video I asked my sample audience if they prefer to see the artist lip-syncing or for the video to follow a character/concept. Three of my sample answered that they would prefer to follow a character, where as another three preferred to see the artist lip-syncing. The rest of my sample would like to see both a narrative and a character concept in a music video.
8. On the subject of CGI and editing techniques being used in music videos there is a divide between what people like and dislike about such techniques. The main theme revealed about CGI being used in music videos is that the audience would rather the video be fully in CGI rather than it float between both authentic image and CGI as in some cases it may disrupt the verisimilitude of the video. In terms of editing techniques, the majority of my participants would prefer to see camera tricks and the possible use of Photoshop. This had favoured the idea of using stop motion in my music video.
9. The final area I decided to cover in my questionnaire related to the views of my target audience on the idea of having outside references in a music video. Many of my sample stated that they don’t have an opinion on the subject as generally these allusions are placed in the background of videos. However, some stated that as long as they ‘make sense’ and ‘link back to the lyrics’ or concept then the use of such references can be accepted. One of my questionnaires, returned with the comment: ‘It can create controversy for using controversial references or as a result gets overplayed just because of the reference made within the video’ therefore, from this comment I have decided to be strict with the mise-en-scene in the background of various scenes in my music video to avoid this controversial topic.