2. Throughout creating our production we have gained positive feedback from our teacher and our
fellow classmates – this including the initial idea with the first song we picked (Mo – Final Song) and
our final idea with song ‘How to save a life’ byThe Fray. It was evident that we had interested people
in our video as we uploaded it and within a few hours we had already gained 50 views, which isn’t
comparable with the big production companies – but for us this was great to see and allowed us to
gain some feedback from those who took the time to watch our video.
When we asked those who had watched our video what they thought about out production, we
asked them to be as honest as possible with us in order for us to evaluate our work in a fair way and
reflect on what we have learned and what we would and wouldn’t do again. In our group we didn’t
feel that a focus group would be something in which we want to d in order to gain feedback as we
felt that having a camera and us in front of the people who are giving us feedback might make them
feel as if they need to be nice about what we have produced instead of honest – we therefore relied
on comments onYouTube and opinions from the audience who were watching it next to us to give us
feedback as they were watching the production – this was good as it meant they were giving us the
feedback as they were thinking it, leaving no room for dishonesty. All of the feedback gained were
from those of the same age range as our target audience – which seemed like a logical and good
thing to do as those were the ones in which we were trying to appeal to.
Someone said that they liked the way in which both of the protagonists in our video had a separate
point of view and reflected on the past with the black and white filters there to show the variation in
time. Another said they liked the way in which the video ended, with the final beat being the final cut
in the video – and therefore it gave it an overall professional feel and wrapped up the video nicely.
We were told that the production way have been slightly better if we had more footage of the couple
and not so much of the surrounding areas, which is something to think about if we were going to
make a music video again in the future, however having the mis-en-scene to give a lonely feel was
something which we were keen on doing therefore don’t regret it.
3. I also wanted to gain some feedback from the advert and digpak I had earlier made too – and from
here my teachers and classmates gave me positive comments, mentioning how they loved how the
main character in the video and the main area where she was featured on both of the products,
giving a clear hint at what the video will contain and a hint at what the song may be about
(heartbreak).
I was happy to gain such good feedback and I was told that the products looked realistic and
professional because I had included small details such as the copyright notes and links to where you
can find out more about the band and where you can listen to their music. I did have one criticism
however, and this was that I should think about using a bigger variety of images next time instead of
having ones which are almost all the same – because although I wanted to have a running theme
throughout my products, which I do, it can become repetitive.
The feedback on my digipak was all verbal as I only completed this a few days ago – but it was good
to receive feedback in this way as it was given to me in the first person therefore I could take what I
needed to from this and had a clear understanding of the feedback I was getting with no
misunderstanding.
4. Negative comments on our video didn’t come in the masses however the ones in which we did receive
were ones in which we had agreed on before posting the video but couldn’t change due to deadlines,
these were things such as not having titles and clear headings in the music video and having some of
the changes in scenes not having a smooth run to them – causing the video to be somewhat jumpy and
therefore not giving a sense of time in a way in which it could have a better effect on the audience.
Another criticism which is the one in which is the most significant and I couldn’t agree with more was
that we didn’t have enough shots to really tell the story – and although we had the ending as a cliff
hanger of the girl at the viewpoint of the city, we don’t know much about what had happened between
the two and maybe a little more context would’ve made the video make a bit more sense.They
mentioned that there seemed to be a lot of travelling in the video, and we saw a lot of the girl walking,
and they weren’t sure if it was a continuity issue with her wearing different clothes in all the shots or if
it was just a way of showing the pass of time – it was a way in which we were trying to show the passing
of time, but I can understand how this may not have been clear in the video.
The video as it stands has 5 likes onYoutube and no dislikes, this is something which my group are
proud of as it shows that more people have gone to the effort to be positive about our production than
negative, which might even suggest they believe it is as good as other music videos in which they like
onYoutube.
5. If I was going to produce another music video, I would take on board all the advice in which I had gained from
the feedback and apply it to my work – and I would spend a longer time planning and being realistic about my
expectations to avoid having to change the entire plan and having to worry about deadlines so much in the
future. I would spend more time editing if I were to undertake this task again as I now have a clearer
understanding of the importance of having a production which has been edited correctly, as it looks very
different when you watch it back once complete and on something like your mobile phone.
I would also want to explore a bigger variety of shots and angles in order to make our video seem more
professional and I would want to have a method which would make all of the cuts and change in scenery
come together in a smoother form. A way in which we could do this would be by easing in the change of
scenery instead of just chopping and changing and maybe taking more time looking at editing features to see
if any could help in doing this.
With my ancillary texts, I would take more time in having a bigger variety of photos in my folders so I could
make the advert and digipak more exciting for the audience so I could have one which would allow the
audience to see a clear theme without potentially finding it too repetitive.The feedback has told me that I
need to think about the amount of time in which I put into this, as it can be just as vital as the video itself, and
the digipak and advert is going to be contributing greatly to the amount of sales in which we make and the
audience in which we are going to attract.
All of the feedback which I have gained has definitely taught me that I need to explore more features on
things such as Premier Pro in order to make the most of the work which I have produced, and has allowed me
to realise that editing is a vital part in being successful in creating a music video. I would also try and watch
our production from the audience’s perspective rather than a producers as it is easy to miss something which
is important – like including the name of the song in he video, this was our biggest mistake as a group –
although one of my team mates had done this intentionally as they believed it would make the video
different to others.
