A Level Media Coursework Evaluation

1. Evaluation
3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?

2. Target Audience
•Age – The age of the target audience would be 16-21 years old. This is because the music
video concentrates on youth and young adolescences and this audience could identify with the
leading performers (Joel and Jill) as they are 17 years old and 18 years old.
•Gender – Female and Male. The performers in my music video are both male and
female, therefore both genders could relate with them and the way they act. However, from my
audience feedback which I will explain in a further slide, it may appeal more to females.
•Ethnicity – White – this because the actors are white.
•Nationality – British – this is because the actors are British and the music video was
actually film in a British City.

3. Uses and Gratification
• Laswell’s theory can be applied to my productions in relation to the themes of entertainment and cultural
transmission.
• For example, the music video is fun, energetic and active – there is constantly something happening, so
there is always something to watch. The actions and events that take place are exciting to watch - this is
developed by the use of montage narrative and the fast paced editing synchronising with the beat of the
music. Also, the location used is in a British City (Norwich). These means people from Britain or people from
Norwich could relate to the productions and British norms and values and the cultural aspects of the city,
such as Norwich Cathedral.
• Blumler and Katz theory: individuals might choose and use a text for the following purposes: Diversion -
escape from everyday problems and routine, Personal Relationships - using the media for emotional and
other interaction, eg: substituting soap operas for family life ; identifying with artists, fans feeling as though
they belong to a special group, fans of “Friends” may substitute the characters for any gaps in their own lives
and Personal Identity - finding yourself reflected in texts, learning behaviour and values from texts.
• This theory can relate to my productions in relation to the concepts of diversion and personal identity.
• For example, they focus on having fun whilst being young and not wanting to be an adult, thus escaping
from the responsibility of becoming an adult. Also, the productions relate to both genders of similar ages,
therefore they could relate to experiences that this target audience have had, such as looking back at old
memories, losing friends and experiencing the same feeling of not wanting to grow up. Therefore the
behaviour and actions of Jill and Joel may reflect some of the potential target audience. Additionally, the
audience could perhaps identify with wanting to be outdoors most of the time rather than stuck at home.

4. Blumler and Katz theory continued..
• Diversion – aspects of my music video that may act as a diversion for the strains
and stresses of everyday life are: going out to explore the city – in my music
video, the performers walk around the city/adventure around Mousehold and
also drive round the city. Additionally, going to a gig may act as an escape as the
music may make an individual lose contact with reality.
• Personal relationships - audiences may use the text in order to feel part of a
relationship or friendship group for interaction and emotional support. The end
of my music video is ambiguous but some viewers may create their own ending,
and that however bleak life may seem there is a possibility of reinventing a
relationship. Alternatively, if a relationship is over and the hedonistic days of
youth are gone, then you are not alone, for the characters in the music video are
also experiencing what the viewer is experiencing.

5. Music Video
• To receive feedback of my music video, I used questionnaires.
• The questions were:
1) How much did you enjoy the music video?
2) Did it hold your attention?
3) How do you rate the camera work and editing?
4) How did you rate the aspects of mise-en-scene?
5) Was the music video the correct length/too short/too long/don’t know?
6) Would you watch the music video again?
7) Can you suggest anything to improve the appeal?
8) Were there any aspects that you found offensive?
9) Was there any part you found confusing or hard to understand?
10) What is the best part of the production?
11) Does the video reflect the style of music?
12) Does the music video successfully promote the band/artist?
13) On a scale of 1-5 how do you rank the music video, with 5 being the highest?

6. • This questionnaire was filled in by a male student, I am happy
with the ratings given. This shows that the male gender can
engage with my music video, probably because they can
identify with Joel.
• The only criticisms I received in this feedback is that the
narrative became weaker in the middle and it felt like I was
editing by effects. I took this on board and during the editing
process, I edited the shots in the middle to a fast pacer - I feel
this was what the problem was, as the track is quite upbeat,
therefore the shots needed to fit with the sound of the track.
• Additionally, it felt like I was editing by effects as I used the
same effect 'cross dissolve' over every shot, I did this to
indicate it was a montage; however, as it appeared boring
and repetitive I took out some of the effects across each shot
or I replaced the cross dissolve with 'dip to black' or 'dip to
white' to make the music video more interesting.

7. • This feedback was from a female. I am
happy that they believed the best part of
the production to be the filming/footage
as I was the cinematographer during this
production and this is an important part
of a production and evidently it is
appealing and engaging.
• From the criticism of this feedback, I did
add a fade on the overlap of footage 1
minute in and rendered my music video in
order for it to play the whole way through
without buffering or the music cutting
out. This meant an audience would be
able to watch it without any difficulties.

8. • This questionnaire was also completed by a female. This
one states that the best part of the production is 'the
amount of footage included and the fast pace goes well
with the song. I am happy with this feedback as Jill, Joel
and I put a lot of time and effort into getting a variety of
different shots in different locations, in order to produce
an efficient montage.
• Additionally, I am glad that the fast pace edit goes well
with the song as this has met my intentions from when I
firs started planning. The criticism I got in this feedback is
that I cut some of my footage to early when Jill says
'Sorry', therefore I made this longer so an audience could
understand what she said.
• Also, this feedback suggested that I did not need a
transition, but I used a transition to imply the narrative
was moving into a different time of the friendship
between Jill and Joel.
• Although, as someone else suggested I was editing by
effects, I thought it was unnecessary to have them from
shot to shot, so I removed some of them and only used
them when I believed them to be the most effective.

9. Print Productions
• To receive feedback for my print productions I also used questionnaires. These were filled out by media
students in another class.
• The questions were:
1) Does the package successfully reflect the genre of music?
2) Does the package successfully promote the band/artist?
3) How do you rate the standard graphics, text, finish of the digipak?
4) How do you rate the standard graphics, print finish of advert?
5) How successfully is the Britishness of the package established?
6) Would the covers encourage you to buy the digipak?
7) Would the advert encourage you to go to an event by this artist?
8) Were there any aspects that you found offensive?
9) What are the three strongest features of the ancillary tasks?
10) Rate the package overall (1 =low 5=high)

10. • This questionnaire was filled in by an 18 year old male. I am
pleased that he agrees the package successfully reflects the
genre of the music and does promote the artist.
• However, he has scored a ‘3’ for the digipak but a ‘4’ for the
advert, this suggests that the advert appeals to males more
than the digipak appeals to males. This is perhaps because
they prefer the image used on the advert rather than the
digipak or maybe because the advert boosts the promotion of
the artist.
• Additionally, he has chose ‘Undecided’ as to whether he
would buy the digipak and whether he would go to an event
buy the artist.
• Despite this, he believes that that the productions are
positive. He says ‘I find representation of age to be
progressive – shows youth a good light. Very attractive for a
young audience’ Also, he stated: ‘The images that have been
chosen I think very well link to the music video and the track
itself directly. They strongly promote the artist, particularly
with the images of Norwich Skyline which would make it
strongly appealing to me, being a city resident. Furthermore,
the representation of youth is heavily appealing to a young
audience.
• This implies that my productions strongly appeal to young
people – this was the aim, and also suggests that people from
the British city, Norwich would enjoy the music video and
would be encouraged to buy the digipak and perhaps go to an
event by this artist.

11. • This questionnaire was filled out by an 18
year old female. I am happy that she suggests
the package successfully promotes the
band/artist by giving a score of ‘4’ for this
question.
• This questionnaire highlights that the advert
was the most appealing aspect of my print
productions as it has been given the highest
score ‘5’. Alternatively, the graphics of the
digipak was scored a ‘3’ this also shows that
the advert appeals to females more than the
digipak.
• However, this female has stated that she
would be encouraged to buy the digipak and
go to an event by the artist.
• According to this questionnaire, the strongest
3 features of the ancillary tasks are: the
positioning of text, lighting of images and the
tone the images create. This shows that the
productions I have created are interesting.

12. • This was completed by a 17 year old female. It is
evident that she also agrees with the other
respondents that the package successfully
promotes the artist.
• She has rated the graphics of the finished digipak
and advert at a ‘4’ ;this implies that the
productions I have produced are engaging for a
female audience.
• This is supported by her answering ‘Yes’ to the
questions ‘would the covers encourage you to buy
the digipak? And ‘would the advert encourage you
to go to an event by this artist?’ in contrast to a
male who said ‘undecided’ for both.
• Furthermore, according to this questionnaire, the
three strongest features of the ancillary tasks are:
The photograph reflects the song title effectively,
the text is subtle but effective as to not distract
from the photograph and the characters of the
music video are established. This allows the
audience to identify with the artist, track and
performers if they also watched the music video
and were to go to an event by AnxiousAlibi.

13. • This was completed by an 18 year old male. This
person also agrees with the other male,
previously mentioned, that the package
successfully reflects the genre and successfully
promotes the artist.
• However, he has rated the graphics of the digipak
and the poster at a ‘3’ which suggests it is less
appealing to males than it is to females. As the
female mentioned in a previous slide rated the
advert at a ‘5’.
• Additionally, he has selected ‘undecided’ to both
of these questions: ‘would the covers encourage
you to buy the digipak?’ and ‘would the advert
encourage you to go to an event by this artist?
This is exactly the same as what the other male
put, whereas the female said ‘yes to both of these
questions’. This indicates that there is a gender
difference in the appeal of the print productions.
• However, the imagery and fonts used on panel 1
and panel 4 interested this male as he mentioned
these were the strongest features of the ancillary
tasks.

14. Gender Difference
• The feedback from my questionnaires illustrates a gender difference in the appeal of
my productions. Females are more likely to engage with them rather than males.
• This could refer to Stuart Hall’s reception theory regarding agreement between the
encoder (producer/author) and decoder (audience)
• Perhaps as a female cinematographer/producer, the productions I created were more
attracting for a female audience. The females may have focused more on the imagery
and viewed it as ‘beautiful’ whereas the boys may have only focused on how Joel is
presented because he is what they can identify with. Whereas girls could also identify
with Jill.
• Additionally, the male gaze refers to the act of looking upon women as objects, of
adopting the role of spectator; but metaphorically, it refers to a way of thinking about
and acting within society (Mulvey). The female audience decoded my music video
more positively perhaps because they could identify with the realistic and authentic
representation of girl in the music video as I have not represented the female as hyper
sexualised/objectified, this adds to the appeal.

15. Other Interests
• The target audience may enjoy sitcoms such as the Tv
show ‘Friends’. This programme revolves round a circle of
friends who live in Manhattan. It shows this group of
friends messing around with each other and always going
out with each other; they always seem to have a laugh.
• The genre focuses on every day situations and problems
audiences can relate to.
• The audience might enjoy other sitcoms, when searching
for sitcoms, imdb gave a list of the most popular ones,
these are other Tv shows that the target audience for my
productions may engage with.
• These shows include humour, pranks and pathos. These
aspects are featured in my productions.
• If audiences begin to create their own endings to a story
this gives my production legs. Possible fans may discuss
their desired ending on social network sites, thus
increasing publicity through word of mouth. This would
add to the appeal of the music video.