Education

1. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM
YOUR AUDIENCE FEEDBACK?
By Daniel Gbadamosi

2. I appreciate the feedback that my audience has
given me as it is not biased, I can tell this from
the fact that it has both the positive points and
the points for improvement in my video. To the
right are two examples of this, the
cinematography that they really found to be
exceptional was specifically mentioned so that
we can go back and analyze what we did well an
what we would change. Another viewer pointed
out the specific location as being good I
appreciated as it was a unique piece of feedback
and it taught me that even miniscule details such
as choice of location can be pivotal.
Daniel

3. Originally I thought that our audience would be averse to the idea of us using so many estate areas
however this was noted as a point of praise meaning it must have helped the video in some way
(aesthetically), I am therefore happy that we kept the locations similar in that respect as it paid off.
We were going to change this as it suggested that it had some pivotal role in story which it did not.
If not for the fact that the estate had such strong connotations to the troublemaking/rebellious
crowd that the artist got into then we would have removed it in favor of a more depressing or
serious area, the fact that we kept it in however paid off as is shown by our audience feedback.
One of the negative points of the video was the fact that some of the camera shots were extremely
shaky we did purposely make the shots handheld in order to transfer just how hectic the point of
time in the artists’ life was. I will discuss this in more detail on the next slide.

4. During some scenes in my music video hand-held shots were used this was in order to
emphasise the instability in the artists’ life this did work as feedback said that this was a
brilliant idea as feedback showed that the audience picked up on the link between the
narrative and the camera movements however a suggestion was that we ‘tone it down’. I will
definitely take this into consideration as after watching the video it does take away from the
professional aspect of the video as well as making it hard to focus on what is going within
the actual shot itself. Our music video did surprise me in the fact that after a suggestion to
branch out from our target audience it was found to be successful with females ranging from
adolescent ages all the way up into my adult years, when questioned I found that they found
his story to be eye-opening as although they cannot relate to it directly most confessed to
knowing someone who went through something similar. It helped to realize that when
choosing a song it is important to choose something that is relatable to your audience a it is
definitely a point of attraction, it also showed me to check my demographic as it better to be
open-minded as it can potentially open up more options for your audience. Audience
feedback helped me understand that this style of rap can be appreciated by a much more
wider audience than adolescent males.

5. Our feedback requested that we use a darker tone e.g. filming more at night as it is clear from the narrative that that
the artists’ story is not a pleasant one as even during the times when he seems happy it is what others have deemed
delinquent behaviour the original artist can be quoted as saying that the time period in his life was real “sin and
debauchery” I tried to subvert the idea that his past and future were both dark by using a brighter sky and a more
grungy area this was to keep the idea of an ambiguous ending open. As the idea I successfully conveyed to the
audience is that his future is open to interpretation depending on how you interpret the music video, you could
interpret it as him realizing his past mistakes and deciding to make a change or him blaming his current situation on
his past and that he has decided to given up. Stuart Hall suggested the that with any media text that the audience
reception comes down to 3 readings dominant, negotiated or oppositional. Dominant (audience agrees and likes what
meaning they have encoded, positive opinions). Negotiated (audience has mixed views on the meaning they have
encoded). Oppositional (audience does not agree or like the meaning that they have encoded, negative opinions and
views on the text). I believe our audience reading was negotiated as although they understood the narrative it was
suggested that we convey in a better way in order to make it easier for the audience to understand, however this may
be due to the fact that they interpreted it in a way that meant it would have been more beneficial to use a darker tone.
This in itself may suggest that we actually received a dominant reading as my audience are able to recognize the
ambiguous aspect of the entire video and ending. The narrative suggests that this era is the middle of the artists’ life
and the actual song was created in that era, it is likely then that it is is due to this that the audience is able to
recognize the openness of the music video and the ending. It is hard to definitively choose a negotiated reading or a
dominant reading however I have come to the conclusion that our reading is dominant as it is clear from our audience
feedback that although most audiences unlike myself choose either one or the other when it comes to the
interpretation of our music video they do recognize that there is a choice.

6. Conclusion
I am thankful for my audience feedback as it has pointed out how I can
improve my ability in producing media texts cinema based and otherwise.
Audience feedback is important as it teaches how to improve and what you are
good at.