Evaluation: Question 3

As these images
The target audience for my music video is show (left, a Justin
quite clearly the normal target audience of Beiber fan and
below, fans lining up
pop music – teenagers, mainly female. Like to see One
the majority of pop tracks, Tonight I Let You Direction), the target
Go by The Colours is about love and the audience for boy
relationship between two people. As we have bands in the pop
genre is a mostly
not strayed from the forms and conventions female teenage
of ethnicity (white), age (young audience – as it is for
adult), gender (focused on the male The Colours, a boy
band from the pop
performer), sexuality genre
(heterosexual), costume (casual, fashionable
look), and social class (higher working class
to middle-class), the target audience is
similar to that of most pop tracks (as
aforementioned, teenagers, mostly female).

I have established who the target audience is, now I will establish more about
them and what media texts they are influenced by.

Their media interests are usually mainstream – often they will watch programs
such as soap operas (EastEnders, for example). My music video uses typical
housing estates, like the ones seen in soap operas, as locations – this links my
music video to this type of TV show, and therefore the mutual target audience.

In addition, the hypodermic needle model (the associated diagram is shown
below) applies to this target audience. The hypodermic needle model suggests
that we as an audience are passive, and that our behaviour and thinking is
affected by the creators of media texts. Teenagers, the common target audience
of mainstream media such as my music video, are in the stages of developing
their thoughts, morals and lives – they are easily influenced, and so the
hypodermic needle model applies. My target audience often consumes
mainstream media, and is affected by it.

Social media is a big part of modern culture, and is used as a
significant part of marketing for most forms of media. For
example, the thriller film Animal Kingdom used social media sites
such as Facebook to allow people who were interested in the
relatively small film find information on the film easily. They would
then share this information with other people who they are
connected to on Facebook. Essentially, this results in free and
effective advertising. I used Facebook to show people my music
video and gather feedback as it would allow my friends, and then
their friends (and so on) to see the music video and potentially give
me feedback.

The comments I received on Facebook – from my target
audience of teenagers - were mainly positive. I will
assess each comment individually:

This comment implies that the editing of my music video
worked well with the music video, and therefore fitted the
genre well.

The next piece of feedback compliments my use of cross
dissolves. I tried to use cross dissolves to add
sophistication to my music video and develop the
narrative past forms and conventions of music videos
and the pop genre (with the cross dissolves connoting
dreams and flashbacks), so this is a great piece of
positive feedback.

The next comment says how I have portrayed the pop
genre well. This is very encouraging, as I have tried to
use several conventions of the pop genre in order to
increase the appeal of my music video to my target
audience, e.g. the focus on the main performer – the boy
– as the face of both my music video and the brand.

For the next comment, camera steadiness was identified
as an issue. With better technology, such as rolling
camera, this could be fixed. As with Timothy’s
comment, the transitions achieved their effect and were

I posted my music video on YouTube so that it could be easily transferred to different
places on the internet. My Facebook feedback is an example of this, as I used the
functionality of Facebook that allows YouTube videos to be embedded into your
posts to show my Facebook audience my music video. This allows my video to be
viewed directly from Facebook, as well as giving my audience the option to click the
link and watch the video on the main YouTube site.

By choosing the latter option, my audience can also leave feedback on the YouTube
page for my music video. While I received no comments on the YouTube page, the
Like/Dislike bar – which allows viewers to rate YouTube videos by Liking or Disliking
them – shows a positive reception to my music video. With one Like and no
Dislikes, the general YouTube feedback is positive (even if I would ideally gather
more feedback in this way so that the YouTube feedback is more accurate – one
rating does not tell me for certain what the overall critical perception of my music
video is).

In the next slide I will begin my evaluation of the audience feedback I gained through
the use of questionnaires, starting with images of the completed questionnaires.
The
Like/Dislike
bar

Question 1 of the questionnaire I handed out concerns how well my product
reflects its genre of music. My music video is form the pop genre, and I have
used many forms and conventions of the pop genre to establish this. The
soap-opera like locations and generic representations of aspects such as
age, gender and ethnicity target my package at a pop image and
subsequently pop target audience.

6
The graph on the left shows that
5 the feedback I received is positive
4
in terms of how well I have
reflected the pop genre with my
3
package of products. All of my
2 responses indicate a successful
1
association with the genre, and as
this is what I was trying to achieve
0
Questionnaire 1 Questionnaire 2 Questionnaire 3 Questionnaire 4
by using forms and conventions of
the pop genre, this is a good sign.

Question 2 concerns how well I have promoted the artist of the track. By
using close-ups and a focus on the main male performer – who represents
the artists – in my package, I have utilized Gaze Theory (that looking at the
main male performer often with close-up shots would make him the main
focus of the gaze – look – of the audience) to make the artist of the track I
have used - The Colours – the main focus of my package. Because of this, I
would hope that my audience feedback would be positive for this aspect of
my package.
6 My audience feedback was very
5 positive – two 5/5s and two 4/5s.
This tells me that my use of Gaze
4
Theory to make my artist the focus
3 of the package has worked as
2 hoped. The convention of the pop
genre to make the artist the focus
1
of the products and marketing has
0 translated over to my products as
intended.

The next question of my questionnaire, question 3, asks about the standard of the
graphics, text and finish of my digipak. For my digipak, I tried to produce
something that conformed to some forms and conventions of the pop genre while
also adding a dynamic, stylish and eye-catching feel with my use of black and
white and a more creative font that I edited with graphical effects to enhance its
aesthetic appeal (for some of the digipak). The contrast between the creative-
looking black and white font and the bright font used for the logo of The Colours
(which uses a font similar to pop artists such as Coldplay, a similar artist) creates
a distinct look that I used to improve the text and finish of my digipak.
6 The graph of my audience
5
feedback shows that the effects I
tried to create and use to improve
4
the graphics of my text and finish of
3 my digipak worked well. The text
2
and finish of my digipak has clearly
been well received, as three
1
members of my audience gave
0 these aspects of my digipak a 4/5
and one person gave them a 5/5.

Question 4 of the questionnaire asked my audience for feedback about the quality
of the graphics and print finish of my magazine advert. I went for a simplistic and
stylish look on my magazine advert, using only a black and white image of our
striking lyric card shot (which is a modernised version of the iconic lyric card shot
in the music video for Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues) and a few
pieces of text. As in the digipak, I used the logo I made for The Colours as a
contrast to the dynamic use of black and white. This effect differentiates the
magazine advert from similar magazine adverts in the pop genre while the bright
text for the logo of The Colours ensures that the link to the pop genre is still
present.
6
The graph of the response of
5 my audience to this question is
4
very positive. With high scores
from all members of the
3
audience, the effect I was
2 trying to achieve seems to
1
have been as successful as I
hoped.
0

The fifth question of my questionnaire focuses on well the Britishness of my
package is established. With the use of the iconic signifier of contemporary
Britain that is the red postbox, as well as texting teenagers, housing
estates, casual clothing, cars, traffic and traffic lights, and urban areas there
are many strong representations of contemporary Britain in my package.

On the left I have shown the graph
4.5
4
of the results I received from my
3.5
audience feedback. This aspect of
3 my package was received more
2.5 negatively than the four questions
2 preceding it, with two 4/5s and two
1.5 3/5s. My audience did not seem
1
quite as aware of the signifiers of
0.5
contemporary Britain as I
0
Questionnaire 1 Questionnaire 2 Questionnaire 3 Questionnaire 4 hoped, and they mentioned that in
verbal comments when they were
giving me feedback.

Audience Audience Audience Audience Audience
Member: Member 1 Member 2 Member 3 Member 4
Answer: Yes No Yes Undecided

For the sixth question of the questionnaire, my audience had to say whether they
would buy the digipak after seeing it. This is important as the aesthetic appeal of
the digipak is a big marketing tool in the music industry. Two members of my
audience group gave me a positive response, with one member undecided and
one saying he would not buy the digipak.

This is a varied response, but the main response was good. This feedback tells
me that there is potential in this aspect of my package, but that there is definitely
room for improvement. Using audience feedback, I could ask my audience to tell
me what areas of my digipak could be improved if I continued this project on, as
this is an area of my package where there is obviously work to be done.

Answer: No No Yes No

The response to question 6 of my questionnaire was possibly the most negative part of
my audience feedback. Three quarters of my audience feedback group responded
negatively to the question asking them whether my magazine advert would encourage
them to go to an event, such as a live concert, by the artists (The Colours).

If I compare this to the data I received concerning how well I promoted the digipak to
my audience, the audience feedback group was much more willing to buy a digipak
than go to an event by the artist. This tells me that listening to music at home or in
private is increasing in popularity – a digipak lets you listen to the music endlessly on a
computer or another digital device. Despite this, promoting events by the artist to my
audience is an area of my package that I clearly need to improve. I could do this by
listing tour dates - or something similar – on my magazine advert. My magazine advert
is a major part of my marketing, as it takes up large amounts of space in print media
when used, so listing details about events on there could improve knowledge and
therefore interest in events by The Colours.

Answer: Focus on Nope No No
males
Most of my audience feedback group did not find any representational issues in my
package. However, there was one complaint: “Focus on males”. This is likely a
comment on the way I have portrayed gender in my music video.

While I have not shown the female performer (the girl) in a voyeuristic way, the
majority of the music video is focused on the main male performer (the boy), with
another male performer also being present (the female performer’s new boyfriend).
The female performer does not develop much as a character throughout the music
video, while the main male performer does – his journey, both literally and mentally, is
the main theme of the music video. The girl is just used as a trophy figure that the boy
is trying to obtain by completing this journey successfully. Add to all of this the fact that
only the main male performer is shown (and heavily focused on) in my print
productions, and you can see why the first member of my audience feedback group
has indentified this as an issue. While this way of representing gender is a convention
of the pop genre, I would try to challenge the convention if I edited my package.

Answer: Reflects pop Pop Colours Distinct, unique
well represented stand out pop graphics
Good focus strongly The level Good fonts
on artist Graphics of editing Focus on artist
Great look good How the
Quality Good quality writing
Graphics effects stands out

(Analysis on next slide)

Question 9 of the questionnaire asks my audience what they think the best 3 aspects
of my ancillary tasks are. The main themes of the responses were that my ancillary
tasks showed their genre – pop – well, had a good focus on the artists (represented by
the main male performer), and had high quality graphics.

The three themes of the answers that I mentioned are very encouraging to see. I tried
to make my ancillary texts (and package overall) show that they were from the pop
genre by using bright colours and fonts that are often seen in the pop genre. I also
tried to focus on the artist by using many close-up shots of the main male performer
who represented the artist (see slide 10 and Gaze Theory). Finally, for the graphics, I
tried to use crisp yet creative fonts to make the graphical style of my ancillary tasks as
striking and eye-catching as possible.

Overall, being told by my audience feedback group that these three aspects of my
ancillary tasks – all three being aspects I focused on while making my print
productions – are the best features of my ancillary tasks tells me that I have been
successful while creating and encoding these parts of my ancillary tasks.

The tenth question (incorrectly labelled question 11 on the questionnaire)
inquire my audience about what mark out of 5 they would give my overall
package. Every member of my audience feedback group that gave me
feedback through a questionnaire gave my overall package a rating of 4/5.
This is a fair rating, as every questionnaire that was filled out praised my
package overall but identified a few areas of my package that could be
improved. This result leads into my conclusion of my audience feedback in
the next slide.
The graph of the results for
4.5
4
this question of the
3.5
questionnaire shows that
3 every member of my
2.5 audience feedback group
2 that filled out the
1.5 questionnaire gave me a
1
4/5. This is a positive
0.5
response that shows that my
0
Questionnaire 1 Questionnaire 2 Questionnaire 3 Questionnaire 4 overall package was mostly
successful.

In conclusion, while certain aspects - such as using steadier shots and improving
the clarity of the signifiers of contemporary Britain (and therefore the Britishness of
the package) – could be improved, the general tone of my audience feedback was
very positive. Due to my audience feedback, I feel that if I recreated my package, it
would be even better as I now know which parts of my package were successful
and which were not as successful.

The way that my audience was able to decode my media texts in the way I intended
(mostly) was a very encouraging part of my audience feedback. As the theorist
Stuart Hall has stated, the creators of media texts encode the media text as they
construct it with the intention of certain messages and thoughts being relayed to the
viewer of the media text. The audience decodes the media text as they watch it, with
meanings, connotations, messages and themes being found. The success of the
media text can be labelled as how successful the media text is in getting the
audience to decode the media text in the way the creator of the media text intended.
As aforementioned, my audience feedback showed that my audience had decoded
my music video very well – for example, on Slide 9 of this Slideshow my audience
feedback told me that my intention of using forms and conventions of the pop genre
to make my music video strongly establish its place in the pop genre was
successful. Therefore, my music video can be thought of as very successful as my
audience decodes my music video in the way I wanted them to when I was
encoding (creating) it.

Evaluation: Question 3

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