Evaluation Question 3 - By Russell Dewing A2 student for Reepham College. Find my blog at: http://russelldewinga2media.blogspot.co.uk

2. Why audience research is important
• When creating my music video I was creating a promotion for the Mojokings
themselves which therefore meant that to appeal to them and their followers I
needed to know about the fans of the band as well as the Psychobilly genre. It
is important for the product to be accepted by the intended audience
otherwise it would not be successful as what is effectively a advertisement for
the band. After all the purpose of a music video is to sell albums, merchandise
and tickets to live gigs. As a result my audience feedback and research was
very important in making my production.
Types of audience research I
conducted
§ Audience Profile
§ Working Examples
§ Online survey/ questionnaire
§ Focus Groups

3. How I researched my audience –
Audience Profile
• The first thing I done in terms of researching my audience
was to get a profile for the fans of the band. This was done by
online research and past knowledge of the band members/
the music genre. In my audience profile I looked at things
such as the bands origins, what influenced them in terms of
music as well as looking at places they had performed and
with what other bands.
• My knowledge of the audience came from attending the
Mojokings gigs and other bands who class themselves as
Psychobilly. From being interested in the band and the music
genre long before having them as my unsigned artist I spent
a lot of my time going to music gigs meeting the people and
bands on the Rockabilly/ Psychobilly scene; as a result I had
the familiarity with the genre on a first hand basis.
• For additional information I also looked at the Mojokings
social media account like their Facebook page which gave
me information about the bands influences and origins.

4. How I researched my audience –
Audience Profile continued…
• Audience Profile (continued...) – I discovered that there was quite a large basis
to cover in terms of the Mojokings’ audience as they draw in a variety of
audiences with wide age bracket from younger teenagers all the way up to
adults aged 50+. The most common age is those aged 40-50 who are the
primary fans. They are likely to have known the band since their beginning and
have an interest in the Rockabilly genre, most likely would have seen them
through live gigs and demo CD's. These people are likely to bring in the
younger age bracket as that age category are likely to have younger or teenage
children which then also get in to the music and therefore the band as well.
• People who are in to the Rockabilly/ Psychobilly scene have a very distinctive
look, this look is reflected in mainly their hairstyles and the clothes which they
wear. Since the genre has a very unique & distinct style the audience of the
genre are very clear on the themes of what it typical for Rockabilly/ Psychobilly
bands in terms of their products such as music videos and albums.
• From research in my audience profile and first hand experience of the genre I
was then able to see examples of real media texts which are popular with my
target audience and fit the forms and conventions of Psychobilly music.

5. How I researched my audience –
Theory & Audience Needs
• In terms of theory I can apply Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to my
audience as I have learned that there is a strong feeling of
confidence and respect when watching my video and other texts as
they feel a sense of togetherness identifying with fans from the
genre.
• I also found out that while conforming to
genre conventions my audience wanted
to be entertained and see the latest
trends in the Psychobilly genre.

6. Working Example
• My working example allowed me to further analyse real media
texts for forms and conventions of the genre as well as seeing
what new trends in the genre were for Psychobilly artists. By
looking at other videos it allowed me to see what sort of things
correspond across all texts such as the constant feature of the
double bass which is the icon of the genre. Most bands chose
this instrument and tend to have different coloured/ styled
basses which is distinct for each band, additionally this is one of
the most powerful instruments (in terms of sound) which the
band play. To determine a good song most fans listen for the
double bass playing to see if it is any good.
• From having knowledge of working examples I could then
identify conventions to keep to in order to make an authentic
Psychobilly music video but also I looked in to things I could mix
or change to make my video groundbreaking and different yet
sill appeal to my audience. This helped influence all areas of my
music video and ancillary texts from iconography to location as
well as use colour and shot types.

7. Questionnaire Analysis
• My questionnaire was one of the most important forms of getting information/ feedback about what my media
products should include. To create it I used an online service called ‘FreeOnlineSurveys.com’ which was a useful tool
in getting to a wider audience than paper form surveys. By having it online I used less recourses (i.e. paper, ink etc),
it allowed me to be more interactive in getting responses.
• To make sure that my responses were valid (ones from my target audience) I got in contact with the Mojokings and
they offered to post a link to the questionnaire through their social media accounts. This would cover fans of the
band as well as members from more well known Psychobilly artist to leave a response. It also meant that I could
reach fans of the Mojokings who were in other countries.
• To gather all this information I produced a mixture of questions in different forms e.g. multiple choice, open
descriptive text, rating featured (rating the digipak out of 5 stars).
Key bits of information I got from my
survey include:
• Music video type – which was overall a Live Performance video.
• People’s viewing habits for music videos and the platforms they use to watch them on.
• Demographics about my target audience in terms of age, gender, occupation.
• Key themes which my audience believed were vital for a good music video.
• Examples of music videos favoured by my audience.
• Ideas for digipaks which would be popular with the audience i.e. ones featuring the band or scenery phots.

8. Questionnaire Analysis - Examples
• My questionnaire was split into three main sections. First of all was generic data
which allowed me to gain basic demographic data about the audience. To gain this
statistical information I used closed questions and multiple choice. The second part
was to give me information about the audiences opinion on what makes a good music
video and what styles would suit the Mojokings and what kind of videos and bands
they currently listen to. The third part was to get ideas about my Digipak production by
seeing covers which were popular I could then take ideas/ inspiration from their
design and replicate that style for my own texts. To get the more creative answers I
used a mixture of rating based questions and open text questions where people were
free to answer however they liked.
• My audience feedback has also impacted some of my decisions in going against
genre convention for example the use of colour in my music video and ancillary texts
with the colder colours of blue black and white. This was deliberately subverted so
impact on the audience and create a unique text which would stand out among the
Psychobilly genre. It also gave me the idea of using the female character for my
Digipak and poster as it would appeal to both genders, men for the pleasure of
viewing (Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory) and female fans would be able to relate and see
themselves as the person on the cover, they can relate in the sense of the Psychobilly
look (style) and also being a fan of the band (in terms of liking the music genre).

9. Questionnaire Analysis – Examples &
use of genre conventions/ themes
• For themes of the genre it goes deeper than just being entertained and distracted from
reality. Unlike in other genres where it is simply for enjoyment the Psychobilly genre has
deeper roots and the fans understand this and clearly known the themes and references for
the genre such as the typical female “50’s pinup” look which is shown in my ancillary texts
but also the themes of going against conventions in terms of the music sound and the style,
rebelling against the norms of society also seen in the style of the character but also though
the hidden identity and the clothes worn by the band which are typical of the style. I have
attempted to convey in my music video with the rough-styled editing and the unusual blue
static broken retro TV style special effects.
• In particular one question of my survey asked about which device (format) my audience
watch music videos on. By doing this this was valuable to know for promoting the video as
to the best places to advertise it, whether they are an active audience (going out looking for
the artists material i.e. Vimeo or YouTube) or passive audience (just viewing what is shown
and advertised on social media. It would also help me find places where it would be best to
show the video for example, Psychobilly fans tend to watch most of their content online
through YouTube and social media directly from the bands, they do not watch mainstream
music channels. Knowing this it allowed me to make my advert and product more suitable
for online viewing/ being promoted by the band (easy access form anyone – YouTube).

10. Questionnaire Analysis – Examples & use
of genre conventions/ themes
(continued…)• Question 13 of my survey asked “Based purely on the covers (not the bands) please rank these CD covers from 1 - 5,
with 5 stars being your favourite?”. I based this question on a theory by Young and Rubicam to see about the
personality of my audience. I deliberately chose different style CD covers to see which is the most popular among
Psychobilly fans/ fans of the Mojokings. Each CD cover displayed a different type of cover, these were, abstract/
artistic covers, ones showing the singer mainly on the font cover, ones showing the bands as a whole/ a character
representing the band, simplistic covers showing the bands logo and finally a landscape or place photo with the album
titles. An alternative however would be an old style or an original old CD which would suggest an older audience and
their preference for nostalgia, it could also possibly link to the Resigned in Young and Rubicam's theory.
• Something like an arty or abstract CD cover being popular would suggest someone
who is more of Mainstream audience member. I found out that the most popular
style was an album by The Brains (Monster Within) the artistic style was rated the
highest. From this feedback I took the idea of the star motif of the monster and the
female ‘damsel in distress’ character laying on the beach. This gave me inspiration
for my use of a female character for my own production to show the mixed age and
gender fan base of the Mojokings/Psychobilly genre. Using an actual photo makes
the album more realistic (like many Psychobilly albums such as The Black Tibetans
album ‘Go Like This’ and Kitty In A Casket ‘Kiss & Hell’). It was also easier and more
effective than having to attempt to draw or animate the digipak completely. In
addition from having knowledge of the band and genre I believe the look I went for
best reflected the Mojokings style.

11. Focus Group
• As part of my research into how I could
improve my rough cut for my music video I got
a focus group together to view my video and
give me feedback on what worked well and
most importantly giving me feedback on how I
could improve and refine my video.
• My focus group comprised of a mixture of
people including members of the Mojokings,
fans and people from other Psychobilly bands.
• One key person in my focus group was the
double bass player from the Mojokings (Rich).
this proves a valuable insight as he can give
the opinion of the band as well as what looks
good/ can be improved from the bands image
point of view i.e. what picture it paints of the
band as well as whether it is an effective video
for advertising them.

12. Focus Group
• Other feedback was given verbally from friends and family who were also fans
of the band however the more in-depth feedback was from contacting
members from band members and media orientated people.
• Another key person in my focus group was Philippe Pinard the drummer from a
well known Psychobilly band called The Brains (see video analysis). I had kept
in contact with him from when deciding my camera for filming the Mojokings.
• This has proved a
valuable piece of
feedback since he knows
about animation and
also produces all the
visual effects for The
Brains music videos as
well as coordinating and
producing their music
videos, most
recently Out In The Dark.
It is very good to be able
to get feedback from
someone who has
experience in
professionally making
music videos for this
genre.

13. Focus Group – What I changed
after my rough cut (first draft)
• The theme of synergy between the different texts – using the
blue theme across in all of my products, by adding the tinted
background to my music video this crated a constant style.
• Fast cuts – making the shots shorter and adding in clips where
appropriate to speed up the pace of the video and also more
technically complex. This then makes the speed fit the song and
the franticness of the genre.
• Ending the video - adding animation to the end of my music
video in order to round it off so there is a defined ending to the
video. To do this I added the same TV animation with the title
and then finally fading out like an old 1950’s style television.
• Special effects – by adding special effects and filters it allowed
me to present an accurate vintage effect to the shots
appropriately referencing the genres roots. Also with the static
transitions throughout and the overlay on blue shots it refers
back to the themes referenced in my digipak and poster of the
ideas of going against conformity and teenage rebellion
• Sound – The use of real static noises overlaying the music at key
point again referencing the old TV style.

14. Conclusion
• Overall I gained a lot of knowledge from my audience feedback as it gave me ideas and opinions which
helped my shape my media products. As an artist it is important to reflect the interests of an audience as
they rely on fans for support and success in the music genre. I also learned what was new and cutting
edge for modern Psychobilly products and these texts then inspired my own creation. The understanding
of themes and conventions allowed me to experiment and change typical genre forms, deliberately
subverting from certain aspects of Psychobilly music videos and digipak’s etc. to then make my own
creations more unique and effective. Media theories such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Mulvey’s
Male Gaze theory influenced my music video and ancillary texts. I wanted something which goes with the
stereotype of female characters but also something which presents females in a different way to simply
being objectified, they become the icon of bands which hold power over the audience. I wanted the video
to entertain and be innovative for the viewer but also speak to them on a deeper level in terms of
referencing themes of subverting social norms. The most detailed information came from my focus group
and proved extremely useful as they were able to give me in depth feedback on what worked and what
could be improved to further the look of the video. I agreed with the changed that my focus group
suggested and used it to better the products so that they would both be accepted by Psychobilly fans and
followers of the Mojokings, but at the same time create something which was new and would stand out.