2. Establishing my target audience
Throughout my research, planning and production stages I was sure to engage in active feedback from my target
audience, allowing me to experiment with my promotional package in an often creative, artistic way that tailored to
the desired needs/preferences of my audience. In the ‘planning’ section of my blog, I made regular updates of
audience feedback that allowed me to extend my Indie Pop campaign in a far more specialised way, also presenting
how I was able to learn and improve my ancillary products/music video due to this feedback. Overall, my product
needed to stand in a very competitive saturated market , and regular feedback allowed me to extend/expand my
music video and ancillary products to the desires of my target audience.
Initially, when researching into who my ‘target audience’ were, I drew up a
list of bullet points that would allow me to effectively target these younger,
more alternative teenagers / young adults, (who VICE have categorised
as ‘scenesters’). From the start of my research, I knew my final
promotional package would have to suit the challenging, diverse nature
of my specific target audience and thus regular feedback would ensure I
was giving ‘Queen Electric Blue’ the bold, enigmatic brand identity my
audience wanted.
AUDIENCE FEEDBACK Allowed me to see how I was
going to engage my ‘alternative’ audience, initially I
had my target audience at 20 but after sending out a
questionnaire on Facebook I raised this to 25 – which
would ensure I was enticing ‘mature students’, and
strengthen my artists audience interest.
Here is a screenshot of a post on my blog, ‘Developed Target
audience and feedback from questionnaire’, before
filming/editing I wanted to clearly establish the preferences of our
target audience, and this initial questionnaire gave me a clear idea
of what my audience wanted stylistically (mise en scene ideas),
and also a clearly defined idea of their age group.
3. Digipak– initial pitch and mock up
feedback
Relevant feedback on blog that allowed me
to see how I was creating consistent brand
identity and enticing target audience.
INITIAL MOCKUP – I was able to illustrate this change of layout through a production log entry on my blog, allowing my
Indie Pop digipak to have stronger, more conventional content.
Post from 10th January 2017
Here is a screenshot of my initial mock-up, which
intended to have my artist turning away from the camera,
sat in a field. I wanted to build on the idea of voyeurism,
building on elusive representations conveyed within
Indie Pop. However, after seeking feedback I decided to
change this from an outside, location shot to a studio
shot. As the feedback below conveys, involving too
much ‘location’ within my ancillary product would deduct
from my artists overall brand representation.
Example of audience
feedback and email
4. Audience Feedback utilised in Digipak -
ExampleAs discussed in the previous slide, I decided to use a ‘studio shot’ for the inside panel of my digipak, rather than having
them predominantly made up of location shots. Here are some examples of the process I went through to get the imagery,
and also the editing. I had to make sure her brand identity matched the portrayal of the scenic/location shots.
Here is an example of
how I have utilised initial
audience feedback
within the creation of
my promotional
package in order to
entice/engage my target
audience.
Stronger brand identity
Here is an example of my digipak/
audience convention research on my
blog. Referring back to this throughout
my initial digipak planning allowed me
to utilise Goodwin’s suggestion of
‘money shots’ within Indie Pop,
instead of having my digipak consist
of predominantly location shots.
Audience feedback, as well as
looking back on theory work and blog
research allowed me to form
coherent and effective methods of
enticing my target audience.
Picture of location
shot I didn’t use in
the end.
5. Digipak – initial mock up feedback (2)
For my digipak front panel, I decided to send out questionnaires
and emails to around 20 people, asking preferences on mise en
scene. Above is an email I received on outfit ideas for Queen
Electric Blue. This was incredibly useful because it allowed me to
base my digipak around the desires of my target audience.
One adjustment made when it came to photographing my front
panel was the pose of the model. Rather than having direct eye
contact, I decided to have her looking way. I sent out an email
asking which idea people preferred…
Example of audience feedback when
changing digipak front panel idea
Final cover.
6. Pre-production and editing process:Ancillary Product's – what did
you change because of audience feedback?
In the pre-production stages
of my digipak I emailed my
images around, and this is
some audience feedback I
received. It enabled me to
change these images, which I
realised were too soft/dreamy
and did not create audience
recognition nor brand identity
across my products when
linking them with my video.
Images before feedback
Examples of changed images –
close up shots, edited blue –
allowed brand consistency and
matched my music video. Worked with the
portrayal of my artist
7. Final Considerations:Ancillary Product's – what did you change
because of audience feedback?
Throughout the creation of my ancillary products I received active feedback from my target audience, and
made a number of significant changes that allowed to extend/improve my artists overall brand identity when
considering the desired needs and preferences of my target audience.
Before Audience Feedback
After Audience Feedback
Taking into consideration the feedback from my digipak, I again used a medium
close up, centre framed image for my magazine advert. Although, stylistically, I did
not change anything about my mise en scene choices, I did alter the editing (dark
blue toned) effect to create brand consistency (and also the promotion of
synergy), which is highly beneficial in the engagement of my audience with statistics
revealing around 82% of teenagers (and young adults) are engaged with social
media. As also discussed in my evaluation Question 1, I decided to use varying
image for my album cover and magazine advert due to audience feedback, which
enhanced and developed Queen Electric Blue’s overall representation.
8. Ancillary Products – Final Audience Feedback (video)
Videos of my (ancillary product) final audience feedback.
Positive – how have you hit/engaged your target
audience?
Typography
Colour palette consistent throughout (brand
identity is clear)
Lay out is conventional
Written conventions
Use of mise en scene
Variation of imagery – developed artist
representation
Clear brand identity
Indie pop written conventions evident
What would you change due to your audience
feedback?
Written conventions on the back – could be
presented in a more artistic/creative way.
9. Before editing, our music video pitch gave me some clear feedback on things I could improve to target my audience in the most
effective way possible. In the same respect as my ancillary products, I made sure to be constantly engaging with the
suggestions/ideas of my target audience.
First, we discussed what our music video was going to involve (discussion of location
shots, mise en scene ideas, actress/actor involvement, colour palette, and what our
audience thought of the ‘concept’ ideas for our video, as well as the role of ‘narrative’).
This video feedback was incredibly useful, as I was able to draw up feedback and
ideas from it and revert back to my story board to see what I could adjust. As we
returned back to editing, these questions encouraged us to widen our location shots
and use of mise en scene, to make sure we were addressing the ‘creative’ desires of
our audience.
1) Are you using a broad use of location, as here you have only mentioned the town and the house? Will this be
engaging enough?
At the stage of this pitch, we were only planning to involve two location shots (alongside the studio shots), however, after
receiving this comment we decided to diversify our use of location within our video, which also allowed the ‘narrative’ element
of our final product to be far more engaging, as we were telling a story of a broken relationship with far more clarity.
Here is an example of my storyboard
before our initial pitch feedback, which
encouraged us to use a wider range of
location within our music video.
Below our examples of our final location
shots (conveying how we have
responded to this suggestion of
diversifying our use of location and
shot).
Variation of shots used, giving our final music
video far more creative/artistic visual appeal.
10. Another question that we were able to improve on due to our pitch was a query into lighting (due to the fact we were
recording at around 6pm in winter). Having already given this some consideration, this encouraged us to make sure we filmed
at around 5:30 before the light was completely lost, allowing us this ominous, shadowy lighting that worked with the blue
tones used without our music video. In response to this audience feedback, we also added a slight blue hue to these
darker shots, so they worked alongside the blue studio shots.
Location shots before filming
Final outcome
I undertook some test shoots before filming to ensure the lighting would be appropriate for my final
music video. I made sure our artists mise en scene suited the overall mood/atmosphere of this filming,
allowing me to create consistent brand identity.
11. After my pitch feedback, giving me constructive ideas on how I could address my target audience effectively, the
comments I received for my ‘rough edit’ gave me a clear idea of how I could target my audience through use of editing
(cuts, timing, colours and tones). Here is some feedback from my rough edit, which allowed my final music video to
indicate the couples relationship through these more creative editing choices.
BEFORE: In our rough edit (before we
had edited the studio shots blue), no
effort had been made to differentiate
this stark use of colour, so the narrative
was not as clear to our target audience.
AFTER: Here are some examples of how I
used this soft dissolve effect to intertwine
the shots together. This allowed to reveal
the passage of their relationship through
editing, and also highlighted the
importance of editing choices in presenting
the stylistic, experimental nature of
Indie Pop.
12. Here is a first example of how we used ‘rough edit feedback’ to improve the framing of our music video, here one can
see how this second cut has allowed the audience to see more of her lovers face, improving the overall visual quality of
our finished music video.
Here is a before and after shot of my footage after receiving audience feedback (email above). By cropping
the footage, I was able to extend focus on my artists brand identity, with the use of direct eye increasing
audience engagement. The feedback on my ‘framing of shots’ allowed me to enhance and improve my artists
overall brand identity with the target audience.
13. Music Video: What did you change – Theory Consideration
Stuart Hall’s ‘Reception Theory’ – when
looking into audience theory, my target
audience fall under ‘oppositional readers’,
which means they want to interpret and
challenge media texts. Hall has
described ‘oppositional’ readers as an
audience who want to be challenged by
‘diverse media content’.
Uses and Gratifications Theory
Whilst also showing me I needed to create an enigmatic, visually engaging
final product, the ‘Uses and Gratifications Theory’ allowed me to see how
my audience seek ‘identity’ from Indie Pop, and thus are highly influenced by
existing artists brand identities, because of this I sent out an email enquiring
into this theory and how it applied to my audience.
I handed out a questionnaire to 27 members of my target audience, to see
which element of ‘The Uses and Gratifications’ theory encouraged them
to engage with an artist the most. As the chart reveals, the concept of
‘escape’, which Dyer describes ‘pleasurable because it offers escapist
fantasies into fictional worlds that remove the boredom of reality’ is
what is most likely to entice/engage my target audience (also
demonstrating their experimental, artistic nature).
What did you do/learn from this feedback?
Prior to sending this out, I was not able to involve many studio shots within
our music video. However, this feedback allowed me to see that in order to
engage my audience, I needed to really emphasise the experimental,
imaginative visuals within my video. This encouraged me to return back to
my story board and replace some of our kitchen shots with studio shots.
(this change is demonstrated on the next slide).
14. Theory consideration – changes made
Richard Dyer: ‘genres are pleasurable because they offer escapist fantasies into fictional worlds that remove the boredom of reality’
As one can see here, we mostly had kitchen/bedroom shots originally. However, this
audience feedback encouraged me to expand on the visual side to my video. We
already had a few studio shots involved, however after replacing the images on our
storyboard – our final product made use of studio shots at every chorus of our video,
emphasising the ‘creative’ nature of my artists brand identity.
Change to studio shots, enhancing visual stimulation/ engaging our audience.
Example of change due to audience feedback
Initial storyboard
15. Conclusion – the importance of audience feedback
What have you learnt, considered and changed due to audience feedback?
Overall, audience feedback is essential when constructing a media product due to the
integral role it plays in the success of your media text.
When creating my products, I made sure to send out regular emails and questionnaires
to ensure my products were suiting the needs/preferences of my target audience.
This allowed me to expand and develop my ancillary products and music video in a
‘creative’ and ‘visual’ way, for example, my stylistic decision to edit my ancillary products
and music video into a dark blue tone was down to the feedback I received from my
audience.
Also, the consideration of audience theory allowed me to ask my audience which of these
they looked for within media texts. The Uses and Gratifications Theory is an example of
this, allowing me to see how many of my audience seek ‘escapism’ from this genre.
I was able to manipulate this theory into the genre conventions of my product, for
example, the consistent studio shots and hands coming over the face, which provided my
audience with a creative, visual ‘conceptual’ side to the video, which also worked
alongside the narrative well.
Audience feedback encouraged me to have a ‘concept’ within my music video, rather than
it being pure narrative – again building on its visual appeal.
Throughout the creation of my music video and ancillary products, I learnt that responding
to audience feedback was integral as, essentially, without the support of my target
audience – my product would not succeed within a highly saturated market.