Evaluation - Question Four

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

On the 6th of December 2011 we visited the Screen on the Green cinema where every group's music video was screened. This was an invaluable experience, as we were able to see an audience's reaction to our music video, in addition to the possibility of receiving individual feedback, both of which I documented in the video below. As you can see from the comments that I filmed, we were given great feedback. This was also consistently true for all the other feedback we have received throughout the editing process from our peers and online via Facebook and YouTube.



Max was the first to comment in the video above, stating that he believes the editing is the strength of our video. This is great because we put a lot of effort into the editing, so the fact that that shows through is definitely a positive thing. This was one of the many things Evie mentioned too, in addition to praising our performer and her costumes. This was something we thought about extensively during the planning stage, as we knew how important an artist's styling is in order to appeal to an audience. By portraying Poppy in a modest yet slightly eccentric way, we broke the conventions of modern pop videos, making it clear that our artist is not marketed for strictly mainstream consumers, instead opting for a more niche, artistic, young adult audience, such as that of the audience profile we created early on (see here).

Judging from the audience's reaction and responses, I learned that the video met, or perhaps even exceeded, their expectations. The fact that we received little criticism, even when I pressed people for possible improvements, makes me confident that our music video would appeal to its audience. However, I was still determined to find out what my audience thought we could have improved on. This is where YouTube came in handy. Since uploading the video to YouTube a month ago, it has garnered just under 2,000 views (the majority of which being from Florence + the Machine fans) and the following comments:

I then decided to contact each user that commented, requesting that they respond with any possible improvements, no matter how big or small. Here is one of the responses I received:  

"I really like it but some things I would change are maybe the outfits and make them more of the style of that pinkish grey one she wore on the swing. and the makeup make it more like she lives in the forest and add some scratches and dirt spots, and use more of the forest and less of the green screen... but don't change the actual location because that is the perfect place for this song"

This comment has definitely made me look at my music video in a new light, as some of the projection shots could look disjointed in comparison to all of the forest shots. However, as a group we really loved these shots, and I think there's a good balance between them and those filmed in the forest. Nonetheless, it makes me wonder what our video would have looked like if we had not used any of the projection shots. It would have been great if we had been able to make alternate edits of the video (if we had more time, that is). The suggestion of adding "makeup [that makes it look] like she lives in the forest [such as] scratches and dirt" is also interesting, and seems to lean towards a much more literal translation of the song, which we weren't aiming to achieve, instead opting for a more abstract and visually rich portrayal of the song.

Above you can see some more constructive criticism in response to my request. This person commented extensively on areas that they felt could be improved. However, I think these are very little things that, if we had time to take them on board by working on the music video more, would only have made it even better. I must say though that, taking all things into consideration, I believe Poppy's performance was brilliant. Besides, we're not actors, so we couldn't really help it if the acting wasn't perfect! Nevertheless, I can definitely see where they are coming from. For example, some of the shots are indeed slightly shaky, but not once did we think that this hindered the overall feel of the video. In fact, I was wary of having too many steady shots as it might make the music video feel static whereas music videos tend to be energetic and full of movement. The comment on Poppy taking on the role of a character and building their backstory was something that made me think too, as we didn't really look at it in this way. In retrospect, this could have been interesting to explore.

In addition, several people commented on the video in relation to the song's original artist, which means that we successfully created a video that would appeal to Florence's fan base.  One such comment compared our video to those of Florence's for Dog Days Are Over and Shake It Out. These two examples were in the backs of our minds during our production, although we weren't consciously trying to bring in major influences from them. Nonetheless, this is still a very good thing, as whilst we aimed to market Poppy as her own artist, there are definitely similarities when it comes to the way they are presented as musicians.

In light of the positive comments we were given, I couldn't help noticing for myself aspects of our production that I would have liked to improve which no one had mentioned. These are probably again, very little things, but I feel like they would have considerably improved the video. For example, the videos that we projected which were not sourced externally (i.e. forest shots that I filmed myself) were quite pixelated since they were taken with a phone. If we had planned in advance that we would use our own footage from the woods, we would have known to take out the camcorder during our visit. I mentioned this to Max after asking him for further feedback, and he agreed, although he noted that it wasn't something majorly noticeable. However, he did mention another improvement, which is that the projection shots would have been more successful if we hadn't had used the whiteboard for the background, and instead to have had empty space (a la Imogen Heap's video for Lifeline). I wholeheartedly agree with this, and would have loved to have had access to a portable projector. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case, and so we had to "make do" with the classroom projector.

Use of black space in Lifeline

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All in all, I am very happy with the outcome of my music video, and whilst some of the feedback we received made me think about some of the decisions we made, I am confident that we couldn't have pulled off a better job in relation to the time restraints we had.

Click to expand

On the left you can see an image I created using a brainstorm creation tool (bubbl.us) which compiles together several comments I received via Facebook in response to my ancillary work. Many positive things were said, but there were quite a few suggestions and things to think about too.

For example, Comment B has made me think about the purpose of the promotional sticker, as I just assumed that they were useful for all album buyers. However, if someone is familiar with the artist's work, or if they do not know of the artist at all, then the sticker is made redundant. Ultimately, the consumer must have some form of familiarity with the artist in question; for example, if someone was to see Poppy Power's music video for Howl, and then encountered her CD in a store (with the sticker stating that Howl is included), this might encourage them to look into more of her songs or even give the album a spin. All in all, I think it's better to have the sticker than to not have it, as it's invaluable in getting across the highlights of an album in a simple way, and can be used to reinforce the fact that a CD is 'special edition'.

Photo used for digipak and advert

There were also a few comments stating that the image used for the digipak cover and advert isn't clear - because the image is quite dark and slightly grainy. I can definitely see why this could be a problem, especially since, as said in Comment G, I am marketing a new artist. However, I think the promotional slipcase makes up for this, as this is what would be seen first in stores.

My inside panels were complimented, especially when it came to the typographical design, with Comment I recognizing the fact that it looks like light graffiti. I am very pleased with the reception of this, as I originally wasn't sure if I should include it. One suggestion I was given, however, is that the words could have been placed together. Originally, I planned to do this, but I decided against it as I felt it left the other panel looked "uneven". In addition, I learned that my products link very well - the simple fonts and repetition of artist imagery being mentioned often. Again, I am pleased with the overall result and glad that it was generally well received.