Evaluation Question 3 - Audience Feedback

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Defining The Target Audience:

Our target audience is male and female aged 15 to 24. This is because the genre of music we have found appeals to this age range the most. The music is likely to be played in clubs and at festivals and 18 to 24 year olds are the average age range at these locations. The genre of music is also listened to by those aspiring to go clubbing or are interested in the dance music scene and we have found this age range to be 15 +. The act itself has a very broad following due to the fact that Daft Punk have been around since 1993. We are aiming to appeal to audience which where of the ages 15 to 24 when they first became famous and a current audience of this age range.

Simpsons reference - Appeals to

younger fans

We are also targeting a secondary tween audience. Many younger teens 12+ listen to music often associated with an older group as they aspire to be like them therefore we have included them in our target audience. We have not focused our project on appealing to them directly but we have considered them. For example excluding any references to sex, drug taking or drinking directly meaning our music video would be able to be played before the watershed hour.

Daft Punks Appearances In The Media: 

 Part of the reason Daft Punk appeals to so many audiences is the many appearances in the media as well as intertexuality. They have appeared on television multiple times through adverts and have been reference a lot in films and programs. In 2001 they appeared in a commercial for GAP clothing as well as on Cartoon network promoting the Toonami website. Anime influenced music videos from the discovery album also have featured in the feature length  Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem in which Daft Punk appears in their robot alter ego costume.



Daft Punk Coca Cola



Daft Punk In Tron Legacy

This is an example of horizontal integration which can also be seen in their latest movie soundtrack for the film Tron: Legacy.  In 2005 they also appeared in adverts for Sony Ericsson as well as Adidas. A lot of the promotional work Daft Punk do for products which are also directly appealing to our chosen target audience. An example is the Tron movie is the original Tron film from 1982 which appeals to the older audiences we entioned earlier. This all ties together to help grow Daft Punks fan base. This also links into convergence theory and the flow of content across multi media platforms and industries. This culture depends heavily of the active participation of the audience and a participatory culture. This also includs collective intellignece and the combining of skills and recources.

The Reception Of Our Video:

Our texts can be viewed on
multiple devices

Our music video has been designed to be watched in many different formats and ways. We acknowledge the fact that this will effect the way in which we get feedback. Due to the increase in technology and the increase in digitization our video as well as ancillary texts can be viewed everywhere at any time. Different audiences will be more likely to watch our videos on different devices. We have to bear this in mind when gaining audience feedback. 

When showing the rough cut for the first time in the 6th form center we used a laptop to display the video. The viewing conditions weren't the best which effected the way people received the video. For example, the noise in the room effected how well you could hear the track a meant people couldn't pick out cutting to the beat. This didn't result in the best feedback so for subsequent viewings we controlled viewing for optimal feedback. This was also the same case for digipak and magazine advert feedback. If the products where viewed on bloggers page the resolution would be lowered in order to be uploaded where as if we showed the raw file the quality would be better and more details could be spotted. This also was shown when people viewed the pictures on phones or on a larger iPad or Computer screen. This can be seen below in our feedback videos.

Readings:

Different age ranges will have different responses to our products, however for this we are mainly considering the video. Three different readings can be shown towards a media text: 

• Preferred reading
• Negotiated reading
• Oppositional reading



Performance 

On earlier rough rough cuts of the video responses we had where mostly negotiated. People found the video to be confusing at times and the narrative wasn't very easy to follow. An example of comments made:

 'The overall video is good, but the narrative is hard too follow'

We took this on board so we decided to add more miscellaneous footage as well as transitional shots from one location to the next. We went further to improve our video by adding performance footage which anchors this point. These shots where meant to show Daft Punk having control over the traveler and influencing his decisions. This is shown from footage of the traveler on the laptop screen. We got more positive feedback from the inclusion of this performance footage and I believe this benefited our video greatly overall. It made the video instantly more recognizable as the helmets are a clear magnifier of Daft Punk.

Another point to make about the readings was the charity shop scene. When talking to people under the age of 15 we got mainly negative responses which is too be expected. Going to a charity shop would most likely be seen as quite un-cool for someone of that age. the older audience however thought the scene was quite funny and quirky. 

How we obtained feedback:
The first method we used was too go up to people at school and ask their opinions on our video. We would either film this or note it down to add to the blog later. This was the most direct way to get feedback and helped us alter our products appropriately. 

• We could also send people messages over Facebook with a link to the video so they could give us their feedback. 

Facebook Feedback

• We also obtained feedback from twitter as well as popular online forums such as the Daft Club and Leeds music room. 

Forum Post

• We also got feedback through Youtube comments on rough cuts as well as ratings with likes and dislikes. 

Youtube Comments

We used a variety of ways to get audience feedback as this would help us get the feedback we needed from our chosen target audience. We could then use this to improve the video and overall I think it has helped out a lot. The audience helps you pick out flaws in the narrative or footage that you may not have seen otherwise and change them to make the video as well as ancillary texts better. We gained feedback on each of our rough cuts so we could improve the next version of the video. These will be linked below. We also listed the feedback we took on board and the feedback we rejected.

Feedback Links List:

• Digipak Initial Feedback
• Dummy Digipak Feedback
• Updated Digipak Feedback
• Video Audience Feedback
• Rough Cut 6 Feedback
• Rough Cut 7 Feedback
• Rough Cut 9 Feedback
• Final Cut Feedback
• Final Cut Feedback - Older Audience

Rough Cut 6 Feedback:

Rough Cut 7 Feedback:

Rough Cut 9 Feedback:

As you can see from these videos we intervewed people and asked them a few questions regarding the rough cuts. After this we made a list of the feedback we accepted and rejected.

Accepted Feedback:

• Shaky camera movement
• Some long takes
• Narrative unclear at times
• Narrative in need of ancorage
• Performance footage is good
• Improve audio at ther beginning of video
• Traveler needs more impact

Rejected Feedback:

• Party scene is confusing
• Visiting charity shop
• Travelers outfit is strange
• Need more shot variety

We also gained feedback for the Digipak through written comments.

I think audience feedback did play a role in the production of our video however I believe codes and conventions of current music videos affected this more. Sometime feedback wasn't sufficient as to really appreciate the features of the video you have to have some knowledge of media language. Our own creative process during editing and video production also played a large part. We often created a lot of ideas through inspiration whilst on a shoot rarther than refering back to the feedback we have gotten. However overall getting an opinion and feedback from the audience of your product is important to make it appeal to a real world audience.