Audience Research: Feedback on Pitch

In order to understand what my audience wanted from my music video, I created two questionnaires to ask my audience what they thought of my general idea for my product. I had an array of answers. 

My first question was asking if they believed my pitch fit the brief for the music videos and everybody who took the test said they thought so, which was a good start.

I next asked them if they had listened to the music I wanted to do for my music video and instructed them to do so if not. I felt that if they had heard the song, that would have a better understanding of what I was trying to achieve through my music video.

I also asked if they believed it could create an emotional video as that was the kind of genre I was hoping to go for. I feel as though a protest video is quite difficult to make positive without there being some kind of emotion behind it as well.

I next asked if people thought that this video would be appropriate as a protest song. I actually had three people say no and, in question 6, they go on to say that they feel it would be TOO emotional and not be able to be enjoyed by the intended audience. However, despite this, I disagree with popular music videos having dark and emotional videos which gain a lot of popularity from a younger audience and I believe that despite these peoples votes, my music video would be popular.

 When I asked an open question to whether my pitch would appeal to the audience, the answers were all very similar and believed that LGBT rights are very prevalent in the media at the moment and that therefore, this would be a successful video. Younger people are more likely to be able to relate to the LGBT themes in the music video due to there being approximately 52.8 million people in the UK aged between 16-24 who identify as LGB (2017).

I then asked the people doing the questionnaire if it appealed to them as the target audience. Most people said it did as it tackled prevalent social issues in society which are modern and perhaps relatable for some of the target audience. However, others said that the sombre mood and tone of the video may not appeal to everyone and that, in order to combat this, I would have to produce some lighthearted scenes as well which I intend on doing now, thanks to this feedback.

My final question was simply asking for suggestions and people were worried about the use of a Pride Parade due to COVID-19 and I too am also worried. Due to this, I have come up with a backup plan that I'd use if I wasn't able to shoot the video I wanted to.

By reading the responses to my questionnaire, I felt more confident in my revised idea and made sure to take everyone's comments into consideration.

However, I also made a second questionnaire which covered the entirety of music videos in a broader way which I shared with 30 people from the target audience and received answers that helped direct my research for music videos a bit more precisely.

I first asked what people liked about music videos. The majority said they preferred a story-line based music video which was excellent for me as that was what I intended doing and told me that this meant that my intended audience enjoyed an aspect of narrative to music videos. As well as this, a lot of people also said they liked artist and instrument performance. Unfortunately, I hadn't planned for this and wasn't thinking of including the band in the video at all, but, since the audience showed interest, I decided to try to include short clips of the band's performance.

 I also added an 'other' box which allowed people to add different points that I hadn't made options and of which the majority said aesthetic. Due to this, I've decided to use this idea in my music video and I feel by saturating colours and giving the footage contrast, this could help appease those who enjoy aesthetics.

 I then asked people if they liked videos that have a deeper meaning. I was surprised at the answer as the majority said that they did (Yes was 0, No was 100). This suggested to me to try to include deeper messages in the video for an active audience to try and figure out which could give them a sense of gratification.

 When asking how often people watched music videos, I wanted to get a general idea on how often the target audience engaged with the media type I chose however, I realised this was a foolish idea as the responses were extremely varied.
 I was expecting the answer I received with this question as many people choose to watch music videos from the music they already like. Therefore, this was simply to grasp an idea on how to address the audience when I start to make my website. I feel like being friendly and personal with the audience is more popular than presenting a website that is simply there to give information; interesting with audiences is important to keep them entertained.

 Again, like in the first questionnaire, I asked if people had heard the song I wanted to use, in order for them to have it in mind when answering the rest of the questionnaire.

 With this question, I was trying to see if people like it when the lyrics reflect the visuals because it creates a sense of gratification. Also, to fans of the song who know the lyrics, it'd be easier to spot certain features. A lot of people also said that it didn't matter, however, a single person said that they didn't like it and, looking through the rest of their responses, I believe this is due to the fact that they prefer the artistic aspects of music videos rather than being relative to the lyrics.

 This question was simply to gauge my audiences music taste and to see the range of music that people listen to if they had to pick a singular genre.

 I was surprised by this response and believe that actually many people may have watched a protest music video without knowing it. For example, Lady Gaga's video 'Born this Way' is a protest against homophobia and transphobia saying that people are simply who they are

I asked this question as I felt it was important to know whether people enjoyed more light-hearted videos with lighter themes or did, in fact, enjoy a deeper storyline. A couple of the participants messaged me after they completed the questionnaire and told me the reason they said no is because they feel important issues shouldn't be forced into the video and that, if they work, they should be used, not simply to make the video seem like it relates when it doesn't.

This final question was simply to find out which platform would suit my music video best and easily helped me decide. It also is going to help me when designing my website and knowing which platforms to include/not include.

These responses were incredibly helpful as they helped me hone done on some certain aspects of my media coursework and aided me in making decisions.