Question 4

Since starting our project, we have been introduced to a range of new media technologies. Not only have we been introduced to new things but we have been given the opportunity to expand our knowledge on any existing media platforms. We got given the opportunity to choose what we wanted to make to present as our final piece of work and my partner, Bea, and I chose to create a music video. It was evident right from the start that the main program that we would be using in the creation of our piece was Final Cut. Final cut is an editing software that is used for an array of things but in our case, to piece together a folk/pop genre music video! 

In our first year of learning media, towards the end, we got given a preliminary work task to make a 'practice' music video. In our prelim task we were given the brief chance to work with final cut but in when our project started this year we were taught, and also discovered for ourselves, how to effectively cut clips and sound as well as doing things such as adding effects and transitions between clips. In the research and planning stages we were given tasks to analyse and evaluate other people's work that was already available to the public. We had been asked to analyse digipaks but that did not involve us using any new technologies to get those as they were already an available source as Bea had some at home. When we were asked to analyse music videos however we went to YouTube to get our material. Google came in very handy as we managed to find a web page that specified up and coming folk, pop and indie artists. Following that we then had to try and locate an advertisement promoting their music which we could then get inspiration from to create ours... The next stage was the production. To make our music magazine advert we thought our easiest option was to use Photoshop. Photoshop is a media technology that we were familiar with before we started this project as it had helped us through many other tasks set upon us in our previous time at college. A few things did baffle us however when it came to doing new things on Photoshop but that was easily solved by either asking those around us or our teacher who were all happy to help; so it's safe to say that we learnt something new on even the things we thought we had figured out! 

When we first heard the word 'Digipak' it was clear to anybody that we were baffled by what it was and how we would make it. Handily, a template was already available for us to use so we returned to Photoshop and started creating our digipak. Audience feedback was a key thing to have throughout the entire project as we wanted to keep it to our target audience's liking. To get opinions on things we used social media networks which were very handed as it was something we could to quick and had the chance to get a large scale response back. Unfortunately we didn't receive as much feedback as we would have liked to via this method so we did also have to go back to the only fashioned way of questionnaires to those around us as well as other things such as creating focus groups. Alternatively, again by searching on Google, we stumbled across a Gabrielle Aplin fan page which helped us gain a lot of information that we didn't already know and with the feedback present on that page in particular, we were almost able to get an audience's opinion without having to post ourselves! 

Question 3

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Mainly, our audience feedback has taught us that appearance is key! By showing a group of teenagers (our target audience) all three elements of our production (video and two ancillary tasks) we learnt that we needed to make some changes to the features of our work that, originally, were either too unattractive or boring! We knew straight away from a short questionnaire, that required feedback of positives and negatives relative to our work, and the feedback received that things had to change. With the presentation of our work to the members of our class we were confident with what we had produced but it was made evident that, if the audience isn’t happy, we shouldn’t be... Thus leading us to the realisation that audience feedback is a very important element that we must strike hard at to give the audience exactly what they want!

The strongest element in our project, that seemed to be mutually agreed, was the theme of playing cards, interlinking an Alice In Wonderland feel to the pieces. When asked if they were able to establish a link between the three elements, our feedback from the audience showed that they all liked and could identify the cards from the offset! Another thing that my partner and I learnt about audience feedback is that it today’s society, it is very easy to gain on a larger scale. Social networks have made a huge difference in the kind of people we can contact (e.g all over the country) but also the amount of people we can contact at once!