I asked twenty people to participate in my Questionnaire, I aimed to gage the opinions of only my target audience, thus of the twenty people who took part, 25% were between the ages of 15-16, 50% were between the ages of 17-18 and 25% were between the ages of 19-20 and overall 50% were male and 50% female. I received some very interesting feedback, particularly when I asked for further explanation as to why they had answered the way they did.
1. The first question I asked was general, I simply aimed to establish a basic understanding of which video was preferred on first viewing. The results came out in Hurts' favour (45%), Arctic Monkeys (30%), and Gaga (25%). I also received some feedback on this question, with one person suggesting they preferred Hurts' video to the others because, 'It was simple and clean cut, it looked consistently high quality and professional.'
2. The second question did not come out in the way I expected at all. I asked how important it was that the images corresponded to the song lyrics and the majority of people said it was not important (50%), moderately important (35%) and important (15%).
3. To further explore the idea of imagery relating to the lyrics, I asked which video the participants thought had achieved this most successfully. I should note that Arctic Monkeys' video is based on a concept rather than narrative and consequently the lack of votes in unsurprising. Hurts (35%) and Gaga (65%).
4. I am very much interested in finding out whether an audience is leading the institution or the other way round, because if the latter is true, each new video would surprise the audience in one way or another by straying from what they had previously done to reveal new ideas. Therefore I asked whether an audience likes a level of continuity between a band's videos or prefers a completely different mood each time. However, I do realise the some bands have build their cult appeal on continuity, for instance Ok Go! Only 15% said Yes they favoured continuity between videos and 85% preferred not.
-- HURTS --
5. I then moved on to asking specific questions about what the participants thought each individual video did well, what and how could it be improved etc. Firstly I asked an open question about what appeals most about Hurts video? 'Despite the long drawn out shots, it didn't get boring or predictable', 'The whole video seemed really polished, and the location and dancers were perfect for the mood of the song.'
6. The importance of location is another aspect I wanted to gage my audience's opinion of. Hurts tend to set their videos in sweeping rustic landscapes and Stay is no different, consequently I asked how effective the audience felt the location was. Very effective (45%), quite effective (35%) and ineffective (20%).
7. I was quite surprised at how many people thought the choice of location in Stay was ineffective, therefore I am glad I chose to ask whether the audience though it'd have been just as effective shot indoors. 20% said yes, and 80% no, which is consistent with the statistics of the last question.
8. I wanted to find out what my target audience favoured in a music video, for example did they prefer an ongoing narrative, concept or a performance? As Hurts are featured in their video both in the sense of a performance and as protagonists in a narrative, I asked participants if they though the video would have been as successful if the band had not been featured in it. Only 35% said yes, and 65% said no.
-- ARCTIC MONKEYS --
9. I asked participants what it was about Arctic Monkeys' Fluorescent Adolescent that appealed to them most, and the feedback mostly reflected the amateur style of the video. For example 'this is the perfect definition of organised chaos' and 'this video is brilliant to watch because you spot new things each time, and find a different narrative for the images each time.'
10. As the video follows a war between two rival groups of clowns, there is a heavy emphasis on costume and I wanted to see how important participants thought the use of costume was. Unsurprisingly the majority of people thought it was very effective in creating the mood (70%), quite effective (25%) and not effective (5%).
11. In contrast to Hurts' Stay, this video is shot in a amateur-esque way, which is synonymous with their indie, rough and tumble appearance. I asked if the video may have been more effective if it had been shot in a more professional manner. For example with more emphasis on lighting and steady camera shots, this question seems even more relevant given that Hurts' Stay received the most number of popularity votes and that is shot in a way completely different to Fluorescent Adolescent.
12. Finally, I wondered if this video many have been more successful had the band themselves been featured. 40% said yes, and 60% said no. 'As the video follows a chaotic narrative it may have been easier to follow had it been intercut with imagery of the band' 'I would have liked to have seen the band purely from the perspective that it may have made it feel more like a music video rather than short film.'
-- LADY GAGA --
13. I aimed to find out what it was about Lady Gaga's Beautiful Dirty Rich, and it turns out it was purely the elaborate nature of the video. 'Lady Gaga's videos always show an alternate lifestyle that many aspire to but will never get the chance to experience' 'She's so widely extreme and the video is unpredictable and widely colourful - just generally fun to watch.'
14. Just like the use of costume in Fluorescent Adolescent and the location in Stay, the use of props in Lady Gaga's video is an integral part of the video. I think they are used very effectively to show the excess of the lifestyle trying to be portrayed. The participants also saw the effectiveness of the use of props with 71% saying they were used very effectively, 24% moderately effective and only 5% ineffective.
15. The lighting in Lady Gaga's video is used to heighten the suggestion of an elite and exclusive world, mainly due to the vignette setting. Lighting will be very important to make my video look professional and clean cut. Consequently I questioned the effectiveness in Gaga's video, 'the lighting adds to the video in making it appear more upmarket, however it is a style that can be achieved by amateurs, for that reason I don't feel that it adds a great deal to the overall feel of the video.'
16. Lady Gaga features heavily in her videos, which is fitting with her infamous daring fashion sense, and behaviour, consequently I wondered how well the audience would react if she wasn't to feature in her own video. 30% said it would be just as effective, 70% said it would have been ineffective.
My Questionnaire has given me lots of interesting feedback, that I hope to utilise to my advantage when creating my own video. Most notably is that I have been able to distinguish as o what balance people prefer music videos to shot in, for example whether they prefer a performance based piece or narrative combined with performance or a conceptual video. This will allow me to further plan my piece with the knowledge that it will reflect the likes of my target audience.
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