EVALUATION: Audience Feedback

I decided audience feedback should not only be post-editing, rather I treated it as a continuous process, so that I could make constant improvements on my video. After issuing my initial questionnaire which allowed me to first formulate my initial ideas based on what I knew the audience wanted in a music video, I again asked for feedback whilst I was in the editing process. At the time I hadn't considered including another person, rather my video would be solely the dance routine and shadow puppets, however the feedback I received suggested it may become a bit monotonous, and the audience withdrawn.

'I think it would be best to break up the dance routine slightly more, not with shadow puppets, but with shots of something else - another person?' - Hannah Fyfe

'I like the idea of the shadow puppets, but I think it might become a bit same-y if you use them so much throughout. I'd use them more sparingly with clips of something else in between.' - Beth Walton

As a result, I took on their feedback and filmed a sequence of shots (mainly close ups to distinguish between these clips and the dance routine). I felt this looked effective, and prevented me having to reuse footage, which would give my video a completely amateur feel. When I had completed my video I posted it on both YouTube and Facebook to try and gather feedback. Though YouTube spans a hugely wide audience, I felt those most likely to watch my video would be students and within my target market, similarly with Facebook also. I received some very positive feedback via Facebook.

'This is great, you've used lighting really successfully and it makes it look professional.' - Ruby Scott

'I really like this video, you've done well in making the dance seem continuous, but with loads of different camera angles.' - Harry Buckley

As I expected, not all of the comments on Facebook were positive, with some questioning the use of shadow puppets. Though I could have chosen to make my light/dark concept more explicit, I think the majority of conceptually based music videos are not completely clear, and there will always be elements that the audience will question. Therefore I do not regret the use of some abstract imagery, as I think it adds to the fluency of the video, and had everything in my video been easily understandable, it may have become boring for the audience, and I wanted to avoid a passive audience from the very beginning.