Evaluation: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

From the very beginning of the project it was clear that audience feedback was a critical aspect. To make the projects appealing to the target audience, gaining enough feedback was needed. Having other media students analysing the work was extremely beneficial as they analysed the products in a connotative and denotative manor. Yet having other people giving feedback was also very beneficial as a wide variety of comments were needed from the target audience, for the group to be able to make the video a success.

Throughout the project the group constructed different ways to get feedback, from simply asking peers and teachers to developing questionnaires (see post: Development: Audience Feedback) to creating video booths (see post: Audience Feedback: Creative Arts Eveneing). If the group was unsure about a certain part of the video, simply asking other media students was preferred, where as half way through the construction, the video was played to year 10 and 11 media students and then a questionnaire was filled in. This was a benefit to the group as it allowed a different opinion of a different age, who picked up some very important aspects, such as lip synching not being quite right in certain parts. This enabled the group to change the video making it as strong as it can be. Most of the feedback was constructive saying how well the lip synching was since it was edited, that the locations and characters worked well with the lyrics, yet when it was viewed again, A-level media peers explained that a few seconds of the video didn’t fit in. We listened carefully and then decided on a new plan and replaced the footage. The footage that we replaced, the group decided it would be best to incorporate more of the songs iconography ‘pebble beach’, so this is where the filming took place.

With the CD magazine advertisement, audience feedback helped with the simple mistakes, such as spelling. When I first started my peers were critical about the design as I took an unconventional approach. The feedback I got was to ‘play it safe’ but I chose to ignore this feedback and carry on constructing an unconventional promotional poster. I did take on board what my peers said and started to create a conventional poster as well in case it did not work out. Fortunately my first idea worked.

When the first draft of the CD digi-pak was created I showed it around to get some constructive criticism. The text inside the booklet was all sideways, in which I was advised to change it to up right. This was a very key point as it helped me understand even if the booklets I researched were this way designed, I should not always copy simple aspects such as this yet I should just take inspiration instead.

By gaining this feedback it has enlightened me to the way in which others think and understand a product. This also gave me a greater knowledge into the conventions of certain products and the way in which they are perceived.