Reflective Evaluation

Question 4:

Reflective Evaluation Part Four

Reflective Evaluation Sarah Carter

Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

We screened our finished music video to our class peers in order to get clear and honest feedback from them and hopeful gain an insight into the positive and negatives features of our video. We gave each media group an audience feedback sheet and asked them to fill it in truthfully after they had seen the entire video. Unfortunately, the video we showed them was the compressed version uploaded to the blog, so it had to be taken into consideration the fact that the quality (especially with regards to lighting) was not a factor in the video itself, just the compressed file.
The feedback we received gave us both many good points to consider, but also some negatives that could have been addressed. There was a unanimous opinion throughout the feedback that said the performance was the strongest part of the video, which we were pleased with as we agreed that the performance was particularly effective. It was rated suitable/professional in all cases, which was good and it was found that there was generally no problems found with the lip-synching or timing of the instruments. The drumming was found to be particularly enjoyable.
The issues raised were mainly to do with narrative. Some found it confusing whereas others thought it was simply "boring", which we thought was pretty harsh as no reason was given as to why or what could be improved. Nevertheless, we take the opinion into consideration as more than one group found the narrative to be the main area for improvement. We find that the confusion found within the narrative where it is said the audience "did not understand the ending" could have been made worse by the bad quality, which made the last few scenes (which were set at night, in the dark) difficult to decipher.
It was noted that the shots varied in quality throughout the video. We felt that this was once again an issue raised by the quality of the video we showed to the audience, as when played in full quality, there is no significant variation in quality of video.
We thought that perhaps the narrative problems could have been solved with a more developed storyline, however the time frame we had to think of an idea, storyboard and film it, this was the best result we could have come up with and I think that generally it is successful in portraying the general idea of homelessness and isolation. Obviously, audience opinions are subjective and is probably why there are very few areas where all 5 feedback sheets are in agreement.

Reflective Evaluation Part Three Ewan Moore

A few days ago we screened our completed video to a room of the rest of our group. Males and Females aged 17 to 18. Above are the five feedback sheets we gathered and one wordle collating the key words from said feedback. Generally, the screening gathered positive reviews but the main issue was that a few people were unclear as to what was going on. Admittedly it can be hard for someone in the group who wrote what is going on to see that it's hard to follow and I think that at points the plot was a little ambiguous. This was something that we did struggle with as we had to try and tell a clear yet emotional story of a runaway in three minutes. Something we obviously didn't manage very well, but overall the group seemed to have gotten the general idea. The aspect that got the most positive reaction was the performance. This is something we weren't surprised with as we were very proud of it and think we've captured a real Blink style with it. The pots and pans drumkit split people down the middle, some loved it while some just didn't get it and everyone thought the synching was pretty spot on. The one slice of feedback I just can't agree with was the comments from one or two that it didn't really feel like Blink. This would've been true of the old Blink 182 look of messing around and being kids, but as we have constantly pointed out on this blog and way back when in our pitch, this is a new look for Blink, not decided by us but something they themselves have pursued since the reformation in 2009. It's something we even illustrated with the recent Up All Night video, and it's even similar in tone to the serious old Blink songs like Stay Together For The Kids and Adam's Song. Something we always pointed out from the start (almost too much maybe) was that this new Blink isn't the old Blink most people remember. All in all I am mostly happy with the feedback and can agree with most of it.

Audience Feedback Wordle

Here's an attractive way to view some of the key words that came up in our audience feedback. As you can see, the biggest words (and therefore most common) that appeared were "good" and "performance", which were usually paired together. I think that this is something we can agree on, as I thought personally that our performance was our strongest point, both with regards to aspects of mise-en-scene and general acting ability. Other words that occurred that were perhaps slightly discouraging were "better", "confusing" and "ending". These were all related in a way that suggests that some things could have been done better, particularly the ending which seems to have been found confusing. Although it's possible that perhaps this is simply due to acting/scripting and narrative itself, we felt that within the last couple of scenes, the low quality video shown to this audience made it difficult for the important scenes to be seen clearly, which could have contributed towards the confusion. "Suitable", "excellent" and "quality" were also words that came up frequently, which I feel is a good sign that our video was appealing for an audience and then idea we had was generally well executed.

Reflective Evaluation Question Two Ewan Moore

How Effective is the Combination of Your Main Product and Ancillary Texts?


Throughout our project one of our main goals has been to try and maintain a visual link across our webpage, digipak and video. As the above images depict, I would say that we have been fairly successful in this. Both the digipak and webpage are both linked visually through the iconic Blink 182 logo which has been their staple since 2003. They are also linked through the style of font, and black and white street photography that Sarah took. The webpage and digipak both have a very limited colour pallet, being almost entirely black and white to try and capture moodiness and angst. However, using simple black and white for our video would have looked plain and dull, so instead we simply adjusted the lighting and used iMovie effects to darken the tone even further. To this end, we were pleased in the way that all three aspects of the project have a dark tone that implies the mature and dark subject matter of the song. In short, it all looks and feels like Blink 182 and that should apply to all the right people (namely, Blink fans young and old).

Existing Digipaks and Webpages

Above is an image from Blink's most recent video, which shows a dark and moody looking lighting effect. Also on display is the Blink webpage and the Boxcar Racer digipak. These things appeal to their audience by being simple yet stylish and accessible. This mirrors what we have done, not making things to complicated and having it all as stripped back as possible while still looking stylish, iconic and onbviously Blink 182.

Reflective Evaluation Sarah Carter

Question 2: How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

Throughout the campaign, we have attempted to maintain a clear theme through several different factors. First of all, I feel that the colour scheme we have used throughout helps to make the three media products clearly related to the same artist and idea. Within the digipack and the website, there is a black and white theme, which uses similar photographs from the same locations and images of the band. The splattered paint is a feature that can be seen in both, along with the smiley logo that is apparent in most of Blink-182's products. We wanted to make sure the two were similar enough that they would have a clear link, as is seen on the current Blink-182 website where the album cover is used as the website background and clearly advertised throughout the site. We have included the single cover in the website to further advertise the band's music and the new music video we created. The video is clearly linked to these two media products in a way that the theme is kept looking moody and grunge like throughout, the tones and colours included in the video are muted in a way that keeps in line with the tone of the entire song.

The three are interrelated in a way that they all incorporate clear reference to the band. As stated before the use of the same themes and logos throughout shows they are linked to the same band and by incorporating pictures of our "band members" from the video into the digipack and website, the viewer can make an obvious connection to what they have seen in the video and what is present in the digipack and website.

I feel they target the audience quite well through the use of suburban, familiar locations that could be related to by teens and young adults. The use of teen actors would also help to make our target audience feel like they can relate to the song, the band and the subject matter, which targets the issue of teen angst/depression and homelessness.

Existing digipack and webpage:

These media products help to sell the artist in many ways. As is typical of the genre conventions of pop-punk, the band are very rarely seen on the front cover of the album. This is seen here, with Fall Out Boy's album From Under The Cork Tree and also with all of Blink-182's albums. They are, however, featured on the website. I feel this is done so that a relationship between the consumer and the music is established initially through the album, and then when this is done, the consumer will continue on to find out more about the band and their background, therefore wanting to know what they look like. We can also see links to things aimed at the fan base such as message boards and merchandise. We also see a "tour" tab, which would be another way to sell the band and their music. We have mirrored many of these features in our own media products. We have avoided putting images of the band on the front cover of the digipack to fit with genre conventions, however we have put images of them on the inside cover, as is seen similarly in the Blink-182 album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. Our website also has the generic conventions of a band website, including tabs for tour dates, photos and information on each band member.