Audience Research

For my audience research, I asked a group of of my target audience a number of questions regarding their preferences of elements within music videos. Here are the responses I received.

 Q1) What types of music video do you prefer to watch? Why?

 Here are some comments I gained:

   "Narrative because they're more interesting and can give a better insight to the meaning of the song"

   "Hybrid because it brings all elements in and makes the video more interesting with a lot to focus on - could encourage the viewer to want to watch it again"

   "I think a mixture of both narrative and performance would be the most appealing as you will be offered visuals of the group or artist while still giving the audience a story to go with the song and song lyrics."

   "I like hybrid as it can create an exciting experience for the audience viewing the video and then can create their own interpretations and ideas."

These results show that most people like to see a hybrid music video as more can be included to hold the attention of the viewer. If there are multiple events going on in the video then the audience may want to watch it again to gain a better understanding to what is happening.
I'll use this technique when creating my video as it should make it look more interesting and make it look full of different filming techniques. This would allow me to use as much of my knowledge of filming as possible to make it look the best it can be as well as fitting in with the chosen song as much as possible.

 Q2) What elements do you like to see included in a music video?

   "A protagonist, appropriate colour scheme, narrative that fits the song"

   "Some sort of narrative that links to the song in some way and something different to everything else - doesn't conform to all conventions"

   "the artist/ group being present"

   "lip-syncing"

   "Visuals of the group itself / the groups interaction with fans, possibly at a concert."

   "singing"

   "Interesting setting that grabs your attention, bright colours, unique themes"

   "the artist"

These responses have discovered that my audience would expect a video to include the artist as well as a narrative or setting that is attention-grabbing. The'd like to see some sort of lip syncing which I think would connect the video to the song well. From this I will ensure I make my video link to the song in some way and make sure the artist is performing if I decide on a performance based video.

Q3) What do you think watching a music video encourages? Please select three

The majority of this audience believe that music videos are used to promote the artist alongside encouraging them to buy the music and increase the audience members interest of the artist. Some people thought that music videos may encourage the audience to see them live and give a visual aid to what the artist looks like. These results show that most people think of music videos as promotional to increase the popularity of the artist so when making mine I'll try to make it as intriguing as possible to promote my digipak and poster.

Q4) How often do you watch music videos?

   The feedback i got from this question ranged from "every day" to "at least once a week"

This denotes my target audience is interested in watching music videos regularly so there'd be many ways to reach them to raise awareness about my own and they'd be more likely to be curious about it if they have already seen many music videos and watch them on a regular basis.

Q5) What device do you usually use to watch music videos?

This result shows that music videos are mostly consumed on mobile phones showing that the proliferation of the portability of devices has made access to music videos much easier. As no one selected the music channels option, I'd not have to change any ideas to suit TV viewings such as having to include bleeps or censoring certain aspects if it is unacceptable for my target audience.

Q6) How do you find out about new videos being released?

A few other respondents said: "Seeing other related videos suggested"

The results shown suggest that social media plays a large part in the advertising of music videos so I'll take this knowledge and create links to social networking sites to promote my video as much as possible.

Q7) How do you prefer the visuals of music videos?

   "Linking to the song in some way"

   "Something that relates to the song but is out of the box"

   "a mixture"

These results show that most people like to watch videos that have a realism to the real world such as the artist performing somehow. However, other responses states have shown that people like to see something different to what they usually see in a video but so long as it links to the song somehow then they'd enjoy it. When making my video I'll try to make it unique rather than sticking to every convention to keep it new and exciting.

Q8) Do you prefer songs to have a video or not? Please state why

  "Yes because it increases the interest and uses more than one sense to take in the song"

   "yes, it gives a visual description to the song and can explain the song in more depth"

   "yes it makes it more interesting and helps me see the meaning behind the song"

   "yes as it helps me understand what the song is about"

   "yes because this allows the audience to establish a emotional connection to the song based on visuals"

   "Songs released with music videos tend to be the most memorable, therefore making it preferable, but these songs also have to be able to entice you enough to listen to the rest of the album."

   "This can depend on the song, as if there is a song I like that does not have a music video, I like thinking of suitable visual aids of what could happen, but yes I do prefer videos to go along with the song as it will increase viewing and therefore creating more interest of the artist."

   "i like songs having a video as it gives me an in site to the artist."

From these results I now know that my target audience do definitely prefer to see a music video with a song as every respondent thought this. This shows me that my audience does want to see a music video as it helps show what the song is about and help portray the meaning visually rather than just acoustically. I'll use this knowledge to make my music video link to the meaning behind the song and make it memorable so the audience will like it. If I make a narrative music video, I may make it open ended to entice the audience to want to watch more or perhaps listen to the other song on the album.

Q9) What genre of music video do you prefer?

These results suggest that my audience favours alternative style music videos above all else but also like Rock/Metal, Indie and Pop on an equal level. When choosing my song I'll attempt to keep it within one of these four genres or find one that can appeal to fans of them all to widen my target audience and make it appealing to more people.

Q10) Do you think it matters if the artist makes an appearance in the video? Why?

   "Not necessarily, if it fits in then yes but I don't think its that important"

   "doesn't make a difference but it is a main expectation"

   "yes so i can see what they look like"

   "yes as it allows the audience to see their star image"

   "no, the music shouldn't be about the artist but about the message of the music"

   "Including an artist in a music video creates a relationship between the creator and audience."

   "No, as have a 'mysterious' persona and not making an appearance in music video may be key to their star image, and allows the audience to make their own interpretations and creates lots of interest towards the artist."

   "Yes because it promotes the artist more and i wanna see them"

From this feedback, I now know that the audience doesn't feel it is necessary to include the artist in the video so I wont have that as a top priority when planning my own. I'll make sure I keep the focus on the song but also stick with the star image of the genre and allow the audience to make their own interpretations of the meaning of the song and keep the video focused on this.