Evaluation Question 3: What have I learnt from my audience feedback?

Evaluation Question 3: What have I learnt from my audience feedback?

The Focus GroupI referred to a focus group of target and secondary audience members, who watched the film then looked at the ancillary products. This is the same group I referred to at various stages throughout my production, such as evaluating the first edited version of my film.My primary audience: Females aged 14 25 with the psychographic category aspirer or explorer in a middle class socio economic category.My secondary audience

I predicted that target audience members would mediate my product with a Preferred Reading (Stuart Hall audience reception theory). They would interpret the presenter as an aspirational source of authority on vintage fashion, be gratified by the alternative music and the destinct retro colourful aesthetic perpetuated through clothing and titling in my ancillary products.

The secondary audience may have a negotiated reading. They may find the subject matter interesting/engaging and be able to reminisce about their youth but may disagree with the idea of second hand clothing only increasing in youth culture. However, hopefully any initial prejudice towards teenagers will be challenged.

Charli age 16Steff age 17Izzy age 18Abbie age 18Izzie age 14Liz age 47 (secondary audience)The Focus Group

Initial Feedback

I gave my focus group a survey after showing them the first draft of my film, so that I could make changes according to audience demand. These were the responses:

Q: What aspect of the documentary so far would you say has been presented well?the amount of cutaways in the teenage girl interview

The intro is my favourite part, love the different shot types

The introduction to the extract stood out the most to me. I feel that the audio went particularly well with the fast paced editing, as well as the various shots representing youth culture.

I like the montage part at the beginning as I think it goes well with the soundtrack

I really like the opening. It has excellent editing which creates a sense of energy and excitement that engagesthe target audience. I like the sociological/political point of view that raises the question of cultural identity v corporate profit.

I like the link between the dreamy music and gentle, slow camera panning and colours

It presents a new outlook on second hand clothing; the items that emilie shows the camera look cool and the kind of things that any teenager would wear, not just old people as are stereotypical charity shoppers

Q: what could be improved

- clear introductory shots, maybe quieter music- The sound quality could be improved, the music is perhaps too loud and its hard to hear any of the speech in the documentary- Maybe the interview with the charity shop worker, I felt it stood out a little from the rest of the extract. (didn't have the same atmosphere or 'pace' of the rest of the clip) as suggested, that could be improved b a few cutaways to break up the interview a little.- There was a bit of background noise in the interview making the speaking less clear, and as the music starts at the beginning of the interview the presenter's voice is drowned out.- Add more examples of where to buy vintage.

Learning from initial feedbackSuccessesI really like the opening.I like the montage partThe introduction to the extract stood out the most to me. The intro is my favourite part. < it is clear that the opening titles is the most gratifying part of my product. I therefore decided to keep this part and add in more interesting cutaways to the rest of the film.

ImprovementsMaybe the interview with the charity shop worker, I felt it stood out a little from the rest of the extract. (didn't have the same atmosphere or 'pace' of the rest of the clip) as suggested, that could be improved b a few cutaways to break up the interview a little.

The initial draft of my film the charity shop interview was a lot longer. After this feedback, I filmed more cutaway shots, changed the background music to a faster tempo to create a quick pace and edited out any interview content that wasnt directly contributing to the documentary narrative.

clear introductory shotsI made sure each interview and segment was anchored with introductory shots, such as Emilie walking into shot or establishing shots of brick lane at the end of the extract.

Final FeedbackThe final feedback allowed me to assess how successful my three products were: how well the ancillary products linked to my main film, whether the film gratified the target audience, whether the products looked to a professional standard and whether my documentary would be popular if it were shown on the channel e4.

The DocumentaryAdopting codes and conventions from my case study This Old Thing was clearly successful. Audience members also recognised these codes.My editing skills vastly improved since the initial draft of the film, therefore making my products more professional. According to the feedback, this was a key strength.

Sound quality was a clear limitation in my film. This was largely due to a lack of professional sound recording equipment. If my documentary was adopted by an institution such as channel 4, professional sound editors would dramatically improve the films overall quality.In a full length documentary, I would aim to include a diverse range of youth subcultures. I was of course limited by the extract length.

The inclusion of a presenter was a successful aspect of the product. A respectable presenter added weight to the information portrayed in the film and her interest in the subject clearly transferred onto the audience. This is arguably a preferred reading (Stuart Hall)Although the sound levels were an issue, the narration anchored the cutaway shots and narrative well according to the feedback. The music appealed to the TA who are young fans of alternative music.

This could be a negotiated reading from a secondary audience member, whos knowledge of previous vintage trends would be in their cultural competence. The inclusion of statistics resonated with the audience, anchored with bold textEvery audience member gained knowledge from the documentary, suggesting the film fulfilled my initial aim of educating the audience in an interesting manner.I found this particular feedback very useful. If my extract was longer I could perhaps interview teenagers who never wear vintage clothing to juxtapose with vintage enthusiasts.The way in which I chose to represent the teenage girl (in a positive light) positively affected the audience.

In terms of brand identity, my newspaper advert proved successful. All audience members agreed aesthetically linked to the documentary.

Youth focus still appeals to secondary audiencePrimary audience who is already interested in the topic is gratified by the aesthetic

My documentary clearly adhered to the generic conventions of a fashion documentary. As established in evaluation question 1, I researched documentaries about fashion, thrifting and retrospective fashion. I am therefore pleased with this piece of feedback because the generic conventions I chose to adopt from these gratified the audience.

ConclusionI have learned that audience feedback was a vital component of my production process and ensured that my products were the best quality they could be. If I never received initial audience feedback at the planning stages of my production, my documentary may have been far less gratifying for the target audience. Audience feedback has also acted as evidence of what was successful about my products, enabling my to effectively and meaningfully evaluate my product in other evaluation questions as well as during production.I can now also apply audience theories such as Audience reception theory and uses and gratifications theory using my focus group feedback as evidence for my analysis.