WHAT HAVE I LEARNT FROM

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

Alex Harris

ENCODING Stuart Hall describes encoding as how media

messages are produced and circulated. In terms of my product, the message I intended

to get across is to do with the band’s star image rather than a narrative. We wanted to send a message of rebellion and uniqueness as the band weren’t going to conform to music today and make a standard music video with a soppy narrative.

DECODING Stuart Hall describes decoding as the way the

media messages are consumed and interpreted, and suggests that the meaning is not determined by the sender and is never transparent, which allows the audience to gain their own personal meaning to the media they consume.

In terms of my products, the audience are able to decode different opinions that are based on what they see and how they feel the band are represented. The music video some may see as a parody as opposed to paying homage to the 1950s. This can be pointed out straight from the offer with the over eccentric show host whom introduces the band.

USES AND GRATIFICATION This theory by Blumler and Katz is about an audience’s

approach to media and how they can relate to it within their own lives. All forms of media need to have at least one of these four elements”

Identify – role models in front of you, realising they reflect similar values to you.

Educate – able to acquire knowledge and information Entertain – providing enjoyment and a sense of ‘escapism’ Social Interactiction – produce a topic of conversation

between people; to spark a debate

My music video is aimed at identification. This is due to the fact that viewers watching the video can relate to the messages the band are sending. The audience can relate with the band’s rebellious star image. Our music video is unconventional however as the music video doesn't’t have a narrative and therefore the video itself doesn't’t have a political message in anyway. Social interaction is also relevant as we are aiming to target a particular youth subculture of rock fans that are maybe disengaged with society. Social interaction lets viewers share the music video with their friends.

SPREADABILITY This term by Henry Jenkins is to do with

the way media is spread across platforms. The quote “If it doesn't’t spread it’s dead” means that in order for a media product to survive, it must be constantly shared and spread to as many new audiences as possible.

HOW THIS WOULD BE ACHIEVED In order to ensue that my music video is constantly

being viewed by new audiences, a marketing strategy would need to be implemented which we will see various platforms and sites showcasing the music video in order to attract new audiences. This can be done using sites such as Spotify, since the page can be accessed by anyone, and this allows The Walls to be featured on other rock bands’s ‘similar artists’ tab, which allows the band to refer new fans and audiences from similar bands. This is vitally important considering how as a new indie rock band, The Walls need to get as much recognition therefore using social media as a tool to freely get the word out there which will have the ability to massively increase the following of The Walls in order to reach a wider audience

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF DIGIPAK The majority of people really enjoyed

the digipak as they felt that the choice of colours really brought out the star image of the band. Most people also liked how the font fades in with the background as if the bands name has been written on the wall. However, some felt that the greyscale colour scheme was boring and didn’t

seem original.

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF WEBSITE A lot of people thought that the website

produced for the band was very easy to navigate through due to the tabs at header of the website. They believed that by scrolling down the website they were able to find information easily and were able to find other links that helped find other pages within the website and find social media links. Some people thought

the website lacked detail and was rather plain, however that is partly correct as The Walls are a new band and therefore more information would be added as the band grew.

CONCLUSION Overall, I learnt so much from audience feedback

as it enabled me to create a cohesive package within all the media products I produced. Without audience feedback, I would not have been able to create such a package and I would not be able to create such a package and I would not be able to target the right audience, which would have lead me to producing a poorly-designed package and also the media products would not contain the right connotations as they should have. I learnt how to target the right audience and based on feedback I was able to understand the tastes of the audiences I questioned and I was then able to research other similar artists that would also help me to create the products which I have.