1. Identification of Target Audience:
Early on in the process of creating my coursework product I did some audience research into
the target audience of Florence and the Machines, who I felt had a lot in common with the
unsigned artist I was creating a music video for; Carly. The creativity and originality of their
lyrics and a more alternative than mainstream identity made them very similar in my
opinion, so by identifying Florence and the Machines’ target audience I thought I could get
closer to identifying Carly’s Target audience.
I am definitely a member of the target audience for both Carly and Florence and the
Machines, so I took an online test to see which area of audience I fall into, using the four cs
to understand the results.
Below is a link to the presentation I created with the results of this test and also a subsequent
questionnaire which looks at what I would expect to be the usual target audience of an artist
such as Florence and the Machines to be, and what they really are like. I found the results
quite surprising.
http://www.slideshare.net/Crystalbeth/audience-research-13550357
In order to identify Carly’s target audience further I also looked at other artists that I felt
were similar to her, such as Ellie Goulding and Paloma Faith. This time I went online and
analysed there websites and the identities their record labels project. This allowed me to
choose a record label that I felt would most suit Carly and help me to identify her target
audience.
Below is a link to the post detailing this research and my conclusions drawn from it.
http://btaylora2mediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/exploring-target-audience.html

6. How did I target the identified audience?
Music video:
I was aware that the audience I was targeting was slightly more creatively open than those most commonly appealed to by the mass media so I
approached the music video from a creative perspective. This was made relatively easy by the subject and tone of the song which in its self was
heavily conceptual. So I settle on creating a conceptual music video, using the themes and ideas of impermanence expressed in the lyrics to
shape the visuals of the music video.
The two main things that I did to give the video a thoughtful and intellectual edge was add a flickering effect to all of Carly’s movements and
have several different versions of Carly each with their own places, make up and costumes. The flickering effect I achieved in final cut pro
through quick sharp cuts and adjustments to the opacity of the shots communicates the main theme of impermanence by suggesting the
spectral nature of the characters Carly portrays. The flickering also allows there to be more than one image of Carly on the screen at one time
which help communicate impermanence by once again showing the wavering reality of these characters. The different versions of Carly also
help to suggest this main theme of impermanence by showing the end of one personality when the next is created. However, these things only
suggest at this theme of impermanence and are in fact open to many different interpretations, which I think also helps to interest Carly’s target
audience because they are interested in the thoughts that could be behind these interpretations. One answer in particular from my audience
feed back is an example of this, and it can be found below. These complex yet readable meanings behind aspects of the video hopefully interest
Carly’s more creative and intellectual target audience.
Digipak and Magazine add:
These deeper meanings were carried on into the designs for the digipak and the magazine advertisement. In the design on the digipak I used
the cracking effects produced in Photoshop to further convey these meanings of impermanence, yet it also goes deeper with the gold mesh I
have placed behind these cracks which, as suggested by the album name, ‘Dream Fragments’, is intended to represent the fabric of dreams. This
idea that Carly is made of dreams links in with that of the spectral like nature of the characters Carly portrays in the music video.
In both the digipak and the magazine advertisement I have used typography to the same effect. Using the stretched lyrics of the songs growing
from Carly’s head like her hair, suggesting very strongly that these songs come from Carly. I think this woulod really appeal to her target
audience because they would respect creative integrity and that fact that she writes her own songs because they find creativity in its self
interesting.

7. Audience feedback:
Music Video:
For the audience feed back for my music video I created a first cut of it and used Survey Monkey to make a questionnaire that
asked people about the most questionable aspects of the video. Below is a link to the post detailing the responses I received. I made
sure that the majority of those who filled out the questionnaire were the age of my target audience by using my Facebook account
to publish it. However, I really wanted to publish it on a forum for one of the other artists that I felt had a lot in common with
Carly, so that not only would they possibly be the right age but also be the right kind of person but due to technical problems this
was not possible. In an effort to achieve this as much as possible through Facebook I included the fact that people who were fans of
Florence and the Machines and Marina and the diamonds should watch the video and fill out the survey. I also got some feedback
from Carly when she watched the music video for the first time, she said she really liked it and loved the flickering effect, but when
I mentioned some special effects she said that it might be improved by some softening and something to make it look more
surreal.
The major point that I got from this feedback was the feeling that although the flickering effect was interesting it was too harsh and
jolting to fit with the slightly softer sounds of the music its self
http://btaylora2mediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/audience-feedback-on-second-rough-cut.html
Digipak and Magazine add:
Although I did no specific audience feedback exercise for the Digipak and Magazine advertisement the earlier research I used to
identify the target market for Carly was very useful in designing the two aspects of my ancillary task. I also used some of the feed
back from the research I did into the response for my first cut of the music video, as mentioned above, to guide the designs of the
ancillary task as well. It made me make the design more obvious in its theme of impermanence that perhaps the video was.
Because, although I like the fact that the semiology of the video is open to many different interpretations, in order to widen the
audience for Carly’s work the designs need to make the meanings more accessible. This is something I put into action not only in
the digipak by doing things such as using the gold mash I used to represent the fabric of dreams and placing it behind the pupils of
the large pictures of Carly’s eyes I put on the back of the digipak. But also on the magazine add making a clear and obvious link to
the music video by using the pattern from the bed clothes in the music video in the foreground of the advert.

8. The changes that resulted from the audience feedback:
Music video:
In my second rough cut, or final version of the music video I made use of the copious amounts od special effects available in Final Cut Pro. I used a combination
of different special effects set to different levels on both the base layer of the video and the small snippets of film which create the flickering effect in an effort to
soften the flickering and make it seem less aggressive in essence.
I think the result I quite effective on this front but also has the effect of making it seem more surreal than the unworked video. This fits really well with the idea
that Carly is made of a dream like substance because it makes it look as if she is a dream. Below is a link to the post detailing exactly what I did with the effects,
tweaking pre-sets and layering them to get the finished look I wanted.
If I had a chance to do this again I would definitely want to find a way to publish the video and questionnaire on a forum to get possibly a better sample of
Carly’s actual target market and hopefully get better feedback. I do feel that the flickering could have been smoother but I also think that it was in the nature of
the flickering for it to be a bit aggressive in comparison to the music and I could have removed them but I felt they were so important in conveying the message
of the song and were also the artists favourite bit, Carly felt that it really helped convey the meaning of the song, so maybe it is best left as is.
These photos are from before and after I applied the effects.
http://btaylora2mediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/effects-experimentation.html
Digipak and Magazine add:
Because the ancillary task was designed and constructed after I had carried out the audience research for the music video, mostly I already knew what to be
aware of and to do in order to appeal to Carly’s target audience. So no changes were effected because of this research. However, if I had a chance to do this again
I would have liked to do a similar questionnaire for my designs for the digipak and magazine add. It would have brought new ideas into the mix and allowed me
to consider other peoples point of view in greater depth hopefully producing a more creative end result.