Target audience results - Miss Miller UPDATED

I conducted research into the opinions of 40 people regarding indie music videos, as i wanted to find out their opinions and expectations. This would then allow me to see what features i should include in my video. Also by doing this research i will find out what sort of elements of an indie music video really engages them, therefore maintaining their attention through out the video.  This would be beneficial to my artist as a successful music video will encourage fans to go see tours and concerts. I survey quite a large number of people so that i could gather a wide range of opinions and see a wider range of expectations from the music video. I included a mixture of both open and closed questions, which allows my surveyors to develop some of the answers meaning i will find out even more what will engage them with my music video. 

 This the first question i asked when conducting the survey, the gender of the person answering the questions. This will show me if there is a difference between the views of men to the views of women. Furthermore it will help to vary my survey results because men are more likely to share similar views and as are women, meaning it will help to show a variety of opinions.












This graph shows the variety of ages that took part in my survey. It also shows that a large 40% of the people asked were between the ages of 21 and 25, this could have an impact of the results of the survey as people the people asked will be predominantly from this age group, meaning it is mostly going to be their views of indie music. However most indie music artists that I am aware of are from this sort of age range, meaning this is the target audience they would be aiming for.

The next question I asked the surveyors was the themes that they would expect to see in indie music videos, I asked this question as it would help me massively to form my narrative and shape the type of  concept I am going to create for the video. From this graph I can see that a massive 52% of the people asked said that they would expect to see the theme of relationships in indie music videos, which has massive swayed my decision of what the video should be based on. Even tough this question has helped me to decided my main theme, there was still another 23% of surveyors who said that they would expect to see performance in the video, this has made me want to include long and mid panning shots of my artist playing the guitar and singing as this is something that quite a lot of people expected to see.

The following question was a closed question to see whether people who expect to see filter, green screens or special effects. A whopping 67% of the people asked said that they would expect to see filters in an indie music video. Filters are a very common editing effect used in indie music videos because the videos normal include flashbacks or memories therefore these are used to show this.
Only 25% said special effects and a very low 8% said green screens, this could be because many people are aware that indie music videos are very low budget productions so are unlikely to use such expensive equipment a lot through the videos.

The next questions asked the surveyors what type of costumes they would expect a female indie music artist to wear in the video. A 65% majority of the people asked said they would expect them to wear quite casual clothing in the video. This could be because by the artist wearing casual clothing it makes them more relatable to the audience and this shows that the people I asked generally relate to the indie music videos they watch and one of the ways  they do this is through the casual clothing the artist wears. This highlights to me the importance of choosing the correct clothing for my female artist so that the audience can relate to them. Also another reason this could be the most popular answer is because again like I said in my earlier point most fans of indie are aware that the music videos are quite low budget. Therefore by the artist wearing casual clothing is represents the video is more about the music then showing off money and wealth through over the top clothing. This could show why only 5% said they expected to see glamorous clothing and 3% said fancy dress as these would be extravagant and expensive outfits. 27% said they expected to see grunge styled clothing this could be because it also gives off the idea of quite a low budget lifestyle and not being obsessed with wealth and expensive clothing.

My next question that I asked the people was whether the preferred a indie music video with a clear narrative or not and why. By asking this question it helped to shape what style of music video I was going to have and whether it should be mainly narrative based or be more balanced with concept and performance. A massive 92% of the people I asked said yes to this question, therefore this has shown me that my video is going to be mainly narrative based with only some elements of performance and concept. But I will make sure that I do definitely include some elements of these in the video as by having all three styles it helps to engage the audience and maintain their attention throughout as it breaks up the video.

The following question I asked was the type of camera shots that they expected to see in an indie music video and then asked them to explain why the thought this. 62% of the people asked said that they mostly expected to see close up in an indie music video, this has encouraged me to think about the type of close ups that I can include in the video. I think I want to have quite a lot of close ups when the artist is singing as I think this helps to focus the audiences attention on the lyrics that the artist is singing and therefore encourages them to understand what they are saying. The next popular shot that I am going to include was long shots with 25%, this will help the audience to see exactly what the artist looks like and their style for clothing etc. Even though mid-shots and extreme close up only make up13% between them I am still going to incorporate some of them in the video just not as much as the others.

In this question a massive 85% of people said that they would like a artist to be more relatable and only 15% said like a star. Therefore this has encouraged me to think about the different ways in which I can make my video more relatable to the audience, such as the clothing and the representation of the artist in the video. However, there are still some people that want the artist to be more like a star, so I will still include some elements of this in my video, such as a close up of the artist singing which shows her as talented and this is quite an extraordinary thing for a person therefore portrays her as a star.

The following question that I asked my people was the type of instrument that people expect the artist to be playing in the video and why. The most common answer with 62% was a guitar,  when explaining why a lot of the people said because it is quite hipster and by them playing, it portrays them as talented. Therefore I would like to include a few different shots of my artist playing the guitar as I think that the audience will be able to relate to this. Even though 38% of people said other instruments I don't think I will include these in the video because if I include to many instruments then it will just confuse the audience and look unprofessional.

The final question that I asked the people was where they expect the indie music video to be set and why. The results for this question were slightly more varied then the previous questions. 40% said they expected it to be set in a town, however only 5% less people said they expect it to be set in a house. This question has made me consider my location choices when filming. I think I would like to use a variety of settings, as these results show there are a variety of settings that people expect the indie music video to be set. However, my main settings are going to be in the house and around the town centre. Some of the shots that I could include in these locations include a panning shot of the artist hanging out with friends in the town or a mid shot of the girl in bed with her lover in the house location.

The theory that I have chosen to apply to my question and music video is Hebige, this is because he believes that if you look deeper into 'subcultures there is enough richness to warrant renaming them as 'little cultures'. Meaning that there is enough belief and support behind them for them to stand alone as an individual smaller culture group. He also believes that sub-cultures go against the mainstream and this is because they are quite diverse. I believe indie fans and music could be seen as a small culture of there own as they are quite different from the popular mainstream pop music. They have a much higher focus on the actual music being produced by the artist and connecting with their audience. This is why I did not follow the centre for contemporary culture studies theory (CCCS) as they assume that all sub-cultures come from one culture, which would not match the genre I have chosen for my music video as indie could be seen as quite diverse.

Voxpop's

Alongside my questions I produced voxpops of 5 of the people I asked, the reason for doing this is because it allows me to provide qualitative data as well as quantitative data. In the voxpops the people can elaborate on the answers that they give me and therefore I will be able to gain a better understand of their opinions. By having a greater understanding of their opinions it will lead to me being able to mould my music video better in order to make it more appealing for the target audience.