Audience Research: The Focus Group

This was the second research method we used

We conducted a focus group to get more information about what our audience expect from an 'Indie Rock' music video. We have asked questions on freeonlinesurveys.com about what they expect from an 'Indie Rock' music video, but it is hard to get detailed, valid answers without seeing a video first. So, by conducting a focus group we will get more valid answers and a discussion was created.
We had 5 people in total answer the questions and watch the videos, but one male had to leave so missed the discussion. We asked them 7 questions about the 4 videos they watched. The videos were:
The 1975 - Robbers
Kodaline - High Hopes
The Vaccines - If You Wanna
The Neighbourhood - Let It Go
The videos we showed them were good to use as they were very varied, ranging from narrative videos with either a linear or non linear narrative and a performance video. By showing this variety, we can get more of an idea of which route we want to go down when doing our video.
The questions we asked were:
1) What did you like/dislike about each video?
2) Which video was easiest to follow? Why?
3) Is there any improvements you would make to any of the videos?
4) Which video did you think fit more with its music?
5) Do you prefer a story or a performance? Why?
6) Which type of narrative did you prefer; Linear or non linear? Why?
7) Which song did you like best?
By asking these questions we got a better sense as to what is preferred narrative wise in a music video, and if our audience prefer the narrative to be easy to follow and if it should match the lyrics. Because we have done this we have more of an idea of a preferred narrative we should incorporate in our music video.
The focus group worked well as we had a mixture of girls and boys ranging from 16-17 years of age. Even though one boy had to leave, we still got his response via paper. Asking questions on paper and getting them to write their answers down, was good as not everyone is confident to speak up. A problem is we had a small sample size so it is not fully representative of the target audience but they wrote around the same answers. But, because we produced a questionnaire, we have got more results as many different people got to answer roughly the same questions we asked the focus group, but the questionnaire people answered questions about adverts and CD covers also. We may also do interviews to get more rounded results. 



Here were the results recieved from doing the focus group:

2 people out of the 5 said 'The Neighbourhood' was easiest to follow as it shows a clear contrast of emotion and how society sees them and was spelling out a clear message. 2 other people said that 'The Vaccines' was easiest to follow because it was all performance. 1 person said 'The 1975' was the easiest to follow because "It shows at the beginning, their life is good and easy to understand. Also shows the effect alcohol has on individuals"

1 person said they would improve 'The Neighbourhood' as it is "too black and white" Then 3 people said they would improve 'The Vaccines' as it did not really grab them and needs to grab the audience, would prefer a story, needed to be more interactive, and the colour scheme did not really match. Then 1 person did not answer this question.

2 people said that the best song was 'The Neighbourhood' as it shows a "major stereotypical   scenario and shows that it is not always the way and how women don't like to be accused of being a stereotypical housewife" and "Shows a realistic society stereotype and shows women don'y have a luxurious life and don't like being accused of being a housewife" Then 1 person liked 'Kodaline' as it had a "Nice story and nice song" 1 person liked 'The Vaccines' (did not state why) and 1 

person liked 'The 1975' (did not state why)

 Everyone apart from 1 person said that they prefer story to performance. The 1 person said they prefer both story and performance as they get "The best of both worlds" The majority said they preferred story as it is more interesting, can enhance the lyrics, can follow the song and "Make inferences about the song"

4 people said they they prefer a non-linear narrative as flashbacks allow for a better understanding of the story, makes it more interesting to watch, allows for the story being told to be told in further detail, helps build enigma and suspicion as want to find out more, makes the audience want to engage more as they want to find out more. The one person who preferred linear said they preferred it because, "You stop focusing your efforts on understanding the lyrics if you can't understand the video."

1 person said 'The Neighbourhood' (did not state why) 2 people said 'The 1975' because "They robbed a store" and "The story being told was of a robbery and the song is called robbers" And someone said about how the lyric "Now everybody's dead" matched how the gunshots went off and it was quiet before this lyric, connoting death. 2 people said 'Kodaline' because "it shows there i always hope and there is always new beginnings" Also someone said how the lyric, "Take me back to where it all first started" Matched how after the shooting there was flashbacks to their relationship, and this is how it all started.




What did you like/dislike about each video?

The 1975 - Robbers: People liked this video as it was clear, simple and easy to understand, matching the lyrics. Some people liked how it had some social realism of alcohol, relationships and how things can go from being ok/good to being bad. Someone said that they liked how it showed that "alcohol, drugs, can influence decisions". Some liked how the story took a dark turn when the lyrics started to go dark, "Now everybody's dead" 
What some people did not like was how there was a depressing storyline.

Kodaline - High Hopes: What some people liked about this narrative was that it showed that even though something bad has happened there can be hopes and new beginnings, this links in with how some liked how the narrative liked the link to the lyrics of "High Hopes" Some liked that there was a plot twist of a death occurring. 
What some people did not like was that it showed how bad habits are taken up to deal with problems in which viewer(s) may mimic.  

The Vaccines - If You Wanna: People liked that there was focus on the band and specifically a focus on the main singer, they liked this because it made a connection between them and the band. Some also liked the bright colours and high key lighting to match the song beat and lyrics. The high key lighting was also said to reflect a positive mood.
A lot of people did not like this video due to it being 'boring', dull' and 'bland' as you are only watching a band playing instruments on a stage and there are no other locations.

The Neighbourhood - Let It Go: Most people liked how it showed how society sees women and how women actually feel about a stereotypical housewife. Someone said that they liked "the way they represent her personality class. It makes viewer feel as if they are getting an insight to the woman that the other characters can't see" Some also said that they liked how the image matched the lyrics of "Let It Go" as she is letting herself go. Most also said that they liked how there was the use of lighting to show a contrast of emotions and how society sees the women.
Only one person put a dislike about the video, which was, "It's too black and white".