Focus Group

On Friday I asked a group of 6 what they thought of the music video “Memories” by Weezer

What were your first impressions of the video? (Up to the end of the first chorus)
For this question the answer was roughly the same, they all shared the view that it was going to be quite cheery and upbeat (Which was the same thought I had when I watched it). There were also answers like they liked the lighting and the way clips from Jackass were included and when the chorus was played they like seeing everyone sing along. I had a few answers like the lighting and the camera were a bit weird and different but they enjoyed it because it was something new, but the overall result was that they enjoyed the first minute.

What do you think of the band, how do they look to you? What do you see when you look at them?
First Impressions were a bit different, 2 of the people thought they looked quite pop due to the way they dressed, but they still thought they were rock/alternative just because of the instruments used and the song, so it was a mixed reaction to the way they dressed from 2 people. The other answers were that they looked very alternative and again they thought they were rock/alternative because of the sound of the song and the instruments, this was a good sign, it meant that they looked like what they sounded like, so it told me that dressing a certain way changes what people think of you, this will be useful when doing our piece because now we know we have to look the part perfectly.

What do you think of the song?
General comments such us they enjoyed it and it was a really nice song and it was catchy and was very easy to sing along with if you were listening to it on your iPod or with some friends (even though none of them did). Other comments on the song is it suited the video and was really happy and just a nice song. 1 person didn’t enjoy the song as much as others rating it a bit lower on a scale of 1 to 10, but still said he enjoyed it, so this showed this type of song appealed to most, so this will help us in the choice of song we use.

Do you like the video and the way it’s made?
Again good comments like all the others, they enjoyed the effect on the camera and the way it was handheld like it would be at a party with friends, they said it felt very real and made it more enjoyable because they saw everyone having fun, though 1 person said it was a bit of a strain on the eye and a bit weird to watch. The group also enjoyed the way clips from the film were used and made the idea of “memories” feel so much more real and better, not everyone knew that a member had died, so I felt some people enjoyed it more while others didn’t but overall they enjoyed it. The fact they enjoyed it more because a member had died shouldn’t really be included because it could have changed their thoughts, but overall mood was enjoyment.

Would you change anything?
This answer was split a bit with 2 people saying yes and 4 saying no, the 2 people who said yes said that they would prefer a more concept video for this piece but still that they enjoyed the song but not as much as they could. Which was a bit of a shock to me because I enjoyed it the way it was and so did the other 4, no other real comments apart from they enjoyed the atmosphere of it and the song.

This has helped me understand what people are looking for; if they enjoy the look and feel of the music video and the band in it it changes their opinion on the song and makes it enjoy it more. Because “Bullet” by Hollywood Undead is so different from anything else in its genre it will be hard to make and please because we don’t know what people are exactly looking for, but this has given me and idea of what we can do to try and please people, like costumes, camera work, effects and the way the band is and how they act...for example singing together.