The effectiveness:

In conducting the research methods prior to the recording of the promotional video I found that several of the chosen methods were effective. For one, interviewing people about Kelham Island as well as other local museums proved effective as I received multiple opinions about the museum including what was enjoyable about it and what could be improved. For the most part, people were happy with pricing and exhibits and simply answered that they would only make it slightly more local if they could. Upon reviewing these responses it appeared that a promotional video for Kelham Island would surely be a positive idea and a project supported by a lot of positive feedback.

Generally speaking, the people I interviewed did not stress any negative perspectives over the museum(s) and so it seemed that museums are becoming a lot more appreciated within our community. This proved that going forward and being creative with the advertising of the museum would only add to what was already a promising idea.

The questionnaire was another one of the effective methods of research I conducted as I received quantitative data therefore I had a clear idea of what a majority thought of the local museums. I was able to differentiate between who enjoyed their visit to museums and who gained nothing from the experience. I even managed to come to a conclusion which was that most people who enjoyed vising either Kelham Island or a local museum were between the age of 17 and 20.

What went well:

When it came to actually going out and asking people for their opinions  I found that it is all about timing; a number of people who we asked to feature in the VoxPop did not feel confident in taking part and so we had to expand our search for interviewees. We soon began to find people eager to take part and many provided first hand feedback on their experiences. This was where we began to notice everything was extremely important and that we had to pay attention to every little detail we were given. Some expressed their admiration of the accessibility claiming that they were happy to see disability parking and access points within the vicinity of the museum(s).

What also went well was that there was a pattern emerging within the responses; When comparing  the VoxPop with the questionnaire it seemed that the majority said they would not  change anything about the museum.

Questionnaires:

In creating and publishing a questionnaire regarding Kelham Island Museum, as well as other local museums, I found that I was receiving more responses than I originally anticipated; Out of the 29 responses that I received 22 of the people claimed they had visited Kelham Island Museum. This was a great relief as it meant I would have a lot more answers consisting of qualitative data and therefore have a lot more to think about when actually going into production with the promotional video. Many answered openly and offered a number of suggestions of why people should visit as well as why they, themselves, would visit again. This was a great surprise being that, not many but, one or two of the respondents used closed ended answers therefore providing very little useful information for me to use afterwards.

One person claimed they enjoy the scenery in museums and so this became an important piece of information. From there I could start to consider capturing shots of the architecture in Kelham Island when it came to actually going and shooting the promotional video. I could even think about lighting and how I wanted it to represent the stone work in the stone garden which, incidentally, was one of the areas of the museum I was told to film, specifically.

I did encounter one or two issues with the questionnaire such as a small number of the respondents claiming not to have visited Kelham Island Museum. This did give an uneven number of answers however the majority of people who answered they had visited was of a larger amount than those who had not. Due to this, I  still managed to accumulate a reasonable amount of answers and therefore had more to refer to when approaching the production of the promotional video.

Voxpop:

With the Voxpop, as mentioned earlier, I found that once the responses came flooding in I received valuable information which would forward the success of the promotional video. Many people were eager to express their love and respect for our local museums and the more eager people were to answer the questions the better the results of my research would be. It was really a gift that just kept on giving and, although it was difficult at first, we managed to interview a reasonable amount of people and gather what we felt was a substantial and positive amount of responses. It was also enjoyable to see just how enthusiastic people were and how they were happy to help us better our methods of research.

At times audio could have been a risk as we were interviewing through break hours meaning many students were present and there were conversations from every other direction. However, when it came to linking up the external audio with the camera footage the people’s voices came forward and became the central focus which is all I really needed from the recordings. It was good to see everyone being enthusiastic and answering to the best of their abilities and I know that it will reflect its positive mood onto the project.

With certain people, they were short for time and so we had to rush through questions however we did not miss out on asking them correctly and receiving information. At times I had forgot to get people to sign the consent forms however they had told us they were happy to take part and did not mind where the interview was sent. I made sure each individual who was interviewed know exactly where it would go and reassured them that it was for educational purposes only. In the end the VoxPop was published as an unlisted video therefore it was only visible to those who I chose.

Did I get enough information:

I believe that I received enough information through the numerous methods of research to list a number of attributes of the museum which  I was able to focus on during the shoot. From what I received, I was able to understand what people look for in museums and reflect those things in my piece of work. As said before, many enjoyed the scenery and so when it came to shooting I made sure all shots regarding the rooms in the museum were in focus and set up to a high standard with as much of the scenery packed into the frame as possible.

With regards to the questionnaire, I believe that I received enough information. A majority of people answered that they would recommend it to a friend and so this was one of the pivotal questions and thereby was able to give me a good idea of what the majority thought of Kelham Island. 20 out of the 29 respondents said that they would not change anything as they believed it was a decent experience. This was another useful piece of information as it, once again, gave me the majority vote and it was this vote that would ultimately tell me how I should best advertise the museum. In knowing that most had no desire to change anything about the museum experience I could then feel confident that the majority had something specific that they liked and I could then go on to try and involve this in the final product.

Were the methods I used effective:

I believe the questionnaire was extremely helpful and effective as I was able to expand my research and ask those outside of college that I knew. Therefore, I was receiving reliable information and the quantity of responses was greater. Also, the questionnaire gave way for qualitative data as well as quantitative as oppose to the VoxPop which only really specialised in providing the qualitative data. In posting it on a regularly used social network page it helped expand my research just as much as many others elements did. I was able to send the questionnaire to friends and family members and receive feedback within a short amount of time.

With the VoxPop it was reasonably effective and it was pleasant to hear of people’s enthusiasm and respect for our local museums. However, it took more time and sometimes we were receiving closed ended answers.  We would often try to encourage the people to elaborate on their answers but some just did not seem interested and rather than trying and trying I found it was better to look for people who were more passionate about museums or had a genuine interest.

Why conduct all the research:

The reason for conducting all the research was to understand what people look for when deciding whether or not to visit a museum. With methods such as the VoxPop, I was able to accumulate a lot of different views on museums and really begin to understand how I wanted to advertise Kelham Island.

If I was to simply write out a plan and shoot a promotional video it would be done a lot faster however I would not know what was most likely to attract audiences to the museum and therefore it would seem like a wasted journey having nothing to work from. Sometimes, collecting information from others can lead to inspiration and from there creativity becomes a substantial amount of your work.

With the questionnaire, it seemed necessary to conduct as  I stood a greater chance of receiving more responses to my questions than I did with the VoxPop. Also, people answering online questions often have more time to dedicate and so you know they have thought before answering, at least for the most part.

What ideas did I get for the film:

For one, I got the idea of experimenting with camera movements; when shooting the crucible shop I decided to get the camera operator to use the surrounding architecture to create some form of a transition; rising up from behind the railings to show the workshop in front of them. People enjoyed the visual elements as well as the history and educational values so I had to dedicate some of my ideas to making the visual elements of the final product fascinating.

One of the people we interviewed mentioned that they enjoyed how Kelham Island shows visitors Sheffield’s progression over the years in terms of our technology and methods of bettering water supplies. This gave me the idea of emphasising how the museum was local to Sheffield and was a delightful representation of its growing steam and steel based industries. In doing so I considered accumulating all the shots each group, including my own, had taken of signs and stone work featuring ‘Sheffield’ on them and plotting them close to the beginning of the promotional video when it came to editing. This would ultimately set the tone for the remainder of the video and let the audience know what was being represented. It would allow the audience to focus on what was on offer in the video rather than concerning themselves with insignificant matters such as not knowing where the museum was based and why it was important to its surrounding area.

In shooting the promotional video I was able to capture many of the wax  sculptures of shop workers and people who contributed to the industrial community back in the earlier days of Sheffield. For those who are first time visitors to Kelham Island the shots of the wax sculptures should hopefully surprise them being that the shots were framed to make the sculptures appear like real people. Even if only for a few seconds it would be a great achievement as it would prove how all the time and effort put into the production of the sculptures was worth it.