Feeback sheets evaluation interview

This was our first feedback sheet from James and in my opinion I feel that the feedback that was obtained from him could've been in much more detail in order for it to be of use or help our group. However it shows that our presentation towards the class was explained clearly and was proven effective to sell our idea of our interview. The good thing was that James did pick up on the main point of our idea which was based on the music industry, however our group feel that it could have been good to see him make a point about the Van Susans or who we were interviewing. However we feel that it is good he has understood the intended idea. 

Moving onto the next section of feedback we felt that it could have been potentially helpful however it seems that we don't have much relation regarding our questions towards RavensWood, it would have been nice to have the 'personal touch for the interview' however this seems rather irrelevant to our subject matter in the interview

Next, our group was glad to see that James had pointed out our best question being 'what musical influence did you have' we feel that this question is going to gain the most in detail response as this is going to be him telling us why he likes to play music and what keeps him doing it. 

For the last piece of feedback we gained, our group felt that our worst question was most definitely not 'when did the band start' our reason for thinking this is that it is a very good question to get the ball rolling in terms of starting questions relating to his split with the Van Susans etc. 

This was also from people in our class, Olivia and Savanah gave us some well detailed feedback that our group feel we can develop on and generate some ideas. 

Our group were glad to see that they both fully understood the main purpose of our interview and gives us one thing not worry about it terms of making sure the audience understand what the purpose is.

Next we thought that their feedback for this question was good as they looked deeper into what the interview style and subject is about, they said that our idea is unique because it is very similar to being a personal account of a musician and possibly will the answers given about the band be negative or positive. By them both saying that this seems like it will be a personal account our group may take advantage of this in order to make our idea much more unique than others. 

For these next questions which was what our best and worst questions, we were glad to see that they liked the two questions about touring the UK and the pay question, our reason being for this is because we feel that the touring question could gain an in detail response of what its like in terms of being tiring, is it enjoyable etc. Also our group feel that the other best question could gain a rather humorous response both for the viewers and Tim. He could possibly make a joke about the pay being terrible but not being bothered by etc. 

For this piece of feedback our group felt that this question could be seen as negative and positive at the same time, we feel that people who are interested in Tim's style of music may feel it be nessesary or nice to know if Tim was joining another band and some may think it is rather controversial due to our subject during the interview will touch on why he left the Van Susans, possibly he doesn't want to talk abut it? This feedback shall make us think in detail what the negatives and positives will be gained from this question. ON the last piece of feedback that this group gave us we felt it was a very good idea to present to the audience some archive footage before or after the interview of Tim playing, we feel that this could showcase his skill to the audience and give a good indication of what the subject matter is. 

Powerpoint pitch for interview research

Interview powerpoint pitch oz and rob from RobGW

Our original presentation had a background image behind the text. This is shown below..


We also chose to write cue cards for out dialogue in the presentation as we thought that it would be best to inform the listeners via speech instead of them having to visualize something on the smart board. We thought that this would engage the audience much better.








Who are they?

The VanSusans are a local band from Bromley, they have lately grown in the music industry scene, headlining venues such as the indigo02. They frequently get compared to bands such as m+Mumford and sons, as they have a similar sound.


What we plan to do?

Oscar: "We plan to interview bassist guitar player Tim Dullaway who plays in the VanSusans group."

Example of research  

Rob: "We researched this band extensively. As you can see here is part of our research, it is from the local Newshopper paper. This helped us get the background knowledge on the band."

Possible question examples + Video 

Oscar: "These are some of the possible questions we may ask Tim Dullaway during the interview here. We shall now show you a short video of the band playing at a venue in Camden."

Main aims we hope to achieve

Rob: "The main purpose of this interview is to see what working in the music industry is really like from someone who is already working in it. Also to see what it's like trying to rise up within the industry. But at the end of the day this interview is going to be done because this band is interesting they actually have achieved some impressive accolades so far, and i feel this will keep the audience interested in the band and hopefully afterwards look into them a little more

What shall be unique about our idea?

Oscar: Our idea will be unique unlike many other interviews we have researched. this will be more of a personal account of one member of the bad and what his thoughts and feeling are on some of the questions.

Rob: The VanSusans have cultivated a large fan base over the years, so by having an up to date interview this will keep the existing fans happy, but most importantly bring interest and new people to the band.

What plans have been put in place?

We plan to rent a camera from the RavensWoodSchool media department. Also use a music room within the school for the interview to take place as it fits aesthetically well.

Analysis of Interview

WWW: I feel that our objective was explained clearly and quickly at the start of the pitch. I also think that using cue cards to present information to the listeners was also a very good idea because they didn't have to stare at a screen in order to find out what was going to happen for our interview. I think the information is much easier to take in and explain by talking to the listeners as some may not be interested in reading all of each slide. So we decided to keep the information on screen as minimal as possible without not having anything to show.

EBI: I think that the pitch of our interview could have gone slightly better in terms of presenting lots more of our research to the listener's however I don't think that was the main issue at all. I feel that the feedback has also shown us what we can do to make our interview much more unique and a lot less like the previous interviews that we have researched. We also gained one last imperative piece of feedback which was based on the questions. Some of the possible questions were very bland and were rather standard in terms of seeing them occur in music interviews with bands or band members. So we suggest that we should think of some more unique questions to ask Tim within the interview in order to give it a unique feel to it instead of it seeming like another interview with a Van Susans member in a similar fashion.We hope to make ours seem unique and stand out from the others.

Interview questions

Van Susan's Possible Questions

Van Susan’s Possible Questions

When did the band start?

Our group feel that this question is fairly common within music interviews however we also feel that this is in fact an imperative question to almost set the scene of the interview and what the main body of the subject shall be about. We feel that we will gain a standard response such as 'In the year 2000..' We could also link this in with how he was appointed into the band.

What did you play in the band? And what do you find so interesting about what you play?

Again this question we have agreed is fairly commonly found within music interviews with one particular individual. However we also feel that these basic formats of questions will help set up the interview from thew start and again slightly set the scene for what the interview is going to be about and who it is about. We don't want to start the interview in a random order we want it to be structured (beginning, middle and an end)  We feel that this question will gain a fairly basic straight forward answer for the first part of the question. However the second section of it 'What he finds interesting' shall be more open ended and could gain a good insight as to why he likes the particular instrument .

What were the bands influences, also who or what are your influences to play your style of music?

These types of questions that almost seem to have two sections could in fact be the most powerful in terms of receiving an answer. This is because the first section could appear to set up the question, gain a short answer and then gain a more personal in depth answer (especially with 'what are your influences to play your style of music') We feel that this will gain a detailed lengthened answer that almost tell a story as to how the Van Susans got their motivation from music. 

Can you possibly talk about what (made you split away from the band)?

This question will most likely gain the most responsive detailed answer out of all the questions we have created. This question should be placed possibly right in the middle of the interview to stick to the beginning, middle and end format. the beginning: setting the subject, middle: Reaching a powerful point, and the end: concluding the interview. This shall be our powerful question that could even have the ability tot gain an emotional answer or straight forward answer with personal detail, his own account for what he thinks the reason is.

Are you going to join another band?

This question shall be strategically placed after the question above, the reason for this is because it shall link extremely well. We feel that this question shall gain a fairly straight forward answer to itself, this is because we will have just asked a very detailed question that should hopefully gain a lengthy answer. We don't almost seem to tire him by seeming to force him to answer a detailed question.    

Do you play any other instruments other than a bass guitar?

Our group feel that this question should be placed after the second one we have created above. The reason for this is because it will link well with the instrument side of the interview, it seems like a good typical music element to add together one after another. This could receive a short answer depending if he doesn't have one. So, to prepare for this we could add onto this question 'and why?' this will almost make Tim give a more detailed answer instead of giving a yes or no answer (closed question)  

What are you currently doing now?

Emerging from around halfway during the interview this question should occur. Our group are possibly thinking of placing it just after the question below where we ask how good the pay was for being apart of the Van Susans group. We feel that this could link with the pay aspect such as what he could be doing now whether it involves being in a band or not for his income. Maybe this question could also add why he does it or does he enjoy it. This will be a good insight as to what he does as well as being in a band or not.  

What was it like to headline at Indigo2?

For this question, our group feel that it should be placed after the third question we have generated. The reason for this is because it wouldn't suit a well structured interview if it were to go from talking about how he split with the band and then ask how it was to headline with then at a certain venue (this is the same with the question below) We feel that this would be well linked and generate good detailed answers because by placing it with the third he may feel more inclined to talk about it, rather than asking this and the following question after we have said why he left the band. 

What was it like touring the UK?

(This question also relates to the question above)

Have you ever played with the Van Susan's outside the UK?

(This question relates to the one above)

What equipment are you using at the moment?

For this question in particular, it may seem quite a standard question found within a music interview, however it may be interesting to some viewers to find out what the musician uses as their choice of equipment. This could be interesting to hear also why he uses that particular equipment so our interviewer may add that into this question in order to gain more information and make it a larger open ended question. An example of an answer he may give us could be 'I use .... because it sounds the best, I have been using it since ...'

Did you ever get a good pay for being in the Van Susan's?

Our group feel that this could be placed  after right after we ask Tim about why he left the group. The reason being is because these kinds of music professions always have to have an element of money within them, so this would be a good insight to how much he was paid for doing a gig etc. This could even have a humorous factor shown when he answer's the question, he may possibly joke about how terrible the pay was or a similar aspect.