Completed Interview

Me and David filmed our evaluation interview with our media teacher on Thursday.
We were asked several questions about our film:the editing process which was involved, the representations we included, how we targeted our audience, why we used 'Momentum Pictures' as our distributor, and several more questions specific to our film.

It allowed myself and David to evaluate our piece and look at it from different perspectives, but also to explain our certain choices to our teacher. It is also useful for our blog as we can compare it alongside the actual video and see first-hand the decisions we made and why we made them.




Media Interview from Amy Washbourne on Vimeo.

Question 2: "How does your media product represent particular social groups?"

Before I started to film 'False Impressions', I made sure I had the best idea about what the stereotypes of British policemen and detectives are, and I did this by researching police and crime films and TV Dramas, mainly more cinematic TV. I looked mainly at the iconography used to represent them in order for the audience to be completely aware of this stereotypical representation.

The detectives are represented as being very middle-class, and this is shown through their clothing and through their speech codes. For example, Alex Cross addresses John Walker as 'Sir' and they shake hands, both of which are a formal way of greeting each other.

As you can see below, John Walker is dressed very formally, even though he is at the scene of a murder and is about to investigate a dead body, and this is a representation of middle-class police as being very formal and not very 'hands-on' when it comes to investigating the actual crime scene.

As previously mentioned, I studied cinematic TV aswell as films, and Sherlock Holmes is represented in a similar way to the detectives in 'False Impressions'. They both turn up to the crime scene very smartly dressed and both use more elaborate speech codes than those around them, and this is a representation of the middle-class.

Just like in Sherlock, James Bond is always exceptionally dressed for such a 'hands-on' job. He is pictures below in the underground of London, yet he is dressed in a very expensive suit which is later ruined in a fight. Even though he gets a lot more involved than the other detectives, he is shown as a representation of the middle-class.

After a deep analysis of both British and American films and TV dramas, I have noticed that this representation of different social classes only occurs in British films, and only very slightly in American films. This could be because there is a very blurred line between American social classes, whereas British classes are very distinct.

Question 2: "How does your media product represent particular social groups?"

In terms of representation in the film, we tried to use shots and dialogue which would portray the characters in a certain way:

For example, the younger detective is a lot taller than the older detective, which implies to the audience that the older detective does not has as much authority now that he is not the only person on the case.

Also, they both use quite sarcastic tones and comments, which portrays them to the audience as being in a higher class (or seeing themselves as being in a higher class) than those around them, even though the only difference is the way they pronounce words, and they have different job titles. The difference in social classes between the two detectives themselves, but also between the detectives and the victim. The two detectives stand over the body and stare down at it with the camera facing up as if it is from the point of view of the victim; this is used to show the authority they have over him.

The first close up shot we used was one of the older detective. This shows the audience just how authoritative he is, but also tells the audience that he is going to be the main character in the film as he is the main focus throughout the opening scenes.

Also, we frequently used low angle shots to imply authority and dominance. The fact that a low angle shot is used over the dead body shows just how desperate the detectives were to regain authority over those around them.

The first shot we see the older detective in is when he instructs a CSI specialist to ask around the neighbourhood for witnesses. As in every crime drama / film, this is seen as the younger detective's job. However, he is making Crime Scene Investigators do this, which represents him as wanting to have dominance and authority in all aspects of the job.

A detective's first visit to a crime scene normally portryas police as not being very 'proactive' - they direct orders onto other people working on the crime scene. Also, it adds to the stereotype of policemen and detectivee being very demanding and foreceful when on duty, but the detectives we see here are dealing with the crime scene 'hands on' and investigate the room themselves, with the added help of a CSI specialist.

All of these representations are only ever implied subtly and are done mainly through the use of camera angles and shots, but this method is very effective as it leaves the main representations up to the audience.

Question 1: "In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?"

Below is a Prezi presentation of my response to the first questions, which is about how 'real' I think my project is. I have compared screenshots and the voiceover from my film with that of screenshots and a voiceover from different films.  I have explained the forms and conventions of my film and compared and contrasted these with that of similar films.

'False Impressions' Reactions

Below is a video of two sound clips - these are reactions to mine and David's 'False Impressions' video.

I showed the video to two friends on two separate occasions and then asked them the same questions (what were your initial impressions? would you go and see it? and what could I have improved on?) and recorded their answers.

'False Impressions' Reaction Video from Amy Washbourne on Vimeo.
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My Final FINAL Cut

After working on the advice and constructive critisism given to me by my media teacher, me and David and have been working on these comments to make our project the best possible, and this is the final FINAL cut of our project.

I am very proud of this piece and me and David have put a lot of time into making sure this is the best it possibly can be, but we have also put a lot of time in outside of lessons.

Planning The Evaluation

The evaluation is worth 20 marks, so I am going to use different types of media to evaluate my film.

I have started to ask people to watch my film and I am voice recording their reactions to the film, asking questions such as 'What were your initial thoughts?' 'Would you go to see the film?' and 'Is there anything I could have done to improve my film?'.

Mine and David's group interview with Mr Earl is coming up, so we will record the interview and upload it to our blogs. This will help us look back at our film and see what we could have changed about the film, or what we would like to change about the film.

Also, our group presentation is soon, and this will allow us to premier our piece to the rest of the group, and explain why we made certain choices and what the representations are within our film and etc. This will give the group a chance to ask us questions about our project, and give us constructive feedback.

Below are the questions I am going to answer in my evaluation, through the medium of videos, voice notes, blog posts, a Prezi presentation, and several screenshots.

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
 
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
 
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
 
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
 
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
 
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
 
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

False Impressions - Final Cut

So here is the final cut of mine and David's opening sequence to our film 'False Impressions'.

http://vimeo.com/m/88652376