Harry Buckle - Evaluation

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

As a group, we deiced that we would base the film around "Bill", a recently ex-patient of an insane asylum, which he was sent to by his family. We ended up drawing some inspiration from Norman Bates for Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho". To pay a homage to the film, we put Bill's victim in a shower.

Shot 1

shot 2

shot 3

shot 4

shot 5

shot 6

shot 7

shot 8

Shot 1

• We used the radio to connect the different shots with a sound bridge, showing that they are all related to each other.
• The use of a western themed piece of music contrasts the scene, as you would normally hear a similar piece in an action film, rather than a thriller.
• This, accompanied by the pencil scribbling and the shower running, are the only sounds we use in the extract. This helps emphasize what the camerawork and mise en scene is trying to show.
• The radio also might make the spectator ask "how is this relevant to the film?" or "does this connect with the protagonist?"

Shot 2

• We used this to establish the doctor's work place and set one of the two scenes for the spectator.
• The uncaring nature of how the doctor throws down the medical file shows that the patient is a pain to deal with or that the doctor disliked him in someway.
• It is clear that this is a doctor due to his white laboratory coat.

Shot 3

• This POV shot is to establish the hallway of the house and set the other scene of the film for the spectator.
• The messy floors show a struggle or a form of obstacles to slow someone down.
• The slow, yet jerky movements display a fatigue about whoever the point of view is from - which is presumed, by the spectator, as the protagonist. This shows that the girl or someone else may have slowed him down.
• The loud, muffled sound of the water from the shower acts as a marker to where the camera is going to go.

Shot 4

• This shows that the protagonist is looking for something/someone, but, as said earlier, the loud pour of the shower is an indicator to them to where they should go.
• The struggle is still shown in the room through a larger mess. This displays a larger struggle in that room than one in the hallway.
• The cameraman does not look all the way around the room. this shows that there might be someone else in the places he didn't look.
• This all helps set up of an additional character to enter later on.

Shot 5

• The form shows the name "Bill". This helps establish Bill as an important character, or even the POV in the other scene in the film.
• This shows a end or beginning to the relationship between the doctor and Bill.
• The Pencil scratching can be associated with scratching on a chalk board which is known to be unpleasant.
• The jerking movements can be seen as nervous twitches of the doctor, due to working with mentally unfit patients.

Shot 6

• The doctor smokes to show that he is under stress.
• The little amount seen of the doctor's face shows that he isn't important to the story.
• The dull colours of the room emphasize the brightness of the cigarette end.

Shot 7

• The doctor's frantic scribbles at the end shows his urgency to finish with Bill.
• As the camera slowly zooms in, it helps frame the signature.
• The less we see of this scene, the more mystery is created about the doctor and his relationship between him and Bill.
• Although the signature is scribbled on, the rest of the form is neat and efficient, reflecting the Doctor's personality.

Shot 8

• The source of the pounding of water is reveled, showing a girl.
• She has clearly been in the shower for a lengthy time, as she is drenched with water.
• Her hunched over posture shows vulnerability and fear.
• She is an enigma to the spectator, as it isn't clear how she got there.

2.How does your media product represent particular social groups?

• The Female character: A 15-17 year old female. She is, admittedly, portrayed as weak and defenseless in the few seconds we see her. We chose to show her as the victim as it is normally the convention of most thrillers that the young female character is the most defenseless.
  
• The Doctor: A late teen/early 20's male. His portrayal is as a bystander rather than a actual character, but he can also been seen as jumpy or nervous. About what is unclear.
  
• The POV character: A 17-19 year old male. This is presumed to be Bill. A strong and powerful character and the polar opposite to The female character. While this character's appearance is unclear, we can still see what he is like through his actions.

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

I see our product as an Independent film either shown on Arthouse cinemas or in a Film Festival. Its low budget would only be enough to distribute around the UK. To achieve this we would have to use a distribution company like ICA or LionGate Films. Another way to distribute our film would be through the internet. This would probably be easier as it would cut out the Distribution and Exhibition part to the process of getting the product out to the spectators.

4. Who would be the audience for your media product?

I see our certificate as 15+ as our product would use gratuitous violence for certain scenes. I feel that our actual audience would be 17-24 year olds (young adults). I see this as our audience because of of the adult themes and the complex narrative. I see male audience members being a slightly larger percentage of spectators than female members as they are more likely to be fans of violence.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

We attracted our audience through the use of enigmas, restricted and complex narrative, for example the radio and the female character in the shower. The lack of dialogue also was used as an enigma in this.

We addressed our audience by using the POV shots of the unknown character to put them in his view point and sympathies with the character. Also, the female character looking up in the last scene causes mystery in the story.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

http://vocaroo.com/?media=v0v33k4WLcqLLZnf4

Please excuse the low volume and the delay at the beginning.

7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learned in the progression from it to the full product?

• Editing:- I have learnt a lot about editing during this time period. While the preliminary task was filmed quickly, I feel that I didn't got involved enough during the editing. In this task, I feel as if I have achieved this as this was a bigger project because of the the gain in creative freedom I have gained.
  
• Time Management:-
  I feel that the preliminary was taken with less severity than this task and, as such, our time management to an avoidable hit. But, in this task, the stages of making the product was a lot more organized than in the preliminary task. This is due to the substantial knowledge I gained from the mistakes of our preliminary.