Pitch

Our film sequence shall begin with a blank screen. Over this screen the first credits shall appear and a phone conversation will be heard. The conversation will be between an estate agent and a young man, who along with his partner, are looking to purchase a new home. The estate agent will tell the man that a property has just come on the market, and although there is noone available to show them around, he and his partner are welcome to pick up the keys and take a look themselves anytime that day. Just before the end of this conversation a shot of a car pulling into a driveway to a large house shall be shown, the engine switching off as the conversation finishes, and a young couple stepping out. During this opening shot the curtains in one of the upstairs rooms shall move, as if someone is behind them, but the young couple will not notice.
Once the couple are inside they will begin to look around, commenting on aspects of the house, they shall move upstairs and split up, the female going into one bedroom, male going into the bedroom that overlooks the driveway and garden. The young man shall then be alarmed by what appears to be a movement on the other side of the curtain, he will slowly and cautiously make his way to the curtain, and abstract music shall be used here to build up tension, eventually climaxing as the man tugs the curtains apart. All he will find is a music box and a porcelain doll. Amused by his foolish fright, he opens the music box and a tune will play. Suddenly the camera switches from being on his side to being directly infront of him, looking at his face, and behind him the ghost girl shall appear, seemingly in a threatening manner. We will then cut to the female in the other room before the conclusion of the previous scene is shown, there will be a loud bumping noise and the young woman will be visibley alarmed. Calling her parntner's name inquisitively, she will move towards the room he was in. We will see her opening the door, and then the camera will cut to being outside, facing the house, and we shall hear a scream. We will then see her running towards the exit of the house, while she is running through the final room a door shall open behind her, showing the child sitting at a piano, playing 'twinkle twinkle little star.'
The woman shall exit the hous and run to her car. Once inside she will take a moment to gather herself, breathing heavily. Then the tune from the music box will play. The camera will shift to looking at her from behind, and slowly pan up to the rear view mirror. In the mirror the child will be visible, clutching her music box. The camera will cut to black and the title of the film shall be displayed.

We feel that our film will succeed, and make a healthy profit. It is inspired by, and contains elements of horror that are generally used in asian horrors. Many asian horrors have recently been remade in the west, and made great profits. A few examples are 'The Ring' (2002) which grossed $249,348,933 worldwide, and 'The Grudge' (2004) which has grossed $187,281,115 worldwide to date, on only a $10 Million budget. These films make wide use of pyschological horror and tension building, which are mediums we will be using in our film.
Also we shall be aiming for an age 15 rating. 15 certificate films have increased their profits in the last three years, while the most popular age rating certificate, 12, has decreased in it's profits in the past three years. We hope that this information will be used to our advantage so that we can hit the 15 certificate market while it's profits are on the increase, to maximise out own personal profits.

Other Ideas Mind Map

Other Ideas Mind Map

Alternative Genres

• Comedy
• Action
• Western

Action

Action films usually take place in densely populated areas with vast landscapes, such as large cities.

Some examples are 'Journey to the centre of the earth (2008), and the James Bond series.

They usually involve lots of death, prominently of un-named 'soldier' characters, in which the viewer has no emotional ties to. The protagonist will usually be a strong individual, who is seemingly indestructible, and has no problem in killing huge amounts of 'bad guys'.

The plot typically contains an antagonist who is threatening to do something which will be harmful to a lot of people, or something selfishly greedy. The protagonist shall pursue the antagonist throughout the film and eventually best him, becoming the hero. An underdog theme for the protagonist is sometimes used.

Western

Westerns are known for being set in stark, open deserts, with only small wooden towns. There will usually be a gun duel between two characters and tumbleweed is a typical scenery association.
In westerns the main characters are usually 'outlaws,' and therefore actually villains. Typically this is overlooked by the viewers, as their main protagonists are usually more morally conscious than the films antagonists.

There's usually a general theme of the 'survival of the fittest' theory, the best men are the ones who survive to the end of the film.
Examples are the 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,' and more recently '3:10 to Yuma'

Comedy

Comedies usually involve main characters getting into a awkward but comical situation, which the plot revolves around them getting out of. Typically comedies are quite unrealistic, or an amplified version of reality.

Examples of comedy films are 'Happy Gilmore' and '50 first dates'.

There's usually a large supporting cast, many which have comedic aspects to them, or are the butt of many jokes.

They are generally filmed in plenty of light, and for the most part contain no gore. Some comedy films cross genres, such as 'Shaun of the Dead' which is a horror-comedy, and contains large amounts of gore, but usually in as comical a manner as possible.

Comedies nearly aways have a happy ending.

Mind Map Of Initial Idea

Mind map of initial idea;

Initial ideas

Our initial idea is to have a young couple looking at a house which is for sale. It will be night time when they look, and there will not be an estate agent there, or anyone to show them around. Unbeknownst to them the house is haunted by a girl who lived there before. As they look around the house the girl will attack one of them, causing the other to flee in terror. The last shot will leave the fate of the remaining member of the couple unknown.

Genre

The genre we have chosen is horror. We feel that we can use this genre to show our full potential in camera and editing techniques.

Location

We have chosen to film in an old farmhouse, the current home of one of our group members. The house is somewhat large, and has plenty of room to compose our sequence in.

Mise en scene

The house shall appear in a relatively poor state, and the rooms shall be messy and cluttered to show that it has not been long since the house was occupied.
The young couple shall be wearing smart but comfortable clothes to show their wealth and status.
The 'ghost' girl shall appear pale and disheveled, with messy hair and a dirty face and clothes.

Camera + Editing

We will make use of a variety of different shots. A wide shot shall be used as the opening, establishing shot, to show the house. Close ups will be used at shock moments, so the viewers attention is completely and instantly caught in the moment. Over the shoulder shots will be used in tension building moments and straight cuts will be used throughout.

Low key lightning will be used at first, but during the indoor sequences high key lighting will generally be used. This is unconventional for a pyschological horror film such as this, but we feel it will add to the realism and hopefully increase the amount of shock felt by the audience at the 'shock moments'.

Sound

Music will be used at tension building moments, starting of quiet, and gradually building up to a climax. At the beginning of the sequence a non diegetic phone call shall be used to set the scene for the sequence. Although no violence or gore is shown, sound will be used to instigate a general sense into the viewers of what sort of thing is going on. Bumps shall be used and so shall screams.

Man On Fire Analysis

Man On Fire Analysis

 

The first thing we notice about the opening sequence of Man on Fire is the company logo, it then takes us to an establishing shot of a city, maybe Mexico. We then see the couple which is a young man and woman, they look happy but the music behind them tells us something different. The music is slow and calm and tells us something is wrong and that something is about to happen. All of a sudden the music and camera movements get faster and tension builds up. This is when the young man is kidnapped.

We also get told at the very beginning an important fact about kidnappings which could relate to the plot of the film. We then hear the laughing of children, which creates an image in our heads that the children are happily playing but we know deep down what is going to happen to them. This can create a sad feel for the viewer as they will feel sorry in the fact that they know what will happen in some way.

When the actor’s names appear on the screen we should notice that the first name we see is Denzel Washington’s name, this is because he is the main character and therefore has priority over the others. The other actor’s names come up during the action and when their character is on screen this is so we know who is playing which part. The last title we always see in a film is the director’s name because that is where all the appreciation goes to as they are the ones who made the film what it was. When the title of the film comes up we notice it is flames which gives us the thought that he might actually be on fire, of course it is just a comparison as we all know he wouldn’t actually be on fire, however it is a good way to reflect the title of the film.

The next part of the film is the man who is on the phone to the mother of the boy that has been kidnapped. We hear the conversation between them whilst watching clips of what has been happening to her son. We see him get his ear chopped of, however they don’t show us the bit when the ear gets chopped off we, as the viewers, get this information from the shot we are shown of his head and then the shot of the ear in the bag. We then see a bit with someone driving with their shirt hanging out the window, we see this just and the man is explaining to the woman that this is how she should wave her top to show them that it is her. This is so no-one else gets in and they don’t get found out, I suppose.

Lastly we see a boy getting pulled out of a car, half naked and gagged with his hands tied behind his back. He is pulled out and left in the middle of the main road. He is crying out for help, however none of the cars stops and helps him this suggests to us that these type of things happen all the time and no-one dares to stop and help him in case something bad happens to them.

Age Rating

For our sequence we have chosen to make it a 15 rated film, we choose this because or sequence is a horror and there will be some scenes that wont be suitable for people any younger. another reason why we thought our sequence should be rated as a 15 because there will be some violence and possibly swearing later on in the sequence. Also we found that most 15 rated films are always the post popular viewed films in 2008 and 2007, so we thought if our sequence was a 15 it would be more popular and make more money.

BBFC

No on younger that 15 may se a '15' rated film. no one younger that '15' may buy or rent a age 15 rated dvd or video

Theme 

no theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds

Language

there may be frequent use of strong language (e.g. 'fuck'). but the strongest terms (e.g. 'cunt') will be acceptable only where justified by the context. continued aggressive use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. there are no constraints on nudity in a non- sexual or educational context.

Sex

sexual activity may be portrayed but without strong detail. there may be strong verbal references to sexual behavior.

Violence 

violence may be strong but not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief.

imitable techniques 

Dangerous techniques (e.g. combat,hanging, suicide and self harming.) should not dwell on imitable detail. easily accessible weapons should not be glamorized.

Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted. The strongest gory of images are unlikely to be acceptable.

Drugs

Drugs taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug use.