film idea pitches

we had to create a pitch with 3 ideas for our film openings. a pitch is a presentation towards a group. askign the group for feedback posative and negative.
the three ideas that my group genrated were:

idea 1:

•Starts with a shot of the victim asleep in bed.

•Jumps to various other shots of a flashback from the victim of her husband being killed.

•You then see the killer from the flashback walking up dimly lit stairs, then jumps back to victim in bed as she wakes up to sounds on the landing outside her door.

•See the door fly open, then jumps to outside the house where you hear screaming.

the feedback we rechived from the audience was that the film would be to pradicatable and very similar to a film that we have seen before.

idea 2:


•First shot is a wide shot of a dark and gloomy lake early in the morning with a old man with fishing gear walking in from the left.

•Mid shot of the old man setting up at the side of the lake, preparing to start fishing.

•A p.o.v shot shows something rushing up behind him, he turns around at the last minute, this unknown creature kills him instantly and he falls into the dark lake.

•The next morning a group of young children find the old man’s fishing gear in perfect condition and a hole in the algae where it looks like someone has fallen into the water.

the feedback that we rechived from this idea was that it would make a great opening. but in ways of filming it would be very difficult and we would struggle on location and the set up would be very technical.

idea 3:

• There is a caretaker in a London west end theatre.
• As he is locking up and switching off the lights.
• There are mid shots showing him locking doors and switching lights off.
• There are some shots to show him doing his work but it looks as if someone is watching him.
• As he goes to lock the final door the camera gets closer to his back creeping up on him.
• He gasps and turns around and the screen goes black.

on our final pitch we rechived posative feedback. the audience suggested locations that would be sutiable i.e. stamford corn exchange, bourne corn exchange. and the schools threatre department. we thought that this idea would be a good idea because of location is easy to find. the audience was very helpfull when commenting on this idea because before we generated our pitch we thought this idea was already very good and that we could use the audiences feedback to make the film opening better.

my film questionaire. and results

Here is my questionaire i sent out to 10 members of the public.



Thriller film questionnaire:

1. Are you: male female

2. How old are you? 0-12 12-15 15-18 18-25 25+

3. What film genres do you prefer? (can tick more than 1 box):

Thriller

Horror

Action

Romantic comedy

Animation

Comedy

War films

Other: ……………………………………………………

4. if you ticked the thriller film genre what do you expect from a thriller film:

Action thriller

Supernatural thriller

Horror thriller

Crime thriller

Conspiracy thriller

Erotic thriller

Psychological thriller

5. What do you personally expect from a film?

To be frightened?

To have a laugh?

To be able to relate to the film / life experiences?

To see chase scenes and get adrenaline?





6. How do you to prefer to view films?

Cinema

DVDs brought

DVDs rented

Internet downloads

Other: …………………………………………………………...

7. What hobbies do you take part in?……………………………………

8. How often do you spend watching films?

Once a week

Twice a week

More than twice a week

Once a month

Other: …………………………………………………………...



when i sent this out to 10 candiadates. these are the results that i collected.

8 out of 10 candidates were male.
2 out of 10 candidates were female.

9 out of 10 candidates were aged between 15-18
1 out of 10 candidates were aged 25+

the majority of the candidates i asked enjoyed these film genres:
thriller films.
action films.
comedy films.

the least choosen genres are:
romantic comedy.
war films.

i asked the candidates which type of thriller film genre which they most expect from a thriller film. the type of thriller genres that were choosen the most were.

• action thriller films.
• crime thrillers.
• conspiracy thriller.

the genres that were least choosen for a thriller film were:

• psychological thriller.
• horror thriller.

a question that i asked my candidates was, what do you expect from a thriller film?

the answer with the best response was that the candiadtes expect to have a laugh with a thriller film.

when a film is produced and launched i wanted to know how peopel best wish to view movies. the best responses were. dvds that were rented or purchased and movies that were veiwed in the cinema. the worst response was nonbody downloaded movies v.i.a itunes ect. to watch a new realese.

the bbfc - the british board of film clasification

the bbfc is a organisation that watches and analyises films. after they have watched the film they give the film a clasification these clasifications are:



U - CERTIFICATES.

within this certificate the film must. have an apporpriate themes and be sutiable for a young audience. also there must be infrequent use of bad language. the use of nudeity must be ocasional and natural. no sexual content. kissing is only appropriate. during the film ocasional mild threat or menace only. no drug use is acceptable. and also any horor used must be taken into view that the younger audience is watching.



PG - CERTIFICATES.

within PG certificates more serious issues are featured. nothing in their treatment should condone their behaviour. mild bad language only is used. again only natural nudity is alowed.

sexual activity might be implied it should be discreet and infrequent. moderate violence must be used but it must be justified and by its setting. horor is alowed. frightening sequences must not be prolonged or too intense. any drug use must be as a anti-drug message. glamorizing wepons is not acceptable and must also be justified.



12 - CERTIFICATES.

within 12 certificates there are two types of certificates. 12A and 12. in 12A the veiwer may be under 12 but has to be with a adult or a 18+ resonsabile person. but with a 12 only people 12 or over the age of 12 may watch the films. no acceptions.

within these two certificates the films must contain. a sutible theme for young teenagers. the use of strong language must be infrequent. and any racial abuse is a particular concern. any sexual content must be breif and discreet. sexual activity maybe implied. sex refrences may refelect what its likely to be fimillar to most adolesants but shoudl not go over the top. violence must not dwell on detail. there shoudl be any emphasis on injuries or blood. threat is accepted and menace are permited. on the odd ocassion may gory moments provial.



15 - CERTIFICATES.

in this certificate no theme is prophibited and aslong as it is sutiable for 15 years of age. there maybe frequent use of bad language. nudity maybe alowed in a sexual content but without strong detail. sexual detail maybe shown but without great detail. violence amyeb stong but must not dewell on the fact of pain and suffuring. wepons must not be glamorised. strong menace and threat maybe allowed. drug taking maybe shown but must not be promote or encourage drug mis-use.

18 - CERTIFICATES

in this certificate. is only sutiable for adults only. and there are no rules or guidelines. there are two priniciples of an 18 certificate. these are
Education at ‘18’
Where sex material genuinely seeks to inform and educate in matters such as human sexuality, safe sex and health, exceptions to the normal constraints on explicit images may be made in the public interest. Such explicit detail must be kept to the minimum necessary to illustrate the educational or instructional points being made.
Sex Works at ‘18’
Sex works are works, normally on video or DVD, whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation. Sex works containing material which may be simulated are generally passed ‘18’, while sex works containing clear images of real sex are confined to the ‘R18’ category.

thriller films - 'seven'

camera work:
the camera work involved in the making of seven is full of p.o.v shots. the film tells the storys of the seven deadly sins and each sin follows a murder. the first murder is the scene that we have studied. through the first scene the p.o.v shots are used the most. the reason for the great use of this camera angle is because the two detectives are studing a death and all the shots are i nthere point of veiw. these shots show us what the detectives can see and everythign from there studying.
editing:
the editing used in this film. is the opening credits that are cleverly made show the preperation of the killer geting ready to kill. as he is preparing himself the credits are rolling past on the screen.
mise-en-scene:
the mise en scene that is represented in the film as all the shots are in order of one another. although in the opening scene we did not see how the victim died which woudl have made a good storyline the way that it follows form the killers preperation to the way that the detectives are looking round the house for clues. the order of the film therefore almost jumps out of order and doesnt make sense.


sound:
the music in this opening scene is very up-beat the music steadily builds more and more tension. the way that typical films are made is the music starts slow then gradually builds up adding suspense and tension in the audience.

narrative:
the story is in order of the seven deadly sins the way that they are listed. lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, pride.

lighting:
the lighting used in this movie is very very dark. there are a great deal of shadows and also many places for a killer to hide away. the first scene is a house that has no lights. no natural daylight although it is day outside the windows have been boarded up. the lighting that is used is a very dim bulb light hanging from the ceiling. when the detectives are looking round the house to see the murder it is very hard to see waht is around the house. overall i think that the lighting overall in this openign scene is very poor and when ewatchign i coudl not see very well at all.
sfx:
the special effects that are used in this film are the set up of each murder on each victim. the deaths are highly set up and the camera work in making the vicous attacks and deaths look worse and horrible is the way that. the camera work stays at a low angle to make the deaths look very powerfull and the thought of the killing gives of a message.

thriller films 'psycho'

camera work:
the camera work that was used in the film 'psycho' was a good example of how camera angles help to create suspense and tension. the shots that were used regularly were close ups and extreme close ups. these shots are used alot in thriller films as they create a sense of mystery and a sense of meteriousness due to the veiwer and audience not knowing 100% at what they are looking at. and when they look at the close up properly it is a key feature to the film and may represent something. in pshyco an example of a close up that was used was a close up of the shower head. although it it a p.o.v shot from the woman in the shower looking up. the close up of the shower head represents that she is unaware of what ccould happen to her. and also she is vunrable and incocent to the fact that she is killed soon on. an extreme close up used in this film is of the plug hole. the plug hole and the blood draining away into the plug hole. the blood drainign into the plug hole represents the fact that the womans life is draining away in the water. also a good example of a point of veiw shot is in the middle of the scene when the woman is being stabbed to death. here the point of veiw is from the murder because you see the murders arm stabbing and slashign at the woman taking a shower. a great shot during this scene is at the very end when the scene ends the camera is spiraling downing into the plug hole and then cuts into the next film. when the shots were taken the killers face or and part of the face was shown. this creating tension and a lead onto who killed and makes the rest of the story up.
mise-en-scene:
the mise en scene in the scene of this film is a very good example of the way the shots flow correctly because all the shower scene shots follow up on one another the camera work follows the 180 degree rule. and the shots go from the killer to the vitcim one after another untill the victim has been killed. the killer in the film is dressed in a

sound:
from the start of the scene the music starts and gradually builds to create tension. but when the killer enters the bathroom the music that makes psycho so famous is played. the music reflects the thoughts of the killer. the music follows the stabbing actions, which is killing the victim.
representation:
the people that are presented in this scene are. good vs evil. although this is a binary oposition the only people that are presented in this scene is only the victim and the killer.
narrative:
the structure of the openign is all in order. there are no flashbacks preset the clips follow on from one to another creating a smooth scene. the duration of the event is a long scene ad the killign odes take a little while but the diffrent camera angles and camera shots make up for this and therefore makes the scene go faster than what it is.
lighting:
the lighting that is used during this film. is all artifical lighting. the lighting shows all the shadow of the killer as he or she aproaches the shower curtain with the kinife.
sfx:
the special effects that appear in this scene are at a minimum. although the only special effect that is used is the stabbing of the victim and the blood pouring down the drain.

thriller films - 'leon'

'leon' opening scene:

camera work involved:

at the start of the film the camera is in the air flying over central park. this sets the scene for the play. then after it goes to camera going down the road like a car. nothign out of the ordinary seems to happen and there is nothing out of the ordinary. the camera then swoops into a door which is pitch black. the camera involved during the openign scene of this play is close ups of the actors faces. this showing there emotions and feelings. also in the scene there ar a number of extreme close ups. these are when the two actors are having a cnvosation after the camera ennters the dark room. the extreme close ups include a cigarette and the ash tray. the actors mouths and one eye each from the two talking. these are used to show the audience a sense of mystery to who the people are and that they are mysterious characters. also extreme close ups are used later on when looking at the lift numbers lighting up one by one. this added to the tension and suspense as the henchmen were waiting for the lift to open. point of veiw or p.o.v. shots were used in this opening when the actor at the end was firing his gun at the door. this is good for the veiwwer as they see it form the actors point of view and can add to the ecctiment of the film. also durign the film a shot is used to emphasise great height. this is a shot of a henchman looking down the middle of a stairway. the shot is used to show the audience how high he is and that it is a long way to fall.

above: these are examples of extreme close ups.

below: is an example of low angle shot and a p.o.v shot.

mise-en-scene:

the mise en scene used in the film. creates an atmosphere at the start of the film as the shots all flow together well as they go from the air, to the road and into the shop. then when the killings happen in the building the shots all tie in well togther to create a sence of being there. durign the opeing scene all the offits are normal of the time and add to effects. also the location adds a feel of a place of outlaw and a palce of trouble. overall the whoel mise en scene of the opening scene is good and well constructed.

sounds:

the sounds used during the openign of 'leon' the films opening starts with calm relaxing music as the camera floats over the top of new york and over the park. not a great deal of music is used from here on. apart from when the killer is seeking out each henchman. as the killer gets closer and closer the music follwos this and gets heavy and louder. the sound of a steady beat adds to the tension and makes a great diffrence to the audience alothugh the occasional silence is a good source of adding complete tension to a scene.

narrative:

the narrative used on this film is of non-ficional events. all the events could well happen and probably do happen every day. although the storyline is not based on a true story.

lighting used:

the lighting used in the opening of the scene is natural light and a bright day. this adds to the relaxation factor of the long esablishing shot of new york. but then when the two men are in covosation the lighting is almost non exsistant. thhere is no lighting anywhere. there is a candle light. the camera cannot see anything past the peoples close ups. nothign can be made out in the background at all. this shows it is a mesterious location and even in the brightest days it is a dangerous place. when the killer is out to get the henchmen the lighting used is alot of artifical light. this creates shadows and this adds to suspense and tension. and that there are lots of places to hide for the killer.

sfx:

the special effects used in this film. the guns are a special effect the amoutn of gun fire ex-changed during the scene is a large amount. the way the shots are fired into the wall punchign holes into the sheet of steel is an effect that has to be made by a specalist team. although there are not any big explosions during the film the only other added effects are the stunts of the stunt man falling down the stairs from the top which was a long way up and heavily influenced by the camera angle and the shots made.