Pitch for "Scenario"By Alex, Adam, Alannah and HannahA Psychological Thriller presented by AAAH ProductionsClass 5E

OverviewGenre- Psychological Thriller.

Plot- 

• Woman has row with her boyfriend – he leaves.

• While she is alone, unexpectedly she starts seeing doors slam, hears shattered glass, shadows.

• The woman notices her ex-boyfried is in the house unexpectedly and uninvited.

• Change in camera shot to outside looking into the house at the ex-boyfriend who closes the curtain, obscuring the audiences vision.

• Twist at the end where the boyfriend and ex-boyfriend were in it together all along, which would leave the opening scene on a cliff-hanger. 

Themes- Lust, desire, love, paranoia, realism, struggle, contrasted characters, obsession.

Representations• The main character in our psychological thriller as the killer is represented to be a young

male character at the age of 19, this is reinforcing the negative representation their age.   

• Genre conventions, such as in the film 'Silence of the Lambs' is used where the villains

are male.  

• Reinforcing a negative gender stereotype of males being violent compared to women.   

• Reinforcing relationships between a young male and female couple and stereotypically

showing what they could be like.  

• We are also reinforcing exaggerated revenge by representing violence.

StructureAct 1. This will be the act in which we show Adam getting ready and showing the texting between characters.

Act 2. This will be the act in which Alex and Alannah have a verbal fight and Alex walks out and Adam enters, and starts closing all the curtains.

Act 3. The final act will be the scenes when everything starts to happen and the suspected murder of Alannah happens, then Adam and Alex cross paths, and finally Hannah walks towards the house, starts knocking on the door and turns seeing Adam and Alex walking away together.

Key dramatic moments- 

• Tension build up while Alannah is in the house 'on her own', having a feeling that someone is unexpectedly in her house.

• End with the plot twist of Alex and Adam actually walking together, and then the audience realise that they know each other.

LocationThe filming will take place inside Castlefield house and around the outside of it.Filming inside Castlefield house:• Kitchen• Lounge• Bedroom• Next to windowOutside Castlefield house• Shots of window• Shots of main door• Shots of pathway next to Castlefield house

Waring of anyone of filming that could cause alarm or distress of others.

Characters• Alannah- Plays the victim, Girlfriend to Alex, Ex-girlfriend to Adam.

• Adam- Plays a mysterious, murderous man, in plans with Alex, playing out the murder of Alannah with no apparent reason. Also is the ex-boyfriend of Alannah.

• Alex- Plays a man thought as a kind, emotional and innocent boyfriend to Alannah, but in secret is in plans with Adam for the murder of Alannah.

• Hannah- A character that turns up to the house at the end of the opening scene.

Genre conventions:

The conventions of the thriller genre are used to create a tense atmosphere to enhance the idea of escapism. This is achieved by examples below: • Low key lighting• Fast pace editing• Close up shots• Characters that are very sinister and out of the ordinary• Jump scares

Attracting target audience:Creating realistic moments (shadows and reflections) to make the audience relate to what is happening. 

Creating tense moments (hearing glass smash and seeing footprints) to draw in the audience, to keep them engaged and intreagued.

Not revealing everything to the viewers, so there's a continuous uncertainty of what's going to happen.

Mood/atmosphere created:Having dark lighting throughout to create a sense of unease and question.

Having sinister music to add tension and build up specific moments within the opening sequence. Distorted angle shots to make the audience feel uncomfortable.

Mise en scèneSetting-  The setting will be the day/afternoon, at Alannah's house. All events 

Happening around Alannah's house.

Props- Glass smashing, photos of Alannah w/ex boyfriend, phones, knifes.

Lighting- Low key lighting will be used to give a sense of unsettling tension. It will also keep the identity of the killer hidden.

Costume/makeup- Everyday clothing for all characters. Alannah has nomal every day makeup on.

Performance/proxemics- We are going to have close ups of the characters faces to show the facial expressions, and show their emotions. 

Camerawork• The camerawork will consist of a variety of shot distances and angles. • The use of a tripod will give stable shots and holding the camera as steady as possible for any

moving shots that may take place.• Camerawork must follow the 180 degree rule, and scenes may have to be shot more than

once so that we can acquire camera distances and angles. Always watching out for mistakes and if so re-shooting the scene that the mistake took place within. 

• The camera will be positioned on the rule of thirds, this is where the character/object of interest is positioned within lines that make the character of interest without directly in the middle of the screen.

Sound• Certain sounds will be made loader and clearer to emphasis the

importance of them. • The sounding is going to be diegetic, meaning that the character will

hear it too. • Many of the sounds will be sounds that we have recorded

and implemented during editing while some will be sounds used during the filming of the scene, and have not used editing to implement them. Furthermore, we will be using already existing copyright free sounds if needed and or cannot be replicated ourselves. These sounds could be things such as a glass smashing or a scream.

Influences from researchThe shining: We found this a influential part of research as it reflected towards the ideas that we had about our story.The purge: The Purge was also a influential part of research as it is about a murderous event that happens and gave us inspiration towards a creepy murder story. In our opening scene it could be quite creative if we use the contrasting non-diegetic sound in the background. This will help achieve the emotions related to the thriller genre and help to create the atmosphere of the film. The contrast will also establish enigma codes such as; what will the story develop into?

Feedback These are some of the examples of feedback that we received after our pitch:Positive- good genre conventions applied to create an atmosphere, good detailed plot line and a clear understanding of how we will keep our target audience intrigued.Areas of development and how we will improve them- • The genre seems to be confused with teen drama or another sub-genre such as super natural

thriller. The solution of this would be using more typical genre conventions of a phycological thriller, for instance, never reveal the murderer and red lighting. 

• Add more detail onto props and how they characterize the character. By using prop list and organize where were getting the props from and the relevance of the props.  For example, using earphones for Alannah's character shows she is isolated from the world.

• Too much like a short film, consider how the film could move on after the opening. We want to leave mystery for the audience, therefore by hinting a developing story line will allow this to happen. 

• Showing the difference between the characters to characterize the stereotype.  

Re do for'Scenario'

OverviewGenre- Psychological thriller

Plot-• Alannah go through a fight with her boyfriend, Alex over a text message.

They argue about how her ex-boyfriend is still messaging her. He gets annoyed and leaves.

• As she's alone and confused in the sudden argument she had, her ex-boyfriend sneaks into the house with out her noticing, and closes the curtains.   

• A blackout would happen giving the idea that Alannah would have been killed.

Themes- Lust, desire, love, paranoia, realism, struggle, contrasted characters, obsession. 

Representations• The main character in our psychological thriller as the killer is represented to be a young

male character at the age of 19, this is reinforcing the negative representation their age.   

• Genre conventions, such as in the film 'Silence of the Lambs' is used where the villains

are male.  

• Reinforcing a negative gender stereotype of males being violent compared to women.   

• Reinforcing relationships between a young male and female couple and stereotypically

showing what they could be like.  

• We are also reinforcing exaggerated revenge by representing violence.

Structure • Shot 1- Split screen: On the left, Alannah getting ready in the mirror with Alex also getting

ready in the background. On the right, Adam getting ready for the murder; packing knives, wearing black. 

• Shot 2- Focus on Adam getting ready, texts Alannah saying "we will be together soon my princess, just you wait". Door bell rings, Alannah get's up and goes down stairs.

• Shot 3- Alex is at the door, Alannah asks why he sent her the text, showing him her phone. Alex noticing he didn't text her that, start arguing, Alex questions her about why her ex-boyfriend is texting her. The shot ends with them outside arguing  as Alex storms off outside and Alannah follows him to catch him. 

• Shot 4- POV shot from Adam perspective of Alex and Alannah arguing outside. Alex leaves, leaving the door open. 

• Shot 5- Adam enters the house through the left open door and walks through sneakily (POV shot, heavy breathing) Shot of Adam standing by the door behind Alannah.

• Shot 6- Cut scenes of Alannah washing up with her headphones in, Adam creeping closer towards Alannah. 

• Shot 7- Adam goes towards the windows, closes the curtains then a blackout. Shown from outside of the house. 

Loaction The filming will take place inside Castlefield house and around the outside of it.Filming inside Castlefield house:◦ Kitchen◦ Lounge◦ Bedroom◦ Next to windowOutside Castlefield house◦ Shots of window◦ Shots of main door◦ Shots of pathway next to Castlefield house

Waring of anyone of filming that could cause alarm or distress of others.

Characters• Alannah- Plays the main victim, her character is a kind, generous person that

has just made a few wrong decesions in her life, but not all things can be her fault, Girlfriend to Alex, Ex-girlfriend to Adam.

• Adam- Plays a mysterious, murderous man, in plans with Alex, playing out the murder of Alannah with no apparent reason, Older than Alannah or Alex, still likes Alannah but maybe a bit to much. Also is the ex-boyfriend of Alannah.

• Alex- Plays a man thought as a kind, emotional and innocent boyfriend to Alannah, but in secret is in plans with Adam for the murder of Alannah, making him a quite mysterious character and not knowing what his true intentions are.

Genre conventions:

The conventions of the thriller genre are used to create a tense atmosphere to enhance the idea of escapism. This is achieved by examples below: • Low key lighting• Fast pace editing• Close up shots• Characters that are very sinister and out of the ordinary• Jump scares

Attracting target audience:Creating realistic moments (reflections) to make the audience relate to what is happening. 

Creating tense moments (dramatic irony) to draw in the audience, to keep them engaged and intreagued.Not revealing everything to the viewers, so there's a continuous uncertainty of what's going to happen.

Mood/atmosphere created:Having dark lighting throughout to create a sense of unease and question.

Having a voice message being played throughout to add question to the viewers and build up specific moments within the opening sequence. 

Distorted angle shots to make the audience feel uncomfortable.

Props and their relevance The props we will use in Scenario will enhance our characters personality traits and in the short period of time let the audience relate to the characters more and understand their background. • Phones- a phone symbolizes a social connection between 2 people. Thus,

when Adam texts Alannah from his phone it represents there relationship as being fake, therefore suggesting a past relationship and no real connection. 

• Alannah's headphones- Portrays isolation from the rest of the world and her surroundings. This makes The character seem vulnerable to the dangers that await her. Suggesting upcoming events of her4 death which aren't actually shown, only hinted.  

Other props we will use to create a homely atmosphere and which will suggests relationships and context of the characters are as followed. • Old pictures of Alannah's family, Picture with Alex• Adams mood wall featuring pictures of him and Alannah 

Sound• Certain sounds will be made loader and clearer to emphasis the

importance of them.  • The sounding is going to be diegetic, meaning that the character will

hear it too.  • Many of the sounds will be sounds that we have recorded

and implemented during editing while some will be sounds used during the filming of the scene, and have not used editing to implement them. Furthermore, we will be using already existing copyright free sounds if needed and or cannot be replicated ourselves. These sounds could be things such as a glass smashing or a scream.

Camerawork• The camerawork will consist of a variety of shot distances and angles. • The use of a tripod will give stable shots and holding the camera as steady as possible for any

moving shots that may take place.• Camerawork must follow the 180 degree rule, and scenes may have to be shot more than

once so that we can acquire camera distances and angles. Always watching out for mistakes and if so re-shooting the scene that the mistake took place within. 

• The camera will be positioned on the rule of thirds, this is where the character/object of interest is positioned within lines that make the character of interest without directly in the middle of the screen.

Influences from researchThe shining: We found this a influential part of research as it reflected towards the ideas that we had about our story.The purge: The Purge was also a influential part of research as it is about a murderous event that happens and gave us inspiration towards a creepy murder story. In our opening scene it could be quite creative if we use the contrasting non-diegetic sound in the background. This will help achieve the emotions related to the thriller genre and help to create the atmosphere of the film. The contrast will also establish enigma codes such as; what will the story develop into?