GROUP Foundation Pitch

Response

Compliments

-People explained how they liked the variation and ambition of shots we plan to use to meet criteria for technical excellence.

-Many people also agreed that our storyline/plot was original.

-Relating to our Wilderness Woods filming, people asked whether we would be replicating or interpreting some of our best shots in this film, as it is also situated in a forest.

-Once the treatment was explained in relation to the music soundtrack, people seemed to like the idea.

Questions/targets

-Some people did question our decision on why we did not choose the favoured title our audience questionnaire concluded upon. On reflection, we will need to explain in-depth as to why we chose a different one.

-On the topic of the title, some people also theorised that the audience - or at least some of them - would maybe not understand our title, 'Psychedelic'.

-Practically, our location could be busy, as a number of our audience picked up on.

-Despite the fact our Wilderness Woods shots were praised so highly, people questioned whether we thought we would be able to match or improve upon their quality.

-In terms of the advice our audience provided, people suggested we should research into after effects before we start shooting so we know what to expect when editing.

-Also, people suggested other props we could use instead of a tennis ball. This was because some people thought that perhaps the tennis ball would be out of place in a paranormal horror opening sequence, and that we could try to introduce something with higher iconography.

DH and TH

GROUP Audience Questionnaire Findings and Results

Our questionnaire was distributed to 8 people, 3 girls and 5 boys. We did this to assess a representative sample for the sub-genre of our film - paranormal horror - and received these results:

We received a 100% 'yes' response rate in this question, and are very pleased that the audience supports our initial idea for our setting.

This one was more evenly distributed in responses, but the likelihood is that Dan's character would be established withing the two minutes we have allocated a lot better as a 'local ghost buster'.

Three options were selected in this question, so Dan and myself will have to reach a decision on which would be most suitable to our plot.

As we hoped from this question, people put forward the idea that the entity should be shown only once or twice. We like this idea as it will build suspense for the remainder of the film, were we to shoot it.

The soundtrack is one of the most vital parts of our sequence, and Dan and I were at a loss to conclude on one track, so let the audience decide out of these five.

These results actually went against what we had envisaged originally.

The title of the film will be in a font that appears abnormal, as to reflect the nature of our film.

The symbolic mark for our sequence is still disputed between, meaning this question was provided just to give us a slight inclining as to what the audience would expect.

We were pleased with the results of our questionnaire, as it appears to have answered most of the uncertainties we had at the start of planning.

TH DH

TH Audience Questionnaire

TH

DH `American Psycho` analysis

`American Psycho` (2000) was directed by Mary Harron and stars Christian Bale, who plays a businessman called Patrick Bateman who leads a secret life as a serial killer. The film is a Psychological black comedy gaining very positive reviews and making $34mill at the box office.

Production

-The film was based on a book of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis.
-The film was distributed by Lionsgate after its showing as Sundance film festival.
-The movie had a budget of $7mill but were originally prepared to pay Leonardo DiCaprio $20mill for his appearance but he pulled out because of the negative affect a violent film might have on his mainly young girl fan base.

Influences of the book

-The book the film is based on had a massive influence on the style, in order to get Bateman's thoughts across much non-diegetic narration was used in the main character's voice.
-Each chapter of the book is devoted to one of Bateman's favourite artists, for this reason the soundtrack to the film was very important featuring music from Huey Lewis and The News, Genesis and many others.

Distribution

-As promotion, you could register to receive e-mails "from" Patrick Bateman, supposedly to his therapist The e-mails, written by a writer attached to the film and approved by the book's author Bret Easton Ellis, follow Bateman's life since the events of the film.
-Lionsgate also spent $50,000 on an online stock market game called `Make a Killing with American Psycho`
-The film was given an NC-17 rating so 18 minutes of footage was cut to make it R-rated.
-The soundtrack to the film was released as a CD separately.

This is one of the most famous parts of the film, where the main character murders a man while listening to the song `It's Hip To Be Square`. The positive music and gory effects combine unsettlingly and add an aspect of comedy.

DH

TH Technical Analysis - 'The Vampire Diaries'- Pilot, 2009

Duration	Camera Shot	Mise-en-scene	Sound
13 seconds	Long shot, tracking shot, wide frame.	Fog, trees, forest, iconography of horror on a set location.	Narration, ambience up to a crescendo.
2 seconds	Black screen.	None.	Music; up-beat.
3 seconds	Long shot, high angle, static camera movement.	Car enters top left of shot and exits bottom right, night time.	Music; up-beat, diegetic car noise.
4 seconds	Panning shot at eye level.	Car in foreground driving quite fast.	Music; up-beat, diegetic car noise, sound bridge- dialogue.
5 seconds	Mid shot, two shot, low angle; 45 degrees.	Two figures in shot, shallow focus.	Conversation, diegetic background noise.
2 seconds	Shot reverse shot.	Shallow focus on other person.	Conversation, diegetic.
5 seconds	Shot reverse shot (same as two shots back).	Two figures in shot, shallow focus.	Conversation, diegetic.
2 seconds	Big close up.	Male’s face to show his comment and role in the narrative.	Voice, diegetic.
3 seconds	Long shot, low angle.	Car in distance, fog and forest and road.	Car noise, music; extra-diegetic.
3 seconds	Medium close up.	Two characters in car.	Conversation, diegetic.
1 second	Close up.	Girl screams, viewed from side of her face.	Scream of girl and music in background.
1 second	POV shot from car dashboard to figure in the road.	Figure in centre of the road; centre of shot for focal point.	Tyre screeches.
1 second	Close up of face of man.	Side of man’s face, as he reacts to the figure in the road.	Tyre screeches- extra diegetic.
1 second	POV shot back to car now, same as two shots back.	Figure in road as car hits person and windscreen shatters.	Tyre screeches and figure hitting the glass.
2 seconds	Long shot of the car again from the side, camera in forest.	Figure flying over the car after being hit.	More tyre screeches.
2 seconds	Long shot of car from the front this time, static shot from low angle.	Car in foreground and centre of shot as it loses control after being hit.	Tyre screeches, music has ceased.
2 seconds	Shot reverse shot; same as before but from behind the car to give a different perspective on the situation.	Car in foreground and centre of shot as it loses control after being hit.	Tyre screeches, music has ceased.
6 seconds	Vertical pan down from above the car down to below the eye level of the man.	Shot showing everything from figure lying on floor to car and below man to show his power in what’s just happened.	No sound other than background ambience to build tension.
10 seconds	Panning backwards away from man as he walks towards the lying figure, low angle, long shot.	Man as focal point with car in the first third in background. Figure and man centred exactly in shot and road.	Ambience and man hopes the figure is still alive under his breath; severity of situation.
1 second	Close up.	Man’s hand identify’s figure’s hand and a ring is in focus.	Ambience.
1 second	Medium close up.	Man’s face is only thing in shot, as he looks afraid.	Heavy breathing and ambience.
1 second	Medium close up, over-the-shoulder shot.	Composition consists of man over the figure, but figure suddenly grips the man’s throat.	Sudden sound effects of gripping.
1 second	Figure is at medium-long shot with man as they are both centred in shot.	Figure jumps up with hand on the man’s throat as he gets up at abnormally quick speed.	More SFX as he swooshes upwards.
1 second	Big close up.	Figure’s face is shown for the first time, little of it, but his teeth are vampire-like  as he bites into man’s neck.	Crunching noise, diegetic.
2 seconds	Cut to black screen.	None.	None.
2 seconds	Static shot of woman, long shot.	Point of view behind woman as she looks down road; perspective.	Ambience returns.
1 second	Shot reverse shot.	Same as above but man’s body falls onto car bonnet behind woman.	Smash of body falling onto bonnet of car; diegetic.
2 seconds	Close up.	Gore shot of man’s neck as it has been bitten into and he is clearly dead.	Extra-diegetic scream from woman.
2 seconds	Medium close up.	Woman shown screaming from behind the profile of dead man.	Diegetic scream from woman.
1 second	Tracking shot, low angle.	Shot following the running footsteps of woman down the road.	Ambience crescendos to music as it intensifies and running sound.
2 seconds	Long shot, tracking shot at high pace, POV shot?	Shot from behind woman as she runs down road, getting closer the further she goes.	Heavy breathing and faster paced music.
4 seconds	Shot reverse shot tracking slower, fade to black.	Woman is closer to camera, centred as she is seemingly taken by an invisible entity.	Music crescendos and screams fade out.

Storyboard:(More below...)

DH Technical analysis - `The Conjuring` 2013

Duration (sec)	Camera distance, angle and movement	Mise-en-scene	Sound
7	Blackout	Blackout	Dialogue (people talking to paranormal investigators), transition click (like switch)
20	Close-up of side of doll’s face, slowly zooms out	Creepy old doll with cracks and faded colour	dialogue
5	Still, mid-shot, front of three people on a sofa	Date and name of event title, old fashioned clothes	dialogue
3	Side view of the people, close-up,  moves slightly around	Nervous and distressed expressions and body language	Dialogue, creepy ambience begins
25	Front view again, zoom away to give over shoulder shot	Serious expressions of investigators revealed	Dialogue, ambience
2	Close-up, side of faces of the group of three		As above
2	Doll in centre, people with hands and legs in shot, zoom on doll	Doll on seat, people sitting either side	As above but with louder music
2	Close-up again		As above
8	Mid-shot as people enter, pan down as paper is picked up	Door of apartment opens and light spills in	Ambience starts afresh, faint dialogue from behind door which dies as they look down
2	Still of hand with note	Note in childlike handwriting in red saying “miss me?”	ambience
4	Back to frontal shot of people in doorway	In front is darkness behind is bright people look past camera	Ambience, bass thump at transition
2	Slight movement, overshoulder	Very dark, doll lying in corridor	Creepy ambience
6	Frontal tracking shot as women move forwards		As above
4	POV shot as women move towards doll	Doll lying in shadow	Previous conversation continues as narration, music gets more intense
3	Frontal tracking, low-shot		As above
2	Mid-shot of doll, handicam	Doll has white dress with blood red highlights	As above
2	Close-up of dolls arm and hand	Hand contains broken red crayon like the note	As above
5	Medium close up of woman turning into room	Scared expression, flickering lights, red crayon on walls	Just music
3	Woman opens door, MCU	Room is trashed, red scrawls everywhere, lamp flickering	As above
3	Mid-shot as woman walks into room, zoom out	Red crayon on walls just in shot, flickering light	As above
2	Pan across room	Room is trashed, red scrawls everywhere, flickering light	As above
2	Pan again, close-up	Shows damage, flickering light	As above with sharp piano noise
1	Close-up of pictures	Pictures are scratched or smashed, flickering light	As above
1	As above	As above	As above
1	As above	As above	As above
3	MCU, pan around women	Women survey damage, one looks up, flickering light	Scary music
3	Pan up to writing	“Miss me?” written on ceiling, flickering light	As above
2	MCU, slight movement	Backs of characters as they reach for each other, flickering light	As above
2	Closer shot of writing	Writing again	As above
2	MCU, two-shot, tilts up while moving down	The two women, destruction in background, eyes widen as they look down	As above but fades, rattle as something rolls along floor out of shot
5	Still as crayon moves, then zoom on it	Crayon rolls into shot from top left	Breathy ambience
5	MLS of corridor, zoom tracking as women leave apartment	Woman picks up doll an moves to door, turns corner, other woman runs after	Other woman calls out to wait, music
7	MLS, bird’s eye view, zoom in	Woman with doll runs to a dumpster outside, throws doll and note inside, slams lid	Music, slam of dumpster lid
4	Blackout on slam		Music fades out

Analysis (More below...)