Assignment 26 – Individual Pitch

By Fazal Mahmood

Horror Subgenre• The horror subgenre I have chosen to base my idea

around of is ghosts and spirits (paranormal). The reason I have chose this is because I find these types of films with the ghosts and spirits subgenre the most interesting and I find that they have a very good storyline with intense and dramatic scenes building up suspense which helps to keep the movie interesting which keeps the audience engaged.

Film Examples

The haunting is about a young family who move into a rural area in a home situated on an old underground railroad who experience terror from ghosts from the past who wont leave them alone. Their young daughter Heidi Also experiences troubling supernatural encounters and a number of spirits inhabiting the house to make their Presence known.

Paranormal incident is when an agent is called for an investigation and he is called to check out an incident when a mysterious woman arouses conflict with the agent and soon they are Confronted by an evil devil.

After a young man's premonition of a deadly race-car crash helps saves the lives of his peers, Death sets out to collect those who evaded their end.

In 1921, England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost.

Paranormal activity Is about a young couple who find themselves terrorised by a ghostly presence after they move in. Student Kate further experiences ghostly occurrences during the night leaving her boyfriend eager to try and capture the terrifying spirits on camera.

Conventions• A convention of a Ghosts/spirit paranormal subgenre is that the

locations are normally in forests or woodland areas and are usually based in an old house. An example would be ‘The Blair Witch Project’.

• Possession usually takes over by a devil or demon in a religious family. Usually evil spirits take over innocent people.

• Ghosts mainly appear at night to scare the audience and create a tense atmosphere.

• Subtle items/objects such as a doll, toys and boxes usually appear.• Slow music is played to build tension and suspense• Intense faster music is played throughout the montage to reveal the

dilemma. • There are many high angle shots to show the setting and to create

the effect that the characters are being watched.

Synopsis of Idea• A group of 3-4 friends will be sitting down playing an unknown board game that know

one has ever heard of that one person suggested in a room with the lights off in an old house

• Loud mysterious noises will occur in the rooms around them and downstairs in the house which will leave the character suspicious as to what's going on

• One of the moves on the board game that a character has displayed will result in an item/object falling on the floor creating a loud bang and leave the character stumbled and scared

• The characters will run outside the room/house in fear of someone being in the house when they see a mysterious white figure in the distance

• The white figure will surge towards them which makes the characters fall over and scream for help!

• They eventually get up and run off into the woods beside the house which causes them to separate in the rush of escaping

• They are then seen to re-join each other but missing one of the characters • The character who was missing is then seen to be haunting them throughout the night• The character that has been possessed is then caught by his friends and brought back

to reality to help fight off the spirits that remain

How am I meeting conventions?

• I have met the conventions by using an old house that is located near a forest to set the scene and the main events that occur which is typical in a ghost/spirit paranormal subgenre.

• There is a twist as possession by the ghost/spirit have taken over one of the innocent characters who then turn on their friends

• Loud mysterious noises have been introduced to help create tension and fear whilst fast paced score music helps to reveal the dilemma and situation they are in.

• The situation takes place at night in their home which displays that they are ordinary innocent people that are being haunted by ghosts.

How will we be original and unique?

• We will be using a house that is easy to film in and to base the events that occur around

• There will be a twist where one of the main characters turns on his friends without knowing as he is possessed but then comes back to reality to help defend off the remaining spirits which is unique as this is not seen in many ghost paranormal movies.

• We will use props and make-up such as fake blood to help with scaring to help make the wounds suffered by the characters realistic.

Narrative EnigmasThe main narrative enigmas will be:• What are the noises that occur?• Where did they come from?• Why are they being haunted by the ghosts/spirits?• What do they want?• Have they done something?• Did the board game have something to do with the object falling on

the floor?• The audience will want to know why has such events by the

ghosts/spirits taken place. They will also be asking what do the spirits want?

Targets• One of main targets we want to achieve is to have excellent camerawork such

as a variety of shots to make the scene effective. Specifically high angle shots to show the surroundings and to make it seem that the friends/characters are being watched.

• We also want to demonstrate excellent editing as fast cuts will help to make the scene more dramatic and intense especially when the friends are running off into the woods and outside the house.

• The location and props is also essential as the scene being filmed in an old house helps to establish that these events happened in the past whilst excellent make-up used to enhance the scaring help to demonstrate the trauma the boys have been through whilst escaping the house and running through the woods.