Daryl Cox. Online Pitch. Synthetic (WT). University College Falmouth.

2. Story
Ren, a human farmer on a
backwater planet, thinks his
fighting days are done…until
an alien horde, the
Slavvers, attacks his home and
takes his family as slaves.
Another race of aliens, the
Platozians, bring Ren aboard
their ship and revive him. The
Platozians take Ren to their
homeworld to interrogate him
about the Slavver attack…
Mass Effect 3: ‘Reapers are Landing’ Wallpaper4me.com

3. There, Ren saves human Cmdr. Kyra
Matsuoka‟s life and in
payment, demands passage to save
his family. The Platozian
scientist, who revived Ren, travels
with them.
Ren, the commander, and the
scientist journey to distant parts of
the galaxy. They meet new friends
and fight old ones, face political
corruption, and work through their
differences to save Ren‟s family and
the galaxy as they know it.
Story
Dead Space 3 Gamesradar.com
Space War Game Scene Hdwallpapers.in

4. Genre
Sci-Fi ThrillerAction-Adventure
Imdb.com Imdb.comImdb.com
Synthetic‟s genre is soft science fiction. Its narrative concentrates on
character, psychology, and sociology. The focus on the humanities accommodates
viewers who might otherwise be alienated by technological jargon and scientific
theories.
The story includes elements from space westerns and military sci-fi, such as Joss
Whedon‟s Serenity (2005) and Paul Verhoeven‟s Starship Troopers (1997). I have also
included aspects from action-adventures and thrillers. The intention here was to
attract a larger audience base, because the former “make[s] the big headlines with
the record-breaking ticket sales” (Deane).

5. Audience
Research suggests that science fiction films cater for
the “tastes of middle class consumers whose
passion for gadgets is inexhaustible” (Ebert 92).
Synthetic, then, will use gadgetry and social values
to meet its audience‟s interests.
Also, 18-29 year old males appear to be the main
sci-fi film consumers. The latest title in the Star
Trek franchise has received almost 22,000 IMDb
user votes from 18-29 year olds. Males account for
around 18,000 votes, while female numbers are just
over a fifth of that figure. Consequently, I would
expect Synthetic to experience similar gender
results.
However, my project includes strong female
characters, like Gary Ross‟s The Hunger Games
(2012), which should attract a larger female
audience. Though more males in the 18-29 age
range voted on Ross‟s film, there were more female
voters under the age of 18 than males.
Furthermore, female voters both under and over 18
rated it higher than male voters. As a result, strong
female characters should add another dimension to
Synthetic‟s audience.
*Polls extracted from IMDb on 18.05.2013
Star Trek: Into Darkness IMDb User Rating*
The Hunger Games IMDb User Rating*

6. My research for Synthetic has included looking at
other sci-fi films, audience values and
expectations, character appearance, production
costs, and trending topics in the sci-fi, action-
adventure and thriller genres.
Surgery lasers from Logan’s Run (1976), memory
manipulators from Total Recall (1990), and firearms
from Aliens (1986) have inspired my story‟s warfare
and medical instruments.
Research
Aaron Sims
Aaron-sims.com
Adam Fisher
Tsumea.com
Tiger1313
Tiger1313.deviantart.com
Amadarien
Amadarien.deviantart.com
Research into technology has lent me some ideas from
other sci-fi franchises. For example, there are shields
and matter-transporters from Stargate (1994).
Prometheus Stasisgame.com

7. Competitors
Imdb.com
The film most in contention with Synthetic is J.J. Abrams‟ Star
Trek: Into Darkness (2013), because it includes similar subject
matter. It explores deep-space adventure, alien incursion, and
human interest themes.
In the coming months, Synthetic‟s competitors will change.
Ender’s Game‟s (2013) military sci-fi and human focus make
it a close match to my story. Similarly, Neill Blomkamp‟s
Elysium (2013) also deals with sociological discrimination in
a science fiction setting.
What sets Synthetic apart is how its small group of complex characters react
to profound events. At times the audience may hate the protagonists and like
the antagonists. Synthetic‟s mixture of setting and technology creates a sense
of familiarity and originality.

8. Conclusion
My experience of the sci-fi genre
allows me to express how
Synthetic should feel. I believe a
mixture of science fiction
influences will create something
new and exciting, but also
familiar. I know the characters,
their desires and their universe.
Synthetic will broaden the worlds
that other sci-fi works have only
just begun to reveal.
Mass Effect 3 Warmatrix.com
Boxofficemojo.com illustrates
that sci-fi titles make up five of
the top 10 highest grossing films
ever in the International Box
Office. They also make up eight
of the top 10 in the US Box
Office. Action-adventures form
the majority of the remaining
top 10. Consequently, Synthetic
has the potential to succeed as a
science fiction-action-adventure-
thriller.

9. Works Cited
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Ebert, Teresa L. „The Convergence of Postmodern Innovative Fiction and Science Fiction‟. Poetics Today 1.4
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