Pitch with feedback

1. The Pitch -
Hitlist
Group 5E
Stephanie McGrath, Jerome Oliver, Chloe Hickson &Tia Finch

2. Overview
Our film is about a young serial killer who goes around the world with a list of names
of people he plans to kill, after every murder he crosses the name off in his book. He
also leaves a clue at every crime scene.There is a team of forensic scientists that are
looking for the murderer to try and stop him from killing more people.The team
visit every crime scene and try to figure out who the murderer is.

3. Overview
Genre
The genre that we have chosen for our film is a thriller.
We are going to include forensic elements, thus creating a forensic subgenre. We have chosen this
subgenre as we feel that programs such as CSI: Miami and films such as the Bourne Identity series are very
enjoyable and entertaining to watch.This subgenre is also a great base to build character identities.
Plot Sequence
• Black screen with a diagetic sound of a scream
• Audience sees a flash image of the victim dead on the floor
• Film cuts to when the forensic team are covering up the dead body and looking for clues
• One of the people in the team goes outside to take a phone call when she spots a suspicious man in
black watching the scene then running away
• The detective runs after the man but fails to catch him
• Instead she sees a black book that was dropped on the floor which has lots of names of people in where
some have been crossed off, suggesting to the investigators that it is a hitlist.

4. Overview - 2
Themes
• The importance of science
• Police work
• Law and order
• Death
• Reality
• Identity

5. Locations
The crime scene will take place in the living room of Castlefield House, as it will be
a believable location for a murder to take place.We are going to be filming the exterior of
the house to begin with, before going inside for the murder.
Crime scenes often occur around these types of locations in
popularTV shows and films.

6. Structure
Act One ActTwo ActThree
Crime scene
• Forensic team get to the
crime scene and
analyse the scene to find
conclusions about the
murder
• Murderer is spotted in
the distance
Chase scene
• A short chase scene
between murderer and
forensic scientist where
the murderer gets away
but accidentally drops a
mysterious book with
several names of people
in
Murder scene
• A diagetic scream is
heard while there is a
black screen then the
next shot shows a dead
body lying on the floor.

7. Each of us has a different role in the film opening.
Tia will be the victim that gets murdered at the start of the film opening by
Jerome who will be the murderer. Steph and Chloe are both going to be the
detectives who are going to investigate the murder scene.
We will make sure that everyone is dressed accordingly to their role so the audience
will be able to identify who is who.
In the beginning of the film opening the audience wont know much about the
characters, however as the opening progresses the audience will notice that the
victim is very cautious of what goes on around her but has a positive attitude. The
murderer however isn't shown much but by what they will be able to tell is that he is
very suspicious and careful with what he does. As for the detectives they are very
positive and are determined to find the killer.
Representation: Character

8. How? Camerawork
As the film is a forensic thriller, the camerawork will have to be suitable for the genre.
Forensic thrillers often involve panning shots where investigations are shortened into quick
events where the investigators find clues from the crime scene.
This style of filming and editing cuts out the unimportant or boring sections of the
investigation, allowing the story to continue without any interruptions.
Point of view shots will be used be used to show what the murderer sees at the crime scene
without actually showing the murderer himself.An establishing, extreme long shot will be
used at the beginning to show the setting.We will also use lots of close ups of props during
the crime scene to create the mise en scene.

9. How? Mise En Scene?
The mise en scene within the crime scene will be:
Setting:
• Castle field house
• Living room
Props:
• Sofa
• Sitting chair
• Coffee table
• Magazines
• Clock
• Two coasters
The props suggest what type of personality the victim had, for example the coasters and extra sitting
chair suggests that she's friendly and likes to have friends over.The setting needs to look realistic and as if
someone has been living there.The setting describes the character and the type of lifestyle they live which will
give the audience a good understanding of what type of person she is.
Lighting: In the crime scene it will be high key lighting to create realism.
Costume/Makeup
• Forensic suit
• Casual makeup tells us that the film is set nowadays not in the past or future
• Smart attire for the detectives connotes they are professional
• Casual clothing for the victim
• Killer has black clothing, it shadows him and hides his identity. It connotes death, which is a theme in our
film
The lighting, sound, facial expressions and body language
and the mise en scene all together creates a tense atmosphere,
as there's a body lying still on the floor, and everyone in the
room naturally feels uncomfortable and on edge.
The science department has given us a variety of props
such as:Tweezers, forensic suit, fingerprint dust
and gloves.
Murder weapon: Knife

10. • In terms of sound, we will have both diagetic and non-diagetic sound. We
will have dramatic mood music, sound of footsteps and screaming.
• Diagetic sound is sound that has originated from source within the film's
world, it can be either on screen or off screen depending on whether its
source is within the frame or outside the frame.
• Non-diagetic sound is when the source of the sound is neither visible on
the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action: narrator's
commentary. This can include sound effects which is added for the
dramatic effect or mood music.
Sound

11. • The research we have done has helped us decide how we are going to layout the murder scene as well as how we are going to
draw the audiences attention to the film to make them want to continue watching.
• The research has also influenced our decisions on the theme of our film opening which is forensic thriller.
• Doing research has helped us with out time period and how long we have to make the film opening as well as how long it has to
be .
• One form of research we did was watch previous students work on film openings to get an idea of what to include in ours.This
helped us as it gave us a clear understanding as to how to make it look like a film opening and not a short film.
• Watching other films gave us a different ideas on what we could possibly include in out film opening.Other films we watched were
"CSI" and "The Bourne Ultimatum".These films helped us with sound and camerawork. We got ideas on how we could film the
different scenes with different camera angles to give it a realistic look.They helped us with sound as they gave us ideas on what
sound effects go best with different scenes and how it creates dramatic tension.
• In addition to this we also used the series Prison Break for our forensic team idea because they have a team of people like the
secret service who try to catch the escapees, we used this idea in our film.
• Our research also helped us with deciding on props for the film opening.We need to make sure that the setting looks as if it is
someone's house and give it a sense of realism.
• We don’t want to make our opening look like a short film which is why past students work helped us as they show the key bits you
may need to make it an opening and not a short film.
Influences from Research

12. • Post production is work done on a film after recording has taken place.
• We will have to think about what special effects we will want In the film
opening.
• We might need to have a voice over or background sound that we will have
to put in during editing the film opening.
• Other key factors we will have to think of may include:
• Editing, sound, lighting, etc.
Post Production

13. Positives:
• Unique genre
• Good ideas
• Good props
• A lot of thought into mise en scene
• In-depth thoughts of particular camera angles and shots
What to do:
• Time management: Make sure that we use out time wisely and we do not unnecessarily elongate
the film.
• Not a short film: Make sure that it looks like a opening sequence rather than a short film.
• More detail on the plot as well as props: Add in the science department props
• Cant give too much away: Don’t show too much of the film to make the audience not want to
watch as they know a lot about what happens and don’t see a point.
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