Individual Presentation

1. Assignment 26:
Individual Pitch
By Abdullah Khan

2. Horror/Slasher

3. Films within the sub-genre include:
• Halloween
• Cape Fear
• Psycho
• Scream
• Maniac
• A Nightmare On Elm Street
• Hatchet

4. Conventions of the slasher sub-genre:
• The antagonist is usually psychotic and is both equipped with a physical weapon and mask.
• The lighting in the film is usually quite low key to reinforce tension and enigma.
• The antagonist is usually represented without weaknesses adding to the initial fear.
• The protagonists are usually a young and are represented as vulnerable when juxtaposed with the
feared antagonist within the film.
• There are often many sequels to slasher films, with the return of the antagonist however the
quality of each progressing film usually decreases as well.
• The killer has usually suffered both psychologically and physically in the past, resulting in his
current psychotic state.
• The killer is usually masked and presented as sexually ambiguous however typically the audience
assume that the person is male.
• The locations and setting are usually a creepy houses, summer camps, streets, high schools,
colleges and even neighbourhoods in general.

5. What will happen in our film:
• A young male in a typical middle class neighbourhood in modern England is stalked by an unknown antagonist during his
stressful exam week.
• The film will open with an establishing shot of the neighbourhood to illustrate the location and setting. This will then continue
to a medium shot of the male protagonist (assumed) as he plans his notes, being clearly frustrated as his facial expressions will
suggest.
• He will look out of his window and a pan shot will lead to the audience as well as the character seeing an unclear figure staring
at him this being the first sighting of the psychotic antagonist.
• The character the next morning will be walking however while doing so he will come across this unclear figure again, rubbing
his eyes and then there being no such person visible as a result then he will be in a state of fear and paranoia, returning home.
• A weapon will be visible in a later sighting (3rd) to signify a physical threat and make the character very vulnerable.
• Others will not be able to help him as they do no believe him, having investigated themselves they conclude that he is suffering
psychologically from the stress of exams however still having a benevolent and therapeutic approach towards him as they
sympathise with his situation.
• The character begins to question his own sanity as he starts to believe that he may be seeing things, compromising with the
views of the people around him, only to find out that he was right.
• The sequence will end with the protagonist having a phone conversation with one of his friends who suddenly stops talking,
instead screaming for help. He then tells him he was only joking all along, the irritated protagonist ends the call, leaves his
house in anger (this offers him temporary courage). He attempts to lock the door only to be pushed back in side, strangled and
stabbed 3 times by the antagonist.
• The sound will be quite calm initially to suggest a typical day however once the sightings begin there will be a dramatic and un-
steady score to create tension, emphasise on the antagonist’s presence and signify danger.
• The character will be exposed, being both psychologically and physically vulnerable as others will not be able to help him.

6. How we are meeting our conventions:
• The antagonist will be equipped with both a weapon and a mask to reinforce the convention.
• The protagonist will be a young and vulnerable individual, a typical convention of the genre.
• There will be an element of low key lighting to recreate a sense of mystery.
• The film will attempt at being will very enigmatic and engaging for audiences.
• The setting will be in streets and a typical house in a quite neighbourhood.
• The antagonist will be represented without weaknesses, helping to recreate fear.
• The antagonist will be suffering psychologically as a result of past experiences however as a
result of the short run time audiences will not be given an insight in to the back story.
• Someone will die during the sequence, a typical reinforcement within the sub-genre (in this
case off screen)

7. Narrative Enigmas within our film include:
• The fact that the protagonist is stalked by an unknown antagonist creates enigmas as audiences want to
know more about the back story of the character.
• The audience of the film will wonder if this antagonist is within the mind of the character as an illusion
or actually a physical psychotic threat that is clever enough not be seen by anyone other than his
assumed victim.
• Audiences will wonder if the character is suffering as a result of sheer stress or as he assumes, there
being an actual psychotic threat.
• The audience will want to know the goal of the antagonist as it is only presented with a weapon
towards the later sightings, initially leaving audiences questioning its sheer motive.
• During the 2nd sighting, the protagonist character will see the antagonist then rub their eyes only to
find no one, further creating enigmas as viewers will start to think that the protagonist may actually be
suffering psychologically rather than physically (this would help to engage viewers).

8. To make our film original and less cliché we:
• Our character (the protagonist) is both vulnerable physically as well as psychologically because the
threat is prevalent for the character in both perspectives.
• Weapons will not be the main ignitor of fear but rather the situation of the protagonist as he is stalked
by an antagonist with an unknown motive and others around him do not compromise.
• The film ‘Halloween’ has a similar approach with Michael Myers being the psychotic stalking antagonist
however in terms of context it contrasts as our film is set during exam week and focuses on the sheer
stress experienced by the students/characters of the film rather than a typical day of college or summer
camp where a group of friends come across a physical threat e.g. ‘Scream’ or ‘cabin in the woods’.
• We are having a male protagonist rather than a female one which is the typical approach within the
slasher sub-genre.

9. Our main targets in terms of having effective Camerawork, Costume,
Props, Location, editing and sound include:
• We wish to have all types of camera shots in order to surprise the audience and give the film a clever
look rather than a disposable, typical viewing.
• The costume for the antagonist will need to be original, having a black outfit with a white mask is
however suited to the idea as the contrast in color would help the antagonist stand out.
• The editing will need to have a combination of frequent cuts to help engage the viewer, reaction
shots of the protagonist and screen time manipulation of the antagonist as the three elements will
combine to form an effective film, therefore will be prioritized.
• Props will need to be realistic as during the 3rd sighting the knife as well as the blood on the knife will
only be effective this way.
• The initial sound will need to establish a calm tone as it will need to contrast with the dramatic and
unsettling score once the antagonist is presented.

10. Inspirational clips from films:
• Halloween: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXrhObXq42o
• Enemy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBnNs9K__kE