Pitch.

1. MediaPitch
TaraandClaire

2. Synopsis
TheclipwillstartoutwithLola(theprotagonist)gettingreadyforschool.She’llbeanarchetypalteenager
andwe’llgetanintroductiontoherasacharacterandherpersonality-throughtheconnotationsofher
roomandhercostume.We’llthenseeKatiegettingready,frantically.We’llgetaninsightintoher
problemswhichincludeorganisingheryoungerbrotherandbattlingwithhergirlfriend.Next,heryounger
brotherJackwillbeintroducedas‘thefunnyone’he’llbecharismaticandchilledout: un-phasedbyhis
sister’sdramaticmorningroutine.He’llbethearchetypal‘lad’.Afterthat,Susan(‘thegeekyone’)is
introducedandisthestereotypicalsensibleandmildteenthatisfullyinvestedinherwork.Although,she
lovesplayingsportandisakeenfootballerandbasketballer-sheoftencompetesagainstalltheboys.
Susan’sinarelationshipwithKatieandthey’realwaysarguing.ThelastcharacterwemeetisEthan:he’s
alwaysintroublewiththepoliceandinschooltoo-hisheartsintherightplacethough.Thischaracterhas
struggleswithhisdadlettinghimbeateenagersoreliesonhisfriends’support.Moreover,thesequence
progressestotheparkwhereallthefriendsaretogether-allowingustoseetheimportanceoffriendship.
Finally,there’sablurbetweenthepositivefriendshipscenesandthemelancholydarkroom:wherethefriends
arebeingheldhostage-shownasamontagethroughout.

3. Explainhoweffectiveouropeningwillbein
communicatinggenre
It’llbeclearfromourcharactersthatthisisateenfilmduetotheirageandappearance.
Othericonographylikephoneswillconnotethestereotypicalteenagebehaviour.
Thesettingwillbeextremelyconventionalwitheverydaysettingslikehomes-
communicatingthestereotypeofrealism.
We’veconsideredoursoundtracktoo-anddecidedon‘TheMiddle’byJimmyEatWorldas
it’supbeatsowillcommunicatetheequilibriumofthemajorityofouropening.Plus,the
soundtrackwillbecontrapuntalwiththekidnapscene:heighteningtheenigma.
Inteendramaopeningswe’velookedat,there’stheconventionoftheprotagonist
introducingtheirlifeandfriends:sowe’llcommunicatethisintheopeningsequenceby
havingLola(theprotagonist)asthefirstcharacterwithavoiceovernarratingus
throughhowdifferentthefriendsare.

4. Explainhoweffectiveouropeningwillbeincreating
enigma
Themainenigmawillbecreatedthroughthemontageofthekidnapscene-thiswillconfuseour
audiencewiththestarkcontrastbetweenthepeacefulfriendssceneandtheenigmatichostagescene.
Anothersenseofenigmawillbecreatedthroughthesettingupofotherteenproblemslikerelationship
conflictandparentarguments.Thisisnotonlyrelatablebutengagingfortheaudiencetoseehow
theseproblemspanoutforthecharacters.
Ourteendramagenredoesn’talwayshaveaconventionalsenseofenigmaasthemajorityofthe
openingsremainatanequilibrium.Forinstance,inPerksofbeingawallflower(2010)itmaybe
arguedthatthereisn’tevenanevidentnarrative-simplyanintroductiontothecharacters.
Thethrillergenreoftenhasamoreconventionalenigma.Butformorehybridtextslikeours,for
exampleTrust(2010)there’sstillanequilibrium-highkeylightingandcalmbodylanguageweakens
thetraditionalenigmainthisopening.We’vealsoanalysedSeven(1995)asit’sathriller/dramato
seehowtheconventionalhybridwouldform.Eventhoughitisn’tateenfilm:thisopeningisvery
enigmaticintermsofsoundandiconography.

5. Explainhoweffectiveouropeningisinintroducingkey
characters
Lola(theprotagonist)willbequicklyintroducedaswewanttoenhancetheenigmathroughaslight
senseofherbeinganonymous-themainfocusbeingonherfriends.JustlikeAngus,thongsand
perfectsnogging(2008)thecharacterwilltalkusthroughherlifeandfriends.Elementsofthe
introductionwillmirrorthatofJuno(2007)withJuno’supbeatwalkthroughherlife.
Katie(thefeminineone)willbeintroducedinaconventionalwayaswegetaninsightintoher
characterthroughtheconnotationsoficonographyinherroome.g.thepinkwallpaper.We’llseeher
rushingforschool:enhancingtherelatableconvention.
Jack(thelad)isintroducedeffectivelybecauseweseehissiblingdisputes.InStandByme(1986)akey
elementisallthedifferentfriendshavinguniquetraits-sothisintroductionhighlightswhat
makesJackunique.
Susan(thegeekyone)introductionwillreinforcetheconventionof‘comingofage’asshe
strugglestobalancehersportysidewithherintellect.
Kyle(thedeviantone)willhaveaneffectiveintroductionaswegainaninsightintohisparent
problems-reinforcingtherelatableconvention.

6. Explainhowouropeningwillbeeffectiveinsettingup
theplot
Theplotwillform,whenthemontageofthrillershotsareshown,as
theaudiencewillgetasenseoftheturmoilthatisforeshadowedin
theopening.Shotsofcharacterstiedupwillquicklycutontothe
screen,hopefullymakingtheaudiencefeelslightlydisorientated,so
thattheycangetinsidethemindsofthecharacters,realisingthat
everythingisnotasitseems.Whenthecharactersareintroduced,we
findoutwhotheprotagonistisandwhoarethemaincharactersare,
whichshowsthetypeofplotlinesthatmightoccurbetweenthem.

7. Explainhowouropeningwillbeeffectiveincreatingthe
rightmoodandtone
Themoodofouropeningwillfluctuateaccordingtowhenthethrillerscenesareshownandwhenthe
openingfinishes,leavingtheaudiencegripped,wantingtowatchtilltheendofthefilm. Thediegetic
soundtrackatthestartoftheopeningwillreflectacheerymood,relatingtoatypicalteen‘comingof
age’movie.Thismusicwillcoincidewiththebubblybodymovementfromthecharactersthatwesee.Our
inspirationforthisideacamefromourresearchofthemovies,‘PerksofBeingaWallflower’and
‘juno’,astheybothuseanindiediegeticsoundtracktosustaintheopeningastheopeningtitlesare
beingshown.Thiscreatesamellowmood,sonottoshocktheaudiencestraightaway,reflectingthe
featuresofateendramaandnotathriller.Thiscouldalsobeeffectiveinouropening,aswecanusethe
soundtrackatthebeginningtosetahappymood,whichwewillthendistort,byaddingthecutstothe
thrillerscenes.Themoodinouropening,willworkreallywellwiththecharacter’sfacialexpressions,
aswhentheirexpressionschange,theaudiencewillknowthattheyaren’tashappyasbefore,thus
foreshadowingthefluctuationsinmoodthroughoutthefilm.

8. Explainhowouropeningwillbeeffectiveinsettingupthepace
andrhythm
Thepacewillstartslow,duetothefactthatwewillhavenodiegetic
soundtrackovertheopening.ThesoundtrackwillstartwhenNiamh’s
character‘Lola’putsonherheadphones,whichwilllookasthoughthe
audiencecanheareverythingthatshecanhearaswell,makingit
soundtrackdiegetic.Thisiseffectiveasitaddsasustainedpacetothe
openingandmakestheaudiencethinkthattherewillnomorechangesinthe
soundtrackpaceorpaceofthecharacter.
Thepacewillbechangedwhenthethrillershotsareshown.Thiswillbringthe
audience’sattentionawayfromthecharactershappinessandintotheirdark
reality.Sincethishappensintheblinkofaneye,theaudiencewon’tknow
whattoexpect,distortingthepace.

9. Howconventionalisouropening?
Characters:ourarchetypalcharactersareextremelyconvergentaswithStandByMe(1986)
forexamplehasagroupofverydifferentfriends.Eachcharacterhasarolecontributing
tothegroupwithvaryingcharacteristics.
Setting:stocksettingslikehomes,streetsandparkswillbeusedtoconveygenre,inJuno
(2007)forinstance:theentireopeningissetonastreet.
Themesandnarrative:thekeyobjectiveistomakearelatableyetenigmaticsequenceso
ournarrativemostlyremainsatanequilibriumwithsnippetsofthedisruptioni.e.the
kidnap.
Pace/mood:onthewhole,thesequencewillhaveapacethatmirrorsourcharacter’s
feelings-reinforcingtheaudienceconnection.Forexample,morequickcutsandfaster
cameramovementswillbeusedinKatie’sscenetoreflecthowmuchofa‘dramaqueen’
sheis.

10. Howwellwillyouappealtoyourtargetaudience?
Throughourvariouscharacters,dialoguecontextandsetting,ouropeningshouldreflectour
chosengenrequitewell,sinceourdistributorisNickelodeon(anAmericanTelevisionand
filminstitution),who’sdemographicischildrentoadolescents,ages8-17.Thisshowsthatwe
wanttoreachalargeteenaudience,butalsoenticetheslightlyolderteensaswell.
Ourdramaisahybrid,whichlinks,boththeteengenreandthethrillergenretogether,
addingthatlittlebitofmaturitytothecontentweareaimingtoshow.Inouropening,
therewillbequickcutstoscenesofthethrillergenreandlikewiseteendrama,givingboth
ourolderandouryoungerteenaudiences,atasteofcontentthattheywillenjoy.
Throughourresearchonourtargetdemographic,ourquestionnaireresultsandourfocus
groups,wehavefoundthatmanyteensenjoyspendingtimewiththeirfriendsandusing
varioustypesofmoderntechnology.Wewillappealtoourtargetaudiencebyincorporating
differenttypesoftechnologyintoouropening,whetherwefilmusingamobilephoneetc.
andrelaythestrongthemeoffriendshipthroughout.

11. CHARACTERMOODBOARDS

12. Characterrepresentations
Katie
• Lovesto usetechnology
• Enjoyshangingout withherfriends
• Watchesteentvdramas,like‘Friends’and‘VampireDiaries’
• SocialMediaisherlife
• Shecaresalot about herappearanceandspendstimeputting make-uponevery
day
• CastingJess:
• Jesssuitsthischaracterverywell,asJessalso enjoysgoingonsocialmedia
andherphone,checking messagesandarranging timesto meet upwithpeople.
Jesswatchesthesamesort ofshowsthat Katiewatches,typicalto theteengirl
conventionandsheisverytalentedat applyingmake-upeverymorningfor
school.
• Jessenjoysmeetingupwithherfriends,whenevershehasthechanceandthis
willbereflectedthroughthefriendshipscenesinouropening,lettingthe
audienceinto Katie’sworld,but also theworldofJess,assheisfriendswith
theotheractors.

13. Jack
• Lovestechnology
• Enjoyshangingoutwithhisfriends
• Heplayssportwheneverhecan
• Unlessheisoutwithhisfriends,heisinsidehisroom,playing
videogamesonhisXbox
• CastingHarry:
• HarryisamirrorimageofJack,becauseofhisjokerlike
qualities,makingeveryonelaugh.LikeJess,Harryisafanof
socialmediaandvideogames.Jacklikestohangoutwith
Katie’sfriendsattheparkandwewillshowthisinouropening.
Characterrepresentations

14. Characterrepresentations
We’vedecidedtouseNiamhasLola.She
fitsthearchetypalteenimage-blonde
hair‘standard’makeupandtypical
costume.Also,Niamhhasfeaturesof
thecharacterinherpersonality
anyway.Forexample,Niamh’stypically
‘feminine’andfriendship’s
important.

15. Characterrepresentations
We’vedecidedtousejakeasethan.Jakeisthetypical
teenmeaningtherelatablemotifisconveyed.Jakeis
extremelysportymeaningthecharacterportayalof
individualityisshown.
Healsoenjoyshangingoutwithhisfriendsandis
closetoSusieinreallife,whichhelpswiththeir
chemistryintheopening.We’dassociateJake’sstyle
withethan,asitiscasual,butstylish,reflectingthe
archetypalteenboyquitewell.

16. Characterrepresentations
We’vechosenSusieasourSusan,as
sheenjoyssport,hangsoutwith
JakeandJessalotandworkshard
atschool,reflectingtheinner
‘geek’,thatwewantedSusanto
possess.Susie’severydaycostume
wouldbeconventionalofwhat
we’dhaveSusanwear,makingher
agoodchoiceforourcasting.

17. Liv
Livandjosharetypicalarchetypalteenagers,whichhelpsthe
relatabilityofthegenre. TheybothlovetohangoutwithKatieand
Lola.
Characterrepresentations
JOSH

18. LocationsforFilming

19. Script

20. Storyboard

21. Storyboard

22. Storyboard

23. Storyboard

24. Storyboard