This document summarizes an assignment for a short film exploring the home invasion subgenre. It outlines conventions of the genre including common plot points, characters, settings, and camera work. It then provides details of the planned plot, which follows an assassin hired to kill a target in their home. Flashbacks will be used to reveal the assassin's motives. Inspiration is drawn from films like The Strangers and You're Next that create tension and surprise the audience. The film aims to attract a male audience aged 15-35 with its focus on survival and new take on a familiar subgenre.

1. Assignment 14
By Connor, Will, Alistair

2. Sub genre: Home invasion.
• What did you learn from researching this genre? We
learnt how to make tense and suspenseful OTS by using
the aspects of this sub-genre.
• We learnt how to keep them entertained in a home
invasion by making them feel frightened and
uncomfortable.

3. Conventions of our sub-genre
• Plot: Home invaded by a stranger with an unknown motive.
• Characters/Representations: Targeted person/s and a prepared maniac.
• Setting: This type of sub-genre is set in towns which are either quiet or secluded or
places where the victim/s have nowhere to run to.
• Camera Work: Low/high angles, match on action, establishing shots, long shots, over the
shoulder shots.
• Editing: Fast cuts, breaking the 180* rule for panic and chaos.
• Sound: Loud, intense sounds and noises to jump scare and/or frighten.
• Props: Props used in this sub-genre are normally weapons to intimidate and to fight
back with, phones to call for help. Normal, civil clothing.
• The theme of home-invasion sub-genres are focused around survival.

4. The Plot
• Target is at the house, not knowing he is being watched.
• The supposed assassin has been called to terminate the target.
• He has a contract that states he must kill the target?
• The OTS is shown from both characters for the storyline.
• The assassin prepares their attack/killing as the victim goes about their everyday life at home.
• The plot begins to unfold.Things begin to take a turn for the worse.
• The antagonist becomes the protagonist as more is revealed about the supposed protagonist.
• The assassin’s motives are revealed through flashbacks of previous victims by the protagonist.
• Assassin finishes the job to stop more people being harmed.

5. • Reinforce or challenge conventions?
• We will reinforce conventions as they are what is expected
of a home invasion film in order for it to be successful.
• We will create narrative enigmas such as:
• Who is the assassin and the target?
• What does he want?
• What caused this to happen?

6. Type of OTS
• The OTS will be linear and non-linear. It will follow
the story but will flash back to events in the past to
important parts of the intro so the audience
understands what’s going on and their motives.

7. Character types and social groups.
• Our characters type will be the target who will be
portrayed as a innocent and civil at the start of the
OTS.
• The assassin will be portrayed as evil and kills for fun
since there is no clear motive at the start of the OTS
and it will be clear revenge is on his mind.

8. Inspirational films.
• Our first inspirational film was The
Strangers as it showed us how to
create terror and suspense by
frightening and harassing the target.
• Our second inspirational film wasYou’re
next as it has a very dramatic turning
point and is able to shock the audience
using weapons and gore.
• Our third inspirational film wasVacancy.
This was because it kept the audience
on edge as the disturbances become
more and more aggressive.

10. USP and target audience
• We believe our aspect of survival and our story is what will
attract our target audience to go watch our film since as the plot
is new in a worn out sub-genre.
• Our target audience will be mainly males aged from 15 to 35
years old in the middle class. Our film will attract our target
audience by using jump scares, tense music and

11. Sub-genre: Madness + Paranoia
• What we learnt from researching our genre is that we
need to create an OTS which makes the audience feel
uncomfortable and questioning what is real and what is a
part of their imagination in the film.

12. Conventions of our sub genre
are:
• Plot: Man is driven insane by hallucinations after running out of medication.
• Characters/Representations: Person on medication and the hallucinations that occur.
• Setting: Ordinary house to something more sinister. House turns dark and sinister for full hallucination effect.
• CameraWork: Close ups for scares, establishing shots, long shots, match on action shots.
• Editing: Fast cuts to emphasise loss of control, filters on camera shots for effect, effects on text/titles to signify this
film will be scary.
• Sound: loud/distorted music, music builds up faster and louder and then end in silence which can be followed with
a loud noise or jump scare.
• Props:Weapons e.g. knives, gun), religious props like crosses, worn out clothing.
• Theme: Insanity/Paranoia/Fear of the unknown.

13. The Plot
• Man wakes up - calmly does daily morning routine.
• Realises that he has ran out of medication.
• Life starts to disintegrate and reality becomes a nightmare.
• Hallucinates blood on the walls, gun on wall, man with knife running towards him.
• Loses his mind. sees twisted images, people entering the house.
• Starts to remember crime he did or did not commit.
• Hears sirens and panics. Contemplates running or taking the easy way out.
• Chooses the easy way out eventually.

14. Reinforce or challenge conventions.What type of OTS
will it be?
• We will reinforce conventions as the character will be driven by primal fears which could
create the paranoia within them. We will use hallucinations which are driven by the
character's fears/phobias. We will create narrative enigmas by making the audience question
the intro.
• The OTS will be linear and non-linear as it will follow the story accordingly but the
hallucinations will signify that the past and future events will not be in the favour of the man
the film is focussed on.

15. Inspirational Films
• The 1st inspirational film was Jacob’s Ladder as it
shows an ordinary man who is driven by paranoia
internally and is forced to overcome his fears.
• The 2nd inspirational film is Orphan as it starts off
happy, calm normal and it slowly goes down hill due
to the events of the orphan, making the child insane.
• Our 3rd inspirational film isThe Shining as it starts
off normal but the past events that were committed
in the hotel slowly turns the father insane.

16. Our USP and our target audience.
• Our USP is the storyline and our aspect of paranoia and madness sub-
genres.We think people would be interested in watching reality
disintegrate and seeing a person’s fears come to life.
• Our target audience will be males and females who are in the middle class
aged between 15 and 35 years of age.
• Our film will attract our target audience by the solely because of the
storyline as there aren’t many new films which focus mainly on madness
and paranoia.
• To attract our target audience even more, we would need to meet their
expectations e.g. original plot, no cliches, etc.