The document provides two pitches for opening title sequences (OTS) for horror films. The first pitch is for a voodoo/occult film and discusses conventions of the genre, inspirational films, and plans for a nonlinear OTS that focuses on the mysterious antagonist without revealing their identity. The second pitch is for a killer/psychological thriller based on the true story of "Bible John." It also discusses plans for a nonlinear, montage-style OTS that implies violence through techniques like music and quick cuts to attract audiences aged 15-35 without revealing too much of the plot.

1. Assignment 14 – The Pitches
By Felix, Gareth and Fabian

2. Pitch 1Concept- Voodoo/Occult

3. Subgenre:
•For our subgenre we initially chose to use Devil & Demon & Hell
but chose to be more specific and therefore we chose voodoo as our
subgenre

4. What did we learn from researching
our subgenre?
• In early voodoo films zombies are featured except they are
undead slaves
• Voodoo films were most common in 1930 – 1950
• Chants and rituals are a common theme
• Communicating with the devil is common in this subgenre
• Possession is a key element of voodoo films
• African Witchdoctors are usually the main antagonists
• In recent voodoo films such as ‘Child’s Play’ the main
antagonist is trying to control a young boys soul.

5. Conventions of our subgenre are:
Plot:
• The plot focuses on the rituals and exploits of the main antagonist (who is usually a
Witchdoctor).
• The plot usually involves little use of exaggerated events.
• The plot relies on the characters beliefs, fears and other hidden truths about the
character/ what they have done.
Characters/representations:
• In voodoo films there are about 3 types of characters:
• The main antagonist
• The protagonist
• The antagonists victims
• The antagonist is usually an African Witchdoctor but this can vary.
• The protagonist usually beats the main antagonist and is sometimes shown as a counter
typical female protagonist but on some occasions the protagonist may also be a child.
• The main antagonists victims are often shown as weak and helpless, but sometimes they
manage to fight back against the main antagonist.

6. Setting:
• Common settings for voodoo films are the jungle, rural towns, isolated towns and sometimes
even in houses in the city
• Some of these settings create a sense of realism in relation to the audience as they would be able
to relate to some of the elements of the film, as they might have seen/live in some of the settings.
• This increases the fear because the audience would be able to picture themselves in the position
of the victims.
• Lots of these settings also generate fear because the audience sees the characters as helpless
because they are living in such isolated areas.
Camera Work:
• Extreme close ups are used to clearly show what the main antagonist is using when taking part in
rituals.
• Extreme close ups and point of view shots are also used in order to make the audience feel more
involved, allowing the film to build tension and even to express fear.
• Through camera work the audience is able to easily understand what the film is trying to say.
• Strange angles and canted camera shots are used to create distortion and confusion in the
audience.

7. Sound:
• In voodoo films music relating to the antagonists culture is common.
• However in some of the films the sounds/music used don’t match the action that is onscreen.
• This is effective and is used because it is used to contradict what is taking place on screen.
Editing:
• A chase sequence is common in voodoo films.
• Ritual scenes are also a common part in these films.
• In ‘Childs Play’ the use of long shots emphasise the characters running.
• Fast paced editing is often used to emphasise drama and tension which is why it’s common during
sacrifices in the rituals.
• When the drama is over the editing resumes to a close up of the two survivors together and focuses
on their face and emotions.

8. Plot/storyline
• In a quiet town located far from civilisation people are starting to become missing.
• There’s a strange man in the village who seems to be disappearing from his home during the night.
• One day a man from the village decides to investigate as to what the strange man is doing in the woods and
tells his only son to come for him if he’s not back by morning.
• He comes across a secret den where carcasses of the dead animals and people are being hidden.
• The man is captured by the strange man.
• He tells the man that he has been collecting bodies from the village to create his army of undead that will do
as he commands.
• It’s now up to the son to save his father and stop the strange man from releasing his army of undead slaves
onto the town and then the world.

9. Will we reinforce or challenge the
conventions?
• For some conventions such used for setting, camera work, editing we will reinforce the conventions
because we can see that these conventions are a strong part of the voodoo subgenre and they are
effective techniques into adding fear.
• However, for sound we will challenge the conventions by not using sound/music that doesn’t match
the action onscreen.
• We will do this because we feel as though this takes away the fear from the scene and we want to add
as much fear as possible.

10. We will create enigmas by...
• Enigmas will be created by not revealing the true identity of
the main antagonist
• We will use makeup to partially cover his face, adding
enigma to the OTS.

11. Type of OTS
• We have chosen to create a non linear OTS.
• We chose to do this because we feel as though non linear OTS’ aren’t as common
as linear and symbolic OTS’.
• By doing a non linear OTS it will be more original and have a bigger impact on
the audience.
• We feel as though a non linear OTS will also add more mystery, and fear to the
audience because we wont be revealing as much of the plot in comparison to a
linear OTS.

12. What will our character types/social
groups be?
• In our OTS we will not introduce any characters.
• We are doing this because in our OTS we want the audience to know about the exploits
and horror behind the main antagonist.
• We will instead focus on the setting and some of the items belonging to the main
antagonist.
• We will shoot the main antagonist but we will not reveal his identity, by doing this we
will add mystery and fear into the audience.
• By doing this we feel as though the audience will be more captivated and wanting to
watch the film so that they can find out more about this mysterious character.

13. Our 1st inspirational film is...
• Child’s Play (1988)
• It was inspirational because it was a good example of a modern voodoo film that
challenges the conventions of the original voodoo films.
• The film uses a murderer who passes his soul into a doll using a voodoo ritual.
• It also uses classic voodoo items such as the voodoo dolls and voodoo chants.

14. Our 2nd inspirational film is...
• White Zombie (1932)
• It was inspirational because it was one of the very first voodoo films to be created.
• It reinforced the conventions to the voodoo genre.
• This film used the idea of voodoo zombies.
• It showed these ‘zombies’ as undead slaves who were masters to the Witchdoctor.

15. Our 3rd inspirational film is...
• I walked with a zombie (1943)
• It was inspirational because the film focused on traditional voodoo that was
common on Caribbean islands.
• The film didn’t stray to far from reality allowing the audience to believe as
though the plot is possible.
• It uses the same concept that the ‘zombies’ are undead slaves to their master.

16. Our USP is...
• Our unique selling point is that we are creating a film that isn’t as
common as other horror films.
• Also our USP is that we aim to create an OTS that would lead up to a
film with an interesting and captivating plot.

17. Our target audience will be
• We want our target audience to be people aged from 15 up to about 30
• We feel this should be our target audience because of the mature themes
and complex plot in the film.
• We also feel that by making a horror film with a more interesting plot will
attract a larger audience.

18. Our film will attract our audience by...
• It will attract our audience by bringing a fresh new idea to the voodoo genre.
• It will have a strong, captivating and interesting plot that will make the film
more appealing to a wider variety of audiences.
• It will also contain scenes that will bring fear into the audience because we
feel that this is one of the main purposes of a horror film.

19. Pitch 2Concept- Kidnaping/ Serial murderer

20. Subgenre:
•For this idea we decided to use the Killer/Psychological subgenre
to base our film idea on.

21. What did we learn from researching
this subgenre?
• They follow a lot of generic conventions.
• Very competitive genre.
• Serial murderers who pursue the weak are common.
• Violence and over use of gore is often used in this subgenre.
• Antagonists are stronger than protagonists and often use a
distinctive weapon.
• Protagonists are usually young people away from parent
supervision and are usually up to no good.
• Psychological films often centre common fears, which are
exploited by the antagonist.

22. Conventions of our subgenre are:
Plot:
• The plot focuses on the revenge of the main antagonist.
• The plot usually involves a lot of gore.
• The plot relies on the protagonist’s mistakes.
Characters/representations:
• In Killer films there are about 3 types of characters:
• The main antagonist
• The protagonist
• The antagonists victims
• The antagonist is usually a solo male murderer, however there may be more than one
killer.
• The protagonist usually beats the main antagonist and is sometimes shown as a counter
typical female protagonist.
•The main antagonists victims are often shown as weak and helpless.

23. Setting:
• Common settings for killer/psychological films are the woods/forest, rural towns, isolated towns
and sometimes even in large houses.
•Some of these settings create a sense of realism in relation to the audience as they would be able
to relate to some of the elements of the film, as they might have seen/live in some of the settings.
• This increases the fear because the audience would be able to picture themselves in the position
of the victims.
• Lots of these settings also generate fear because the audience sees the characters as helpless
because they are living in such isolated areas.
Camera Work:
• Extreme close ups are used to clearly show what expressions of the victims and the weapons used
by the antagonists.
• Extreme close ups and point of view shots are also used in order to make the audience feel more
involved, allowing the film to build tension and even to express fear.
• Through camera work the audience is able to easily understand what the film is trying to say.
• Strange angles and canted camera shots are used to create distortion and confusion in the
audience.

24. Sound:
• Sound is used to build suspense and prepare the viewer for a jump scare, however this music is often
an anti-climax which lures the viewers into a false sense of safety so that the jump scares are
unpredictable and more scary.
• However in some of the films the sounds/music used don’t match the action that is onscreen, this is
every rare though.
• The music in killer/psychological films often follow conventions.
Editing:
• A chase sequence is common in killer/psychological films.
• Quick cuts are often used and fast paced editing is often used to emphasise drama and tension which
is why it’s common during sacrifices in the rituals.
• When the drama is over the editing resumes to a close up of the survivors together and focuses on
their face and emotions.

25. Our Idea
Our idea is based on the true story of ‘Bible John’. Bible John is the nickname
of a serial killer who is believed to have murdered three young women after
meeting them at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow, Scotland, between
1968 and 1969. As of 2014, the killer has never been identified although the
known movements and modus operandi (mode of operations) of convicted
Glaswegian serial killer Peter Tobin suggests that he may have been behind
the killings. However, this has never been proven and the case remains
unsolved.
Our ots will be non linear and will be a montage of ‘Bible John’ imagining
killing his first victim. The reason for our ots is to establish the plot without
giving away too much information about the main antagonist. We will
experiment with different techniques, such as a time lapse.

26. Will we reinforce or challenge the
conventions?
• For the editing, camerawork and mise en scene we will most likely reinforce the conventions because
we fill that these conventions make killer/psychological films more entertaining. However we don’t
want to over use conventions because ewe know this will have a negative effect on our OTS.
• For the sound of our OTS we want to challenge the conventions using music which doesn’t fit the
action on screen. We want to do this because it isn’t done that much and is very effective at creating a
creepy atmosphere.
• We want to do this because we think that it will make our OTS more disturbing and will entertain the
audience.

27. Type of OTS
• We have chosen to create this idea as an non linear OTS.
• We chose to do this because we feel as though non linear OTS’ are more effective
because they can create more narrative enigmas about the characters.
• By doing a non linear OTS our idea will be more original and have a bigger
impact on the audience because we will be able to be more creative with the
techniques we use.
• We feel as though a non linear OTS will also add more mystery, and fear to the
audience because we wont be revealing as much of the plot in comparison to a
linear OTS.
• We will most likely structure our OTS as a montage going between different
events as this will allow us to portray more information without revealing too much
of the plot.

28. What will our character types/social
groups be?
• In our OTS we will only introduce the main antagonist.
• We are doing this because in our OTS we want the action to circle around the antagonist.
We may also use a voice over to portray information about the antagonist.
• However we don’t want to reveal the antagonist’s identity because it is implied by the
fact that the ots is based on a true story. We will however use media sources to hint at the
antagonist’s identity.
• By doing this we feel as though the audience will be more captivated and wanting to
watch the film so that they can find out more about the mysterious character.

29. Our 1st inspirational film is...
• The strangers (2008)
• This film was inspirational because it is a good example of psychological/killer film
and leaves much to the imagination, which is an effect that we want to produce when
we shoot our opening title sequence.
• The film uses three murderers, their faces hidden behind masks, who pursue a
couple staying in an isolated vacation house.
• However the film does use a lot of generic conventions.

30. Our 2nd inspirational film is...
• Friday 13th (2009)
• It was inspirational because it had a very strong start and is also a very famous slasher film.
• The ominous theme music is recognisable.
• The film uses an iconic antagonist who pursues a group of young adults near an abandoned
summer camp where a series of gruesome murders are said to have taken place back in 1980.
• However because it is a remake it suffers from too many clichés.

31. Our 3rd inspirational film is...
• From Hell (2001)
• It was inspirational because the film portrays a real murderer and is also
effective at implying instead of showing in an ‘over the top’ style.
• The film focuses on the murders by Jack The Ripper and keeps the viewer
guessing the whole way through.
• A lot of the violence takes place off screen, which lets your imagination run
wild.

32. Our USP is...
• Our unique selling point is that our ots is based on a true event.
• Another unique selling point is that we will focus on creative
techniques which will make the ots more pleasing to watch.

33. Our target audience will be
• We want our target audience to be people aged from 15 to 35.
• We feel this should be our target audience because of the mature themes
and the fact that our OTS will be based on a true story.
• We also feel that by making a horror film that is focused more on the
implied will attract our target audience because it will offer a more
entertaining viewing experience.

34. Our OTS will attract our audience by...
• It will attract our audience by bringing a true story to life.
• It will have be very effective at implying the violence without having to show
‘over the top’ gore.
• It will also contain quick cuts that will bring fear into the audience as we feel
that this is one of the main purposes of a horror film.