This pitch is for a horror film about teenagers who lie about experiencing sleep paralysis. The main character, a quiet outsider, tries to induce sleep paralysis to fit in. During an attempt, they are terrorized by a masked figure. The film aims to exaggerate the dangers of peer pressure and lying for popularity through a simple story that could be easily filmed by students. It targets older teenagers and adults who will understand the social dynamics portrayed.

1. Pitch presentation
OPENING TO A FILM

2. Overview
 the overview of the story is to show how teenagers
try to compete with each other by lying however in
the end something can go wrong.

3. General idea/ plot

4.  The idea is to be a horror
 It Starts off with a group teenagers talking about the new craze they’ve heard about giving
themselves sleep paralysis
 Sleep paralysis is when you wake up in your sleep however you’re still dreaming and apparently you
hallucinate and can see your dreams in real life
 The main leader of the group is lying about how he has gotten himself into the state of sleep
paralysis and making up stories about what he has seen
 One of the children in the group is quite quiet and not really noticed, however does what he needs to
so he can fit in and not be bullied.
 On his way home he is reading into it more and how to try force himself to do it, whilst on their
phone they look up and see a masked figure shaking their head at him, when he goes to take a
picture they're gone
 That night they are in bed, looking at the instructions on their phone and goes to sleep
 Halfway through the night they wake up, there is a dim light on outside their room so they can see
however they cannot move. They start to panic however can only move their head and cant talk
 The same figure is seen from the room from the light dressed in all black and stands there, it is slowly
moving.
 The character is panicking and closes their eyes, thinking its not real
 When they open them the figure is directly in front of their face and rips them from the bed

5.  The movie is quite simple however exaggerates the effects of what can happen
if people are careless and exaggerating, however it is obviously fictional.
 This would work as a film because it is easy to plan out, requires a small group
of people and the recourses needed are already at college such as the
bedroom.
 The film fits in with the social structure there normally is and how the teenager
wants to try and fit in because of the fear of missing out.

6. The key character
 They are a quiet character that doesn’t really say much however does what
they need to so they can fit in
 They are friends with people that try to be popular by lying and judging
what other people are doing; its clear he's not interested in doing that
however hangs around with them for company
 They are quite short, noticeably outside the group and are quite
constrained to themselves, they have their hood up and headphones in
even when with other people
 Doesn’t involve themselves in conversation unless spoken to

7. Key settings
 This time of year (autumn/ winter) fits well with filming this as the trees are bare and it
gets dark quite early, meaning everything is quite gloomy and naturally spooky
anyway, which gives it the mysterious atmosphere.
 The mood is a typical college day for everyone else however for the main character
they are overthinking about it and feel like they are being watched, which gives it a
scary and trapped mood for the viewers.
 The atmosphere is aimed to be quite scary and ambiguous into what will happen next
and why the teenager is looking into it so much, meaning something will happen.

8. Visual style

9. Soundscape
 At the start of the film I am aiming to use dialogue between the group, this
will explain what sleep paralysis is in an anecdote type of way, and also
show the style of the character
 After that, the character is on their own so wont talk, instead it will be
ambient sound and music
 After that it will be sound effects and music that create the tension, as well
as the use of silence to create even more tension before a jump scare.

10. Target audience
 Because of the nature of the film, it isn’t aimed towards small children, and
instead towards older teenagers and adults, more mature people who can
look and see how the group of teenagers are lying and exaggerating to
each other and notice how the social construct pressured him in to trying
it.
 It is based for males or females, aged about 17+, and for more of the
lifestyle that can understand what teenagers can be like, which makes it a
larger target audience.