The Pitch -Hitlist

Group 5EStephanie McGrath, Jerome Oliver, Chloe Hickson & Tia Finch

OverviewOur film is about a young serial killer who goes around the world

with a list of names of people he plans to kill, after every murder he crosses the name off in his book. He also leaves a clue at every

crime scene. There is a team of forensic scientists that are looking for the murderer to try and stop him from killing more people. The

team visit every crime scene and try to figure out who the murderer is.  

Overview

GenreThe genre that we have chosen for our film is a thriller. We are going to include forensic elements, thus creating a forensic subgenre. We have chosen this subgenre as we feel that programs such as CSI: Miami and films such as the Bourne Identity series are very enjoyable and entertaining to watch. This subgenre is also a great base to build character identities.

Plot Sequence• Black screen with a diagetic sound of a scream• Audience sees a flash image of the victim dead on the floor• Film cuts to when the forensic team are covering up the dead body and looking for

clues• One of the people in the team goes outside to take a phone call when she spots a

suspicious man in black watching the scene then running away• The detective runs after the man but fails to catch him• Instead she sees a black book that was dropped on the floor which has lots of names

of people in where some have been crossed off, suggesting to the investigators that it is a hitlist.

Overview - 2

Themes• The importance of science • Police work• Law and order• Death• Reality• Identity

Locations

The crime scene will take place in the living room of Castlefield House, as it will be a  believable location for a murder to take place. We are going to be filming the exterior of the house to begin with, before going inside for the murder.

Crime scenes often occur around these types of locations in popular TV shows and films.

Structure

Act One Act Two Act ThreeCrime scene• Forensic team get

to the crime scene and analyse the scene to find conclusions about the murder 

• Murderer is spotted in the distance 

Chase scene • A short chase

scene between murderer and forensic scientist where the murderer gets away but accidentally drops a mysterious book with several names of people in 

Murder scene• A diagetic scream

is heard while there is a black screen then the next  shot shows a dead body lying on the floor.

Each of us has a different role in the film opening. Tia will be the victim that gets murdered at the start of the film opening by Jerome who will be the murderer. Steph and Chloe are both going to be the detectives who are going to investigate the murder scene. We will make sure that everyone is dressed accordingly to their role so the audience will be able to identify who is who.In the beginning of the film opening the audience wont know much about the characters, however as the opening progresses the audience will notice that the victim is very cautious of what goes on around her but has a positive attitude. The murderer however isn't shown much but by what they will be able to tell is that he is very suspicious and careful with what he does. As for the detectives they are very positive and are determined to find the killer. 

Representation: Character

How? Camerawork

As the film is a forensic thriller, the camerawork will have to be suitable for the genre. Forensic thrillers often involve panning shots where investigations are shortened into quick events where the investigators find clues from the crime scene.

This style of filming and editing cuts out the unimportant or boring sections of the investigation, allowing the story to continue without any interruptions.Point of view shots will be used be used to show what the murderer sees at the crime scene without actually showing the murderer himself. An establishing, extreme long shot will be used at the beginning to show the setting. We will also use lots of close ups of props during the crime scene to create the mise en scene. 

How? Mise En Scene?

The mise en scene within the crime scene will be:Setting:• Castle field house• Living roomProps: • Sofa• Sitting chair• Coffee table• Magazines• Clock• Two coastersThe props suggest what type of personality the victim had, for example the coasters and extra sitting chair suggests that she's friendly and likes to have friends over. The setting needs to look realistic and as if someone has been living there. The setting describes the character and the type of lifestyle they live which will give the audience a good understanding of what type of person she is. Lighting: In the crime scene it will be high key lighting to create realism.Costume/Makeup• Forensic suit • Casual makeup tells us that the film is set nowadays not in the past or future• Smart attire for the detectives connotes they are professional• Casual clothing for the victim• Killer has black clothing, it shadows him and hides his identity. It connotes death, which

is a theme in our film

The lighting, sound, facial expressions and body language and the mise en scene all together creates a tense atmosphere, as there's a body lying still on the floor, and everyone in the room naturally feels

uncomfortable and on edge. The science department has given us a variety of props such as: Tweezers, forensic

suit, fingerprint dust and gloves.Murder weapon: Knife

• In terms of sound, we will have both diagetic and non-diagetic sound. We will have dramatic mood music, sound of footsteps and screaming.

• Diagetic sound is sound that has originated from source within the film's world, it can be either on screen or off screen depending on whether its source is within the frame or outside the frame.

• Non-diagetic sound is when the source of the sound is neither visible on the screen nor has been implied to be present in the action: narrator's commentary. This can include sound effects which is added for the dramatic effect or mood music.

Sound

• The research we have done has helped us decide  how we are going to layout the murder scene as well as how we are going to draw the audiences attention to the film to make them want to continue watching. 

• The research has also influenced our decisions on the theme of our film opening which is forensic thriller.• Doing research has helped us with out time period and how long we have to make the film opening as well as how long it has to be .• One form of research we did was watch previous students work on film openings to get an idea of what to include in ours. This helped us

as it gave us a clear understanding as to how to make it look like a film opening and not a short film. • Watching other films gave us a different ideas on what we could possibly include in out film opening. Other films we watched were "CSI"

and "The Bourne Ultimatum". These films helped us with sound and camerawork. We got ideas on how we could film the different scenes with different camera angles to give it a realistic look. They helped us with sound as they gave us ideas on what sound effects go best with different scenes and how it creates dramatic tension. 

• In addition to this we also used the series Prison Break for our forensic team idea because they have a team of people like the secret service who try to catch the escapees, we used this idea in our film.  

• Our research also helped us with deciding on props for the film opening. We need to make sure that the setting looks as if it is someone's house and give it a sense of realism. 

• We don’t want to make our opening look like a short film which is why past students work helped us as they show the key bits you may need to make it an opening and not a short film. 

Influences from Research

• Post production is work done on a film after recording has taken place.• We will have to think about what special effects we will want In the

film opening.• We might need to have a voice over or background sound that we will

have to put in during editing the film opening.• Other key factors we will have to think of may include:• Editing, sound, lighting, etc.

Post Production

Positives:• Unique genre• Good ideas• Good props• A lot of thought into mise en scene• In-depth thoughts of particular camera angles and shotsWhat to do:• Time management: Make sure that we use out time wisely and we do not

unnecessarily elongate the film.• Not a short film: Make sure that it looks like a opening sequence rather than a

short film.• More detail on the plot as well as props: Add in the science department props• Cant give too much away: Don’t show too much of the film to make the audience

not want to watch as they know a lot about what happens and don’t see a point.

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