Peer Pitch & Concept Refinement

 

With the presentation of my film idea to my classmates and my teacher, I haven't seen many conflicting comments on the feedback asides from a few confused questions listed and answered below.

With the lack of disagreement, and my interest on the film idea as a whole, I believe that my vision/projection of this project has received little to no change based on the feedback, with the only changes being changes to polish the film. After being able to present publicly what I am working on, I am in fact much more motivated to work on the title scene opening project now, as it would be a simulation, or similar feeling to actually getting out there into the world a majestic movie to be remembered in the cinema.

CATEGORY	DETAILS
Film OR Magazine	Film
Genre	Horror, Murder Mystery, Suspense
Target Audience (Be specific)	People looking for something fresh in the movie world, maybe something for the people who want to begin on the horror genre slow, something that could also attract newcomers to the horror or murder mystery genre.
What is your concept? (Be thorough & specific. Review the links on Blackboard)	There is a serial killer in a city, who has been killing off people in very horrific and mysterious ways, almost as if trying to leave a message behind…   The main protagonist of the movie, a well-known detective, is in charge of handling this mind-twisting mystery and capture the culprit. What he does not know, which the audience finds out over time, however, is that this is all bait from the serial killer, to ultimately attempt to kill him at the end of the movie.   The movie will take place from the side of the story from different victims who are under watch by the serial killer, as the protagonist is pulled from one crime scene into the other nonstop.
How did you conceive the idea for this concept?	I have conceived this idea from Countd0wn and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, two movies which foreshadow the death, or possible death of a character, but still maintain the fear and suspense factor into the scenes.   The first one using a mobile phone app which accurately guesses when someone dies, and the other having a self-writing story book, with horrific stories, some of which have the characters die and nothing can be done about.
What do you believe is unique about your concept?	I have twisted this idea into a more realistic side of reality, something that could happen to anyone, whether you are the detective, a victim, or the serial killer. The movie is unique in the sense that it still has the “explain and kill” factor, but approaches it differently, it does this all through a mind game, it leaves hints and cues behind on how will the next target die, and how will the protagonist potentially die, but it still keeps the fear by slowly building up to it and not allowing the viewers to properly predict when exactly it will occur.
Why do you believe this product will be of interest to your audience?	I think this product will be of interest to my audience as horror or suspense movies are usually very well-welcomed by people, everyone enjoys feeling some sort of fear or suspense every once in a while, and being put in the shoes of a character in a kill list, and feel all their thoughts or emotions, is probably one of the best ways to keep the audience hooked to a movie or series, and excellently deliver to them.
FEEDBACK RECEIVED FROM PEERS	"Are you planning on giving a very clear explanation on why the killer is killing these people, so that it would look appropriate?" - Yes, anyone nowadays can be a Psychopath/Sociopath and especially a serial killer. It is not too uncommon as raw and as it is to accept. "How exactly do you think your movie would be any better than the other examples you have given?" - The movie would have a more "realistic" touch with humanity, instead of having something like a demon, alien, ghost, etc. killing people. It would make the viewers realize that this can happen to them, and that alone would create a connection of realism in the movie, even if they are not aware, which boosts the reaction to it, and ultimately, increases the good reviews/feedback.  "Would the serial killer be related in any way to the main character?" Probably... I have thought of the serial killer being an old friend, or someone the main character used to know. The wrong person to mess with, in other hands.

According to the article The Numbers - Movie Market Summary (1995-2020), the numbers of tickets sold, and the popularity of movies began to drop slowly over time until it reached 2019 (and before the pandemic arrived). Which majorly influenced the movie world as a whole in a negative way.

Perhaps in the cinema my movie, as well as many other movies nowadays would not be watched a frequently, as people appreciate more their health safety. But in the cozy and safe environment of closed doors, a successful movie could sell really well digitally, specially in a world where people rely on technology more than ever before. People would very likely be curious to watch a thriller like this while they hug their blankets and cover their mouths from being nervous.

Lastly, according to the next article, Exploring the role of meaningful experiences in users' appreciation of "good movies" (Oliver, M. B., & Hartman T), people have a psychological habit of doing what is known as Hedonism, which essentially means to follow something or look for something for the sake of pleasure/enjoyment. Because of this, people are more likely to watch something classified as a "good" movie (A classic, memorable, or a good-looking movie), than to watch something more random.

If people were to find out, in the middle of a technology & enjoyment dependent world, that there is a movie that can be described as unique, or memorable, or a very good thriller, then the chances of said movie being a hit are very likely.

With this in mind, movies are always exposed to many flaws, but with this project, I am now much more confident with my confident thanks to this and am looking forward to continue to polish the project much more thanks to this feedback.

                                                                  Citation & Annotation

Oliver, M. B., & Hartmann, T. (2010). Exploring the role of meaningful experiences in users' appreciation of "good movies". Projections: The Journal for Movies and Mind, 4(2), 128+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A242958388/AONE?u=fl_sarhs&sid=AONE&xid=0ec0068f

In the world of cinema people are very interested and easily influenced by simple things such as hedonism, because of this movies are expected to meet up with the expectations and standards of people nowadays in order to stay afloat. There are different strategies movies/filmers can take in order to combat this, such as exploring the concept of audience's understanding of meaningfulness in the experience of cinema. And thus using these strategies to bring more understanding and insight to viewers with these experiences and the world of cinema.