Sharpie - Title and connotations

Title and connotations

Our film is titles Sharpie. This is a reference to both the marker of the same name (which the antagonist uses to draw when he has attacked/killed someone) and the fact that weapons such as knives and axes (which our antagonist uses) are sharp. These two are binary opposites, this makes the title seem even more disturbing; markers tend to be associated with children and colouring - and therefore innocence - whilst weapons are related to death and destruction. These two together make the film title memorable and  somewhat punny which may attract our target audience of young adults as it may appeal to their sense of humour.

Sharpie - Risk assessment

Risk assessment

This is the risk assessment for our trailer, it gives a basic outline as to the various risks and hazards, as well as the severity of each of them and how it can be reduced. However, there aren't many risks as it is only a trailer. The most serious risk is the weapon as it can be the most dangerous and has a fairly high chance of happening. The darkness is not very dangerous as the worst thing that can happen is walking into something or tripping over which won't lead to major injuries.

Sharpie pitch feedback/comments

Sharpie pitch feedback/comments

Comments and changes:
One of the comments we received was how we were going to film the pub scene at the start, as many people may not want to be filmed and most of us are under the age of 18. To get around this, we may use drinks that look like alcohol to give the impression. Fortunately someone in the class works at the pub and Mrs Bobbett is friends with the owner which will make it easier to enter the pub. To avoid filming random people, we will likely film in the corner of the pub so that people aren't in the shots.

Another comment was concerning the use of (fake) weapons in the school as it could raise concerns about the safety of others, and could get us in trouble if caught. To get around this we will film at night/in the evening when there are few people around, and we will also notify the necessary people so that they are aware. Furthermore, we will avoid the emphasis on the weapons, this is to draw the attention to the antagonist and make him seem more threatening.

Finally, we were told to think about our use of special effects if we decide to use them. It was to make sure there is a reason for the use of them, otherwise the trailer could end up looking quite messy. One of the uses we may use is filters at points to make the scene brighter/darker to create a different atmosphere depending on what is required e.g. making it darker in the school to make it seem more tense.

Sharpie pitch

Sharpie pitch

Comments and changes:

Permission to film in pub

Permission to bring (fake) weapons into school

What special effects?

Thriller conventions

Thriller conventions

Sharpie pitch powerpoint (Brief notes)

Sharpie pitch powerpoint

The title for our film is Sharpie. This is because the word sharp has connotations of stabbing and sharp objects. We are also using our logo from our previous project as it is established as a film production company.

The narrative of our film takes a lot of motivation from The Snowman; the killers are both targeting a specific group/individual and leave a mark once they have done something.

As our characters are based on stereotypical teenagers/young adults we have them wearing clothes that their demographic would be expected to wear, to make them more realistic.

The props we use are also very stereotypical of a thriller, the weapons are typically used by the killer, whilst the alcohol and phones are commonly associated with teens/young adults.

While our film is a thriller, it relies on both the enigma effect  (so the audience doesn't know who the main antagonist is) and a lot of tension where the audience doesn't know what happens to the characters.

We want to build up the tension gradually throughout the trailer, this is to set a narrative at the start and show what happens later.

Our target audience is young adults who enjoy thrills, and it may appeal to a more British audience through the characters speaking with a British accent and the British settings.

The settings start off very normal with a pub and walking down the street. It then transfers to a school at night which creates a bizarre mood as the two are not associated with each other. This could unnerve the audience which will make them more fearful of Sharpie.

We want to be able to use a lot of interesting shots for establishing the scene (tracking/bird's eye) and portraying the emotions (close-up and first person)

A lot of the conventions in thriller films are there to make the viewer feel on edge such as; fast pace, a cliff-hanger, intense themes. The conventions of trailers are there to give the viewer information in the form of: titles, release date, stereotypical characters, etc.

Sharpie pitch script

Sharpie pitch script