D1 First Submission

Evaluation of my pitch

My pitch was an urban genre film of an urban legend called ‘The Boggart!’. The idea of my film is similar to that of the 1999 film ‘The Blair Witch Project’ as it is about some teenagers who try to catch audio-video evidence of a murderous being. I also planned to use the same mockumentary style as in ‘The Blair Witch Project’ however this would have changed the genre of the film from urban to a mockumentary which would then make the film not fit the brief. The plot has not changed but by filming the filmmakers rather than using their unedited footage, I can keep the urban genre. Unlike ‘The Blair Witch Project’, my film is not about a legendary local murderous witch, but about the goblin like ‘Boggart’ from Northern and Scottish mythology. The Boggart is a malicious creature who kidnaps children so there is still the fear element from ‘The Blair Witch Project’.

To help me prepare for my pitch, I watched clips from the shows “Dragon’s Den” and “The Apprentice” as the people delivering pitches in them have more experience than me. From their pitches, I learnt that I should always promote my product, especially through the question portion at the end. I also learnt that having statistics are a good idea and that I should know my product really well because a strong knowledge of my product comes particularly in handy during the questions.

In order to generate ideas for my pitch, I read through my script looked for what in my script links strongly to the brief. I based my pitch mainly on why my script is the best how the brief wanted. I also made sure that it was included that my script shows a positive east London. I believe that by basing my pitch on how my script is like the brief was an effective way of planning my pitch.

I feel like my confidence has grown in the making of this pitch, because I have never been good with presenting my ideas to people, however because I had planned in a lot of detail and delivered my pitch, my confidence has grown. I have also learnt how to use the online software ‘Prezi’ to make the presentation as it was easy to access and seamed more professional than PowerPoint.

In developing my work, I wished I had explored better into where in Victoria Park I plan to shoot the film, as Victoria Park is the 4^th largest park in London. So when I say that I am filming in Victoria Park, I am not being specific enough. As well as this, I wished I had looked into the distribution and advertising section of the production process as I was asked a question on this.

In making my pitch I used the online software called ‘Prezi’ because it looked more professional than PowerPoint and was easy to learn how to use and access. I also conducted a survey on teenagers between the ages of 16-18 to find out what type of films they like. My results showed that 1/3 of the teenagers I asked liked horror films, and 44% of the teenagers I asked like thriller films.

In my pitch I wanted to convey the message that my script was very like how the brief wanted it to be. I believe I was successful as I mentioned it several times, but not too much.

Overall, I believe that my pitch went well because I spoke clearly and did not read off the slide, however during the questions, I answered a question that was not asked and I often used the phrase “umm” in between my sentences. 

P2 First Submission

https://prezi.com/p/w2c0hoo7tzoy/

P3 First Submission

https://prezi.com/p/-qdhy9zotxzo/

M2 First Submission

In order to perfect my pitch, I did a mock pitch where my peers asked me potential questions so that I could improve my pitch and be prepared for what the panel may ask me. Some of the questions I received were:

• Why is there a picture of chips under 'iconic locations'?

Chips may not be an iconic location to east London, but they are iconic to East London and I had an idea that involved chips from a chip shop.

• Why do you think that Victoria Park is a good place to find a marsh-habiting Boggart?

Marsh-habiting Boggarts like to live in areas of wildlife for example a forest/swamp/field. Victoria is one of the largest areas of wildlife in east London. 

• What was the point in making 'Jaymie' the strong character if she is the character who needs to be saved from the Boggart in the end? 

It creates some character development for the character 'Sean' as he was the weakest character. It will be done in a way that does not undermine her original self.

I then improved my pitch by including the extra information that I revealed whist answering the question.

  

P1 + M1 First Submission

I have interpreted the brief by looking at what the clients explicitly want and what they implicitly want. The film has to be set in East London and therefore I have decided to set my script around Victoria Park, the biggest park in East London. The brief states that I must base my script around an urban legend however it gives me the creative freedom to decide my plot line. After I interpreted the brief I did some research into East London urban legends and looked at stories about babysitting sessions going wrong and ghost stories. The blue-sky thinking session I did helped me to narrow down my ideas to three final ideas.

My first idea was to have something along the lines of stalkers or a mugging, where someone is walking home alone through the park at night and can feel someone watching them. Using paranoia and playing on the audiences minds against them to make them spooked. On one hand this idea was good because its a simple storyline which doesn't need a lot of explanation, which is good for a short film. Also the idea of a mugging in a park could fit easily into the genre of urban. However it would not create or promote a positive view of East London which is the point of the brief. As well as this, there is no room for character development and is a cliché idea. So the idea was abandoned.

My second idea was the idea of contrasting people in East London. For example a country girl moving to the city. This would be good as it would be easy to include a point or moral, and humour would flow naturally through the script. Ultimately, the idea fell through because the main location for my plot would take place in a school and that would not easily show the urban genre or the location of E3.

My final idea was to create a mockumentary where a group of teenagers go out in order to bust the myth of the 'Bogart'. This would make a good short urban film as a mythical creature does not show negativity about east London as the Bogart is obviously fiction. As well as this bogarts supposedly live in grassy spaces so I could set my film in Victoria Park. However the film being a mockumentary did not fit in the genre of an urban film so the initial idea changed slightly so it is now a film about a group of youngsters who are creating a documentary about the mythical Bogart living in Victoria Park, putting my film idea back into the urban genre.

I believe that my final idea is the best idea to fit the brief, as it can clearly be apart of the urban genre, as it is the story of an urban legend; as well as fit the location specified in the brief by being set in E3.