Explain and Discuss the Strengths and Weaknesses of Different Ideas for an Original Media Product Based on a Client Brief (P1/M1)
Here's that link for future reference: https://www.bfi.org.uk/apply-british-certification-tax-relief/cultural-test-film
SWOT Analysis of the Brief
Strengths:
The brief requires a new, British creative team, which we are.
Horror is an established genre with a huge group of fans.
We have at least some amount of past experience making similar products.
Opportunities:
The genre is somewhat oversaturated by American products, so people will potentially appreciate this being British for a change.
There are many sub-genres of horror which could be looked into making - lots of scope for ideas and originality.
Weaknesses:
We have a limited budget, team and resources.
The broad variety of sub-genres and opportunities could also mean the genre is somewhat oversaturated in general, so less people would be interested in this product.
The required age rating of the film is 15, so that limits us at least somewhat.
Threats:
If the product is too overly British, it could restrict the product's traction and appeal in overseas territories.
Quickly changing trends could leave the product outdated on release if the team aren't careful.
Mandy (2018) - An Existing Horror Film
Plot Summary:
Nicolas Cage's character, Red Miller, has a peaceful life with his girlfriend, Mandy. On her way to work one day, Mandy is captured by a violent cult: the Children of the New Dawn. In response, Miller forges an axe and goes out for revenge.
Character:
Red Miller - The protagonist, a lumberjack who is troubled by his past of alcoholism and as a veteran.
Mandy Bloom - Miller's wife who also suffers as a result of past childhood traumas.
Setting:
An area near the Shadow Mountains in the Mojave Desert.
Profit:
The film only made $1.4 million at the box office on a $6 million budget. Despite this, there is still a reasonable likelihood of this genre being profitable, this is just admittedly a poor example in this regard
Distribution:
The film was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival on 19th January 2018. It was then released to a small number of cinemas, before being released to home media on 14th September.
Generational Audience Research
Gen Z (1996-2012)
This generation are the most technologically aware and most commonly invested in mostly short-form content. However, evidence suggests that (at least Pre-COVID, in 2019) Gen Z are apparently the most frequent cinemagoers, with 43% saying they'd seen a film in a cinema within the past month (compared against 35% of Millennials and 29% of Boomers).
One of the most popular film series in this group is Saw, giving us an idea of the kind of horror subgenres this demographic are generally the most interested in seeing. However, beyond this there is little evidence to point towards a specific subgenre being attributable to this generation, unlike in the case of others.
Within this age demographic, audiences are most commonly males (58%) under 25.
Millenial (1981-1996)
Members of this generation make up around 40% of all horror movie fans, with certain subgenres being notably favoured by them due to the most significant films in said subgenres being released during the height of the generation. For example, The Blair Witch Project introduced the concept of found footage horror to the mainstream. In other cases, older franchises received new instalments - Halloween H20 being released in the Slasher subgenre for instance.
Exploring Typical Horror Narrative Structure
Warm-Up
An object: A recycling bin
Uses for this object:
Storing recycling
Holding a door open
Covering something up
Turn it over and sit on it
Turn it over and use it as a table
Turn it over and use it as a foot rest
Put it on someone's head as a funny joke or because you're bullying them
Store things other than recycling
Store regular rubbish in an absolute rebel move
Put it inside another of the same design to store them
Use it as a very large and inconvenient cup
Throw it at people
Stand on it to reach the top shelf
Fill it with water and keep fish in it
Fill it with water and wash your hands
Smash it into many pieces and throw them all at someone you're not fond of
Actual Creative Task
Another object: Television (arguably a VHS, it's a joint venture)
Stage One: Something slightly odd
The main TV in the protagonist's house was broken by a man called Hans brandishing a lamp so he delves into the loft.
He retrieves the old one from there which has a built-in VCR in the bottom of it and sets it down in the living room. It only has a coaxial input because old so our protagonist is stuck because they wanted to play Spider-Man 2 on the PS2. When he turns it on there's just static which is briefly interrupted by the sound of 1920s ballroom music which immediately stops again. He's mildly confused but shrugs it off. There's probably just a tape in the player which was trying to play but it was too degraded.
Stage Two: Something a bit more odd
Our protagonist goes back to the loft to find some tapes because at least if he can't play the Spider-Man 2 game he can still watch the film. He can only find an old pirated copy that he bought from a questionable street vendor back in 2004 but desperate times call for desperate measures. He recalls never actually watching this back in the day because he bought it right before the official release in November which he then got for Christmas but oh well. So he takes it down to the TV and puts it in. Wait, so there wasn't a tape in there?
Stage Three: Something very odd
Anyway he carries on regardless and starts playing the tape, which is a very bad recording of a cinema screen but, once again, desperate times call for desperate measures. All is well until the first Mr. Ditkovich scene. He says "give me rent" and there's an uncomfortably long pause. he says it again and the audience start muttering in confusion. There's another uncomfortably long pause with the occasional shot-reverse-shot cut between Mr. D and Tobey. It's not like the film is pausing and looping, because the characters are still moving slightly and blinking and such, it's just generally very uncomfortable. Then he says it again: "give me rent". So our protagonist starts fast-forwarding the tape and this goes on for quite some time. He presses play again and the audience are now very audibly confused and murmuring.
Stage Four: The height of the strangeness
He gets fed up and stops the tape, but he hears it again: "give me rent", so he tries to take out the tape, only to find that it won't eject. He tries to break the TV just to shut it off and can't. "Give me rent". He goes to unplug it and realises that it was never actually plugged in in the first place. "Give me rent", getting louder. He stands up and looks down at the TV but hears it again. This time it's not in poor-quality cam-rip VHS quality and sounds like it's coming from behind him. He turns around.
Blue Sky Thinking - Ideas For a New British Horror
- Found footage
- VHS, home video
- POV-like
- Serial killer
- Paranormal
- Combination of the two, serial killer possessed by something that makes him
- Sci-fi - murderous AI
- Revenge story (Nicolas Cage style)
- Apocalypse (might be too difficult)
- Kidnapping plotline
- Getting stuck in a small room
- Split personality
- Isolation and paranoia
- A room people are scared of
- Multiple plot lines which all tie together
- Killer POV
- Unedited Footage of a Bear-style thing where you think it's an advert but it devolves
- Searching-style, screen recording POV
- Mixture of that and the Searching-style screen recording POV
- AlanTutorial style thing where it looks like someone making simple innocent videos but also devolves
- This House Has People in It-style security camera POV
- Analogue horror of some kind
- Something formatted like a documentary which devolves
- Something formatted as a PSA
- Formatted like a sitcom with canned laughter but once again it devolves, but the laughter keeps going
- Nightmare
- Liminal spaces/the backrooms-style thing - something nostalgia-y involving a CRT TV
The Ideas Shortlist
- Analogue horror of some kind/found footage (getting stuck in a small room)
SWOT:
Strengths:
This would be much easier to film than many other options, as it could be predominantly recorded in a single space. Visual effects could be minimal as most of the horror would likely come from suspense and audio. This subgenre is very distinctive and has an established following.
Weaknesses:
The small-scale nature of the recording style could potentially be restrictive in what can be achieved within the film. The setting would have to be chosen specifically to work with this limitation.
Opportunities:
This would allow us to target a comparatively less targeted audience and utilise more unique subgenre-specific visuals such as VHS filtering. These effects also compensate somewhat for any shortcomings of lower-budget equipment. The editing could also be unique to this subgenre - previous events could be shown as if recorded over on a tape by the current events.
Threats:
Despite being a comparatively small subgenre, what content does exist within it is often not of the highest quality. As such, there is a risk that - if not marketed effectively - audiences could choose against watching due to having low expectations.
- Unedited Footage of a Bear-style thing where you think it's an advert but it devolves
SWOT:
Strengths:
This is a very niche category of horror, and as such would likely have a very specific but very invested audience.
Weaknesses:
A product in this subgenre is potentially difficult to successfully produce. It requires an understanding of both horror and advertising in order to effectively merge the two and interest maintain the engagement of the audience.
Opportunities:
The nature of this subgenre is such that it is comparatively far less saturated than others. To put it bluntly, fans of it don't have a lot of options to choose from, meaning that they will be all the more likely to look into seeing your product.
Threats:
This category's small but vocal fanbase is also a potential negative, as there is very little room for failure. If the final product is poor, the damage to its and your reputation will be much more significant and will likely even have a long-term negative impact on your reputation. Even if your product is successful, the limited scope of this audience is such that even with the majority of it invested, this would still likely result in a small, if significant, success.
- Revenge story (Nicolas Cage style)
SWOT:
Strengths:
This is a well-established subgenre with many fans and avid viewers. As such, if the final product is of high quality, then there is a high chance of success critically and by extension financially.
Weaknesses:
By the very nature of a well-explored subgenre, there is always the risk of over-saturation: the audience feeling that every film in the category is the same and that they needn't go to the effort and/or expense of viewing your contribution.
Opportunities:
As this is a well-explored subgenre, there is a lot of room for experimentation and putting unique spins onto it. While this could potentially be a risk in and of itself, if executed well it would provide an additional incentive for the audience to look into the project.
Threats:
Even if your product does put a unique and interesting spin on the regular subgenre tropes and conventions, it is vitally important that the marketing for your project reflects this in such a way so as to avoid viewers incorrectly making the very assumptions that your creative choices have specifically strived to avoid, leaving them at risk of assuming that this film is, again, just another copy of the formula.
Summary of Chosen Idea
A short in a combination of the analogue horror and found footage genres, following an individual's experience with a malicious company claiming to offer mental heath retreats. The product will utilise heavy post-production features such as the recording of the final product to authentic VHS tape to apply the most realistic visual style possible.
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