Pitch

Film Title - Weeping Widow

Plot Synopsis

Based on the Infamous Mary Ann Cotton of County Durham a new killer has been set loose in County Durham. Mary Ann Cotton was a troubled lady born in Sunderland who was married 21 times and her husbands would miraculously disappear and be found dead. Ava Spencer is a young, intelligent girl who like the infamous Mary Ann Cotton has grown up in a troubled household. Ava and her mother were living under the dictating rule of her father and were beaten and abused. She woke up one morning to find her mother dead in her bed throat cut and barely clothed. Ava knew immediately that this was her father’s doing and in her newfound anger she murdered her father and buried him in cement under their home. A young and ambitious detective called John Laing has been working a case for several years, tracking and hunting a young mysterious girl known as the weeping widow, this case could take him to a new stage in his career with the promise of promotion if this case is solved. In this film noir we follow Detective Laing through a dark and mysterious hunt for the weeping widow hat is Ava Spencer.

Opening Scene
In the opening scene we will see Detective Laing poring over old newspapers, photographs of victims, bagged weapons and clues. This will be set in an office cluttered and dark. The deceive will be tired and frustrated. The opening credits will come into display during the scene through transitions. Detective Laing will receive a text message from the killer before he arrives telling him of a surprise. We will then see Detective Laing arrive at the destination in which he will search for the body and in this part of the opening sequence the opening credits will

Film Idea
An ambitious detective is on the hunt for ruthless killer Ava Spencer a cold revengeful serial killer searching for brutal husbands to murder. If caught promotion is his reward.

Creative techniques

Shot reverse shot – This will be used to show the a picture of Mary Ann Cotton and then reverse to the characters face to show his concentration
Match on action – This will be used to show detective Laing performing an action and then concentrating on something else before returning back to the character
Point of view – This will be used to be able to see things happen from a characters perspective
Transitions - This will be used to introduce the credits in the 1st part of the opening scene

Funding
Dimension films will fund the film

Audience Research

Audience

15 Rating

Suitable for only peopled aged 15 years and over
It is illegal for anyone under the age of 15 to watch this film at the cinema or rent/buy this film online or in a shop.

Discrimination
The film cannot include language or behaviour that is used to show discrimination

Drugs
Drug references are allowed however drug use cannot be advertised as acceptable

Horror
Threat may be featured aslong as is not sexualised

Imitable Behaviour
Dangerous behaviour may be shown however not in detail, weapons with easy should not be glamourised

Language
Language may be featured aslong as it not consciously strong

SexSex can be shown without strong Detail

Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for those aged 15

Violence
Violence is allowed aslong is it does not show the in depth detail and show the strongest gore.

We are going to give our film a 15 certificate this will allow us to create a film that can appeal to a wider range of people in the target market. By using a lower rating this will allows us to expand on the amount of people who can watch this film as younger viewers will be able to access this film through their local cinema strenghtening the chances of bringing in a strong revenue. The majority of films that screen in a cinema are seen by mainly the teenage age group so by allowing teens to see this film it will benefit the film through viewing figures and profit.
Because this film will have a 15 rating it will contain mild language which will maintain relevance to the film and this will not be used consistently throughout the film. The Violence in this film will can be shown as long as elements of gore are not used. This film will be targeting those between the ages of 25-40; this is because the content in this film will be most suited to those ages.

Institution Research

Warner Bros is probably the most successful institution of films producing a total of 484 movies from 1995-2011. Two insitutions that could rival Warner Bros. in the amount of films released is Sony Pictures which has released a total of 505 films and Paramount Pictures which has released 326 films. Warner Bros has also created the largest profit total of $25,673,452,123 which beating both of its rivals as Sony Pictures has a total profit of $23,343,330,567 and Paramount has a total of $20,901,219,187. This evidences that Warner Bros is definitely the largest film institution however it is perhaps not the most successful as in terms of average gross Paramount pictures has an average gross of $64,114,169

Warner Bros has a good history of producing film noir films producing films of film noir such as Blade Runner, The Dark Knight and L.A. Confidential. The Blade Runner proved to be highly popular and screened on 1295 screens in the US on the opening weekend which saw the film make $6,150,002. L.A Confidential also had some success on the opening weekend and was shown in 768 screens in the US on it opening weekend bringing in a gross of $5,211,198. However out of these 3 films the Dark Knight was by far the most popular and was shown in 4366 screens in the opening weekend making an impressive gross of $158,411,483

Due to the success that Warner Bros has had producing film noir films I have decided to choose this as the institution that will produce my film. I think Warner Bros. will benefit my film most due to its reputation a production company and the fact I can see my film being successful using this company rather than Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures and any other company.