Example of a Story Proposal

This is an example of a story proposal for a Thriller/Horror film like ours. The story proposal has to include:

• The main point or moral of the story itself.
• Who the story will be portrayed and focused around.
• What the theme and atmosphere of the film will be. Humourous nightlife experiences? Fictional fairytale story? A violent, dramatic narrative?
• How the film will be rated (BBFC) and its duration. Might be worth including distribution in addition (wide run, saturation, online, traditional marketing, etc)
• What are the requirements of the actor’s character? What will they have to do to convincingly portray our narrator?

Premise: Never underestimate your potential enemies, all your actions have consequences.

Narrative: Michael Fedora, early 30s, currently unemployed with a previous career in organised crime. Escaped the clutches of his previous crime organisation after murdering his boss and living on his parents’ inheritance. He has now developed a pleasure and a talent for killing in different methods and the film is now focused on how Michael continues to wage war with his past criminal members and how he murders each member one by one with increasingly vicious methods. Works completely alone and is clearly unhinged throughout.

Theme: Michael Fedora’s psychotic behaviour means that while he is an expert at killing and he has the talent for covering his tracks during each murder, he does not consider every single angle such as police investigations, or the friends/family of his victims taking revenge which will eventually be his downfall.

Format: Full feature film, 1 hour 45 minutes, rated at 18 due to its violence and intensity. Trailer also created at two minutes with intended violence rather than full-feature gore so it can be viewed at many more placements (online, print adverts, etc).

Tone: The film is set in North London, within the very grimmest of settings to set a depressing, derelict scene for each murder (as if each victim has been `abandoned`). Criminal twist relates to films such as Run All Night and main protagonist relates to films such as American Psycho with a rather twisted manner and completely comfortable committing murders without hesitation. The film has a serious tone that will have the audience in shock with plot twists and extreme violence.

Character: An actor that can pull off the character of Michael Fedora with an unstable and unhinged mental state, show a clear pleasure for killing and someone who can maintain tension throughout the most important scenes such as murders or being questioned by police; or even gathering his thoughts and plans within his own household.