Film deconstruction: Moon

"Moon" is a 2009 British, independent science fiction film directed by Duncan Jones and starring Sam Rockwell. The film was made on a low budget and is centered around the performance of one actor. I realise that the film is not predominately horror, however I felt that the film detailed into elements concerning claustrophobia and the human condition, which we also aim to explore for our teaser trailer production.

Although the character, Sam Bell, is never confined into small claustrophobic spaces, he does experience a sense of entrapment and loneliness, which lead into moments of madness. The film, Duncan Jones explains is about the idea of meeting your self. I think it is important to explore these ideas to understand what comes next after the initial moments of panic. Towards the end of our teaser trailer I think we need some shots of our character coming to terms with their confinement and some first signs of madness.

Questionnaire

Media Studies Questionnaire


1. Who would you relate to/sympathise with as a main character?

- Teenage girl

- Teenage boy

- Middle aged character

- Child character



2. Do you prefer suggested or explicit violence?

- Explicit

- Suggested



3. Do you think a coffin scene will induce a sense of claustrophobia?

- Yes

- No



4. Would you feel more intrigued by a teaser trailer if the narrative was left unexplained?

- Yes

- No



5. Do you think the use of diegetic sound heightens the intensity of a scene?

- Yes

- No



6. Do you like the use of handheld shots in action scenes?

- Yes

- No

- Sometimes

Ideas - The Strangers

Watching 'The Strangers', I felt that one particular scene could be inspirational (whereas a summarised deconstruction for the actual teaser trailer for the film is minimalist, but somehow still manages to use all of the scenes from the film where something actually happens and completely explains the film's plot).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC89amjY_E8

From 8:00 onwards, the use of sound moving around the character and the darkness surrounding her really has the potential to build the scene to a large climax- possibly if we film between 1-5 minutes of footage in this style, we could use sections of the footage throughout to build towards the dramatic peak of our teaser trailer.

Misfits Coffin Scene

This is another coffin scene, from 2009. It shows how technology has progressed as the person in the coffin is now using a mobile phone screen to provide light. We will probably use a mobile phone also, as it is safer than fire (a lighter) and easy to find as a prop as we all have phones that could be used. Hannah's iPhone will probably work best as it has the biggest screen so will emit the most light.

The Vanishing Coffin Scene

In George Sluizer's 1988 film The Vanishing, there is a coffin scene which was featured in 100 Greatest Scary Moments. In this scene the man uses a lighter to illuminate the coffin. We think that although this is a good idea, it would be too dangerous for us as our coffin would could easily catch fire if we weren't careful. Also, as technology has progressed significantly since 1988, it would be better for us to acknowledge that progress. We could, for example, use a mobile phone.

2 VERY vague alternative narrative ideas

Just in case our main idea can't be used (there may be problems with the coffin part)

Idea 1
First part of a sunset over trees
Some information through anchorage
Establishing shot of a peaceful graveyard, at dusk
Rest of sunset (sun going behind trees)
More anchorage
Flash of a shadow running through woods/ forest
Further anchorage
Another flash of the shadow, getting closer
Darkness, black screen
Scream? Close up of a terrified face
Person/ people running through woods
Pursuer chasing after them
Person falls
Pursuer catches up
Person scrabbling, trying to get away
Pursuer grabs ankle
Extreme close up of victim's face turning, scared
Scream/ silent scream?
Title

Idea 2
Distant shot of a man (in a straight-jacket?) sitting on chair/ floor in an empty, undecorated room, alone
Bright flash
Extreme close up of his mouth, laughing manically, echoing
Bright flash
Back to man in room, slowly zooming in on man
Bright flash
Back to laughing close up
Bright flash
Back to man in room, still zooming, still alone, smiling slightly
Bright flash
Shot of a dead body, echoing laughter over this shot, continuing, growing increasingly louder
Poster of a missing person (the dead body)
Man in room, smiling more
Laughing mouth
Quick, straight cut to poster, laughing overlapping
Close up of man in room, looking into distance then eyes move to looking in the camera
Quick cut to a dark screen
Titles
Dark screen followed by a quick flash of his smile?


(These ideas are very vague, as they are predominately intended to just be back up ideas in case we are unable to use our intended narrative idea. Should we use them, we will discuss them in more detail)