On the E4 Misfits website there is an interacive 'notice board' containing videos and a game about the character Nathan, who was stuck in a coffin at the end of series 1.
This website shows good use of conversion, as fake Facebook and Twitter profiles are set up for each of the characters and are updated regularly despite series 2 having not been aired yet, which is engaging for the show's fans.
As this website is tacking a similar situational storyline to our own teaser trailer, we could take inspiration from it.
Just to be clear, we came up with our coffin idea before this trailer came out, however it will be infinitely useful when researching before we film.
This teaser trailer just shows how important the use of diegetic sound is in horror films. The beginning is a completely black screen, so the use of sound is heightened. Already a sense of claustrophobia is induced just by having no picture. There is frantic breathing and then the sound of a phone call being made. The fact that it is an emergency call heightens the tense atmosphere. The woman's voice remains calm compared to the frantic victim. The flash of the coffin/small enclosure is dramatic and sudden. However, the placement of this image is very important. It satisfies the "golden section" that is used on posters and magazine covers, so the image attracts the viewers eye. More importantly it induces the sense that the victim is far away and unattainable. The audience is made to imagine themselves in the same situation. Barely any of the narrative is given away, it is left unexplained by text or future events. The intriue of how/if the character escapes remains intact.
On the website for "Buried" there is a link called "Get buried at Comic Con". This is where fans of the film have had the chance to act like they too are buried alive. The viewer of the website can navigate with the mouse to "find" missing people who are trapped in coffins. You are then able to click on a person if you wish and "observe" them inside. This segment on the website is particularly clever as it gets fans involved, and there are many links to facebook and and twitter etc, thus using many forms of convergence. The design of it gives the impression that these people are buried deeper and deeper into the ground. This film and website will be very usefeul for our project as it involves very similar concepts. The lighting in the "coffins" is very significant. They have used redish lighting to convey a sense of heat and urgency. We can also look at some of these clips for acting references.
These shots are taken from the "Vampire's assistent" trailer. The light source used in this film is from a PSP game. Blue tinged lighting is created, giving the scene a cold/medical atmosphere. The lighting also generates some effective, dramatic shadows.
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.
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.
The film "Kill Bill" directed by Quentin Tarantino includes a scene where the main protagonist is trapped in a coffin; literally "buried alive". It brilliantly mirrors our idea for a horror film by exploring feelings of claustrophobia and entrapment.
The the major source of light is emitted from the use of a torch. The lack of lighting adds another scare factor, and hones in on another common fear; a fear of the dark. It further casts dramatic shadows, which illuminate the protagonist's face, exaggerating emotion and creating a tense atmosphere. However, from examining the clip there seems to be another light used to balance out some of the shadow so the audience can properly view the enclosed space. But this light is used discreetly to not detract from the realistic use of torch light.
The camera angles used in this scene have significant importance. Tarantino cleverly uses the same technique used in theatre; the fourth wall. The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. Other camera angles are deployed to portray the small enclosure of the coffin, such as a shot above showing the protagonist's expression.
The "Fourth wall" (The Glass Menagerie)
The sound used in the clip is a mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic. The non-diegetic music reflects the determination of the protagonist's escape, however we will most likely have more diegetic sound in our teaser trailer to mirror the horror of the situation.
The character in "Kill Bill", Uma Thurman or "the bride", is a strong and violent character bent on revenge, subverting typical conventions of a brave, but innocent hero. Her character is particularly interesting because although she is brutal, the audience still sympathise with her, and are undoubtedly on her side. This idea reflects a relatively current theme in horror; violence begets violence, which examines human nature at its worse, mirroring the pitfalls of war and how morality is not clean cut.
