MICRO AND MACRO CONVENTIONS OF OUR GENRE
(WRITTEN BY SOPHIE)

PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

DONNIE DARKO : 

MICRO ANALYSIS:

CAMERA
Firstly, we see a slow panning shot of the forest in order to establish the setting. This panning shot seamlessly moves into a tracking shot and eases in closer to the protagonist. An over the shoulder shot is used in order to allow the audience to experience what the protagonist is viewing creating a sense of belonging as an audience; this over the shoulder shot turns into a panning shot to the side profile of the protagonist - making us aware of the facial expressions of the protagonist therefore depicting how he is feeling at that current moment. A panning shot of the location is abruptly interrupted by the protagonist's head, emphasising the sense of isolation within the film and possibly around his life.

EDITING
The first piece of editing we see is used when the credits appear on the screen; simple animation is used and the credits appear on the screen and stay for a second then slightly fade out. This creates a peaceful atmosphere to the opening of the film as the animation is of a calm tone - rather than fast or dramatic. As an audience this gives us a sense of what genre the film may not be - rather than what it may be. When the title of the film appears on the screen it has a growing effect in order to fill up the space as it is an important part of the opening scene. We then see a flare of light grow quite quickly in the background in order to represent the sunrise - once again highlighting the use of location. This bright white light fills the screen and takes us into the protagonist riding a bike in the next scene - this is an effective way of editing as it is appropriate and also seamless.

MISE-EN-SCENE
The costume of the protagonist helps us identify the situation a bit more clearly. The fact that he is wearing pyjamas and is getting up from the floor allows us to conclude that he has been sleeping. The bike makes us aware that the protagonist led himself to where he is and did it out of his own accord. The sign post outside someones house lets us know where it is being set and also the time of year - this may come in useful to us later on in the film.

SOUND
The opening credits have diegetic sound of thunder and rain; this sets the scene of a thunder storm and nature. This then transitions into birds chirping, giving us a sense of sunrise and the morning. We then hear a low monotone sound which is the beginning to Echo and the Bunnymen's 'The Killing Moon'. This is an appropriate song as it has a calm tone, however the beats begins to pick up when Donnie goes faster on the bike - making the music parallel to the on screen setting.

MACRO ANALYSIS:

WHAT IS THE KEY PLOT IDEA INTRODUCED IN THE TITLE SEQUENCE?
Donnie Darko has ridden his bike to the mountains and slept there overnight. His parents aren't that concerned where he has been or what he's been doing. This gives us an overview that the protagonist usually does what we wants when he wants and can be rebellious, he has a huge amount of responsibility for himself. 'The Killing Moon' may give us an idea that there is a darker more sinister towards the protagonist.

IN WHAT ORDER IS THE STORYLINE INTRODUCED?
New Market
Pandora
New Market presents
In Association with Pandora
A Flower Films Production
A Richard Kelly Film
Donnie Darko

WHAT SOCIAL GROUPS ARE REPRESENTED? HOW ARE THEY REPRESENTED (POSITIVELY, NEGATIVELY, STEREOTYPICALLY / USE OF BINARY OPPOSITION) ?
You can clearly see the divide in the family at the end of the opening scene. As Donnie rides his bike whilst in his pyjamas into his family home - and his dad, smartly dressed, is watering the grass. This proves his dad is a well regarded man, who takes on household chores and takes pride in his appearance. The fact that his mum barely even notices he has arrived home gives us the sense that she is somewhat fed up with Donnie's behaviour.

MEMENTO : 

MICRO ANALYSIS

CAMERA
We are first introduced with a close up shot of a man holding a polaroid picture - this is shown for a prolonged period of time and the fact that it's a close up makes us identify that the picture must be significant. The picture shows a bloody wall, this allows us to determine the genre of a thriller. The next shot we see is a panning close up shot from the camera the man is holding, up to his face. This shot is significant as it allows us to see the facial expression of what we as an audience believe to be the protagonist. There's a close up of blood streaming along the wall, this further exemplifies the genre and makes us focus on the death that has just occurred; giving us an insight to what the film may entail. There are close ups of a bullet, bloody glasses, and a head on the floor surrounded by blood, this sets up the murder scene nicely. 

EDITING
The significance of this opening scene is down to the editing. The scene is played backwards and unveils as you keep watching - enticing the audience. We are first shown a polaroid with a bloody wall - as the protagonist begins to shake the polaroid it becomes disfigured - this allows us to identify the backwards motion in the opening. It then goes from the polaroid to the picture being taken, to blood streaming on the floor, to a bullet, to a dead man, to an alive man, and to him being shot. This is extremely effective as it keeps the viewer interested from the beginning. There is a panning close up shot of the protagonists face as he is doing a monologue - this allows us to identify how he may be feeling in that exact moment. 

MISE-EN-SCENE
In this opening scene, there are certain things we can associate with both people shown. The camera for example, is something we see multiple close ups of and we know is a possession of the protagonist, maybe something thats important to him and has significance to him. However, the man who gets shot, we see a close up of his glasses - and thats all we are given; this may make the audience want to keep watching as they want to know more about the victim and why he was killed. 

SOUND
When we see the credits, there is a tense piece of music in the background used a non diegetic sound. Its a piece of music where we expect to have a climax yet it never fully reaches one - encouraging us to keep watching. The strong use of violins in this music gives it quite an emotional atmosphere, making us as an audience aware that some kind of tragic event may have just occurred. 

MACRO ANALYSIS

WHAT IS THE KEY PLOT IDEA INTRODUCED IN THE TITLE SEQUENCE?
In the opening scene, we can assume that the protagonist has killed a man and is possibly in his apartment - we can identify this from his monologue. We have to know who either of the men are, or what the intentions of killer was. 

IN WHAT ORDER IS THE STORYLINE INTRODUCED?
New Market Presents
in association with Summit Entertainment
A Team Todd production
A Film by Christopher Nolan
Guy Pearce
Carrie - Anne Moss
Joe Pantoliano
Memento
Mark Boone Junior
Stephen Tobolowsky
Harriet Sansom Harris
Callum Keith Rennie
Larry Holden
Casting By John Papsidera, C.S.A
Music by David Julian
Costume Designer Cindy Evans
Editor Dody Dorn
Production Designer Patti Podesta
Director of Photography Wally Pfizer
Co-producer Elaine Designer
Co-executive producers William Tyrer and Chris J Ball
Executive producer Aaron Ryder
Produced by Suzanne Todd and Jennifer Todd
Screenplay by Christopher Nolan
Based on the short story by Jonathan Nolan
Directed by Christopher Nolan

WHAT SOCIAL GROUPS ARE REPRESENTED? HOW ARE THEY REPRESENTED (POSITIVELY, NEGATIVELY, STEREOTYPICALLY/USE OF BINARY OPPOSITION)?
It's clear that the protagonist is a murder, therefore is represented in a negative light. However, as we are unaware of why he killed the man - we cannot assume he is the antagonist as he may have done it for the right reasons. The fact that we see close ups of the protagonist crying - it may suggest he felt like he had to kill the man rather than he wanted too.