Donnie Darko - Sound Deconstruction

• Throughout the majority of the trailer, excluding the end, the sound is very subliminal, behind the diegetic sound.
• At the beginning of the trailer, the non diegetic sound almost goes unnoticed as it is simply a long, high pitched, echo-like drone beneath the diegetic sound followed by what could possibly sound like a long violin note. These sounds are not musical, but simply effective in helping the trailer build up to a sinister, foreboding atmosphere
• As an axe is swung, an exaggerated slam can be heard, which could be the diegetic sound of the axe, or a non diegetic effect to make this action more dramatic.
• This is then followed by an eerie drone as the words "They made me do it" can be seen spray painted on the concrete. This creates the idea of mystery and causes the audience to question the possible content of the movie.
• These violin notes and eerie, subliminal sounds continue throughout the first thirty seconds of the trailer, when they are then overlapped by an electronic beat, much like a heartbeat begins. This adds pace and builds up tension as the trailer becomes more intense.
• After about fifty second we hear the obscure, non diegetic voice of 'Frank' say "Don't worry, you got away with it" which brings an end to the diegetic sound we have heard throughout the trailer and ques the eerie beat as it build up speed throughout a montage of shots from the film.
• Everything goes completely silent as we hear the last piece of non diegetic dialogue; "When's it gonna stop?" followed by "You should already know that." By having no other sound during these lines makes them much more effective and dramatic.
• When the film title appears, an eerie beat sounds which then echoes until the end of the trailer, creating a very ominous atmosphere as the credits are shown.

Donnie Darko Character Deconstruction

I decided to look at this short trailer for 'Donnie Darko', focusing on the representation of his character and drawing inspiration to form a similarly mysterious and dark character for our own trailer.

• The canted shot used for this scene, which is shown throughout sections of the trailer as the action progresses, continues to spiral, turning the entire shot upside down. This is a clever use of the camera to show the characters confusion and bizarre state of mind.
• The character of Donnie can be seen wearing a dark Halloween costume and a simple grey hoodie. This still portrays the mysterious, dark side of the character without over complicating the outfit and still managing to look realistic and casual.
• The dim lighting allows to focus more on the character in the foreground, as well as portray him in a sinister fashion.

• The eye level close up of Donnie draws us into the scene, as if he is looking straight at us. Both the combination of the camera angle and the positioning of his head create a very ominous atmosphere.
• Donnie stands out in his plain dark shirt and we can see he is a troubled and complicated character.
• Again, very dim lighting is used which darkens the atmosphere and draws our attentions to the character and his actions in the foreground.

• This scene shows Donnie in his Halloween costume and hoodie again, keeping with the ominous, but simple portrayal of the character.
•  Again, a close up is used, similar to the last shot, however the protagonist appears to be looking past us. This keeps with the foreboding atmosphere created around the character of Donnie throughout the trailer.
• The scene is very dark and barely lit, assuming the only light source would be the natural light effect for the outside scene.This makes the shot very obscure and sinister, keeping the Donnie's character,