Thriller Inspiration - Donnie Darko & brief breakdown

1. Camerawork

1.1. The cinematography throughout Donnie Darko is amazing. There are a few shots in particular I have picked out, but unfortunately I need the paid version of mindmeister.com to upload images on to this mind map, so instead I shall be doing a brief analysis of Donnie Darko on my blog.

2. Donnie Darko; why is inspires me.

2.1. Donnie Darko is a fantastic example of a psychological thriller film. The task I have been asked to complete is to produce the opening two minutes of a thriller film. To successfully complete this task I must use thriller conventions to make sure the film is of the thriller genre. Donnie Darko is not only one of my favourite psychological thriller films but one of my favourite films in general; which is why I am very inspired by it when it has come to making my own thriller film. There are many conventions and effective micro-elements used in Donnie Darko that I hope to take ideas from for my own film. I love many elements of Donnie Darko and why it is such a huge inspiration to my film making will be shown throughout this mind map.

3. Editing

3.1. Throughout Donnie Darko, the colour grading has a slightly blue feel to it; this colour grading was added in post production of the film to enforce a feeling of tragedy, and to give the audience a feeling of sadness. There is also a scene where Donnie is speeding through time; things are moving quickly around him whereas he appears to remain at normal speed. A motion blur is added to all those around Donnie. This effect singles out Donnie as being special and different from everyone else - only he is capable of travelling through time. I may go into this further in my analysis, and add images of the effect I am describing. I hope to be able to take the best parts of editing from Donnie Darko and the effective colour grading to be able to add to my film, and really give it the thriller vibe.

4. Sound

4.1. Donnie Darko may focus mainly on tragedy, hence the blue colour grad I described in the 'Editing' section, but it's not all gloomy. The soundtrack does have its upbeat moments too. On the whole though, Donnie Darko's soundtrack is very intense and dramatic, which fits the theme of the film perfectly. I will also use an intense soundtrack to match the drama of my own film. Sound effects are also used throughout Donnie Darko to give it almost more of a sci-fi feel; although these are cool I am uncertain as to whether I shall also use these type of sound effects as they may not meet the thriller conventions I should be following.

5. Mise en Scene

5.1. The film is set in the 1980's, although it was actually filmed in the early 2000's; this means that costume and props were crucial to give the look and feel of the 80's throughout the film.