Product Research: Analysis of Donnie Darko (2001) opening sequence

Choice of typography and colour:
· The gothic and 'mysterious' font has a dark edge to it, hinting at the genre and possible characters. The white credits on black creates a strong contrast and suggests the theme of good vs. evil and corruption of innocence.

· Thunder at the beginning conveys the darkness of the film and seems to foreshadow Donnie’s death later in the film. It also represents power, however such a sound effect would be difficult to record ourselves when it comes to our product.

Camera and Mise-en-scene:
· Panning shot used works well to establish the setting and emphasize the isolation. The long empty road accompanied by crowds of trees portrays the setting as out of the way, with Donnie at the midst of it, making us question him as a character from the very beginning due to such mystery. It works well to create an uneasy atmosphere and makes us feel anxious.
Sound:
· The natural surroundings convey isolation and a sense of heat and discomfort, and such sounds would be easy and practical to record, and so could be something to draw into our own piece.
· The slow melodic piano playing creates a feeling of sadness to reinforce the loneliness of the protagonist, which helps us sense his character traits.
· The 'angelic' female vocal adds innocence and serenity, however the key changes as Donnie grins to himself, suggesting him to be an ambiguous and mysterious character with a possible dark side and so the soundtrack enables us to get to know his character - something to think carefully about when constructing our own opening.

Lighting:
· The naturalistic lighting used creates shadows and is suggestive of good vs. evil. The only light hitting him here is on parts of his t-shirt, whereas his face is in the shadow, making us question him as a character. This use of lighting would be practical when it comes to our own product, and also works in a simple yet dramatic way.

Editing:
· The title disappears into a bright light, and links to ‘the light’ in which signifies death; foreshadowing what will occur in the film – Donnie’s death. This use of editing enables the transition from one scene to the next in a smooth way - something to consider when editing our own product.

· Song ‘The Killing Moon’ by Echo and the Bunnymen is introduced to help us engage with Donnie's bike journey. The mournful and emotional tone with ominous lyrics such as ‘killing time’ link exceptionally well to the events in the film, which are to do with lack of time, and so it's important our soundtrack links relatively well to the message we want to get accross.

Narrative hints:
· The series of shots tracking Donnie riding his bike home enable us to see he will make a journey in the film and establish his neighbourhood, in which appears to be untouched and serene. This hints that such an idyllic setting will be corrupted, conventional of thriller openings.

Sound:
· As we meet Donnie's family, the vocal picks up, conveying him as a downbeat character in comparison as the music becomes less chilling when the camera is off him. Techniques like this are effective in establishing characters in an opening, and we could go about this approach in our own sequence if we use a strong set of opposite characters.

Characters:
· This opening introduces both the central character and other key characters. Donnie is still an unclear character, however the Darko family are portrayed in a simplistic way that allows us to understand their personalities – dad Eddie is a prankster, Elizabeth is a typical teenager wanting to use the car, mum Rose is quietly reading whilst younger sister Sam is playing in the garden, and so from this we can see they are a normal, average family - conventional characters in Thrillers.
· We are also introduced to Frank (but are unaware it is him) who drives past Donnie in a red car, almost disturbing the idyllic setting. The music drops as he drives past to draw our attention to the car and so the music has conventionally directed the audience to a particular detail, something that I feel works incredibly well.

Overall, this opening sequence is very gripping for an audience and leaves them asking questions about the main protagonist, something an opening sequence of the genre should do. The themes of mystery and isolation are present, along with hints of a complex narrative and a range of innocent and ambiguous characters. Many of the techniques used, including the gothic font and the soundtrack, will be useful to think about exploring further when it comes to creating our own product.