This document analyzes key shots from the trailer for the film Donnie Darko and discusses how they effectively set the scene, introduce the main character, slowly reveal details to involve the audience, use lighting and artwork to create an unsettling feeling, show character development through close-ups of pills, use a mirror shot to explore the psychological drama and character development, build tension through a character in shadow holding a hatchet shown in the rule of thirds composition, create an atmosphere of darkness and terror with the costumed rabbit, and leave the audience wanting more through a quick final shot of the main character's alter ego. Many of these trailer shot techniques have inspired the document author's own student trailer.

1. Donnie Darko
Scene Analysis

2. This key shot from the Donnie Darko trailer is a fast pace
action of people walking in and out of the building. This
image is important as it begins to set the scene of the movie,
it is clear to the audience that this shot is taken outside a
school due to the mise -en -scene from the characters.
Students seen wearing normal clothing while the teachers
are dressed in suits and more formal wear. The idea of fast
pace or slowing down a shot is ideal to put into our trailer
and is something we would like to incorporate.
1.

3. 2.
This close up shot from the trailer introduces the main
character. This is obvious to the audience as the other
students are placed behind him and are slightly out of
focus in the shot. The shot also gives a first impression of
the character to the audience, that being dazed and
distracted due to the facial expression and his eyes darted
in a different direction. As our trailer focuses on one main
character, close up shots are very important and are
something we want to feature in our trailer.

4. 3.
This bird's eye shot from the trailer is also a very key shot as it
slowly begins to reveal what is happening within the trailer. The
writing on the floor is exposed to the audiences viewing as well
making them feel involved with the characters investigation. We
haven't had the idea to include a shot like this one to reveal
something big but have been inspired to include a shot that will
make the audience feel involved with the audiences.

5. 4.
This shot of artwork is something that we have used in our
trailer. The lighting here is very dark creating a very evil and
unsettling feeling that we have found very creative and
inspiring. Our scene has more movement when combining the
idea of art while in Donnie Darko it is a very quick cut in the
trailer to help the audience see that the art is a imporant
feature for the film.

6. 5.
This close up shot of pills is an important shot to show the
character development. An idea we have taken into
thought and have included within our own trailer. This is
important to show why the character does actions further
in the movie and why we have taken inspiration from this
film.

7. 6.
This scene is important to the trailer as this shows the
audience what is happening, the development of the
movie is building up to this part when the main character
discovers something about him. The shot is done very well
to make the camera seem like a mirror, a shot that would
fit very well in our film as it’s a psychological drama and
involves a lot of character devlopment.

8. 7.
A very compelling shot within the trailer as placed on the
rule of thirds, the shadow of a character in the background
is creating a lot of tension for the audience as well as
having the main character carrying a hatchet. This is a key
shot as it really details the psychological genre and is a
shot that would look great in any psychological drama.

9. 8.
This shot in the trailer is very important to show the
development of the film. The darkness contrasted with
the terrifying costumed rabbit is sure to leave audiences
wanting to watch the film. This shot creates a creepy
atmosphere which will intrigue viewers. The idea of
having darker scenes to create a unsettling feeling is
something we can take from this trailer and include in our
own.

10. 9.
This last shot of the character in the trailer is very quick
and this may have been done to show how the main
character has an alter ego. The quickness of the shot is
done so the director encourages the viewers to watch
the full movie to understand what is going on. This idea
has inspired us to take our own spin on doing a quick
shot but in a different way and to get a different reaction
out of the audience.