Donnie Darko

Location & Mise- en- scene 

In the opening the scene we're shown 2 different locations, the school and the playground. We are shown various detail to successfully create the world of school, such as the school bus right at the beginning, posters and lockers. This creates a realistic background of a typically high school so teenagers can relate and identify with the background. Costumes are used so the audience can identify the characters, all the students are wearing school uniform and the teachers were wearing smart clothing   so you can tell them apart.

Camera and Editing

In the opening scene the first shot is a low angle shot of the back of a school tilted to the left. As students get off the bus the camera slowly slides up and tilts back to normal view at a eye height level to give the impression that its looking through the perspective of a student. The camera then tracks the students going off the bus and it pans showing the setting and location which is the school. The camera seems to pan when introducing a new character. There are lots of slow motion and fast motion in between characters.

Characters

• The first characters that we see is the normal school kids. In the film we might see them coming across problems with the bully.
• The bully is then introduced, he is the guy that everyone is scared off and this is shown by him getting in the way of the normal school kids.During the film we might see him starting more arguments with the geeks and the normal school kids.
• The princess is the girl that all the boys want to be with and all the girls want to be. Through the film she will develop a relationship with the bully who is the popular guy in the school.
• The geeks are the people who are not popular but they study to keep their good grades.
• The young girls that we see are the girls who want to be like the older popular girls. During the film we might see them starting a friendship with the older girls.