TODOROV AND PROPP'S THEORY

Tzvetan Todorov’s model of equilibrium and disequilibrium, films that have a simple and complex story line. E.g. rom-com’s follow a simple storyline, where as films like Fight Club are more complex. He also suggests all narratives follow three parts. The formula can be applied to virtually all narratives, the formal way of beginning,middle, and end. Our film will break this as we don't plan to create a conclusion to the story and possibly leave it open to question. This relates to our influences to Quentin Tarantino and films such as Sin City.

Vladimir Propp invented a theory that all narratives have a certain number of characters. However our film will go against and challenge this as we do not have all the characters.
Hero- Leads the narrative, looking for something (a quest)
Villain- Conflicts with the hero
Heroine- Is usually some sort of prize or reward for the hero
Father- Authority figure
Helper- Helps hero
Donor- Prepares the hero or gives hero something
The Dispatcher- Sends the hero off

Our only main role is Frank (as the hero) as we want to create a strong sense of isolation, however including a few other characters with small roles, such as the mysterious figure who appears occassionally to torment Frank.

FILM PITCH

FILM PLOT

The film plot has changed, dramatically. This means more action, more gore and more explosions than a Micheal Bay drunken house party video. But seriously it has changed.

Our film trailer is still focusing on psychological horror thriller, with inspirations from films like ‘Silent Hill’ where the main character is in a different world in their own consciousness. The film now starts off with a man who is in hospital after a car crash and is in a critical condition. While in a coma he is trapped in his own memories from different times in his life, however his past child self takes a different turn on the way to school (influenced by a man/woman wrapped in face bandages) his mental and physical state is changed. The continuing changing of choices continues to corrupt the character until at the end he dies.

Casting:

'Frank' - Reggie

DONNIE DARKO TRAILER
2001

Camera rotates clockwise, sense of time and something’s not right- psychological.
Shot in front of school entrance, sped up a lot, time is now going quicker.
Editing – shots fade in and out
Camera moves closer to teacher, pan of students which stops on Donnie and changes scene, to him breaking a pipe with an axe
Camera moves up over teachers and policemen’s head to a high angle, looks down at the graffiti on the floor “They made me do it”. Generates questions and interest.

0:22 in…
Editing – Newmarket, Pandora, Flower films. Production companies
Shot moving fast a aimed at pedestrians on the pavement, then pans back quickly to the middle of the road, Donnie is riding his bike
Editing – fades into another scene
High angle shot facing down to Donnie and sister jumping on a trampoline, time is slowed down slightly
2 person shot- Donnie and a female student, brings focus on her now.
Shot of Donnie sitting down, camera then changes to a woman sitting down opposite him
Editing – sudden flash, pan of some drawings of a mask, less than a second long, sudden flash again to Donnie sleeping on grass and waking up. A premonition of things to come?
Wakes up looking confused.
Shot of Donnie sitting down again in the same room.

0:44 in…
Bathroom cabinet opens and a bottle of pills are removed, door closes and Donnie’s face appears in the mirror. Confirms he is ill and taking medication
Shot fades to black then back to someone taking about instruments of fear, horror connection
Shot then fades back to black then back to Donnie talking to the female student
The pulsing non-diagetic becomes louder while the camera rotates anti-clockwise. The therapist then explains that Donnie is suffering from ‘daylight hallucinations’. The rotating camera is possibly showing time going backwards, another premonition?
Then shown him back in the bathroom putting his hand up in the air, and quickly pulls it back when the air appears to ripple, showing the audience what he can see.

0:58 in…
First piece of edited text fades in, saying ‘visions’, the echoey pulsing is still being played over top
Donnie begins to talk overtop another small scene being playing and explains that ‘he has to obey him because he saved his life’. We are not told who he is.
Editing – uses a lot of fading to jump to each scene
New scene and new character, camera focuses on the right side of his face, scene is dark so it’s hard to see who he is, possibly the person who ‘saved Donnie’s life’
Without looking at the camera he says “Have you ever seen a portal?”
The camera then jumps without any fading to a view of a cinema screen where a film is being shown, however the centre of the screen opens up into a bright hole where light shines out. This is the portal, though it is not clear where we are watching through Donnie’s eyes or just at the side the cinema. The scene then changes with a bright flash.
Sound – a sharp sound light a knife being drawn quickly syncs in with the flash.
Editing – the fading transitions don’t appear anymore, scenes just jump to the next, makes the trailer more jumpy like a horror.
The camera is now focused on Donnie in front of some windows from a close shot, where lightening flashes through, syncs in with the cinema editing. Now the sound of wind enters. A storm is coming, another premonition of bad things to come.
The fading transitions come back, and a new scene with Donnie’s mother is shown looking at a calendar, another reference to time.
The shot is close up of the side of his mother, used so it can show Donnie entering from the door. We now get a mid-shot of him. Overtop of this scene the therapist begins to talk to Donnie’s parents, the scene then changes to her office when she says “frank”. Importance on this name.
Camera – shot of Donnie’s parents sitting together in the office, his father turns his head when she mentions Donnie’s new friend is a giant bunny rabbit. Their expressions tell us they are confused and don’t know about him.
Using the term ‘bunny rabbit’ goes against the theme and genre of horror. However it does make the story a lot stranger and suggests that even the most innocent of things can maybe used to scare.
After some hesitation his father then asks “What?” shows they do not currently understand how serious Donnie’s condition is.
Editing – scene suddenly jumps to Frank the rabbit putting his hand in the air, which makes the air ripple again.
The shot is dark and quite spooky, while when is switches to Donnie and he pulls his hand back sharply. Same scene as before, De ja vu.
‘Time travel’ now appears on a black background and fades out. With the shot before that repeated we understand that it was another premonition of time and possibly events.