The Butterfly Effect

 

This shot gives the audience background information about the film they are about to watch. It also builds tension as it shows that the slightest wrong move in this film could send everything into chaos. This builds enigma as it makes the audience constantly on the edge of their seats wondering if every little move is going to have consequences as anything could turn bad. This shot also makes sure that the audience understand the theory that is going to be a frequent theme in the film. This shows that if anything may confuse the audience in my film it has to be explained.

The film begins with a panning mid shot of the main protagonist through a blurred window. This is effective because it creates enigma as the audience don't know who he is or what he is doing. At this point the non diegetic music is legato, quiet notes. This suggests that the main character is sneaking around and has to be careful, this builds suspense. The shots are all very drawn out and there aren't many transitions. This could be because at this point they want to create a calm atmosphere so that when they break it the audience will find it more shocking.

The non diegetic music crescendos and then changes to fast tempo drums, this makes him seem quite frantic and desperate, again this builds enigma as the audience wonder what he is so desperate to find. His facial expression is panicked and his body language is frantic suggesting that he is in danger if he gets caught, this builds suspense and makes the audience fear whoever is after him. His costume is bright blue which contrasts to his dark surroundings and suggest that he isn't supposed to be there. At this point the drawn out shots are to emphasize the chaos happening in the scene. Transitions may take away from the effectiveness of his frantic body language.

At this point there is a mid close up of the main character. From this the audience can more clearly see his panicked facial expression. This builds enigma as the audience fear what has got him in such a frantic state and they want to know what it is. His movements are rushed suggesting that the danger is imminent and furthering the enigma. His dialogue is spoken in a shaky and out of breath manner showing that he is in extreme panic. The lighting is low key to make his surroundings seem sinister and to reinforce that he is in a dangerous situation. His dialogue doesn't reveal much about the story but it does mention that he could die, this keeps the audience on the edge of their seats sand reinforces the dangerous atmosphere.

A torch is shone through the window, this makes the main character seem exposed and vulnerable so the audience worry for his safety. The person behind the window is blurred creating enigma as we still don't know who the protagonist is running from.The low key lighting and darkened colours make the white, bright torch seem even more intrusive and therefore makes the audience feel even more intrusive.

The dialogue mentions that he wants to "save her", this creates enigma as the audience wonder who she is, why she needs saving and why she's important to him. The camera does a close up of the words "save her" reinforcing the danger and building enigma. The colours are darkened and plain suggesting that the characters future is bleak which makes the audience feel as though he is in danger and therefore builds suspense.

The words seem to shatter into butterflies. This reminds the audience of the opening shot. It therefore reminds them that everything is as fragile and easily broken as a butterfly's wings and builds tension as they wonder whats going to go wrong to make the protagonists life descend into chaos. The fact that the words "save her" are the words that shattered suggest that she is going to go through a lot of pain and be one of the reasons that his life becomes chaos. This builds enigma and makes the audience even more curious to find out who she is.

Narrative
The opening of the plot is the end of the story, this means that it defies Todorov's theory as it doesn't start with an equilibrium.

Audience
The film is rated 15 meaning that it's appropriate for my target audience. The film includes strong violence, frequent strong language, portrayals of sexual activity, strong verbal references to sex and sexual nudity which according to the British Board of Film Classification are all okay for 15's. This means that if I want to use any of these things the level of them in this film is okay and will be suited to my target audience.

Evaluation
I like the way that they included the end of the film at the beginning so I would like to include elements of the end of the film in the beginning of mine so that I can build enigma without giving too much of the story line away.