Textual Analysis

This is a textual analysis that I wrote about Donnie Darko.

The first shot is a shot at 45 degrees. This represents that Donnie is a bit confused and different to everyone else and shows us that he feels a bit mixed up and confused with certain things. It is also in a low angle position which also suggests he is quite powerful and seems fearless of school and has a sense of security.

This is a long shot ad displays the background clearly. This is effective because it displays the school and you can see the flowers to the left and we get the idea that this is a safe and a nice learning environment and by having the camera at a low angle, it shows that the certain people seen in this shot look ore powerful and bold which shows us that these characters seem more important as the camera is mostly focused on them.

The camera is a close up and we can see Donnie and his friends in this scene. This is a good shot type because we can see Donnie positioned in the middle with his friends around him so we feel like he is the main person and a sort of ‘leader’ who shows us he is more important. We can also see their facial expressions in this shot and their friends are smiling and look smug which gives us the impression that they are the cool group of friends and we feel like they are very important.

This shot is a medium shot because we can see the character and we can also see the background and the people surrounding him. By the look on his face, he looks like he is pulling a stupid face which makes us think he is a bully or a ‘class clown’ The camera shot is about eye level and it makes the audience feel that they are the ones that are looking at him and feel like we are there and the ones that receive the silly look. The camera is closest to Seth and focuses on him which makes us feel like he is an important character and is going to have an involvement with Donnie at some point during the film.

From this scene, we can see a medium shot looking at Ms Farmer. The camera is eye level with her and we feel like we are the ones that she is looking at and walking past her. We see her holding some kind of book which is called: ‘Attitudinal Beliefs’. She has got it to her chest which makes us feel like she really likes/loves the certain document she is holding. When we see her face we see widened eyes and feel like she is staring at us which makes us feel like she is a mean or stroppy character and makes us feel like she is some sort of hated character.

In this scene. It is a close up because we can see her and part of the background. This is an effective shot because It shows her face so when we see her later in the story we recognise her. We can also tell she is very attached to her family because she has a picture of what looks like her brothers In the locker. This tells us there may be family problems and that she may not be very close to her family. This is a zoom shot and this zooms in so we can see the contents of her locker to show us what sort of character she is.

In this scene it is a medium shot because we can see the background as well as the characters. It has to be a medium shot because the Head Master walks past so we need to be able to see Seth and The head Master. In this shot the camera is tracking Seth and makes us feel as if we are the watching him and following him throughout the scene. This is effective because the audience feels as if they are here with him and gives us the impression as to what type of school it is and whether it is a well behaved school or not.

At this specific shot, the camera is panning because as he walks round the corner ad the camera doesn't move, it only turns just like the principle turned round the corner. By the look on the principles face suggests that he is looking out for trouble. We see him walk straight past Seth taking what looks like drugs. This shows us he don’t really care and shows us that he is not a good headmaster as he does not follow the rules and does not care about what the pupils are doing.

In this scene, we see a follow shot because it is as if the audience is walking behind the headmaster and makes us feel like we are following him. We see the head teacher walking towards the door so we feel like he is going outside. 

This shot is a close up because we can see ‘The Mongrel’ and some of the background. It is a huge statue in the school which makes us feel like it is symbolic to the school and we feel like this is the mascot and makes us feel as if this is a very important and treasured object by the school. This shot is a tilt because the camera looks down the monument from top to bottom which is used to show us the whole statue and the people who are sitting below. Then the camera pans because the camera goes side to side to show the people who are sitting on the benches below the school statue.

In this scene, we see people sitting below the statue doing work and reading things. From this we feel like these people are essentially seen as ‘the school nerds’. We see a zoom shot on Chunita which gives us the impression that we will be seeing her at some point in the film. Then the camera tracks because it is as if the audience is walking over towards Ms Farmer. Using tracking shots In a school is one of the best ways to get the impression of the school because by tracking, it makes the audience feel like they are there at the school and see everything that goes on and because we feel like we are there, it gives us a good idea on what the school is generally like and what sort of people attend this school.

This scene is a medium shot because we can see all of the characters in the school. We see Ms Farmer looking at him and smiling which makes us feel like she really likes him and is some sort of big fan. We see the headmaster shaking his hand and because this is a school, we feel like he has something to do with education. This makes us feel like he is going to have some sort of involvement later on in the story and that he is a big part of the story. Earlier on in the scene. We see Ms Farmer holding some sort of book or document of him. This shows us that she is a big fan of him and that he is some sort of fan of him.

In this shot, it is also a medium shot because we can see multiple people within this shot. We can tell that this is some sort of important person because they are all  shaking him and talking to him. By Ms Farmer smiling it gives us the impression she likes him and is some sort of fan about whatever he does.

This scene is a close up and we can only see their shoulders. We can see them staring a each other as they are walking along. Ms Pomeroy is smiling and looking into his eyes. This shows us that there is some sort of romance between the characters and there is some sort of attraction between them. It is effective that they used a medium shot because it allows us to see their facial expressions which show the audience that there is some romance between them by the way they are staring at each other.

This shot is a medium shot as we can only see part of her body. We see her glancing down the playground. This shows us that she is intrigued by something. We she lines on her forehead which suggests that she might be annoyed or shocked by something. We normally connotate them as anger or a sense of annoyance which implies that she might be concerned about something. By the camera movement tracking her, we can really understand what's going on as we can see it as if we were there and in second person as we are seeing her through someone else's eyes.

This is a long shot as we can see their whole body and we see them standing in a line. They are all wearing the same costumes which implies that they are some sort of group/act that dances together. We see Samantha in the middle dancing which makes us feel like she is the most important person and is some sort of leader of her group. This is proven when the camera zooms in on Samantha which implies to us she is more important. This is effective because it shows us who is the most important character in the group.

In this shot we see them high fiving each other which shows us that they are all friends and they all have a good relationship with each other. This shot is also a zoom and centres Samantha which shows her importance and role within the shot. The use of the medium shot is effective because we can see their expressions on their faces so we can tell they are happy and pleased with what they have done.

This shot is also a medium shot because we can see her facial expressions as well as the school 

children within the background.  Her facial expressions show us that she looks a bit upset and annoyed which shows that she is annoyed or upset with something that she is feeling. The camera shot is a tracking shot because we can see her from someone else's point of view and it helps us to understand how she is feeling. 

In this scene it is a long shot because we can see the whole class within a classroom. The teacher is in the centre which emphasises her importance within the scene and shows us that she is a main character. We can see her with glasses on which shows us she is concentrating.

This scene is still a long shot because we can see her whole body. We can see her with glasses looking down at a book which shows us that she is concentrating which shows us that she is focused and switched on ready to teach.