The Butterfly Effect Trailer Deconstruction

The Butterfly Effect Trailer Deconstruction

Typography and tagline

Camera Angles
The tagline is placed in the centre of the screen making it the dominant therefore the audience has no other choice but to read it, too there is no sub dominant so our eyes are made to be transfixed onto it and nothing else. It reads "some people want to forget the past" and then morphs into the tagline "some people want to change it". In combination with the other attributes editing, sound and mise en scene (typography) it is proven extremely effective.

Editing and Sound
The tagline is synchronized to the non diegetic sound as it appears on screen as the percussion instruments beats the first beat of the non diegetic sound. Too the tagline transits into the next tagline in the sense that it dissolves into the next again synchronised with the non diegetic sound. The non diegetic produces its climax at the beginning creating a jump factor at the most unpredictable moment with a sustained minor pedal note remaining throughout the rest of the trailer adding suspense, anticipation and a fast pace to it. As the tagline transits into the other we see a blue glow come off of the typography connoting the clinical and psychological aspect to the films plot. Too as the tagline appears we hear a scraping sound most likely produced by an electric guitar played with a metal bar. As the tagline morphs into the other we also hear an electronic buzz sound hinting at the supernatural side of the film.

Past and Present

Camera Angles
As the main protagonists engage in conversation a two shot, in combination a close up is also used as we can only see their necks upwards. A close up shot is used frequently alongside an extreme close up as we interweave through the male protagonists narration and flashbacks to his past and then back  to present time.

Editing
Cross cutting is used from the present time with the male protagonist to the past where he had his blackouts. This cross cut is the starting point of montage editing as we now see flashbacks to when both the male and female protagonist were a lot younger creating a juxtaposition to how their lives are now and how they were before. The montage ends with a two shot of the two protagonists kissing when they were younger but with the use of a graphic match we see them merge into their older selves in the present time. Further more we are able to see many visual effects such as CGI as the male protagonists perception is outstandingly different to what is normally expected creating a "trippy" feel to some of his point of  view shots and this reiterates the psychological aspect of the film

Sound
There is a huge amount of diegetic dialogue within the trailer as the male protagonist says "Remember when were kids and i had those blackouts?" the scene focuses primarily on the two shot between the two protagonists until the scene turns into a montage of a series of events using the male protagonists line as a sound bridge between the two scenes and acts as narration as it explains what is going on in the trailer and gives the audience a deeper insight into what the film may be about. Additionally, the non diegetic sound continues with a discordant whirring sound that was most likely produced by an electric guitar played with a metal bar. As it's continuous it helps build the suspense and anticipation of the audience as well as complimenting the fast pace of the trailer itself.

Mise En Scene
As this scene indulges into the younger days and the formation of the two protagonists relationship a grainy/old film filter is used to create the infer that these were their younger days and too this was achieved by the casting of characters. The male is always filmed in blue, as a young child he wears a navy blue hoodie and as an adult his shirt remains light blue perhaps connoting his masculinity as well as a clinical aspect within the movie as it does feature the discovery of this mental ability.

Female Protagonist

Camera Angles
As the scene opens we see a close up shot of a piece of paper written by the male protagonist that reads "I'll come back for you" it is also shot as a point-of-view shot as we can just about see his hand move away after laying the piece of paper down of the coffin. As he moves away from the coffin the camera zooms out highlighting that we follow his journey in the film rather than anyone else's too, we can also get an idea of what goes on in the mind of someone who is mentally unstable.

Editing
Cross cutting and jump cuts are used in combination to achieve the jump factor among the audience as well as being able to pace the trailer to a fast yet reasonable speed, to get across the psychological factor. Too the use of cross and jump cuts are almost rather discomforting thus allowing the audience to have the same psychological perception that the male protagonist has throughout the film.

Sound
The use of diegetic dialogue within the trailer is very limited so any lines were selected for a reason and because they were short yet simple enough to get across the initial plot in a way that it does not give too much away. The male protagonists diegetic dialouge "All i know is that by reading these journals i might be able to get Kayleigh back" gets across his motive in one line of speech alerting the audience to why and how his psychological aspect roots from and this links with the doctor's diegetic dialogue "I've never seen results like this before" again emphasising pn the extreme case that the male protagonist is. The non diegetic sound continues its whirring sound, introducing electronic flares in off beats creating a syncopated sound alarming the audience when they least expect it

Mise En Scene
When Kayleigh is first seen as Evan goes back in time, she is always dressed in pink to begin within highlighting her femininity and feelings of love towards Evan whereas, the her clothes, lighting and scenery gets a lot darker for the remainder of the trailer hinting at the darker meaning within the story as we are aware that this isn't real as Kayleigh is dead whereas to Evan this is his reality, thus playing with both our perceptions of the plot.



Kayleigh

Camera Angles
After the montage editing, the trailers focus is the consequences that happen once the male protagonist goes back in time to be with Kayleigh. Multiple two shots and close ups are used as they engage in conversation as well as walking together. Throughout these scenes, Kayleigh is shot at a high angle diminishing her power and weakening her character which fundamentally happens throughout the film.


Editing
Similarly, montage editing is used to depict the consequences that follow after Evan tries to bring Kayleigh back to life through her journals. Following this a reaction shot is used, as Evan seems to beat a character to death after he tries to spark up a conversation highlighting the juxtaposition and disequilibrium in the movie.


Sound
Typically, a shriek or scream is heard within any horror so as Evan beats another character to death after he merely tries to spark a conversation with Kayleigh we hear her diegetic dialogue of a scream which was most likely to have been recorded before and then dubbed over in the footage in the editing process. Too the non diegetic sound of the whirring contiues but as the pace of the trailer picks up the use of percussive and bass instruments have a wide role and become more predominant to the ear. Like many horror films, the sound usually mimics the sound of something such as a heart beating, similar to this.

Mise En Scene
In terms of this last point it's main focus is how Evans actions affects the people around him. Prior to this Kayleigh is always filmed at a high angle diminishing her power and strength too her blonde hair makes her seem a lot more vulnerable and easiy destructive. Too her scenes become a lot darker obviously the colour black connotes death however as the scenes are grow darker it emphasises on the deeper meaning and her feelings of the whole situation as she loses Evan as he faces imprisonment after murdering another being.

The effectiveness of this trailer has a huge impact on the audience. As its genre is a psychological horror the trailer needed to get across the psychological aspect of the plot without giving away too much. One thing that I found quite effective and could use in our trailer would be the use of tag-lines and voice overs as it added more of a realistic feel to it. Additionally, I think that in terms of editing we could push ourselves even further to develop our editing skills to produce something a lot more creative. Furthermore, the use of montage editing allowed the trailer to be of a fast pace within reason but it was still able to give away the foundation of the plot, which is also something else that we could bare in mind.