The film starts off by showing us the logos of the companies/conglomerates that were involved in the making of it, New Line Cinema, owned by Time Warner and Film Engine. The next clip is the quote from the Chaos Theory “It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon half way around the world” This could mean different things to different people, those who understand the concept of the butterfly effect/chaos theory are at an advantage, because this quote and the title gives them an understanding of what the movie is going to be about, to someone who has no knowledge of the theory won’t really know in-depth what the film is going to be about until the movie starts to unravel. I myself didn’t know anything about the butterfly effect, but because of graphics in the title of the film and the music, I could tell it was going to be some sort of thriller, but a clever one that questions the mind. When the quote is on, there is music in the background but it is only a short clip then it fades away. It is really fast-paced and different. Because the quote mentions butterflies, the audience have got butterflies on their mind and the music represents that in way, it sounds like the flutter of wings, and it sounds like wind, but it is quite distorted at the same time.
The first scene of the film takes place in an empty office of some kind, the blinds are all shut but you can see the shadow/blurred reflection of someone on the outside. The camera is tracking whoever is on the outside of the office, and the movement of the character gives us the impression that they are sneaking around, doing something/being somewhere they aren’t supposed to. The music being played in the background makes the audience uneasy, it goes with the unknown characters movement, music goes really high pitched and screechy just as the character is about to open the door, and when he does, he kicks the door open which really makes the audience jump, and it’s only the first minute of the film, this tells us quite a lot about the type of film this is going to be, it’s going to try and make up jump and keep you on the edge of your seat, this made me want to keep on watching. When the character enters the office, we see that he is wearing a blue robe, this usually symbolises a doctor/nurse or maybe a patient. The music turns into a really fast paced drum beat, this again compliments the characters movement as he is rushing about, moving the sofa in front of the door, this indicates that he is trying to stop someone from getting in, that maybe he is running away from someone, he then grabs a box, hides under a table and starts to write on a piece of paper. The music changes when he starts to write to a more calm and almost sorrowful tone. We then hear his voice for the first time, because he is reading aloud as he is writing, his tone is very worried and out-of-breath and the dialogue of what he is writing is very confusing. It is as if he is writing a letter to someone from a different time, “If anyone finds this, it means my plan didn’t work and I’m already dead” although as he is writing we hear the men on the outside of the office and we can see their shadow, they are clearly looking for him. The more he writes the closer they sound to coming inside. He then continues to write “ but if I can somehow go back to the beginning of all this, I might be able to save her.” The camera zooms in on “save her” this then falls into a blurry flutter of butterfly wings that is the title, this leaves us questioning what happened to the character.
I really like the title graphics, I thought it was really clever how they merged the butterfly with skull x-ray. I thought it also gave those who don’t know about the chaos theory an idea of what the film is going to be involving, the beginning shows us it was a fast paced thriller type which a twist, now that was see the x-rays of the skull in the title, we are given the idea that maybe this movie is to do with the mind. The music during the title goes with the flutter of the butterfly wings, it sounds quite innocent but eerie at the same time. The main colour of the title blue against a black background, this really adds to the effect that the music gives off.
Looking at the mise-en-scene, the next shot is an establishing shot of a suburban neighbourhood, there are kids riding down the hill, it’s a lovely summer day and you can hear the birds chirping, all of this is in contrast to the very first scene we saw, if the movie had started off like this, we would’ve gotten a completely different judgement on the film. The camera focuses on a young boy playing with his dog, then a subtitle appears saying “thirteen years earlier”. This makes us realise that the first scene is in the future and that we are about to be shown what happens and how the character got to that point, I think that it is quite a good effect, it lets people see a small part of the movie to come, in order to keep them hooked and answering questions, then throughout the movie it is answering their questions from the beginning clip.
As an audience we have gathered by now that the main character is the man in the beginning, and this is him as a young boy, we are then introduced to his mother fixing a car, when he complains that he is going to be late again, she is not worried or anything, this and the fact she was fixing a car contrasts the stereotypical character of a mother, usually it is the father that fixes the car, and usually the parents are the ones that don’t want their children to be late for school. The dialogue between the two characters when they are talking about the boy’s father makes us ask questions like where is he? And why is it dangerous for him to come out? This gives off the impression that the father is locked up somewhere, maybe he has mental problems. In the next scene the mother is dropping the boy off at school, but just as she is about to leave, the teacher knocks on her windows asking if she could have a word, her tone is strict but at the same time anxious, especially when she says it is very important, you can see that the teacher is very concerned, this makes the audience wonder what could be wrong. We’ve seen what the child is like, and he seems like a good boy, so it can’t be something simple like he is in trouble or something. This uncertainty of what could be wrong reminds us of the first scene, could it be linked to that? When we are shown what the problem is, we are left shocked, and I think this is the main point where all of the audience are hooked, even those who don’t know what the chaos theory is, because you want to find out, and seeing as you’ve already had a taste of what is to come in the movie, you can’t just watch half of it, you need to watch the whole thing in order to understand.
Analysing the first 5 minutes of this film has really given me an idea of what my opening sequence needs to include. I think the music is very important, it sets the whole mood of the scene, and it is very effective when it matches the movement of the character. In order to create an effective beginning we need to set the scene but without giving out too much information, I think it is best if we leave some things unanswered to create suspense and uncertainty, the audience need a reason to continue watching it. I think the title should reflect the film, like the title in this film the colours and music for the it gave me a good idea about the mood of the movie.
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