Unconventional and Conventional Properties of The Buttefly Effect

Genre - Thriller	Conventional (Typical)	Unconventional (Not Typical)
Mise en scene (what is put in the scene) Lighting         Costumes         Props	Dark, dreary lighting suggests the start of a conventional thriller as the darkness could play a part in the suspense and seriousness. Shadowy, distorted lighting from the window slants show that it is a person but cannot identify full features and therefore makes the audience feel uncomfortable.   Moved the sofa to prevent anybody getting in so he has done something wrong. No personal connection to him yet so no real sympathy.   Wearing a gown like one a hospital patient would wear.   Quite typical clothes that a young boy would wear in fairly modern times.   Authority clothing of woman banging on the window.   Lighting of the Sunnyvale Institution is a bit dark, dreary and creepy. The low-level lighting doesn’t welcome children. Also, the fact that she is taking her child there at night is strange as it is common to take children places during the day.   Dynamite that Tommy is excited about using is shows instability and a messed up mind.	The journal is an unconventional prop during this film due to the fact that the use of children’s journals aren’t seen much in thrillers as they are seen as showing innocence for the child.
Characters	Evan and his mum have a fairly good relationship although his dad has a problem so therefore he cannot do much with him.   Tommy quite an aggressive child, possible family problems or child abuse/stress.   Evan running from people in starting scene and hiding from darkness quite related to the drawing. Shows he may have had problems from the start.   Evan’s father needs to be handcuffed due to his illness and his instability. He also talks to his son in a slightly patronising way.	Strange that 7 year old Kayleigh comes to support Evan at his dad’s funeral alone.
Plot	Go back in time to find out what has happened, a quest that needs to be solved. She had died due to his actions and he wishes he could go back in time to save her. Mother thinks Evan has his fathers’ Illness. She hasn’t explained to him what is going on so he feels scared about everything that is happening.   Dad starts strangling him which is really surprising and comes out of nowhere.   Irritating storyline due to the constant blackouts making you miss parts of the film so you don’t understand particularly what is going on.	Quote at start of film foreshadows the events of the film.
Setting	Sunnyvale Institution shows an irony due to the name of it being a psychiatric institute.	Nice typical American suburb with a lot of colour and greenery, normal realistic start… Quite a modern era.
Sound - Diegetic     Non-diegetic	Gripping, fast music builds tension and you feel quite excited to find out what is going to happen. Slow mysterious music takes over which is a bit possessive and scary due to the creepiness of the drawing.   The non-digetic panicky sound when he’s holding a knife is very sudden and similar for a conventional thriller.   Fast non-diegetic sound that slows down once the panic is gone and the dad dies.
Representations   Of death	Why is Evan holding a knife and behaving the way he is.
Editing	‘Thirteen years earlier’ – quite typical of a thriller, indicates the time in which it is set.   Fast editing shows fade out and going forward in time.	Psychological Thriller possibly to do with his brain due to the skull on the title screen.
Camera shots/angles	Close-up view and camera that follows him around allows a personal movement and makes the film more smooth and less boring. Adds tensions too as quick movement makes you want to watch and find out what is happening.   Low-angle camera shot from behind and just to the right shows focus on Sunnyvale Institute as well as them being important in the big picture.   Constant high-angle shot shows Evan as being vulnerable.	No typical cutting from one thing to the next to make you panic.

 

7 year old does an amazing drawing but quite disturbing due to the fact it is a drawing of a murderer after being asked to draw what he wants to be when he is older. Authority shown by the murderer as he is standing on top of his victims. He seems smaller than the victims too which could show that he feels being smaller may mean he gets picked on by the bigger kids and he just wants to get payback.  Kid couldn’t remember drawing it.

Evan clearly doesn’t understand what he has done but his mum seems worried enough to make the audience think that she’s seen something like it before, possibly with her husband.