I added my first vid to the site. (Technically, it’s the second one I started, but the first one I finished. More on that later when I post the other vid.) Most, if not all, of the videos on this site will be in Flash Video format, so all you need is the latest version of Macromedia Flash installed. Who knows, maybe you don’t even need the latest.
As for the video: For a while now, Porcupine Tree’s “Collapse the Light into Earth” has sounded, to me, like it would sound good over the credits for Donnie Darko. Not that there’s anything wrong with the current credits theme, but nonetheless the song somehow fit the mood of the film. I especially liked the idea of juxtaposing the chorus with the image of the jet engine falling through Donnie’s room. (My thinking was not meant in a morbid way, I assure you.) At any rate, I kept this in mind over a period of months, but couldn’t quite determine how to go about piecing together a vid.
One day, I rented the film Millions (sorry to plug another movie in a vid post, but you’ll see why). Among the extras was something I’d never seen on a DVD before — it was a promo / trailer / demo which was labeled on the menu as a “DVD cutdown.” Essentially, it’s a series of clips from the movie put to music. The kicker, for me anyhow, was that they were in sequential order. In essence, it was a summary in about four minutes. (If anyone knows of any other DVDs with a feature like this, let me know. I’d like to see how more of these are done.) That, at least, planted an idea in my head, and I acted on the idea about a month later.
So… Done in “DVD cutdown” format, Light into Darko covers most of the movie start to finish, though it concentrates mostly on Donnie’s relationship with Gretchen as well as his discovery of the events that have destined it to end almost as soon as it began. Frank makes a couple cameos, but while he is a guiding force in events, he’s obviously not in the forefront for this particular vid. Maybe another time, Frank.
Collapse the Light into Earth is by Porcupine Tree. You will find it on their album In Absentia. One of my favorite bands on the planet. Note that the quiet and serenity of this particular song is not standard operating procedure for them, though they do usually include one or two slow songs. As a whole, though, Porcupine Tree rocks pretty hard. And it’s good stuff, so give ‘em a listen.
Donnie Darko is one of those movies that most will either love or hate, in part because (at least in its original form), it’s so complex that very few people know exactly what’s going during their first viewing. There’s enough there to enjoy the film, I feel, and the background that you get by reading the film’s website, the DVD extras, and other fan-driven resources is icing on the cake. In 2004, a re-cut version of the film was released, one which adds in material to help you get the big picture more clearly. If you’d rather scratch your head after watching the film, as I did the first time, try the theatrical cut instead.
Watch Light into Darko.