1. Zombie land opening sequence
Here I am analysing the opening sequence of ‘Zombie land’. This film is a
horror/comedy, which is unusual but works very well, another film that does
this well is ‘Shaun of the Dead’ (a spoof on the film ‘Dawn of the Dead’.
The opening starts with the American national anthem, but it is a re-mix of it,
therefore this immediately makes us feel on edge and as if things are not
quite right. There is a voice over that acts as our main way of finding out
information, he sounds like a typical American man, as this is the case he
could be the main character, as he seems an easy everyday character in
which the audience can relate to. Followed then by a diegetic car alarm, car
explosion and fire special effects, this connotes chaos, and therefore the
audience feel danger and are on edge. Already you know this is a horror
genre film, from diegetic screaming, you know the theme of violence will carry
on throughout. When the actual film titles begin, immediately rock type music
starts, this could suggest that the film is rough and ready.
At the start of the opening sequence the main camera shot is a handheld, it is
as if the character is filming around him, as there are very realistic glitches,
this adds to the realism of this sequence, but also as the audience we feel
disorientated as the camera is of a canted angle.A high angle shot of one of
the ‘humans’ shows him to be vulnerable, this adds to the story line of the
zombies controlling the earth. All of the title sequence is in slow motion, as it
features gory scenes this allows the viewer to see this in depth. The first title
is ‘Columbia pictures’. All the text we see is in red, this has immediate
connotations of danger and violence. The titles are of bold font, this adds to
the fact it is an action pack film, not a romance.
The setting is in Washington in America, this can be found through an
American flag on the car on fire but also you see the White House (with
smoke coming out), immediately things are not right. As this is a horror genre
opening, there is a lot of gore and bloody violence.
I think that the titles being red informs the reader straight away, therefore
when it comes to mine I will do the same. P.O.V and handheld shots are
extremely effective in getting the audience to relate and involve themselves
with the film; these types of shots will play a part in mine. I find the animated
titles (how they seem to break/crack like glass) very well put together, but as
im not a professional I feel this would be too challenging to achieve, therefore
I will stick to a simpler dissolve in, but focus on technical typography.