media - walking dead opening sequence

1. ANALYSIS OF
OPENING SEQUENCE -
THE WALKING
DEAD
AMELIA PICKERING

2. MISE EN SCENE
Despite the walking dead not being a film, I decided to include it in my
research as it fits in with my chosen genre very well, and includes lots of
similar shots that I am hoping to include in my own opening sequence.
In the opening sequence of the walking dead There are lots of close up
focusing hugely on mise en scene. This lets the audience know the
genre of the series due to the arrows fitting in with violence and horror. In
my sequence I will focus on mise on scene and plan carefully what I
include in frames, so it has the desired effect on the audience.

3. NARRATIVE ENIGMA
I want to make my opening sequence stand out to an audience,
so I will include a narrative enigma to make them question why
something is happening. For example, in The Walking Dead, time
is a very big part of both the footage and editing as the speed of
frames are increased, reinforced by each shot panning onto the
next. This makes the audience question why it appears
everything it going so fast (representative of time, and how long
the apocalypse has been going on for).

4. SETTING
The setting is very important in the opening sequence of the
walking dead as it informs the reader about the lives the characters
have been living. The flashing of the dark eye scenes mixed with
the mattresses, shows the extremes of being on the run for their
lives, and highlights the horror genre to the audience. In my
opening sequence I will ensure I focus on setting to get fit with
genre and get the desired effect from an audience.

5. CHARACTERS
One of my favorite elements of the walking dead's opening
sequence is the introduction of the main characters. In my previous
videos I have found that finding Actors for scenes has been
difficult, so in my opening sequence I will use footage with minimal
dialogue. In the walking dead characters are introduced through
broken and ripped photographs, again giving the feeling of a
mysterious apocalyptic world.

6. TITLE
The title in walking dead is also effective as it looks like it is
decaying. This hints to the audience about the zombie horror
theme of the series. In my opening sequence I will try to include
some form of typography that fits in with my chosen genre.

7. SHOTS AND MOVEMENT
It is clear from this opening sequence that this horror/thriller
(which is widely loved and has been popular for many years) is a
great example to help influence my opening sequence. There are
lots of establishing shots, long shots and close-ups which all set
the scene and add tension for the audience. Movement in this
opening sequence is minimal, however there is a lot of time
editing which gives the fast paced effect. This has influenced me
and I feel I have more ideas when it comes to planning my
opening sequence.