Analysis of "The Walking Dead"

1. The Walking Dead
CONTENT AND CONVENTIONS

2. Mise en scene - Within 'The Walking Dead', costume designer Eulyn Wombler, intentially burned and
ripped actors clothing in order for them to look worn and tampered. Each zombie has
its own individual tears to give them a more personal look within the series, leaving
viewers wondering as the how they succumbed to their death.
- Special effects guru, Greg Nicotero, would intentionally darken actors' mouths as he
believed that the pinkish colour of the mouth symbolised something being alive. He
would do this by getting actors to swish dark food colouring and black icing around in
their mouth; doing this achieved the darkened mouth look.
- The zombies also have a distinct dark blood shot look to their eyes. This look was
accomplished by applying a dark burgundey around the eyes to make them
seem "hollowed". While looking at the actual eye, Nicotero based his look off of a
rotting egg as he wanting it to have the same yellowish-brown with red veins that ran
through it.
- Fake blood played a massive part in the series as it added to the life effect creators
were looking for. However, to give the zombies a distinctive colour, Nictotero would
use a caramel colour to make the zombies blood look darker and more authentic.

3. Mise en scene - Props
- Hat: Rick Grimes' hat is a key prop within the opening of 'The
Walking Dead' as it highlights his past profession and conveys the
leadership role he is going to play in the series.
- Teddybear: during the opening scene we see a young zombie girl
pick up an old white teddybear. Having this prop, illustrates the
innocence of the girl as this is a toy a young, naïve child would want
as comfort, which creates a sense of distress and empathy to
the audience.
- Gun: As Rick discovers that the young girl is a zombie, he has no
other choice but to shoot her. Having this gun, foreshadows
the voilence and chaos that is inevitably going to happen in
the series. It also reinforces Rick's authoritative role as an ex-
county policeman.
- Cars: As Rick arrives at the gas station, he is met with many
abandoned and smashed cars. This highlights the eery distopian
reality he is met with and the future he is going to be met with.

4. Mise en scene - While most characters are dressed in everyday clothing
to give the impression of a nightmare coming to reality,
there are key characters that have distinctive clothing
and props that are seen throughout the series. For
example, during the opening scene, Rick Grimes is seen
to wear his police sheriff hat, the last piece of normality
he has left. This highlights his previous profession to the
audience and the type of personality he is going to be.
The hat is also symbolic as it get passed onto his son
and then his daughter, it is a prop we see until the series
finale. We also see Rick in his sheriff uniform which
reinforces his life before the apocalypse and his
leadership role within the survival group.

5. Sound -
- As the episode opens, we hear the ambient sound of Ricks police car
driving into the gas station, and as the car gets closing into the shot the
sound gets louder; giving the audience the feeling that they are within the
scene.
-After Rick leaves the car, there is then the pleonastic sound of him rooting
around in the car and then closing the door.
- Then, as Rick walks around the abandoned gas station and as he does
so we hear the pleonastic sound of a sign moving in the wind.
This accentuates the deserted nature of the scene, leaving the audience
wondering what has happened to the rest of society.
- Diegetic sound is also feature within the scene when we hear Rick talk to
the young girl, using the dialogue "little girl, I'm a police officer". This
further reinstates his profession. This is then followed by more diegetic
sound of the heavy breathing zombie noises that the girl makes –
showing her zombified nature.

6. Shot Type, Angle, Movement
- The opening scene opens as a low angle long shot as it shows Ricks car speeding
down a highway, doing the this captures the neglected surrounding and the extreme
nothingness that surrounds him. The camera then uses a "dolly" movement to follow the
car as it slows down. As Rick gets out of the car, the shot cuts from beside him to then
being in front of him, making it look as though he is walking towards the camera that is
placed at a low angle. The camera then slowly zoom in to Rick as he walks, creating a
mid-shot and then eventually a closeup shot of his face, highlighting the concerned and
perplexed look he has upon his face. Rick then walks out of shot which then lead the
camera to cut to a low angle shot, featuring him walking towards the gas station. A point
of view shot is then put in place, making the audience view the world as Rick sees it,
also having the movement as if we were his eyes; the camera focus' on the abandoned
children's toys that lay on the floor which emphasises the destruction that has taken
place.

7. Shot Type, Angle, Movement
- As he finally reaches the gas station, the audience are met with an over the
shoulder shot which features Rick looking at a sign, stating "NO GAS", this
shows the pointlessness of Rick's journey. There is then a low angle shot of
Ricks shoes under the car, which emphasises the importance of the sound of his
shoes. The camera then cuts to another low angle shot of a different car which
shows a young girl walking and eventually picking up a teddy bear (pinpointing
her age), which also accentuates that sinister theme. The camera then follows
the little girl, starting at a low angle shot of her legs, but then panning upwards
so the audience can see the back of her head. The camera then holts at the mid
shot of the girl as she slowly turns around, revealing her bloody and bruised
zombie face. The camera then zooms in to the girl's face, creating a close-up
shot to exemplify the disturbing reality Rick is now faced with in 'The Walking
Dead'.

8. Opening
Credits
- After the first scene of the episode play the
opening credits. In the opening credits features,
many of the key location that are going to feature
within the series, including a school, the
farmhouse, a grocery store and a long shot view
of the city where the series is set – Atlanta. A
darkened filter has been put over the images,
along with edited cracks to match the worn-down
society that features in the series. The opening
credits also includes pictures of only three of the
main characters, implying that they are the main
storyline for season 1.
- The credits present the cast and
production company in a bold sans serif
font that shifts between black and white colouring
dependent on the background.
- The title then comes on screen over a black
background in the same sans serif font, however it
looks to have a concrete-like texture placed over it
– highlighting the roughened world it is
representing.