5. ZOMBIELAND
Mise en Scene
The characters are zombies and the victims of the zombies, there are no main characters in this introductory clip. This suggests that the clip is a brief overview of what the film is about, and defining that view through the actions taken. This is emphasized when each of the uninfected victims are killed by zombies; there is nobody left apart from the narrator. There is a wide variety of costumes used in the introduction because of the amount of characters, ranging from suits and service clothing, for example, police uniforms to costumes and every day clothing, this is because this film is based on the zombie apocalypse so clothing is encouraged to be of little importance.
A lot of make up is used for the creation of the faces and bodies of the zombies, for example, the blood and cuts on the zombie's faces and body, this is also used for their costumes. There are many different settings in this clip to suggest different scenarios all happening at once, for example, all the victims died because they did not follow the rules, this means that the characters in these scenes do not fit in properly which could be seen as the main source of entertainment to the audience in the clip because the theme of the film is partly dark humor.
There is a sequence of events throughout the intro where the narrator explains his "list of rules" for surviving the zombie apocalypse, and as he goes through some of them he shows a live demonstration of what would happen if you did not have this certain rule. This suggests that the narrator is getting a message across that if you do not go by rules in the zombie apocalypse, you will most likely get killed. There is a regular occurring message throughout the clip which the narrator constantly reminds the audience of his rules.
The make-up on the zombies is used to create an atmosphere of fear and carelessness as the blood and wounds on their faces and around their bodies creates a picture of pain and suffering and is furthermore used to create a sense of no other emotion apart from rage. Make-up used for the victims of the zombies is less apparent. For example, one minute into the clip the fat person running across the football pitch shows signs of sweating and this brings out the agonized and terrified expression on his face as the zombie chases him. This is again emphasized when ten seconds later the zombie has caught him and is eating him, the make-up used is much more apparent as his face is completely pale, and splattered with blood, this resembles a dead expression on the victim's face. Signs of sweat are very apparent.
Throughout this clip there are many different types of props ranging from guns to burning cars, many of these props are used to create an atmosphere of destruction and death. This is an example of the creation of an atmosphere of destruction and death through the use of props. Most of these props are everyday objects, apart from the guns, that have been neglected because there is nobody to use them. The mass panic of the zombie apocalypse in this clip takes in a lot of action and leaves the audience with many questions to what is going on, such as: How did the zombie apocalypse happen? Why is America no more? Who is the narrator? What is this "list of rules"? Why are there random scenes of people we do not know getting killed? Who are all these people being chased by zombies? Is there anyone left alive? How can anyone survive this?
A man is chased down by a zombie wearing a blood stained suit, whereas usually a suit suggests importance and sophistication because this zombie is covered in blood and parts of the suit are torn it signifies fear and scruffiness instead. The characters playing zombies are presented like this to promote the idea of what once was has now changed dramatically, and the director has shown this partly through the use of costumes and the way they are set out because zombies are generally known to not be aware of their surroundings but only of the person or people they are chasing, therefore quality of their clothing depends on whether they have suffered injury or not. The victim's costume is significantly different in the way that it is not stained by blood or ripped and torn, which connotes that the zombies have not caught them yet, and that they are not infected. For example, one minute and ten seconds into the clip at the scene of panic in the city area, the woman who shot the zombie on the roadside has a very business-like costume consisting of a smart jacket, a formal skirt and smart shoes, this exemplifies that she has not yet been bitten by a zombie.
Editing
There is a large range of editing in this clip to show and create more action, for example, at one point there are two cars crashing and throughout this scene there are constant cuts and ellipses to show the passing of time and different perspectives and points of view of the car crash, this suggests that the crashes are the key subject to focus on in this scene.
Throughout the clip there is a wide range of different camera movements varying from scene to scene depending on the amount of action contained within, for example, the clip starts with a close up of the American flag, but is held upside down, this then goes on to a handheld shot and the man is panning the camera around a desolate city this suggests that there is no America anymore, as the narrator says, and the landscape emphasizes his point. A zombie then chases and captures the man and a close up of the zombie's face occurs as it eats the person, this suggests the narrator’s emphasis even further through demonstrating how America is no more.
The editing in this clip is used entirely for emphasizing action and for this reason uses quick and short cuts, although at some points in the clip, and more commonly near the end of the intro, fade outs and ins are used whilst the camera is shot in slow motion.
There is a scene of a football pitch at night, but this scene contains high key lighting because of the overhead lights on the pitch, this signifies that lots of people are watching what is taking place in the scene as the narrator explains what is going on. The scenes which exhibit natural lighting involve a dull atmosphere to match the mood of fear and desperation to flee from the zombie threat, for example, there is a lot of smoke which affects the intensity of light and the urban environment ensues a lot of grey which hinders the atmosphere and makes the mood feel very dull.
The titles are used in this clip to produce an action related mood ready for the film to begin. It does this through using character interaction with the title and credits that are otherwise not supposed to be there.
Camera Angles and Movement
The clip continues to zoom out to show the earth and the destruction going on around it which signifies that the world is becoming more and more engulfed in the zombie apocalypse, furthermore the camera then zooms in to a mid-shot of a fat person being chased on a football pitch by a zombie, this then zooms out again to an extreme long shot as the narrator explains one of his "list of rules", Cardio. This suggests a knowing feeling that something bad is about to happen, and as the camera changes again to a mid-shot of this person and into shallow focus to concentrate on the person's facial expression in the foreground, during that time the camera changes to slow motion to emphasize the terrified expression on the running man's face as the zombie catches up. This kind of scenario then continues as the narrator explains a couple more of his rules, whilst the camera uses short, movements, for example, mid to close-up shots.
The scenes that take place inside entail low-key lighting, for example, there is a scene that takes place in a bathroom, in this instance it has low-key lighting, which suggests danger and an idea that there might be something lurking in the shadows. Similarly, we see a scene of two fire fighters, one running away from a burning zombie whilst the other, unaware, tries to put out a burning building. In this instance the background of the building is moderately dark and shadowy despite the flames, this suggests a warning to the fire fighters to stay away. Most of the clip takes place outside so the only lighting that influences most of the scenes is natural lighting, except for the couple of scenes which take place inside.
Slow motion is also used on a lot of the scenes to emphasize the action and violence about to occur after the slow motion has stopped. For Example, titling and some props and objects link in to the subject of what the narrator is talking about, which is his "list of rules". For example, a woman gets killed in a car crash, and the rule the narrator explains is "Rule #4 - Seatbelts". Slow motion is also used to enhance the humor of the situation. For example, in a scene on the football field a "fatty" is being chased by a zombie, the slow motion was used to catch a humorous expression on his face.
Sound
Both diegetic and non-diegetic sound is used in the clip to create the atmosphere or to suddenly change the mood. For example, when the woman crashes and hits the ground, you hear a bell tolling and this signifies that the person who crashed the car has died.
An example of non-diegetic sound is during the last part of the clip when the song "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Metallica is played. Because of Metallica's fast, loud and heavy beats this creates an atmosphere of knowing of the upcoming action and violence, the song is also relevant to the genre because the song is about death and war. Non-diegetic music is also played throughout the clip before the Metallica song to create an interesting atmosphere that is pleasant to the audience and grabs their attention. Narration from the main character is also used to describe the happenings of the World. This almost portrays him as the King of the World in peril because of his knowledge of what is happening everywhere.
Diegetic sound is used most of the way through the clip until the Metallica song is played. Examples of diegetic sound are the growls and screams made by zombies as they chase after people, or the screeching of cars as the crash into each other.
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