In the above image, you can see that this is a group shot from the opening of the film 'Zombieland' which was directed by Ruben Fleischer and written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese. It was released in 2009. Zombieland is basically an American comedy about zombies starring Jesse Eisenburg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Abihail Brelin as the human survivors trying to fight off the zombie annihilation.
The first screen shot the director has decided to angle the camera from below so that the audience can get a better view of the man jumping down from the balcony in slow motion, this helps the audience identify the sheer terror on the mans face as he leaps down for his life and at the same time see the zombie in the background more clearly. Also in this section there is a close up of one of the zombies faces which appears to be throwing up blood, by the director having this close up it shows off the detail gone into creating the make up for the zombie.
Continuing to the second clip, the same slow motion effect is continued (and throughout the rest of the opening) this shows continuity in the filming. We see a woman trying to run away from one of the zombies whilst spilling her milkshake everywhere, this helps the audience identify the fact that people were not fully aware of the zombie devestation that was occuring. This clip of the woman running away fades out as the next image of the man about to be attacked by two zombies gradually appears on screen at the same time. This is a nice effect to change to a different situations that these 'innocent people' are involved in.
The third section begins with a car on fire, this is possibly special effects as it does look as though it could be potentially very dangerous for the actors surrounding it. Also, I thought it was more noticeable in this particular clip that the credits become jumbled and out of place when a character 'touches' the writing, however it does do this in all of the clips.
When the third section fades into the fourth the transition from the smoky background to the muggy background in the fourth is a lot smoother. This smooth transition helps the audience keep focus on the events happening rather than confusing their eyes causing them to miss bits of the opening. In this sections the camera is fairly close up to the police and zombies faces, resulting in the audience being able to see how real the blood and stage make up looks. Following on in this section the brightness all of a sudden contrasts from the gloomy lighting to a bright 'happy ceremony' which in a certain sense ironic as it is no longer a bright and happy day.
There is not too much going on in the fifth section which is what is brilliant about it. The director still kept with devestation in the background, but by having a character smash a panel of glass with a crow bar draws attention to the centre of the screen, which displays the title of the film in larger writing than the rest of the credits.
Obviously Zombieland is also a comedy, this is displayed in a subtle manner in the sixth section where we see a zombie 'stripper' running after business men. It is not just the image of a zombie stripper running down the streets with just a pair of small knickers and nipple tassles on that is humourous, it is also the fact that these business men probably have very respected jobs and quite clearly a lot of money and instead of trying to do all they can to save their lives they are still holding their wads of cash, jackets and even their drinks. This could be showing the directors view on how the majority of people with the means of production are self absorbed and their main priority in life is to have money and be the best.
Section 7 in the opening of the film carries on with the humour emphasised in the clip before, the effects are also the same so there isn't really too much to talk about in this clip so I will swiftly move on to section 8.
Now in section 8 we can see a zombie chasing a fireman while another fireman is oblivioius to all this and putting out a fire. The fire being put out seems extremely bright in constrast to the dark and dull surroundings, it is possible that certain effects may have been used to accentuate the hell like flames to not only represent how the world is being destroyed but also to give the audience an insight to the realistic effects that could be used in the film.
Finally the last section (shot 9) reflects back to the same camera angle as the first shot as yet again it is filming from below. The end of the clip fades out into black just like how the credits open from a black screen. At the end of the shot when the man.zombie crashes through the car window as the glass shatters the end of the backing music is clear as a bell is sounded. The fact that this backing music started at the beginning of the credits and ends at the end (obviously) it prepares the audience for the film itself.
Continuing to the second clip, the same slow motion effect is continued (and throughout the rest of the opening) this shows continuity in the filming. We see a woman trying to run away from one of the zombies whilst spilling her milkshake everywhere, this helps the audience identify the fact that people were not fully aware of the zombie devestation that was occuring. This clip of the woman running away fades out as the next image of the man about to be attacked by two zombies gradually appears on screen at the same time. This is a nice effect to change to a different situations that these 'innocent people' are involved in.
The third section begins with a car on fire, this is possibly special effects as it does look as though it could be potentially very dangerous for the actors surrounding it. Also, I thought it was more noticeable in this particular clip that the credits become jumbled and out of place when a character 'touches' the writing, however it does do this in all of the clips.
When the third section fades into the fourth the transition from the smoky background to the muggy background in the fourth is a lot smoother. This smooth transition helps the audience keep focus on the events happening rather than confusing their eyes causing them to miss bits of the opening. In this sections the camera is fairly close up to the police and zombies faces, resulting in the audience being able to see how real the blood and stage make up looks. Following on in this section the brightness all of a sudden contrasts from the gloomy lighting to a bright 'happy ceremony' which in a certain sense ironic as it is no longer a bright and happy day.
There is not too much going on in the fifth section which is what is brilliant about it. The director still kept with devestation in the background, but by having a character smash a panel of glass with a crow bar draws attention to the centre of the screen, which displays the title of the film in larger writing than the rest of the credits.
Obviously Zombieland is also a comedy, this is displayed in a subtle manner in the sixth section where we see a zombie 'stripper' running after business men. It is not just the image of a zombie stripper running down the streets with just a pair of small knickers and nipple tassles on that is humourous, it is also the fact that these business men probably have very respected jobs and quite clearly a lot of money and instead of trying to do all they can to save their lives they are still holding their wads of cash, jackets and even their drinks. This could be showing the directors view on how the majority of people with the means of production are self absorbed and their main priority in life is to have money and be the best.
Section 7 in the opening of the film carries on with the humour emphasised in the clip before, the effects are also the same so there isn't really too much to talk about in this clip so I will swiftly move on to section 8.
Now in section 8 we can see a zombie chasing a fireman while another fireman is oblivioius to all this and putting out a fire. The fire being put out seems extremely bright in constrast to the dark and dull surroundings, it is possible that certain effects may have been used to accentuate the hell like flames to not only represent how the world is being destroyed but also to give the audience an insight to the realistic effects that could be used in the film.
Finally the last section (shot 9) reflects back to the same camera angle as the first shot as yet again it is filming from below. The end of the clip fades out into black just like how the credits open from a black screen. At the end of the shot when the man.zombie crashes through the car window as the glass shatters the end of the backing music is clear as a bell is sounded. The fact that this backing music started at the beginning of the credits and ends at the end (obviously) it prepares the audience for the film itself.
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