Mise en Scene:
The opening scene is set in America, but in different locations of America. This is to make the film realistic and relatable for the audience. Opening uses locations like parks, homes and even car garages. The shots involve people being chased and some being eaten by zombies. It also give the movie a more natural feeling, this is ironic because its a zombie apocalypse it wouldn't be natural. From the shots we can see the distress on the people's faces. The lighting is high key, again this makes the movie ironic because of the fact it is a zombie apocalypse. We would think it would be dark and gloomy. The clip starts of with an american flag looking the correct way up. However the camera then turns to its right position to see that the flag is upside down, this conotes that American life has been "turned upside down". In the clip we can see buildings on fire and crashed cars. Showing the panic of the outbreak. It could also connote that "all hell has broken loose" because of the state the city is in. This leads the audience wondering how many people have survived this world ending event? By the producers doing this it makes the audience want to watch more. Many props were used in this clip such as guns, handbags, wedding rings (everyday objects). In a shot during the opening there is a close up of a woman wedding ring on her finger. This make the audience sympathise for her, knowing that the woman's family is in danger or possibly dead. As we see her trying to escape from death she gets in a car crash and is flown out of the car's front window, leading to her death. This leave a big impact on the audience, making them shocked and feeling sorry for the innocent people.
One man is narrating throughout the film telling us his survival story in the world's zombie apocalypse. He tells us who he met, what has happened to him and people he loves. Through out the film he uses 4 main rules he goes by now in the "new" world. He state these rules in the opening scene. These rules save him and other around him.
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Zombieland
Sounding:
Throughout the opening scene there is narration/voiceover, the narration is by the main character, who does this all the way through the movie too. The voiceover gives the clip a story sort of vibe. However it also makes the audience feel involved in the zombie outbreak, because of the feeling that he is talking to us. But he also used direct address, making us feel connected. The clip starts off with a distorted American anthem, this connotes that America has been destroyed or that something has happen in America. It gives us a airy feeling about whats going on? And lastly this clearly tells us that this movie will be set in America. At the start of the clip non diegetic sound is used, we can hear a car alarms out in the distance, this is telling us how there is complete chaos in the city. Non diegetic sounds were used later on in the clip as well, when we hear a door open, this makes us wonder who or what is coming through the door and if anyone. Sound effects were used during the video, a good example of this was a heart beat when a man was running away from a zombie. This was showing us how fast his heart beating, but it was also slowed down. This was to gain focus on the heartbeat, making the audience tense. During the clip there was some crescendos and diminuendos, a good example of a diminuendo is after a woman shot a zombie and was making sure the zombie was killed, because of the diminuendo it made the audience feel like the woman was safe, however it also made us feel curious, was the zombie was dead? After this a crescendo was used a few seconds after this moment. It showed us the woman getting bitten by the flesh eating monster on the ankle. This gave the audience a big surprise, after making us feel like she was going to be okay. And because of this is made us feel sorry for her. At the end, when showing the opening credits a score was used. The piece which was used was synchronous to the mood. It was a rock piece, with heavy guitar and vocals. The piece of the music is in a minor key, it has a lot of percussion and string instruments (mostly electric guitar) this makes us on edge, giving us a sinister feel. This is synchronous to the clip, as it is based on a apocalyptic event (the end of the world).
Camerawork:
The opening starts off with a canted angle, it was laying on the floor in a POV way. This is great shot to use because it made us feel like we were actually in the scene and felt the danger the person behind the camera was in. When moving from a canted angle it went to being held hand when the camera man was running away from the first on screen zombie. This again made us feel like we was in the moment. The video used a zoom shot. It zoomed in and out when doing the long shot of the world, This showed the audience how bad the world had become and that it was truly the end. It used a zoom in shot to shows us a certain place in the world, America, this is clearly showing us were it will be set. Zombie land's opening used a few pans in their opening scene, a good example is when a man is being chased by a zombie on a football field. It was in slow motion so we could see how the zombie was catching up to the innocent man.The clip uses a birds eye view shot, this was to show the audience the complete chaos American cities had turned in to. It showed us explosions, fires, people running and screaming. This is showing the true horror of the world. The opening scene used a wide range of long shots, but a good example is when it shows a small estate of house and a small kids party. The shot shows that all innocents has been taking away by kids turning in to zombies. This makes the audience shocked and surprised. The opening scene uses a close up at the start, showing us the gory detail of a zombie tearing of flesh from a mans body. This can be unpleasant towards the audience, because of the gore. A extreme close up was used when showing a wedding ring on a females finger, this was to show her rolling up a window however we can see that she was married. Because of this it makes us feel sorry for her, as she is in danger of dying.
Editing:
The opening to Zombieland starts with a transition, fade, it makes it look like the POV we are seeing it through is waking from a dream. The opening used other transitions later on in the video, like dissolve. This was used in the credits, each image leaded in to one another. It is used to show the affect of the outbreak in different places and different people. CGI is also used quite a bit through out the opening, its used for an explosion at the start, making it look more big and dangerous. It was also used to create TV static on the camera at the start. This made it seem like it could have been a news report or someone could have been recording the outbreak in the city. It wasn't just CGI that was used a lot, slow motion was too. The first time it was used was when a man was being chased on a football field by a zombie. It showed the terror on the mans face, making the audience feel sorry for him. It was also used during the credits. It also focused on the victims facial expressions, but there was also a shot showing a zombie vomiting blood. Because of this it focuses on the gore, this could make the audience feel a little uncomfortable . An eye line match is used when a woman is distress in her car trying to escape a group of little zombie girls. At one point the crying and screaming woman looks to her right at us, but the camera then shows it was a blood thirsty zombie. This gives us a good view to what the character is looking at. The credits of the opening is a montage, the montage is very unsettling because it is mostly people getting chased and eaten.
Credits:
Before the credits the opening uses a form of subtitle as a guide/rule book for the movie. These included "Rule #1 cardio, Rule #2 double tap, Rule #3 beware of bathrooms, Rule #4 seat belts" They all have the same font and style, which is sans serif and bold. This makes the instructions stand out so the audience pay attention to them. Its almost like the rules are the center of attention and the clips that comes along with it are examples. They are also all in capital letters meaning that they are very important. This makes the audience pay more attention to the instructions. Some of the subheadings had transitions, a good example is "Rule #3 Beware of Bathrooms" it had a vertical swipe on a bell chime. Rule 3 also is in 3D this suits the setting it was shown in. All Rules are in a white colour, connoting they are good and trying to help the victims in the clips. After this the credits start, they all have a fade transition, this makes them stay on screen longer. Meaning the audience will more likely remember them. The credits are all in sans serif, and they are also all bold, this matches the genre. All credits move in some sort of way. Most of them have one or two letters moving away from the word, this is when people either run through or pass the words. This again makes it look like the words are actually there. All credits are in the colour red, this suits the lighting and setting because during the opening it shows quite a bit of blood. The credits start of with the distribution company, then production company. This suggest that they are the most important. It then leads on to the main casts then costume and make up, set design etc. But finally it ends with the director, this is to make the audience remember who the director is.