Codes &

ConventionsZombie Movies

Typical Conventions

• A tight community of protagonists

• Isolation

• Apocalyptic world (deserted, smoke, dirty, trashed etc)

• Contrast between slow and fast editing

• Kinetic cameras for chase scenes

• Abandoned locations

• Urban (but deserted) locations

• Want to survive rather than kill the zombies

• Shot in the head to kill

Typical Character

Conventions• Leader

• Children

• Betrayer

• Human sacrifice

• Eye candy

• Nerd

• The dumb blonde that dies first

• The fat person that’s one of the first to die

• The pretty “fit” lead girl

• The heroic “fit” lead guy

• Annoying “moronic” character that screws everything up

• The person who's emotionally attached to one of the

zombies and not want to kill them or keeping them safe in

a room.

• The person that loves killing zombies but whose eventual

cockiness gets them killed.

• The person that freaks out and eventually causes some

sort of disaster.

• The peacemaker who tries to keep people together when

they go for each other's throats.

• The love interest is there to inspire hope, no point

surviving if you can't share it with someone and continue

the human race.

Beginnings & Endings

• Cliff-hangers

• Everyone dies

• Zombies are killed/cured

• Show previous world

• Find out about what has

happened to cause

“zombie world”

• Introduce main

characters, of whom are

survivors of the “zombie

virus”

Warm Bodies• Camera follows guy as he “talks”

• Camera goes to different people as guy “speaks” about them

• Shot is as if it is through “his eyes”, and them including him as well

• Music & effect changes as he describes flashbacks (and they’re shown)

• Flashback becomes IRL around him (becomes lighter)

• Lighting reflects his mood (sad/lonely)

• Flashback music becomes more flowing/light, showing they’re happier when alive

• He walks slowly/sluggishly showing he’s sad/lonely

• He “talks” slower/ more monotone as he speaks of his day, but lighter with more flow in the flashbacks

Zombieland

• No talking

• Everyone is running in slow-mo

• People run/fall towards the camera

• Everyone looks scared, running away

• Music is very “pumped”/action-like

• Zombies covered in blood, still quite fast and seem more intelligent

• Set in daytime, normal looking scene except for chaos and zombies/blood

• Credits are involved within the scene, bumped out of the way by the characters ect – text in blood red

Shaun of The Dead• Normal looking setting

• Bouncy music

• Everything in sync with music

• First close up you see, man just woken up “zombie-like”

• Typical men, playing video games in a messy house

• Tension builds up in mirror, pacey music, quick shots of

breakfast/tea making

• Playing zombie games – things start pointing towards zombie

• “They position the audience to think that the situation is very

normal, before revealing that a zombie attack has broken out –

Use & Gratification”