Zombie Land (2004)

Code and Conventions

Findings Textual Evidence

Creation of enigma.

Enigma is created in the opening of Zombie Land through the characters costumes, setting and make-up as the audience don’t know yet why there are zombies invading America.

When the zombie jumps on the camera man it creates enigma as it makes the audience question why there is zombie and where has it come from.

Introduction to

characters

There is usually a ‘hero’ character that kills the ‘baddies’. They usually feature binary opposition which is the idea that there is conflict between characters for example; Good vs. Evil, Villain vs. Hero, Villain vs. innocent character, etc.The zombies signify danger and gore as they are flesh eating and attack humans.

Here we see an example of the villain in Zombie Land.

The opening begins with the main character in the film doing a voice over. In this opening the first character you see is a zombie. This indicates straight away what this film is going to be about.

Setting up Plot

‘Propps sphere of action’suggests that most films plots begin with an equilibrium, then a disruption occurs and it finishes with a new equilibrium. Although in Zombie Land the plot begins with the disruption of the zombies eating and chasing humans.

In Zombie Land the setting up plot starts with a disruption as zombies are running around eating humans whilst a voice over of the main character is telling the audience about how he is alive and what not to do when living in a zombie land.

Pace and rhythm

Editing/mise en

scene/camera shots

Editing such as straight cuts and jumps are used to convey the action in the film and make it more realistic for the audience. The edits used are fast pace which connote a lot about the movie on a whole as you can see zombies jumping and chasing after humans.Handheld camera movement, quick zoom in

Zombie chasing after human.

In the opening of Zombie Land we see a woman holding a gun and she tries to kill the zombie with it. Tracking is used when the zombie is chasing the fat man across

Zombie Land (2004)

and zoom outs, extreme long shots and high angle, low angle shots and bird’s eye view establishing shots are popular in the Zombie Land opening. All of these are used to convey a fast atmosphere and discomfort. You get the feeling that it is an intense atmosphere and not a relaxed one. The setting is set in a normal city which connotes that there is a disturbance in the city and normal day life is not present. The lighting is very dim and dull to emphasize a lifeless, abandoned atmosphere. The dull lighting creates a sense of unease.Props such as guns are used which signify violence and death.

the football pitch. A low angle shot is used when the woman driving the van crashes and slides across the road. Throughout the opening the lighting is dim and dull.

Mood and tone (non-diegetic music)

Non-diegetic music is used to create an atmosphere. The music creates mystery and action in the opening of the film.Non-diegetic voice over of one of the main characters talking about what is going on in the opening scene.

http://putlocker.is/watch-zombieland-online-free-putlocker.htmlNon diegetic music is used at 1 minutes 20 seconds. The music follows through with the voiceover whilst the male character is chased by a zombie on the football pitch.Non-diegetic voice over of one of the main characters talking about what is going on in the opening scene.