Dawn of the dead intro analysis
The advert starts on the graphic
writing of “Dawn of the dead” written in bold red font; the red clearly is
meant to resemble blood (a typical trait of any horror film, the spilling of
blood). The crescendo sounds of people screaming is also typical of mass
pandemic in film (zombies in particular), as panic and vulnerability express
fear which ultimately is reflected among the audience members. The title
graphics appearing to be swept off screen give the effect of contaminated
blood, thus referencing the zombie virus in the film quite effectively. Also
the narrative voice of the conference speaker diegetically overlaying the shots
of soldiers and other realism footage and graphics focuses our attention on his
voice and what he has to say. The news footage creates the illusion of reality
for the audience to engage with and apply to themselves as they see world
televised media on a regular basis, and this is what makes it ever scarier to
watch! Identifying zombies straight away is a convention of almost every zombie
film, and “Dawn of the dead” is no exception – it’s done so that the genre is
established straight away, as it will be confusing to audiences if they are
introduced later when a sub-genre of panic and survival is introduced with no
introduction of threat. What is unconventional is the style of handy-cam
filming giving the impression that these extracts of footage were taken from the
public due to the grainy high contrast resolution and shaky holding technique.
It is indeed an effective technique when reflected with other zombie film
opening with a more structured plot and character development, as this is an
introduction to how the outbreak started as opposed to indentifying who the
protagonist/s are. The choice of synchronous music fits nicely with the horror
show being conveyed visually. Johnny Cash’s simple structured “when the man
comes around” is reflective of the breakdown of society, and his natural
portrayal of music somewhat describes how the structuring of man is returned to
its primate instincts. Ah zombies......
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