Inspiration From Real Media: Shaun Of The Dead

Bella, Florence and Frances

Shaun Of The Dead 2004
Director: Edgar Wright 
Writers: Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg who was also the main character in the film
Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman.
Genre: Comedy/Horror

"A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living" IMDB

It is a parody of Dawn Of The Dead
The sequence starts off with a pan showing the work place of the women in a shopping centre. They all have the same miserable facial expression and are carrying out the same mundane task. This is contrasted by the balloons in the background which is seen as an image of celebration and happiness; it is ironic because they are acting like zombies so its almost foreshadowing what's going to happen later on in the film.

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Non-diegetic music plays throughout the whole sequence and is used in an upbeat yet creepy and mysterious way. The instruments used would be used in a typical horror movie but in this sequence it is adapted to the light-hearted situations.

This scene is also humorous as it portrays the men at the bus top as 'zombie like' when the film is about a zombie apocalypse. They all are dressed similarly in dull blue/tan colours and doing the exact same thing. It hints that technology is turning society into zombies and that everyone leads a boring routine life that almost needed a zombie apocalypse to make their life more interestin

Next there is a scene of teenagers walking in time with the music, this shows that teenagers do not really know what they're doing, almost looking stupid copying each other like this. This links in with the zombie apocalypse parody theme as they are all walking like they are injured when in fact they are just typical youths 'dancing'. This adds additional comedic value as it is heavily relatable to modern day society concerning the young adult population and their mannerisms.

The transition between these two scenes is interesting as the car drives across the scene and wipes away the last scene and introduces the next. This links the two scenes as they are both also on the street, this technique makes it easier ands smoother for the audience to watch . We are inspired by this technique as it is an easy way to change scenes and looks very effective, therefore we may use this technique when creating our own opening sequence.

This scene first appears to be scary as there is a close up of someone's feet walking in a 'zombie like' way, with a shadow of someone's body looking mysterious and creepy. The camera starts of with a close up then tilts up to his face as he's walking forward. This is paired with diegetic sound of him yawning which sounds like zombie grunting. This shows how similar everyday life is to 'zombie' life and that our innocent everyday actions connect with stereotypical zombie life this fits in well as it gives us an insight on what the film will be about.

Why did we choose this film?

We chose this film for ideas for the opening sequence we have to make as we wanted to explore both genres: comedy and thriller. Shaun Of The Dead uses these two genres so It fits in perfectly with our initial ideas. When making our sequence we will take into account what cinematography and editing techniques they have used:

• The non-diegetic music contrasting with the scenes
• The quick car swipe to change scenes
• The tilt upwards to show the characters whole body 
• Establishing shots to set the scene.