Dawn of the dead title sequence analysis
- 1. For my Media coursework I need to produce an opening title for a movie, the genre that my group decided to film was horror. In order for us to have a good effective title sequence we needed to do some research on other films. I will be analysing the film “Dawn of the dead.” I chose to analyse this title sequence to see what techniques are effective and to see how the five key elements in Mise-en-scene are used to create a good horror title sequence.
- 2. The first shot in the title sequence is of a flock of birds flying away, the natural environment creates a sense of peace and silence, however when the birds flee from the area the audience instinctively know that something bad is going to happen, this is used to give us a small amount of narrative context. The first shot lasts for a very short period of time and the first credit is shown, the text is red and written in blood on a black background. The text suggests that the movie is a horror/action movie and the black suggests that the movie is going to be dark and involve death. After this we see a large number of people praying which tells us they may be scared and hoping for a saviour.
- 3. The title of the film is shown in blood and “dawn of the dead” tells us the film is about zombies. The different parts of the title sequences are separated through the credits, each clip is very short and leaves the audience wanting to know what is happening and make them want to see the film. In the title sequences we are shown an interview which takes place, this is used also as a narrative to the title sequences and tells the audience that the movie is about undead zombies.
- 4. At 48 seconds a mutation of a cell is shown which gives us some context and tells us this is possibly caused by an infection. The title sequence goes into further narrative context and the use of news broadcasting tells the audience that the problem has affected a large area, possibly worldwide. The use of fire and smashed glass suggests chaos and disorder.
- 5. The use of handheld cameras provide unstable footage and the audience are given a shown the panic and confusion that the undead are causing. This gives the audience a sense of how the characters must be feeling.
- 6. A group of soldiers shoot down a group of media and news reporters at 1:50 which gives even further narrative context into how people are dealing with the situation, it tells us that people are not coping well and are killing each other through fear.
- 7. Throughout the montage of clips, non-diagetic music is played and it is the opposite of what people would associate with a horror action movie. This song is also different to the fast paced editing, I think this is to show that at the end of the title sequence everything will be calmer and we will see the aftermath of the beginning. In the title sequence there is no main character introduced to us, which could suggest the events that take place in the movie is in the future.