Genre
'Element 115' is a zombie-action-adventure film. To be able to conform to the conventions of this genre, we looked into many different films around our chosen genre. The way we represented the characters- Daniel, Maran and also the zombies in our film. The Events- the close fights between zombies and humans , Themes- sacrifice and friendship, Iconography- guns and apocalyptic misc on scene.
Character Representations
We learnt from researching the film, that the main characters portrayed in the zombie genre were typically quite young and fit as shown in the picture the four main characters- Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita and Little Rock. They all seemed to have a specialist skill set to suggest how they survive and cope in an apocalyptic world such as Columbus' intelligence and Tallahassee's combat skills. Using this information we made sure the two survivors in our opening sequence also had the characteristics and ability to survive in an zombie-infested world.
Another thing that inspired us from 'Zombieland' was the way the zombies were portrayed. The slow-moving pace and appearance of the 'undead' in 'Zombieland' was how we tried to resemble the zombies in 'Element 115'. Fast moving zombies in other apocalyptic films such as 'I am Legend' and '28 days later' we believed wouldn't suit our idea as we wanted the zombies to be easier to kill so we could show more action packed scenes.
Events
In zombie films there is use of binary opposites such as living vs the dead, this is the main struggle displayed in this genre, the survivors are trying to stay alive and must fend off zombies in the process. Zombie films always include lots of exciting fight scenes, and it is typical to see a characters be killed as well as zombies. Above is an example from the film 'Shaun of the Dead' in which there is is a struggle between the survivors and the zombies and some characters are killed by the zombies. Our film opening follows the convention of there is a lot of fighting between zombies and living however where as in most zombie films the fights happen up close, the fight between the survivors and zombies starts at a distance as a sniper is used. Our film therefore uses an adapted convention of the fights between the living and the dead.
Themes
There are many different themes used in zombie films, the main ones being survival, killing and death, we were quite interested in as well as the main themes, using less common themes such as friendship and sacrifice. The scene near the end of the film 'I am Legend' the protagonist Robert Neville choose to sacrifice himself to kill the zombies in order to help the other survivors. This is both and example of the themes sacrifice and friendship. This scene was a great inspiration for the end scene in our opening sequence in which the character Daniel uses a grenade to kill himself and the zombies so that Maran doesn't get harmed by them. Below is screenshots of the scene from 'I am Legend' and the scene from 'Element 115'.
This is the screenshot of Robert from 'I am Legend' sacrificing himself.
This is the screenshot of Daniel from 'Element 115' sacrificing himself.
Iconography
The typical iconography used in the zombie genre is zombies themselves and the apocalyptic setting, the other important bits of iconography are guns and weapons that the survivors often use to kill the zombies.
A scene from 'Shaun of the Dead' where Shaun and Ed use a spade and a cricket bat as weapons to fight the zombies with. In our film we used a sniper rifle and a pistol as iconic weapons that could be used to kill zombies in a encounter with them.
A scene from 28 weeks later showing the apocalyptic setting, there are upturned cars, rubble and the overall scene is unclean, the effect creates the sense of the apocalyptic world. On the right is a screenshot from our opening sequence showing a similar setting, there is pieces of scrap material such as the bin and the overall area also looks quite unclean.
Narrative Structure
Todorov's Theory
The structure of most zombie films have a similar style and format, we found through research that they typically follow Izetan Todorov suggested theory of narrative structure. 'Zombieland' was a film we did a high amount of research into, so will be the case-study I use as an example of following Todorov's theory.
Diagram of the 5 steps of Todorov's theory. The diagram shows how the steps can repeat.
Equilibrium
In 'Zombieland' the equilibrium stage is set before what has occurred in the film. It is that the world is normal and no zombie pandemic as occurred. This is what we also wanted to imply in our film that the world and people's live were once normal.
Disruption
The disruption stage in 'Zombieland' is the spread of a zombie infection which is highlighted at the beginning of the film. Our overall disruption is also that a zombie virus has spread and infected most of the world's population called Element 115, we show this by trying to show the landscape as unclean and damaged to create a sense of the apocalyptic atmosphere. This disruption in our film leads to many other issues is that people now may have to fend for themselves and against other dangerous survival groups. Later on in the film there are other disruptions such as the rivalry between two survival groups and more fights against zombies.
On right screenshot of opening shot of our film showing apocalyptic landscape.
Recognition
The recognition stage of Todorov's theory in 'Zombieland' is the fact the zombies are a problem and are dangerous. We also show that the zombies are a threat and in the opening sequence of 'Element 115', as we show them being wary of the zombies and trying to keep there distance. Other recognitions later on in the film would be discovery of dangerous rival survival gangs.
Screenshot from 'Element 115' when Maran and Daniel spot and are aware of group of zombies.
Solution
The solution in most zombie films is either to run from them or kill them, in 'Zombieland' there is a lot of fight scenes with the zombies and sometimes escaping zombies, and in our film we also include many zombies being shot and killed, other solutions we include are running away from them such as the chase scene in the opening sequence. The solution to the problems with rival survival gangs later on in the film would be a fight, agreement or one group escaping and choosing to leave the area.
Shot of Columbus running from Zombie Shot of Maran running from zombies
Shot of Tallhassee killing Zombie Shot of Maran shooting zombie
Narrative techniques used
In all films different narrative techniques are used to have different effects on the audience and entertain and make the film overall more enjoyable. Below are a list of some of the narrative techniques we used in our opening sequence.
Cliffhanger:
Having this shot at the end of the scene is use of a cliffhanger, the audience is left wondering and eager to find out who the masked figure was why they knock out Maran.
Narrative Enigma:
We rose lots of narrative enigma throughout the sequence, on the left is just one example. Suspense is built up from when the zombies are mentioned by Maran, and the audience become more engaged wanting to see for themselves, the climax is where the audience actually see the zombies through the perspective of the binoculars.
Use of Ellipsis and fast pace
In order the sequence quick and exciting we used techniques such as Ellipsis, Sound bridges, quick cuts and fast paced music. We used ellipsis when Maran and Daniel run away from the zombies so the sequence stays at a fast pace. Quick cuts and sound bridges prevented the quick tempo of the sequence from faltering, which in turn keeps the audience engaged. The music keeps the sequence upbeat and flows well with the shot lengths and quick cuts.
Form
From our research on title sequences we learnt there are key features that title sequences need to include, such as the introduction of characters, the narrative, the style and genre. It is also important to provide the audience with some information about the film.
Titles so information given
We used titles to provide the audience with information about the actors involved in the film and the people who had a part in creating the film. We also ended our opening sequence with a title shot of the name of the film, arguably the most important title.
Screenshot of title shot at end of our 'Element 115' sequence.
How narrative is established
Narrative is established in our opening sequence from the conflict between the survivors and zombies, the audience learns that there must have been a zombie infection of some sort. The audience also learn key features of the story from dialogue used by the characters such as the fact they live at a camp.
How characters established
In our sequence we show the main character Maran first followed by another character Daniel, Both characters are shown frequently so the audience get the sense that these characters are important. We wanted to make the audience think both characters had a large role in the film so the scene where Daniel dies is more of a surprise to them.
Screenshot showing characters Maran and Daniel
How genre established
Our opening establishing shot helps represent the genre as the setting shown in the shot is quite unclean and makes the land looks damaged. The grading is also quite dim to also help represent the apocalyptic mood and the inclusion of violence and zombies also connotes the zombie action genre.
Style
Another thing that inspired us from 'Zombieland' was the way the zombies were portrayed. The slow-moving pace and appearance of the 'undead' in 'Zombieland' was how we tried to resemble the zombies in 'Element 115'. Fast moving zombies in other apocalyptic films such as 'I am Legend' and '28 days later' we believed wouldn't suit our idea as we wanted the zombies to be easier to kill so we could show more action packed scenes.
Events
In zombie films there is use of binary opposites such as living vs the dead, this is the main struggle displayed in this genre, the survivors are trying to stay alive and must fend off zombies in the process. Zombie films always include lots of exciting fight scenes, and it is typical to see a characters be killed as well as zombies. Above is an example from the film 'Shaun of the Dead' in which there is is a struggle between the survivors and the zombies and some characters are killed by the zombies. Our film opening follows the convention of there is a lot of fighting between zombies and living however where as in most zombie films the fights happen up close, the fight between the survivors and zombies starts at a distance as a sniper is used. Our film therefore uses an adapted convention of the fights between the living and the dead.
Themes
There are many different themes used in zombie films, the main ones being survival, killing and death, we were quite interested in as well as the main themes, using less common themes such as friendship and sacrifice. The scene near the end of the film 'I am Legend' the protagonist Robert Neville choose to sacrifice himself to kill the zombies in order to help the other survivors. This is both and example of the themes sacrifice and friendship. This scene was a great inspiration for the end scene in our opening sequence in which the character Daniel uses a grenade to kill himself and the zombies so that Maran doesn't get harmed by them. Below is screenshots of the scene from 'I am Legend' and the scene from 'Element 115'.
This is the screenshot of Robert from 'I am Legend' sacrificing himself.
This is the screenshot of Daniel from 'Element 115' sacrificing himself.
Iconography
The typical iconography used in the zombie genre is zombies themselves and the apocalyptic setting, the other important bits of iconography are guns and weapons that the survivors often use to kill the zombies.
A scene from 'Shaun of the Dead' where Shaun and Ed use a spade and a cricket bat as weapons to fight the zombies with. In our film we used a sniper rifle and a pistol as iconic weapons that could be used to kill zombies in a encounter with them.
A scene from 28 weeks later showing the apocalyptic setting, there are upturned cars, rubble and the overall scene is unclean, the effect creates the sense of the apocalyptic world. On the right is a screenshot from our opening sequence showing a similar setting, there is pieces of scrap material such as the bin and the overall area also looks quite unclean.Narrative Structure
Todorov's Theory
The structure of most zombie films have a similar style and format, we found through research that they typically follow Izetan Todorov suggested theory of narrative structure. 'Zombieland' was a film we did a high amount of research into, so will be the case-study I use as an example of following Todorov's theory.
Diagram of the 5 steps of Todorov's theory. The diagram shows how the steps can repeat.
Equilibrium
In 'Zombieland' the equilibrium stage is set before what has occurred in the film. It is that the world is normal and no zombie pandemic as occurred. This is what we also wanted to imply in our film that the world and people's live were once normal.
Disruption
The disruption stage in 'Zombieland' is the spread of a zombie infection which is highlighted at the beginning of the film. Our overall disruption is also that a zombie virus has spread and infected most of the world's population called Element 115, we show this by trying to show the landscape as unclean and damaged to create a sense of the apocalyptic atmosphere. This disruption in our film leads to many other issues is that people now may have to fend for themselves and against other dangerous survival groups. Later on in the film there are other disruptions such as the rivalry between two survival groups and more fights against zombies.
On right screenshot of opening shot of our film showing apocalyptic landscape.
Recognition
The recognition stage of Todorov's theory in 'Zombieland' is the fact the zombies are a problem and are dangerous. We also show that the zombies are a threat and in the opening sequence of 'Element 115', as we show them being wary of the zombies and trying to keep there distance. Other recognitions later on in the film would be discovery of dangerous rival survival gangs.
Screenshot from 'Element 115' when Maran and Daniel spot and are aware of group of zombies.
Solution
The solution in most zombie films is either to run from them or kill them, in 'Zombieland' there is a lot of fight scenes with the zombies and sometimes escaping zombies, and in our film we also include many zombies being shot and killed, other solutions we include are running away from them such as the chase scene in the opening sequence. The solution to the problems with rival survival gangs later on in the film would be a fight, agreement or one group escaping and choosing to leave the area.
Shot of Columbus running from Zombie Shot of Maran running from zombies
Shot of Tallhassee killing Zombie Shot of Maran shooting zombie
Narrative techniques used
In all films different narrative techniques are used to have different effects on the audience and entertain and make the film overall more enjoyable. Below are a list of some of the narrative techniques we used in our opening sequence.
Cliffhanger:
Having this shot at the end of the scene is use of a cliffhanger, the audience is left wondering and eager to find out who the masked figure was why they knock out Maran.
We rose lots of narrative enigma throughout the sequence, on the left is just one example. Suspense is built up from when the zombies are mentioned by Maran, and the audience become more engaged wanting to see for themselves, the climax is where the audience actually see the zombies through the perspective of the binoculars.
Use of Ellipsis and fast pace
In order the sequence quick and exciting we used techniques such as Ellipsis, Sound bridges, quick cuts and fast paced music. We used ellipsis when Maran and Daniel run away from the zombies so the sequence stays at a fast pace. Quick cuts and sound bridges prevented the quick tempo of the sequence from faltering, which in turn keeps the audience engaged. The music keeps the sequence upbeat and flows well with the shot lengths and quick cuts.
Form
From our research on title sequences we learnt there are key features that title sequences need to include, such as the introduction of characters, the narrative, the style and genre. It is also important to provide the audience with some information about the film.
Titles so information given
We used titles to provide the audience with information about the actors involved in the film and the people who had a part in creating the film. We also ended our opening sequence with a title shot of the name of the film, arguably the most important title.
Screenshot of title shot at end of our 'Element 115' sequence.
How narrative is established
Narrative is established in our opening sequence from the conflict between the survivors and zombies, the audience learns that there must have been a zombie infection of some sort. The audience also learn key features of the story from dialogue used by the characters such as the fact they live at a camp.
How characters established
In our sequence we show the main character Maran first followed by another character Daniel, Both characters are shown frequently so the audience get the sense that these characters are important. We wanted to make the audience think both characters had a large role in the film so the scene where Daniel dies is more of a surprise to them.
Screenshot showing characters Maran and Daniel
How genre established
Our opening establishing shot helps represent the genre as the setting shown in the shot is quite unclean and makes the land looks damaged. The grading is also quite dim to also help represent the apocalyptic mood and the inclusion of violence and zombies also connotes the zombie action genre.
Style
We wanted to create a feeling of a dystopian future and an apocalyptic atmosphere, as we believed this best suited the Zombie/Action genre. In order to obtain these effects we made the grading of our sequence overall slightly dim, as shown in a screenshot below where you can see the dim grading. The sense of dystopia is in our film is a lot like the setting in 'I am Legend'.
We wanted the style of our film to seem quite serious, and wanted people to see the grim reality of what could happen in a zombie apocalypse. A good example of a zombie film we wanted to have a similar style and mood to is the film '28 weeks later' the sense of dread and little hope. An example from in the opening sequence is near the end when Daniel chooses to blow himself up. We hoped this character's death would shock and surprise the audience and could relate to Maran's sadness at his friend death. Below on the right is a screenshot of the shot of Maran's reaction and shock to Daniel's death and on the left a screenshot of the dark scene in '28 weeks later'.
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We wanted the style of our film to seem quite serious, and wanted people to see the grim reality of what could happen in a zombie apocalypse. A good example of a zombie film we wanted to have a similar style and mood to is the film '28 weeks later' the sense of dread and little hope. An example from in the opening sequence is near the end when Daniel chooses to blow himself up. We hoped this character's death would shock and surprise the audience and could relate to Maran's sadness at his friend death. Below on the right is a screenshot of the shot of Maran's reaction and shock to Daniel's death and on the left a screenshot of the dark scene in '28 weeks later'.
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