'Terminator Salvation' Shot by Shot Analysis

I could not find an opening of this film longer than this, so this will have to do for another short shot by shot analysis of an opening.

Shot 1

Tracking shot from POV of a missile (?) over land before it crashes into disc.

'On The Beach' Shot by Shot Analysis

'On The Beach' Opening

Shot 1

Underwater shot which rises to the surface and reveals a submarine also rising.

Post-Apocalyptic Soundtracks and Sound Design

Soundtracks and sound design play a prominent role in film, setting the tone and adding emotion. I need to consider what sort of tracks are used in post-apocalyptic films and sound design to get a good idea of what to use in my film opening.

Post-Apocalyptic Attracting Audiences

As said in my post on certifications, the target audience appears to be 15+ and, from my audience research, the main audience appears to be young adults. The advertisers of the films need to bear this in mind when advertising on websites and in trailers/openings, as they need to appeal to the right audience for the genre.

'Fallout 3' Opening Scene Analysis

May be stretching it a bit, but I believe that it may be interesting to take this approach. 'Fallout 3' is a game, but the opening scene fits the post-apocalyptic genre very well, just as 'The Last of Us' did with its title sequence, which I have analysed before on my blog.

Purpose and Conventions

The purpose of this opening is to set the mood for the game as a whole. It has the purpose of establishing desertion and isolation, a popular convention of the post-apocalyptic genre. It tells the story of the apocalypse through a monologue and opens the story of the entire game. Much of it is shown through flashbacks, both a common convention of the genre and a way of telling the story without going back to the apocalypse.

'The Road' Shot by Shot Opening Analysis

As with 'I Am Legend', I have decided to do both a shot by shot analysis and an opening scene analysis due to wanting to take influence from the two.

Shot 1

Title of the film, 'The Road', in bold capitalised white letters on a black background.

'Dawn of the Dead (2004)' Title Sequence Analysis

'Dawn of the Dead' Title Sequence

Conventions

The title sequence of the 'Dawn of the Dead' remake follows many of the post-apocalyptic genre's conventions. It is the remake of a classic zombie apocalypse film, arguably one of the biggest and what started the modern perception of a zombie apocalypse film. It uses many conventions to the genre and set by the original. This title sequence has lots of blood and gore, which is one convention of the genre and adds the horror element to the film.

Recce Shots, Clothing and Ideas So Far

Partner's Blog

I have ideas for certain things already, most of which I have discussed with my partner and he is happy with. I'm still trying to figure out what to include in the scene to make it more exciting, as so far I have only thought of two shots and the idea of an opening monologue. I'm unsure on whether or not to use other actors. If we do include other actors, we'll keep it to a minimum as I am hoping to achieve a sense of isolation. So far, I've thought of character's clothing, two shots involving the character, location of these shots, title effect and placing, an idea of the story (or lack of), possible lighting and ideas for the monologue.

Post-Apocalyptic Classification Research

There isn't much to find out in terms of classifications. Most post-apocalyptic films seem to have the age certificate of 15, with some 18s and some, but very few, 12s. This is probably due to the fact that post-apocalyptic films tend to be aimed at a more mature audience. The genre does seem to aim more at the 15 certificate than the others. Both films that I plan on taking influence from so far, 'I Am Legend' and 'The Road', are given the classification of 15, so I feel that 15 and above is the age range to aim for and give it the darker feeling needed in a post-apocalyptic opening.

Even with this in mind, my partner and I can still aim for a 12A classification or an 18, but I feel that 15 suits my ideal opening more than the others stated.

Post-Apocalyptic Costume Research

Costumes in post-apocalyptic films (and other forms of media) are designed to be rugged and dirty. This is due to the characters being unhygienic in a desolated world. There are post apocalyptic films about a utopia or dystopia where the characters are wearing clean and hygienic clothing and films set directly after an apocalypse where clothing isn't as rugged, but the brief I have chosen asks for a post-apocalyptic film set in the year 2025, and my partner and I plan on it being set quite a while after the apocalypse itself.



These are all good examples of post-apocalyptic films and the clothing within them. I hope to set the opening not too long after the apocalypse, and for the protagonist not to look as rugged and dirty as the ones in the above slides. 'I Am Legend' is a good example of that; hardened, but not too rugged.

'The Road' Opening Scene Analysis

Purpose and Conventions

The purpose of 'The Road' is to create a sunken and isolated atmosphere. There is a monologue that tells the audience the story of the apocalypse and adds a dark, dead atmosphere to the film. The purpose is to show the audience the current world within the film and an overall backstory. We're given an explanation through a monologue while being shown shots of a man and a boy walking through a dead world and trying to survive. The non-diegetic sound adds to the dead and hopeless opening.

Post-Apocalyptic Distribution Company Research

I've researched a few distribution companies that may be of interest for my film opening. I'll have more of a look in during my planning stages to see what fits with the overall opening. As said in the conclusion, I may make a logo look broken and desecrated to create the right atmosphere, as many films have done before. An example of this is 'Waterworld', where the Earth in the Universal Pictures logo floods and the land disappears, fitting the film's overall plot.

'I Am Legend' Shot by Shot Opening Analysis

Shot 1

Below is an establishing shot of the city. It straight away shows us that it is abandoned with cars being everywhere. The city looks wrecked and abandoned, exactly how it intends to.

Post-Apocalyptic Audience Research (IMDb)

The audience demographic of post-apocalyptic films tend to be everyone, from my research. I've looked into many films through IMDb and found that the ratings from each age group tend to be very similar. The amount of votes push much more towards a male audience, but that may be due to IMDb being more popular with males than females. However, even with this information in mind, the male audience vastly outweighs the female audience.

'The Walking Dead (Season 3)' Title Sequence Analysis

This time I'm focusing on the title sequence of a TV series, as it is still valid to the post-apocalyptic genre and could influence my film opening.

Conventions

This title sequence follows the conventions of previous openings that I have looked at. There's a sense of desertion and isolation, again. There are no characters other than a silhouette and a creature's eye in the opening, just shots of abandoned buildings and places. This seems to be a common convention of the post-apocalyptic genre, as it's becoming a theme. The sequence relies fully of abandonment accompanied by the exciting music.

'The Last of Us' Title Sequence Analysis

Unlike previous analyses, this one focuses on the title sequence of a game. The sequence itself is very good and suits the genre, making for a good analysis with unique things to look into.

Conventions

The title sequence of 'The Last of Us' follows many other post-apocalyptic sequences by having a series of news broadcasts played over it, telling us about the apocalypse so we have a sense of what's happening without seeing it. This is often used so the developers can jump straight to the post-apocalyptic story without becoming too involved with the actual apocalypse. This is the only convention used, other than the title sequence being rather dark and the music ominous, which may or may not be conventions of the post-apocalyptic genre depending on how you look at it.

'I Am Legend' Opening Scene Analysis

Purpose and Conventions

I believe that the purpose of this opening is to put the audience in wonder and fascination, while wondering what, exactly, is going on. The film is a post-apocalyptic science fiction horror film, so it goes into two of the given briefs. No science fiction elements appear in the opening, however, except perhaps the sense of fascination we're supposed to gain from the establishing shots of the desolated city. Another purpose to the opening of 'I Am Legend' is to establish a sense of isolation and loneliness, a common convention of the post-apocalypse genre.

'Zombieland' Title Sequence Analysis

Conventions

The title sequence of 'Zombieland' is supposed to be a comedic take on a zombie apocalypse. The sequence has a heavy amount of violence and comedic gore. It does follow many post-apocalyptic films before it, however, as the titles show how the apocalypse happened. This is a common post-apocalypse convention, as it's a quick way to show how the apocalypse happened while also giving the audience the titles.

'28 Weeks Later' Opening Scene Analysis

'28 Weeks Later' Opening Scene

The '28 Weeks Later' opening follows many of the codes and conventions that other films of the post-apocalyptic genre do, with added elements of horror to establish that it is also a part of the horror genre. The '28 Weeks Later' opening is a great and well known opening that uses many elements of the post-apocalyptic genre.

Briefs Given - It Starts

Today we were given the three film briefs, all of which are in the slide above, and were asked to decide whether we want to work independently or in a group. I chose to work with a partner for several reasons and haven't decided on a set brief yet. I will not do the vampire thriller for personal reasons, and so have the choice of science fiction or a post-apocalyptic opening.

'Sherlock Holmes' Opening Analysis

This opening analysis is different to my previous ones. I attempted to go more in depth, but struggled as the opening I chose didn't have all that much within it. I also tried to take on a large amount of things instead of putting my full focus on a mere few. 

'The Shawshank Redemption' Opening Analysis

Shot list of opening

Shot 1: Wide two shot of characters walking towards camera before a mid shot, cuts to:

Shot 2: Mid close up of the two characters, cuts to:

Shot 3: Mid close up of protagonist, cuts to:

Shot 4: Wide shot track car on road before pan establishing shot of building, cuts to:

Shot 5: Mid shot of man in car, camera moving forward until it is a close up, cuts to:

Shot 6: Mid tracking shot of protagonist running up stairs before becoming wide shot, cuts to:

Shot 7: Shot of car coming towards opening gates, cuts to:

Shot 8: Over-the-shoulder shot from behind driver looking out of car window, cuts to:

Shot 9: Shot of two officers running out of building before panning to car arriving in courtyard.