Zombieland

I researched the opening of this film because this is also an action comedy. This is the same genre as the production I will make. The first shot is of the Sony warning which is followed by the distributors which are Colombia which is owned by Sony. The first shot is of an American flag which shows where the film is shot. There is a non diegetic voice over telling the audience about what has been going on. This involves the audience in the film which makes the audience feel what would happen if they were in that situation. This also shows that he will be one of the main characters in the film. The first shot establishes both the main character and where they are. Then there is a stedicam of the camera returning to its rightful position. At which the camera looks around as a human would if they were in a strange place. This is a great shot to make the audience want to watch the rest of the film because this shot makes the audience feel like there, there. This works well when the camera is running away from the zombie as it approaches you but when it comes to close the camera evades to the right and you see the zombie eating the man. Then it zooms out to an aerial shot of the planet whilst it has a non diegetic low dull music in the background which represents the mood of the country. Then it zooms back into an American football pitch of an overweight guy running away from a zombie. Then there is a pan watching the zombie and the overweight man which is set in the stands as if it was a game. Then there is a medium long shot of two cars crashing which suggests this place is hectic. Also there is ambient sound of the cars crashing into each other. Then there is a panning long shot showing two zombies running after someone. There is ambient sound of people screaming and zombies running. Also a non diegetic voiceover explaining what is happening which is also adding humour to the scene. Then there is a tracking long shot following ahead of the zombie. Then there is a close up shot inside the car as it hits the zombie, also ambient sound of the windscreen cracking. Then there is a panning long shot showing the zombie falling of the bonnet of the car. Also there is ambient sound of the cars brakes. There is a medium tracking shot following a zombie dressed in police uniform which suggests that there is no one out there which is going to save people, which creates tension because you want to see if anybody at all comes to help the people from the zombie invasion. Then it cuts to an over the shoulder shot of the women shooting the zombie. The women  is dressed in a long coat with her hair tied back which suggests she’s a business women not a women who is used to firing a gun which makes the audience think that it doesn’t matter what your profession is you will still have to fight the zombies. Then there is a close up which pans down to the zombie, which wakes up and bites her in the ankle. There is also ambient sound of the women screaming in pain. Then there is a long shot tracking out showing that the camera on the other hand the audience doesn’t want that to happen to them. Then there is a cut in shot of the zombies biting the women. This ends on you wanting to see who is the man speaking the voiceovers. Also you want to know if he will survive.

Film Crew

Film Crew

Producer: the film producer is the person who creates the conditions for making the movie. The produce also supervises so that there film is going to plan and that it will be on schedule.

Executive Producer: an executive producer is usually an investor watching that there money is going to good use and that they can give more if needed.

Production manager:  the production manager watches over the physical actions of the film to make sure everything is going correctly.

Unit manager: the unit manager is basically the same as the production manager, but is there to help them with decisions and encase the production manager becomes ill or has personal problems.

Production coordinator: the production coordinator is the person who collects all the information and distributes it.

Post-Production supervisor: the post-production supervisor keeps a clear communications between the director, editor, producer and other important people in the film.

Director: the director is responsible for overseeing the creative aspects of the film.

The first and second assistant director go around over viewing what the cast are doing and report back to the main director.

Production assistant: the production assistant helps the director with the production side of the film.

Script supervisor: the script supervisor keeps a track on which parts of the film have been shot and what have not been shot.

Stunt coordinator: the stunt coordinator helps with organising the stunt specialists and where they should be.

Casting director: the casting director chooses the actors for the characters for example choosing Angelina Jolie for the character Lara Croft.

Production Designer: the production designer is the person who makes the appearance of the film for example the back ground (matte)

Art director: The art director works closely with the construction coordinator to oversee the aesthetic and textural details of sets as they are realized.

Assistant art director: the assistant art director assists the art director by suggesting but also learning from the art director.

Set designer: the set designer is the person who creates the set behind the characters.

Illustrator: the illustrator illustrates the ideas which the producer gives them.

Set Decorator: the set decorator is in charge of decorating the film set.

Buyer: the buyer rents or buys the mise en scene in the scene.

Lead Man: the lead man is main man of the set, he also assists the director.

Set dresser: the set dresser dressed up the cast and makes sure they look the same in every shot.

Props master: the props master is in charge of finding and managing all the props on the set.

Props builder: the props builder makes the special props which can’t be brought in the shop.

Weapons master: the weapons master takes care of all the firearms which are used in the set.

Construction Coordinator: the construction coordinator overlooks the making of the sets.

Research into Comedy Action films

I am going to create an opening to a comedy action film so I have chosen to research into films like these. One which I like is Shawn of the dead. Shawn of the dead has an age certificate of 15 which will be the rating which I maybe use. The opening of Shawn of the dead first sets of telling the audience who the distribution company are which in this case is universal studios. Then it cuts to the name of the company which produced the film which in this case is working title. They used a non-diegetic sound in the background as a sound bridge to link the scene in the pub to the black screen to start the film of. This also shows this film will be action packed but also have a touch of comedy in the mean time. The first shot you see is a close up of Shawn suggesting that his one of the main characters and that this film will be about him and his life. There is a focus pull on Shawn showing the audience where to concentrate their eyes on Shawn as with the same close up shot of Liz which also has a focus pull which also shows that she is another main character of the film.
The next shot is an over the shoulder shot of Shawn from Liz’s view. This has been cut from the previous shot which ended off with a zoom out. This is also a focus pull because the writer wants the audience to know that Liz is another main character. Then it goes to an over the shoulder shot of Shawn which is also a focus pull which shows you what you are supposed to look at. I will use focus pulls in my final piece to show what you are supposed to look at in the shot. Then it pans over to the left which is of Ed on the fruit machine. You can see that Ed is poor because of the way he dresses and the way he speaks, because of the use of language he uses. Then it zooms out so you can see Liz and Shawn talking but there is a focus pull so you are more interested in Liz and Shawn’s conversation than Ed on the fruit machine. Shawn asks what does ableak mean, which shows you that he is not the cleverest  person in the world where as Liz knows what this means which shows that she is more clever than him because she knows what it means. They use a lot of shot reverse shots to share dialogue because you see both of the people talking. I will use shot reverse shots when sharing dialogue. The barman knows Shawn’s name and that he like hobnobs which shows that Shawn goes to that pub quite often.
To conclude I have learned that when I use speech I will use shot reverse shots because these shots work well with conversation. I have also learned that when I need to move the attention of the audience to another part of the shot I will use a focus pull.