World War Z - Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQaSS1_EnI0

We will analyse different film opening sequences to

ensure that our film opening will convey the same

conventions of thriller. By doing this, the audience can

identify our genre.

The opening of the film ‘World War Z’ shows how life is now. The transport, the environmental issues, the technology... The opening scene is communicating to it’s audience all of the problems we face in modern society. This therefore gives us an indication that something will happen in the future of this film which will then make the audience question whether or not it could actually be true.

Mise–En-SceneThe opening scene of this film shows the tranquillity of our world, which is then starkly juxtaposed with the issues we face in today’s society. It then shows the common problems we face every day like medical and environmental issues as well as reports about feral animals , dead dolphins and rioters. After giving the audience something to think about, the setting then shows trees in the morning sun which contrasts with what we’ve just seen. It also links back to the beginning of the clip which introduces a cyclical effect that can then foreshadow a turn of events that is later to come in the film. The fact that it ends in such an idyllic way shows that it is away from any type of society which can convey feelings of hope and serenity.

The name of Brad Pitt is slightly bigger than the other names that are mentioned in the opening which indicates that he’s the main star. This makes the audience want to watch it as everyone knows who Brad Pitt is.

The letter Z is presented in a bigger font than the rest of the text. This could be to symbolise the zombies that try to take over eventually dominate the city in the film. The red and orange colouring of the letter Z stands out against the bleak background and can symbolise war, fire and blood. Just from this we get an idea of what the film is going to be about without it giving much away.

“RESEARCHERS STILL DONT KNOW WHATS CAUSING DOLPHINS TO SWIM ASHORE”This leaves the audience thinking that something disastrous is going to happen at some point in the film as no-one can estimate what is causing dolphins to swim ashore. Whatever it is, we know it’s going to be bad as it chills the audience to think about what’s really going on beneath the rolling blue depths.

Camera workThe camera work in the opening of this film shows a wide variation of angles and techniques used. Establishing shots are used to convey positive thoughts about our world before moving on to notify the audience of the complications we face in modern society. However, there is one establishing shot of the slums which differentiates from the establishing shots we are being shown. This makes the audience think about the positive things as well as the negatives to do with today's society. Long shots are used to show large amounts of people scurrying around in not much space which shows overpopulation being yet another issue.

We also see high angle shots of the people in slums and on the bus. In all of these shots, they are shown to be in less economically developed countries in the far east. The type of angle shots used in these places suggest that the people who live in poorer countries have less power.

Editing And SoundThe sound in this opening is quiet piano music, which is a non- diegetic sound. The audience expects piano music to be calming and relaxing. However, when this music is placed in a thriller /horror movie with deepened notes and faster paces, it automatically becomes quite unnerving, especially in this situation. The volume of it gently eases the audience into the movie without giving them too much too soon. As the audience gets more into the clip, the music gets slightly faster, which builds tension for the audience as they don’t know what to expect or when to expect it.

The sound of the news being read by newsreaders overlaps each news story. This gives the audience more information in a short amount of time and builds dramatic tension in the audience as the pace of it gets faster along with the music. From this, the audience already knows that something will happen in the film that disrupts our society.

The effect throughout the opening scene is quite clever. It’s like letters that have been zoomed into which is cutting off or blurring parts of the screen. I think that it is supposed to read ‘World War Z’ when it zooms out. Having an effect in the opening intrigues the audience and allows room for the subtitles to be seen clearly. Here are some examples from the opening scene, and as you can see, some parts are blurry or black, or even both:

Representation

The letter Z in the title of the film could represent ‘Zombies’. It doesn’t tell the audience what it actually stands for which creates an element of mystery. From the title and from the opening scene, you wouldn’t know what the film was about other than the clue ‘world war’ in the title and from watching the trailer, therefore making the film context dependent.

The feral animals shown in the clip could suggest that the film is about some sort of untamed murderous desire that fulfils something, either human or something else entirely.

Todorov’s Narrative TheoryTodorov in 1969, produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any movie. He thought that all movies followed the same narrative pattern (shown in the diagram).

His theories don’t follow the ‘World War Z’ opening as it is mainly informing the audience of news that has gone on before the zombie apocalypse leading up to the start of the disruption as the film starts in a zombie interference. The equilibrium is shown in the first part of the opening when it shows the setting by using establishing shots. The shots are of calming scenes like beaches. Other than that, the opening scene doesn’t follow Todorov’s theory as there is no disruption, resolution or restored order. The new equilibrium would be at the end of the opening when the music calms and the scene is of trees in the sun.

This proves Todorov’s theory wrong because not all films follow the same narrative order.

Propp focused on the way there seemed to be different ‘types’ of characters rather than individuals. He recognised 8 character types:The Hero The Villain The DonorThe dispatcherThe false heroThe helperThe princessHer Father

Propp's Character Theory

Propp's theory is centered around the types of characters within a narrative and through his theory we are able to understand the different characters in movies. However, We cant tell much about ‘World War Z’ from the opening scene as the characters aren't yet introduced.

Barthes TheoryBarthes main theory is based around 2 codes: Enigma and Action codes. Enigma codes is the mystery that the audience are left to decode. Action codes are events which have logical consequences. E.g. when food is presented, there is a probability that the character will eat it.He said that a text may be open or closed. Meaning that it may or may not be obvious as to what happens.

For the ‘World War Z’ opening, I'd say it was closed, purely because if you didn’t know what the movie is about, the opening scene will just confuse the audience even more as it doesn’t tell them what to expect.

Enigma Code: Pretty much the whole opening scene leaves the audience guessing what’s going to happen next, which makes it an enigma code. It leaves the audience with questions like, why is this relevant to the movie? What chased the dolphins out of the sea? What is going to happen next? Etc.

Action Code: The opening doesn’t contain many action codes as it is mainly made up of news reporters describing previous problems.