Analysing Film Openings - Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead

The production team that made Shaun of the Dead is called “Working Title” and these were in association with “Studio Canal”.

 

In the opening sequence of ‘Shaun of the Dead’ the first thing the audience see is a black screen and hear, ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials, which is a spooky sounding song in itself. When the song was written in the 70’s it was at the time when the youth were aimless and vacant like zombies due to Margaret Thatcher’s politics. In the film it is shorthand for the two main characters, Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Ed (Nick Frost) who are just like the teenagers who have no aim and no drive. The music itself has a haunting melody and sets the film up to be a zombie thriller. The camera cuts from the black screen to a pub scene and we see Shaun’s gormless, vacant face, which also links to the zombie theme, drinking a pint of beer and smoking a cigarette. This instantly gives the audience an insight into his characteristics. We then see what we assume is Shaun’s girlfriend (but is confirmed by the dialogue), Liz, and Shaun having a ‘couples discussion’, this quickly shows to the audience that the genre of the film is a zom-rom-com. It also is a good way to introduce the characters as the camera jumps from one character to the other. The reason this technique is so effective is because it clearly shows who is who, but the mid-shots allow the audience to see the characters clothing, so it shows what they are like. For example we see Ed’s slobbish t-shirt and jeans, and he is playing on a pinball machine, so this makes the audience assume that he will be a lazy lowlife who doesn’t seem to aspire to do much with his life, which turns out to be true. The mid-shot of Shaun having a discussion with Liz adds humour as Ed’s humorous remarks show the comedy side to the genre.

The mise-en-scene of the pub is spot on, behind the speech of the characters you can hear people talking, the landlord shouting and ringing the bell, you can also hear glasses knocking together and other general sounds that you would hear in a pub. Also, you can see people sat at tables, and the smoky haze lingering around the lights. On the table you can see empty glasses and beer mats. It is set out like a real pub would be and the audience doesn’t question whether it is a real pub or not because everything looks genuine.

In the pub there is a range of camera shots, the point of the pub scene is to establish the story line of the film, and the dialogue does that job the most, however the camera shots subtly help as well. For example to describe the characteristic of each character, a lot of close ups and mid-shots were shown of each person, also many mid-shots and over –the-shoulder shots were shown of Liz and Shaun together, which made obvious to the audience that they were a couple. The camera also cut to the character speaking or being introduced/talked about, this help make it obvious that is who and what part they play in the film.

Use of Sound

From the two minutes of the opening sequence we are introduced by a group of people who are having a conversation. Through the use of dialogue we can suggest the genre of this film is comedy. Swearing, use of negative language and sarcasm is used to create the humour. The first sound we hear is of a man shouting an order in what seems to be a bar. We are introduced to John who seems to sound unaware or unsure of the situation. This could show the audience that maybe he has a hard time making decisions, and we can reassure that when they are speaking about his friend, Ed who seems to always hang around with them two. How the scene is shot of them talking about Ed like he isn’t there with them seems like it’s a normal conversation a couple would talk about a load until we see the next shot of Ed on an arcade machine. This gives the scene a comical effect.

The next scene is when she explains what she wants and every time she stops for a breath you hear Ed swearing which gives a humorous turn to the situation. Throughout the scene you have this diegetic sound of the bars music which is swiftly played in the background.

Ed is a sort of character who doesn’t read situations out properly. So when he says something out of place it’s humorous. The last scene before the two minutes the couple sitting at the table are expressing their love when Ed burst into the conversations and asks if anybody wants drinks (swearing included).

John seems like a responsible, mature adult who wants to have a serious relationship but can’t say no to his best friend Ed. We hear that he’s trying not to hurt anybodies feelings. This is shown by the dialogue he says and the way he says it to his girlfriend which is as soothing and as calm as he can.