Research on our chosen genre

Research into our chosen genre

Our group has decided our genre will be the zombie film, a popular subgenre of horror. To see what is needed in a zombie-based film I have researched well-rated zombie films. I have also included horror as it is the main genre for our film. I carefully looked at what type of music was played and when. I also carefully analysed the relationship between each character, the backstory of how people became zombies and their appearances (costumes and make-up). I also had to take note of the camera angles they used and when they used it. I did this to see if there was a trick to where a certain angle worked more effective and if so may be our group could use it for ours. I looked at two certain movies that received good ratings. I researched Shaun of the Dead and I Am Legend.

Classic Narratives

In a classic zombie film, the protagonist is usually male. This is also seen in both my researched movies. In I Am Legend, Dr. Robert Neville who is played by Will Smith is a Doctor who tries to find a cure to the sudden outbreak of a disease, which turns those who are infected into superhuman predators. In I Am Legend, their zombies are not the typical rotten looking, slow and groaning zombies. Their zombies have superhuman strength and speed, they are also more aggressive.

The usual protagonist is typically a man who looks like a leader or was a leader in his past occupation. Although this does not apply to all of them as we see in Shaun of the Dead, the protagonist (actor Simon Pegg) is a salesman whose life has no direction. This is because zombie films are developing another subsubgenre of their own - a more comic version such as "Zombieland".

The disease or infection is usually spread across the world quickly and there is no cure for it at the beginning. Later in the movie the cure will be made by either one of the characters or scientist in the story’s world, but we do not know them. The cure for the disease will be made last minute and someone usually dies in order to retain it. This can be seen in I Am Legend as Will Smith finds the cure within a body of a zombie he captured and tested. The zombie’s blood is the cure and gives it to a woman named Anna (Alice Braga) and a boy named Ethan (Charlie Tahan). They were picked up by the Doctor during the story. They are confined in a room protected by reinforced windows but are surrounded by a swarm of zombies. In order for them to escape Will Smith sacrifices himself by letting a grenade go off while he is holding it. The woman and boy survive because they were in a small hidden room.

Zombies in most zombie based films are either slow or rotten. They can be easily killed by sending an attack to their head. But they are most dangerous if they attack in numbers. The police in the films are either wiped out or do not decide to send help as they fear they may get infected too. This highlights the fact that civilisation is crumbling as police officers are not helping civilians when they are in trouble.

The story will begin with a small group of survivors or just one man alone. Along the way they find more survivors and take them along on their journey to find help. Of course along their journey they will encounter zombies and members will die. The hero is the person who gives up their life in order to let the rest of the group escape.

In the group there will always be someone who disagrees with the rest of the group and desires power. This person will argue with the leader of the group and will leave on his own. This character will die later on in the story. There are also love relationships in a classic zombie storyline. The group will try and find them to see if they have too survived but the group will face many obstacles along the way. In a classic zombie film, zombies do not see and therefore have to rely on their hearing to catch survivors.

Classic Narrative for Horror:

• The beginning of a horror film focuses on central characters start a venture into a strange and ultimately threatening setting.
• Stumbling into a forbidding, and often forbidden, setting unleashes a wave of violence that leaves many (if not most) of the protagonists dead. As those who survive the initial onslaught begin to fight back, fear and fatigue provoke disagreement within the group, putting them at greater risk. Those who have come in contact with the monster may try to warn the larger community, or they go to the authorities to muster up support, only to be met with disbelief and mockery.
• The climax of the film generally involves a dramatic, sometimes apocalyptic, showdown between the main characters and the monster, with varying results. In contemporary horror films the resolution of the plot leaves open the possibility of the monster’s return.

Horror features as narrative conventions 

Taken from: Horror (Brigid Cherry):

‘Horror genre most important characteristics are the modes of affect that horror films intend to create in their audiences. It is these emotional and physiological responses that remain constant while other characteristics and generic conventions evolve. We need to consider how the technical codes of cinema are manipulated in order to bring about these responses.

The technical and formal features of cinema include editing, montage and pacing, camera work, framing and other aspects of cinematography and mise-en-scene such as lighting, sound and costuming, together with plot, dialogue, narrative and audience point of view, narrative structure and representations of characters. These cinematic codes have been developed and refined by horror filmmakers in order to depict horrific material visually and aurally.

The features that are frequently used by horror filmmakers to create a string of emotions such as shock, fear and revulsion commonly include point-of-view (POV) camera shots and framing, dark lighting, jump cuts and variations in pacing, visual (an often violent) spectacles that employ make-up, digital and other special effects, and discordant or otherwise unsettling musical cues and other sound effects’.

I am going to look at some of the technical and formal features that Cherry mentions. During our sequence we would like to create fear and suspense as Conor wonders around the area. Inserting eerie non-diegetic music in the background may help in achieving this.  Also using quite a deserted location and showing this through a long shot:

Urban setting in I Am Legend.
In the background you can see abandoned and wrecked cars informing us that chaos has erupted already. Long shot is used to highlight the amount of space he has informing us that he may be alone in the whole city. It also shows the loneliness of the character.

Mise-en-scène

The usual setting in a zombie film would be in a city or a town (urban) and it is often quiet and dark. The road will be filled with abandoned vehicles and some would be destroyed due to the chaos of citizens trying to escape from the disease. Building windows are usually smashed and rubbish will be all over the roads. The setting is supposed to show the end of the world.

I Am Legend's zombie. This type of zombie is the superhuman type  where it  gains  super strength and speed from the disease. The backlight centres the zombie highlighting the ferociousness in his expression. 

The character’s clothes would look ragged and worn out as they have been running or have not had the time to clean them. Their hair would look greasy and their face would look unclean. This will inform the audience that civilisation is falling apart. The zombies’ costume would be covered in blood and ripped. The zombie’s appearance will depend on the type of disease. I Am Legend zombies are the exact opposite of Shaun of the Dead’s. We are going to experiment wit make up to achieve the zombie look so that we are ready for filming.

I Am Legend's rifle prop. The outfit he wears clearly indicate that he is a major character. 

The roles need to fit the appearance of each character. The character who is to play the weak role needs to fit the stereotype of someone weak, so for example skinny. The zombies in a stereotypical zombie film would be the type who are slow and always groaning. Their flesh would look pale, ripped and some would have limbs missing. The lighting is always different as it depends on what type of zombie movie it is. In I Am Legend most of the action takes place at night as the movie’s zombies can only attack during dark times (when the sunsets). The lighting would be hard to work with as our group does not have outside lighting equipment. So we are going to use bright, crisp lighting to achieve that kind of eerie feel you get sometimes when the weather is cold and the air is almost echoey because there is nobody about, The props used will mostly be machinery like handguns and rifles. We could also use baseball bats, swords and knifes. The characters will also look for medical equipment such as bandages in order to help a character who has been bitten.

For camera angles, close ups seem to be a classic as the audience needs to differentiate between zombie and survivor. Close ups are needed so the audience can familiarise themselves of which character is playing what role. Also tracking shot or panning is often used for chase scenes. Sounds used are usually non-diegetic. Sinister like music are used to create suspense especially when the characters are trying to move without being noticed. The characters move because they either need to find a new shelter or they need more food and medical equipment. We could also use animal sounds to foreshadow tragic incidents. The sound of a crow crying as Conor walks into the woods could foreshadow that he will die soon. However silence could work if we do it correctly. By using silence all attention would focus on Conor and in the meantime also create suspense among the audiences.

Characters & roles usually found in zombie films

• The leader (usually male).
•  Scaredy Cat (The first one to die with a weak outer appearance).
• The betrayer (this character will not get along well with the group and wants to be in charge. He will later betray the group later on).
• The muscle (follower of the betrayer, uses his strength and hard looking appearance to threaten people).
• The brains (this character will help the leader and will stick by him. He uses his intelligence to help the group to survive).
•  Sacrifice (sacrifices himself/herself in order to help the group in some way).
•  Hero (someone who will save the group along the way).
•  Innocent (either a pet or someone little e.g. a child).
• The average Joe (this person was just someone ordinary before this happened but turns out to be a super killing manic against zombies. He will also be the character that will bring laughter to the group in order to brighten the mood).