The web page for the film 'Land of the Dead' is not very much like its predecessor at all. Dawn of the Dead focused on hot, bright colours to give a more ironic yet scary feel, however the mood created by this poster is a very dark and evil one. The font is very big and are, quite predictably, red. The red conveys the idea of blood and danger. The image is surrounded by two horizontal strips of text. I expect they are trying to focus on the main image as that is what is going to attract interest. The title is headlibned by the directors name. George A Romero is a very prestiged direcor and it is no surprise the flim company want to flaunt off that it is him directing and writing the film.

It is a close-up raised shot looking down slightly on a crowd of zombies. This shot makes the camera eye-level with the zombies and adds to the 'piercing look' effect of the main zombie at the front's eyes. These kinds of visual elements on a movie poster can convey powerful messages. The best posters may make you anxiously anticipate an upcoming release. The worst ones may not have a persuasive effect at all.

Charlie :)

The beginning of the trailer for 'Land of the Dead' shows footage from the film 'Night of the Living Dead'. It is accompanied by eerie, ghost like text. It explains how one man made us fear the night. This is of course in reference of the director George A Romero; who is known as the grandfather of the zombie due to his famous chain of zombie films. They had to mention George A Romero as his works are widely renowned so if the audience know this film is created and directed by him it will make the audience want to see the film just because its directed by him.

The trailer doesn't show action clips until about a minute into the trailer. Before this they use a kind of heartbeat camera effect in which the camera fades in and out with the heartbeat until the action kicks in. This is a very good tension building technique and it related well with the audience; as your heartbeat is expected to speed up when it gets to the scary/action-filled bits.

The non-diegetic soundtrack used to accompany the film consists of very heavy guitar chords being played as clips flash up. This guitar is useful as it fills out the silence that would otherwise be unaffective as just a clip with no audio. When making the audio for our film we will need to use a more rock influenced track to back our film as anything soft or mellow will not match up with the action and gore our trailer has.

Charlie :)

This is the promotional poster for the film 'Zombieland'. Now for starters the title of the film is very unoriginal and cliche name. However i think that the creators gave it this name as it is ironic and almost mocking the typical horror/zombie sub-genre. This appoach means the film has a more likeable and wider appealing title, as it doesn't have a deep hidden meaning or story related title. This is a clever idea however i doubt i will use it due to my film not being a comedy.

The poster has a kind of 'global havoc' feel about it; this is pioneered by the simple yet effective colour scheme. The black gives it the scary horror feel while the shades of red and orange connotate (and are used to colour the) fire which the image has. These flames and explosions show the major dis-equilibrium the film will contain and also signifys the fact that there will be alot of action.

The actual image is of a charred globe looking as if its about to end. It is highlighted by a bridge and a fun fair which will be key settings in the film by the looks of it. It has a very industrial feel to it. This globe is backed by a kind of dark explosion which lifts it out of the page and collaborates well with the explosions used. The globe is enveloped by the name of the film. The text is also in a very industrial, block style and carries on the colour scheme as it has a orange face.

The tagline at the bottom caps off the humour with the ironic comment 'This place is so dead'. The pun uses the slang term for dull and mixes it with the theme of the film to make a funny and relatable phrase.

Charlie :)

The image above is of the zombieland main webpage. When comparing this to the dawn of the dead webpage i analysed earlier you can tell that that are not of the same genre. Zombieland has focused on promoting the cast in their webpage as they use more well known actors than dawn of the dead used.

The page contains links that use promotional tactics such as: 'Zombie quiz', 'photos', 'iphone app', 'facebook' and 'zombie tweet'. These fuctions seem to make much more use of todays technology such as links to iphone and facebook. This shows its appealing more to the teen generation. This theory also links in with the actors who consist of 3 teens of varied age (for the audience to relate to). The page also gives links directly to ticket selling websites which allows drawn-in audience members to easily and quickly buy tickets at their leisure so it also gives a financial reason for websurfers to use the page to order tickets. At the top of the page is a ever changing text, which shows positive quotes left by reviewers. This gives the audience a insight to what the film is like from a critics perspective and since they are good they assume the film is worth seeing.

The colour scheme is very dark and dull, the main theme being black witha orange contrast on certain words. The actors and actresses are given clothes with blank dark colours to match. They are enveloped by a kind of mist or fog which blends well with the page. The layout is very simple with an image of the main characters outlined with links to different things (the more important of them being larger).

Charlie :)

Before i start analysing the actual zombieland trailer, there are a few things outside the actual video of the trailer tht should be taken into consideration for my project. The green screen on the left is shown at the start of any american trailer to show that the film is only appoved for 'appropriate audiences' and the trailer is legally obliged to show this. Although there is a different type of judgement in the UK.;I will research into what it is and inculde it in my trailer for the added realistic feel. Also in many trailers they show the film studio companies such as: 'Universal' which has the idealistic globe with the golden universal font around it. '20th Century Fox' has the spotlights and towering font over the landscape. Both these brands are very well knownin the film industry and i think it would be a good idea to think of our own production label, and meanwhile make it very recogniseable. In 'Zombieland' the Columbia studios logo isnt shown until 40 seconds into the clip and is used to segment 2 parts of the trailer. It starts off with a extreme long shot of the earth and zooms into the infecting speading. So it is showing the story and genre of the film. Then the columbia clip is shown for a split second and then it cross fades to introduce all the characters. So the film studio clip can be very cleverly used as a method of transition between clips and i think i will use this in my trailer.

When you look into the message that the trailer is trying to give it is distinctly different from any other zombie films and this is what makes it special. The narrator has a much more mocking and sarcastic tone to his voice. It is also not as deep as the normal horror/thriller narrator. It gives a much more comedic feel to the trailer and gives a hint that its not going to be your average zombie movie.

As it gets further into the trailer its becomes apparent that it is going to be of the horror/comedy sub-genre. It has the typical zombie chase scenes however they have the added sense of humour such as funny faces in slo-motion (pictured above). This is all good as it is a very origional idea that appeals to a wider audience as it is both comedy and horror. However i dont think it is the direction our trailer will take.

Charlie :)

When looking at the promotional poster for 'dawn of the dead' it is obvious that the image and colour scheme is the same one used on the website. The is a clever promotion strategy to use as it gives the film visual representation and has a kind of logo role to give the film recognition. When creating a poster for our film we will have to give the logo idea a large amount of consideration. Perhaps some kind of nuclear or infection sign would be used... The hot colour range and silhouettes walking towards the camera are synonymous to the zombie sub-genre and when seen give the audience a clear idea of what they are to expect from the film.

The font is all in bold and black to contrast the light colours from behind; the black connotating darkness. The text is quite a simple, sophisticated one. The emphasis is on the words 'dawn' and 'dead'. Not just because 'of' and 'the' are insignificant but they both relate to the main theme of the film. 'Dawn' signifies the start or coming of the 'zombies.' This word also gives the impression its the first in the series (which it is). 'Dead' is a much more dark and blunt word. Its straight to the point and shows the person looking at the poster its going to contain gore and death.

The bottom of the poster uses a kind of reflection from the midpoint of the zombies bodies instead of them standing on the ground. This fills the poster and also, more importantly, gives a eerie effect. This is caused by the reflection being given a refracting effect much similar to water. Also note the very, very small print used at the bottom to show the less important yet vital directors, producers and actors. The date at which the fillm will come out is in bright blood red to contrast the white background so it stand out. It is also centered and very 'stand-alone'. All this is used to inform the audience as to when the film is out to the best of their ability as; along with promotion the audience need to know when the film is going to be released so they know when to see it.

Charlie :)

When producers creates a webpage to intertwine with the release of a new movie. Their sole intention is to promote and show off their film to potential customers surfing the internet. Therefore it is no surprise that the first thing i encounter after i type in the web address is a promotional poster for the 'unrated director's cut' version of the film on DVD.

It is no surprise that many of the effects used are stereotypical to the genre. These include: The dark, shadowy outline of the 'zombies' that seem to be limping towards the camera. The colours used are hot (eg; red,yellow) which connotate danger and blood. The colours fade in from the background as if to show the zombies walking away from the destruction they've caused. The title makes 'dawn' and 'dead' in a bigger font than the others as they are much greater in importance in signaling what the film is about.

When you get to the actual webpage it is less about the promotion and more informative. Giving a background story to the film and such features as: About the film, photographs, media and downloads. It carries on the somewhat autumn-like colour scheme but also the page had bloodstains in the background to connotate death. There is an eerie background track on loop while on the website. This gives the page character and gives it a real connection to the film. When we make our website we will follow some of the steps that dawn of the dead used in creating an effective and informative, yet interest-drawing webpage.

Charlie :)

When it comes to making films, the trailer is very much the main method of promotion and because of this it is vital that it is used effectively as producers want to create as much demand as possible an therefore maximize profits. Trailers tell the story of a movie in a highly condensed fashion. Since the purpose of the trailer is to attract an audience to the film, the clips shown in the trailers are usually drawn from the most exciting, funny, or otherwise noteworthy parts of the film but without revealing spoilers. Also these scenes are not necessarily in the order in which they appear in the film. All of this has to be achieved within the time slot of 2 minutes and 30 seconds as this is the maximum length allowed by theaters.
With all this knowledge in hand am going to analyze the trailer of the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. To perhaps provide me with foundations for my personal trailer to be built on and also give me ideas for camera angles, storylines, lighting, settings and props that can be used.


Most trailers have three phase structure similar to a feature-length film. They start with a beginning that usually contains an equilibrium (everying is fine) and lays out the premise of the story. When looking at the Dawn of the Dead trailer this very much applies. Everyone is happy and smiling and the mood generated by the clips and non-digetic sound is very calm. This happy aura can also be shown by the image i took from the trailer on the left which shows a bright setting and a child playing.



When it gets to the one minute point (middle point) of the trailer the disequilibrium starts to kick in as the audience gets an insight to the genre and nature of the film. The happy child seen earlier is infected and attacks her father in a gory clip. Many fast paced exciting scenes are put together in quick succession for a more interesting and gripping trailer. This follows with an establishing, panning shot of the now turmoil engulfed town which is shown by the fire and people being attacked by 'zombies.' Also after this the clip fades to a black screen and text fades in up saying 'when there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth' which is also the line used as the tagline for the film. This pops up in a eerie white text, and due to the lack of a voice-over this gives the audience a real direction to what the film is about an where its going.



This last part of the trailer consists of a visual montage of powerful and emotional moments of the film and also once again ups the tempo. Some trailers contain a cast run if there are noteworthy stars that could help sell the movie however this particular one doesn't. It is in many ways a summary of the vital parts of the film and is important as the end of the trailer is the part that is deemed with the responsibility of leaving an imprint in the audiences mind. Many trailers do this with a cliffhanger and uses a very 'to be continued' approach. If you look at the image i extracted from the dawn of the dead trailer (on the left,) it focuses much more on the protagonists being in danger and running from the infected. The music used is much more fast-paced and epic which correlates with the acting at the same time.

As the trailer is of the same horror sub-genre as what i want my own trailer to be it has been very easy to develop ideas from the piece I analyzed. These include remote eerie settings, a diversified cast, a lot of gore, rapid action scenes and much more. I will use these ideas and develop them into my own form to give my trailer a unique selling point and and a more original storyline.

Charlie :)

Last Sunday we filmed the beginning of our trailer for our film. We were short of time and actors so we didn't have an excessive amount to work with. Because of this we planned much of the storyline on the spot. We made advancements on out project which include using a more 'Blair Witch' style camera which doesn't include the use of tripods and other camera equipment. This allowed us the time and flexibility when it came to camera angles and editing as it is filmed with a handheld effect. The handheld effect gave the film a sense of realism as it puts the audience in the film with the actors as it is filmed from their perspective.

The zombie apocalypse is a particular, in some senses stereotypical, scenario of fiction. In a zombie apocalypse, a widespread (usually global) rise of 'zombies' hostile to human life engages in a assault on civilization. This scenario is the generalised direction our trailer has taken. I think this is helpful to our development as it allows us to study zombie films that use similar storylines and gives our trailer a foundation to work with (e.g Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead.)

When it comes to film trailers the last thing you see, or hear, is the title of the film. Without a good title your film can lose potential viewers as they can get the wrong idea. For example; If your zombie horror film is called 'Dead Sausage' you would think its a zombie comedy subgenre of some kind. Similarly if is was named 'Gangsters Paradise' it would be completely unrelated to the film genre altogether. When researching titles from the zombie genre; many of the words used connotate death and a variety use variations of the word 'dead' as this gives us a clear insight to what the film is going to be about (e.g Dawn of the Dead.) When taking all this into account it becomes clear we will need a death or infection related title so it does relate to the genre however we dont want to follow the trend and called it some expected and boring like 'Undead' or 'The Walking Dead.' I believe it would be better if we had a cleverly thought out title with a deeper meaning. We will continue to think on the subject during filming.

Charlie :)

When looking into how a film relates to its audience, the actors aren't the only factor that comes into play. The use of props can be vital in establishing a connection with its audience. For example in the film in researching, 'Dawn of the Dead' , they are trapped in a mall. This means they have limited access to resources such as weapons and other survival gear. They go to garden and sport stores to pick up things such as spades and ice skates to defend themselves against the infected. This may look simple but it is very clever as the actors are using things they would have in a real situation instead of pulling out a rocket launcher or a trident, which they certainly wouldn't have access too.

When taking this factor into account (the trailer being filmed in a school) we decided that we should only use props accessible via school grounds such as sports and maintenance equipment. This would include shovels as weapons and such...

Charlie :)

In the last post Ross explained how he can get access to a school enviroment. We thought this would be a great idea to create a USP in converting from a simple horror trailer, to a more survival orientated trailer.

The idea of the plot is a group of people (probably teens; due to the school setting and limited access of actors) are the only few surviving humans from a viral outbreak in their local town an they have seeked shelter in enclosing themself into school grounds, where they cannot be reached by the infected. I got this idea from watching the film 'Dawn of the Dead' in which a group of survivors similarly seek shelter in a shopping center and the film focuses on how they survive rather than the stereotypical running from the monsters plot. In this i got a few ideas of what what to include in our trailer.

In the film the actors chosen all contrast in both personality and background story. For example upon waking, the main protagonist, Ana meets Kenneth Hall, a large, muscle-bound police sargent. They and three others –jack of all trades Michael, petty criminal Andre and his pregnant Russian wife Luda – break into the nearby crossroads shopping mall.

These five completely different characters provide diversity in emotional reactions to the outbreak which is very interesting, especially when the pressure of the outbreak situation brings out their true survival instincts. This included people backstabbing their friends for survival and a girl making the emotional decision to kill her own dad before the virus infected him.

Giving our film a varying cast of actors in a similar fashion i think will improve the trailer a lot. Instead of having 5 or 6, 17 year old boys. Have a mix of age, race and gender to improve appeal ability to the audience whatever culture or background they have.

When looking into why Dawn of the Dead grossed so much money, i found that it was because the audience believed provided a great insight into how people would actually go about trying to survive and that is what we are aiming to do in our trailer.

Charlie :)

As we have previously posted; we have decided to use a more widely known location for our trailer to give the audience a sense of reality. We will use at familiar London locations like the film '28 Days Later' uses Westminster Bridge.

Charlie :)