The opening of the Dawn of the Dead Re-make helps to establish the story line very quickly using a number of different techniques that also help to build up tension from the beginning. The opening of the dawn of the dead remake starts building tension before we see the film actually start; the universal studios logo has sinister music played over it to tell the audience that there is something not right from the beginning of the film, this is shortly followed by what looks like a mushroom cloud that then focuses into a skull that looks like its on fire, this then does a match on action that turns the flaming skull into a picture of an x-ray, this very short match on action helps to set the mood of the film and helps us to pick up on the fact that there will most likely be violence, mayhem, killing and destruction as skulls are generally associated with death and that fire and flames are associated with destruction.
The camera then pans across to show a doctor speaking about golf so we assume that he is selfish and maybe arrogant as he is talking to his friends rather than keeping concentrated on his patients, he then asks Anna the nurse why he was sent to intensive care if he was bitten on the hand, this is a clue given to the audience telling them that something’s not right, when Anna tells him when the patient came in and tells him that that was when she started working he tells her to find out why he is in intensive care, this tells us that the doctor is very selfish and inconsiderate and that Anna is very hard working. Anna then walks away from the doctor and we follow her, she goes to reception and asks her friend Cora if she can look into the patient in intensive care so she can go home, this small scene shows us that she is completely oblivious to anything strange happening as Anna and Cora start talking about a shift change that happens next week but us as the viewers know that they will not get as far as working next week as most people will either be dead or a zombie. This shows just how vulnerable everyone is.
As Anna leaves the hospital a red herring is used to raise tension with the audience, dramatic music starts to play and a point of view of Anna looking at an ambulance is used, it appears that a man has been killed in the ambulance as his legs are hanging out of the back of it, the camera then cuts to the inside of the ambulance looking out at Anna, the lighting of the inside of the ambulance is very dark and it is hard to see what or who is in there, she then says “hey” and the eerie music stops an alarm goes off the in the car the ambulance driver wakes up and gets back to work, this shot is designed to make the audience jump but does not do a very good job of it. She then gets into her car and starts to drive home, the radio comes on and starts to play something about riots and panic but Anna doesn’t seem to be paying much attention and changes the station, “have a nice day” starts to play which is a very good choice of song as its very ironic because obviously with a zombie outbreak she is not going to have a nice day.
A bird’s eye view of the car driving is then used to show her driving home; I think that this is a very strong and powerful shot as no other car is driving and that the camera zooms in on her car showing the audience that the world is coming down on her. We then see Anna pulling up to her house, she sees her neighbours little girl Vivien skate up to her on roller-skates, Vivien tells her that she can skate backwards now and tells her to watch, this is a very good helpful scene that tells us abit more about what kind of a person Anna is, it shows us that she is very kind and caring as most people wouldn’t really care much but she acts amazed and proud of her and tells her that tomorrow they will do a couple of backwards laps around the block, this shows us that Anna likes to plan ahead as earlier she was talking about the shift change the following week, this can indicate to the viewers that Anna will not take the whole zombie situation very well as it is completely unexpected and throws her off her planned schedule.
She then pulls into her drive and we see a truck next to her car, with some pipes and ladders on it so we assume that there is already someone in the house who is a builder, we later find out that the man is in a relationship with Anna but what they are to each other is not completely clear although we assume that they are happily married as they kiss when Anna returns from work and the camera pans across photos of them both looking happy together when Anna and her partner are in the shower together. Also action and enigma codes are used whilst Anna and her partner are in the shower; an emergency news bulletin comes onto the TV so Anna and her partner miss it because they are in the shower this makes the audience wonder what is going on, it hooks us and makes us want to watch more, it makes us want to find out what the bulletin was actually about and makes us worry about Anna and her partner because they don’t have a clue about what’s going to happen to them.
The camera then cuts to an alarm clock with 06:36 turning to 06:37, eerie music then starts to play and the camera acts as a point of view shot of someone or something getting closer to the door, the camera then flicks to the other side of the door and a match on action shot is used, the camera then cuts to the left of the door focused on the doorknob to stop us from seeing who or what is there, dark lighting is also used to stop us from seeing the little girls face although her outline is visible, we assume that it is Vivien from the previous scene but that now she is a danger to Anna for some reason. The creaking of the door causes Lewis to wake up and see that someone is there, he tries to wake up Anna by telling her that Vivien is here, she then steps forward into the light to reveal to us that she has a mashed up mouth, this helps to shock and horrify the viewers with a zoomed close up of her face as well as a cut to see Lewis’s reaction to see how horrified his reaction is. He jumps up to try and help her and holds her to get a closer look, he then turns to Anna to try and tell her to wake up when Vivien bites a chunk out of his neck, Anna wakes up too see this and throws Vivien down the hall which is when we see her hiss and get back up (definitely not human) she then starts to run towards Anna to which Anna panics and slams the door.
She then runs over to Lewis to try and save him by compressing the wound, this scene is very intense as we are constantly wondering how he is and will he be okay. She tries to call 911 but all the services are busy the camera then cuts back to Lewis losing strength on the compressing of the wound and then he dies, Whilst we see Anna panicking and crying.
The camera then cuts again to show her on the phone with the background blurred; we can see him get up but cannot see his face, this is very confusing for the audience and for Anna as we just saw him die, she then says “Lewis?” In a scared voice as he scans the room looking rather twitchy he instantly looks at her and attacks her screaming. She runs into the on-suite bathroom and slams the door behind her falling into the bath, she stares at the door looking terrified but nothing happens so she slowly walks closer to the door, puts her ear up against the door and quietly calls Lewis, you then hear Lewis scream and start smashing through the door to which Anna screams and runs for the window, tension is very high at this point and all of the viewers are worried that Anna will get bitten this shows us just what the opening has done because we have developed a bond with Anna so we are relieved when we see her kick him in the face then stumble out of the window un harmed she then runs to her car and calls to the priest her neighbour who is holding a gun she says get back Anna and appears to have gone crazy, we would not expect this from a man of god when an ambulance drives by and runs over and kills him this short scene is used to show just how crazy things have gotten because a priest threatening people with a gun is crazy and so is the irony in an ambulance running someone over and killing them considering ambulances are there to save people, she then hears Louis trying to get outside so jumps into her car Louis jumps onto the bonnet and punches the screen , Anna drives off but we can see Louis running after the car in the background Anna then turns a corner and we see Louis attack someone else. Anna drives along a clear looking road and turns on the radio which is when she realises the true extent of the zombies, an automated warning is playing over America telling the listeners evacuation points so we can tell that it is not an isolated case that it is worldwide. She then starts to slow down when a person runs up to the driver seat of the car and tries to get Anna out this part happens very rapidly and is used to make the audience jump, Anna thinks it is a zombie so panics and drives, she gets away from the person but swerves off the road and into a tree where the screen goes black obviously indicating that she has been knocked out, we wonder if she will be okay.
I believe that this film opening is very effective in hooking the target audience straight from the beginning using many different news reports and captions relating to infection, rioting and zombies. This film opening makes us want to definitely watch the rest of the film, it introduces the main character very quickly and thoroughly and builds up a relationship with the character, we fear for her safety and want her to escape. This opening also shows me that sound is a very important factor to cinsider when designing my own opening sequence, sound and music helps set the pace of editing and produces alot of tension for thhe viewers. it uses a number of different techniques to make it a very effective opening, i will have to consider these points when making my own.
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