Zombieland title sequence analysis

I can make presumptions from watching the title sequence to Zombieland that it is a zombie horror/comedy. I can come to this conclusion because of use of blood and zombies but also for comedy the use of hidden humour in what the characters are doing. As an audience whilst watching this clip we are supposed to feel worried about the zombies and what they are saying but because of the genre comedy we are supposed to laugh at the situations that are happening in the sequence.

Ben Conrad designed the title sequence. He has worked on other films as creative lead such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier. When creating this title sequence Conrad had to think about typography, soundtrack, iconography and mise-en-scene to create a successful piece of work.

Typography is an important part of a title sequence because if the typography for your title sequence looked dark and gloomy it would not suit a light comedy. The typography in this clip is bold and sans serif. The font looks similar to many action hero movies especially super hero movies. This could be a technique that Conrad has used to make the film appear to be similar to a super hero movie yet slightly different. The colour of the typography is predominantly red. This colour connotes blood and death but also is a colour represented by superhero’s such as Spiderman and Ironman. The iconography has been placed as it molds into the scene.

The soundtrack was by Metallica. They are a very successful heavy metal band who have made many songs since they began in 1981.Their strong sounding fast pace songs are perfect for a zombie horror film. It accomplices the title sequence well with its dark tones. The director instead of the title sequence designer chose the song, which is unusual.

The iconographic features in the clip are important to create this fast pace effect. The use of zombies with blood spurting in the screen and destruction has an apocalyptic effect to the film.The fire and smoke suggests that this is on large scale. The use of long shots turning into close-ups makes the audience feel as if they are in the film themselves. The structure of the title sequence shows action in different places to suggest that this is happening everywhere. The opening shot being with what we presume the President of US car shows the audience that what is happening is effecting everyone, even The President of US.