Individual analysis of a title sequence

World War Z

Our chosen genre for our film is zombie horror. Therefore, i will be analysing the opening title sequence for a film in this genre. The film i have chosen for this is 'World War Z'.

The clip starts with slow eery music which quickly turns into fast paced propulsive music which immediately builds suspense for the movie ahead. This engages the audience with the film almost straight away. This music is the driving force throughout the whole of the title sequence as the scene is set for the rest of the film.

The sequence then turns its attention towards various landscapes showing the world as we know it. First it shows the sea and sky, then two cities. This is to set the scene and show that all that is about to happen started off like the world is now and spread throughout the globe as it shows cities from around the world. These are also shots from before the outbreak as they are calm and slow paced which doesn't indicate danger or build any sort of tension.

The next shot shows birds flying together in a group all in the same direction. This signifies that something bad has happened because birds always fly away from danger. This conveys to the audience that an event has happened and intrigues them into wanting to know what happens next. The birds are used to demonstrate the terror taking place and this is shown through the look of panic in the way they are flying around frantically, and the digetic sounds coming from the birds. 

Furthermore, there is a shot of an everyday street and is followed by several different houses. This is inferring that whatever disaster has taken place, it has happen in everyday areas which implies that this has happened everywhere and that nowhere is safe. The whole globe has been consumed by this outbreak. 

Following on from this it is made abundantly clear to the audience that this disaster began as a normal day as it shows people getting off of the train probably on their way to work as they are wearing normal clothes, not ripped or covered in blood.. This continues to show people walking along through the streets showing that nothing has yet happened. This is further emphasised when it shows plane times and then a shot of a plane taking off. If the epidemic had already taken place then all airports would have been closed. This is all building up tension and suspense as is getting closer to the outbreak. 

The mood of the title sequence then changes drastically when it shows several dead dolphins who have supposedly washed up on shore from the sea. They have died from some sort of virus and this is used to convey to the audience that this is the beginning of the outbreak. This is also foreshadowing that this could be about to spread to mankind as well as other animals. This is portrayed as a news broadcast to infer that everyone will know about this.

This is followed by several news reports saying that 'Co2 emissions' are rising and begin talking about the threats that could come about from this. This is suggesting to the audience that big things are going to happen and will intrigue the viewer to continue watching.

Mise en scene is then used to show the occurrence of the outbreak. The people in the clips shown are wearing face masks so stop the virus. This is telling the audience that the virus is now spreading to the human race. A Sound Bridge is used throughout the title sequence so that all of the shots are linked together and flow in a more orderly manner. This is followed by a quick montage of several shots which all go together to create the title 'World War Z'.