Textual analysis- World War Z

In world war Z, at the very start of the movie we have opening credits accompanied by a series of clips, and then the main intro starts with the introduction of the main characters.

   Genre:

World War Z is an apocalyptic action horror film. The intro of world war z is typical to most zombie/virus outbreak movie, were it starts with many realistic shots of news reports and videos that show the outbreak. It also uses lots of shots of nature, and how we are connected to nature. After the opening credits are done, the mise en scene of the movie changes, and we are now introduced to the main characters of the movie. And like in most apocalyptic movies today, the movie starts on a normal day were a happy family is having a nice day, however about 5 minutes into the movie, everything breaks into havoc, going from a peaceful day into eventually what we know as the apocalypse.

Narrative:

The intro has a non-linear narration, were different shots of news reports about the outbreak are used, giving the viewer an idea of what the movie is about. After the opening credits however, the characters are firstly introduced, and then the story follows this linear pattern were it starts of as a pleasant morning but then it end into an apocalypse, following a chain of events.

Location:

The location of were the film is set is not revealed in the opening credits, on the other hand the news reports are from various parts of the world, revealing how the outbreak isn't centered in one location. After the opening credits, we are introduced to the exact location as a small caption on the bottom right corner states "Philadelphia, PA", introducing the viewer to the geographical location the film is set in. Location is also important in this movie as the characters travel to different locations, therefore details of the story are connected to the location.

Characters:

The characters are introduced after the opening credits. In this case the characters are made up of a family consisting of a couple and their two daughters. The characters are represented as a happy family having a pleasant morning, this is usually done in apocalyptic movies as it then escalates from a pleasant morning, into this mayhem driven apocalypse, which the audience wasn't expecting.

Pacing:

The opening credits have a medium pace, the different shots of the news reports and videos cycle through in a regular pattern, the pace then increases at the end ending on the title "world war Z". After the opening credits, the characters are introduced and are found stuck in traffic. at this moment the pace is relatively slow. Then following a chain of events it gradually starts increasing. More accidents start happening on the roads, and the explosions start to appear in the distance. Then the family starts to run away from this mayhem, this is when the pace really starts to pick up. Shots of people running, accidents, and violent fights cause a fast pace. We are slowly given a glimpse of the zombies. The scene then ends with this panoramic shot of the apocalyptic city, at this point the pace slows down again.

On-screen captions:

In the intro there are lots of captions used. At the very start they show the different production companies involved in the movie, then between the shots they show the names of the actors involved in the movie, then at the very end the title of the movie appears. The style of the captions used for the production companies and actors mimics the style of writing in documents used in labs. This relates to the movies theme were they need to find a cure for the virus. The title of the movie at the end showed different shots of nature through the letters, and the "Z" was in color red, which represents blood. After the opening credits, the scene starts with a caption revealing the location in which its set, in this case Philadelphia. The font used is relatively small so it doesn't cover up the shot, and it is revealed like at the start of a military movie were the location is being typed, relating to the characters military background.

Editing and post production: 

For the intro there are a few special effects added, in this case the shots shown use different focus forming triangles, adding an abstract feel to the movie. After the opening credits however, there are various effects used for the environment. For example effects are used to simulate these huge explosions within the city which cannot be done in real life. The opening scene also uses a lot of fast cuts, specially during the high paced action scenes were there is alot happening at one, thus lots of shots at different angles are used to show all this havoc and increase the tempo if the movie. There is also background music with a high tempo which goes well with the fast paced shots and helps drive these fast cuts.

Music/sound effects:

Both the opening credits and the opening scene use a soundtrack however they do not use any music. The role of the soundtrack, specially in the opening scene is used to drive the tempo of the scenes. The tempo of the song decreases and increases depending on the pace of the shots and whats happening on the screen.

Camerawork: 
In the opening scene there are many parts where a "shaky" camera is used. This is used to mimic a more realistic perspective from the characters view, as well as blending in well with all the action. Lots of panoramic shots that pan as  well as tilt are used, in this case they are used to give the viewer a different perspective of the mayhem.