The Opening Shot - Shaun Of The Dead

Shaun Of The Dead

Edgar Wright, 2004

LEAD ACTORS: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield

GENRE: Zombie romantic comedy

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: WT2 (Working Title)

DISTRIBUTORS: Universal Pictures 
BBFC: 15             MPAA: R

BUDGET: $6.1m 

BOX OFFICE: $30m (worldwide)

REVIEWS, wiki:

Shaun of the Dead received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 92%, based on 201 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Shaun of the Dead cleverly balances scares and witty satire, making for a bloody good zombie movie with loads of wit".^[14] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 76 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[15] Nev Pierce, reviewing the film for the BBC, called it a "side-splitting, head-smashing, gloriously gory horror comedy" that will "amuse casual viewers and delight genre fans."^[16] Peter Bradshaw gave it four stars out of five, saying it "boasts a script crammed with real gags" and is "pacily directed [and] nicely acted."^[17] The film was placed sixth in Empire's top one hundred British films list.^[18]

TRAILER:



International trailer, with the classic booming American narrator



Minus the Universal ident, the opening sequence

THE SHOT

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS 

There is no Working Title ident, only the Universal ident. There is an audio bridge transition between the ident and the opening Shot.

The camera zooms out. So already in the first Shot there is camera movement, the camera isn't static. 

The unsettling sound on the indents, and suddenly the soft, upbeat sound signifies the hybridity of the horror comedy. His serious look can also be seen as a juxtaposition with the positive music.

This character is signified as important, protagonist, we are meant to sympathy with him.

• Background is in shallow focus and he is deep focus
• Rule Of Thirds applied
• Looking at the camera
• Alienated, the "Other"

Alcohol and cigarettes, negative connotations, signifies his precarious situation throughout the film.

Regional Identity: UK stereotype, "Last orders"

I myself know how non-British people perceive this as a stereotype, my German father once joked how I should say "Last orders" when we soon going to leave a restaurant.

Narrative enigma, female protagonist the conflict of romance set up. Common trope of issues in relationships, one doesn't listen to one's partner, often a female complaint? 

REPRESENTATION

Countertypical representation of the male gender, confused, bewildered, not the strong macho male protagonist leading the story, not the typical Proppian hero?