Zombieland Trailer analysis

The trailer starts with an establishing shot of the Earth from and then zooms into the surface. As the camera is zooming in we have a non digetic voice over which is a man's voice with a deep mono-tune. We then zoom into a wedding and see a groom and everything seems normal until we see the bride and she takes out the groom. This part of the trailer is shown in slow motion allowing the audience to see that the bride is a zombie and adds a comical effect.

We then have a vast amount scenes which are shown through the use of jump-cuts which show the impact this zombie apocalypse is having on the world, however, the scenes are more comical as we see a large man eating a MacDonald's meal as he is chased by a zombie. This part of the trailer is to show the audience that this is a comedy/horror and give them an insight of what is to come.

There is then a change in the trailer which is first shown through the use of non digetic music. The music changes the tone of the film as it is more upbeat. We then are introduced to our first character who is dressed in casual western clothing, cowboy hat, boots, sunglasses and jacket, and seems very calm about the zombie situation-this shows the audience that this is a character who has gone through so much that the apocalypse has driven him insane. (This is later shown in the trailer and throughout the film.) The scene then dissolves and the audience are introduced to a new character who is younger and doesn't seem as calm as our first character-this follows the typical conventions as we have one character who isn't fazed by the apocalypse and can handle himself and another who is scared and relies on others for his survival. This is shown through the mise-en-scene as the character is dressed very casual but still seems nerdy. The scene then dissolves again and we are introduced to a new character who is a girl this time. The girl follows the typical conventions as she is good looking and innocent-this suggests that she is vulnerable and our other characters will be the hero for her. The introduction of a female character introduces the romance of the film as we have two young characters who will most likely end up together, which follows the typical conventions of a romance, as the he will most likely act as the hero and save the damsel in distress. The scene then dissolves and shows us a mid-shot, just like it has for all the other characters, of a young girl, probably between 10-12, who is casually dressed.

We are then shown many scenes which include shootings, car crashes, guts and more killings which indicates to the audience that this is a horror/action/comedy film that will keep them laughing and gripped to their seats.

Overall the trailer creates a comedy/horror while throwing some action into it to intrigue the audience through the use of editing, through the use of mid-shots, establishing shots and tracking shots, through the use of mise-en-scene, the clothing of each character to give the audience an idea of what the characters personalty is, and the use of slow motion scenes to add extra comical scenes.