Genre Reaearch- Post Apocalyptic

The Book of Eli.


The book of Eli is another post apocalyptic film like The day after tomorrow about a survivor of a nuclear war that has to scavenge and hunt to keep alive. This film is fantastic and is a great example of a post apocalyptic film, my group could either do a post natural disaster like The day after tomorrow or a post nuclear war like The book of Eli.

Camera shots and angles.
The film opens in an ash filled woods with a rotting corpse on the floor. The camera has a lot of movement at the start of the film showing the woods (kind of like an establishing shot) however then moves onto the focus area (the cat). The camera moves downward at a slow pace this is similar to the start of The day after tomorrow as it shows the polar ice caps as the camera moves slowly backwards. This is a sterotype in post apocalyptic films, usually at the start of the film there is slow camera movement to build tension. The camera then while moving shows a close up of a pistol and then lay next to it a dead corpse on the ground. You then can see a long shot of the cat to show that it will move to the corpse, another long shot is used this time to show the distance between the man and the cat. Next the camera zooms into the bowen arrow to show the viewer the importance of the arrow and make them know it is going to strike the cat. A close up of the two contrasting objects then follows (the cat and the arrow) two show the viewer that they are going to make contact when he shoots it. After the cat has been killed there is a low angle shot of the killer to show his dominance over the animal. The camera shots and movement were similar to the The day after tomorrow as they both used close ups, tracking shots and long shots.
Editing.
The editing runs very smoothly throughout the opening there is not many cutting scenes. Furthermore the ediditng is very slow to build tension and never changes setting.
Setting up the narrative and enigma.
This film opening sets up the narrative very well as the slow paced start makes you think about the film and ask questions. The enigma is built up thoughout the opening, the slow movement of the camera creates mystery and the viewer will ask many question thoughout for exmaple, who is the man? why is there a dead corpse? why is there ash everywhere?.
Mise en scene.
The costumes, props, lighting,  setting, make up, expression and shot type work very well together in the opening scene. The setting is in a dark wood covered in ash and debris, the lighting matches this as it is very dark and misty. The costumes also work with the setting as the man is wearing a gas mask and thick clothing to protect him from the harsh conditions. The props in the opening are also fit with the other aspects such as the bowen arrow to hunt his prey and the pistol to show warfare and match with the dead corpse lay on the ground.
Music.
The Music used in the opening is very slow and depressing to match with the setting. Slow and depressing music is one of many conventions in the post-apocalyptic genre becuase it fits so well with the genre. This type of music makes you feel sad and builds tension therfore fits with the genre. This opening uses diagetic and non-diagetic sound.
Overall.
I have gained a lot of knowledge from this opening scene, i have could include many things to my opening such as slow camera movement, sad music and slow editing to build tension and create mystery.