Zombieland trailer Analysis
Sonam Nguyen
Narrative structure and themes
Equilibrium
The trailer begins with a narration followed by an establishing shot of the Earth from space, and gradually
zooms in until the audience can see a wedding. This is where the disequilibrium takes place.
Disequilibrium
The disequilibrium begins as soon as a the zombie bride cascades the wedding by running into the groom.
From this point on, the audience can see that the film will have a lot of blood, gore and violence.
New Equilibrium
The new equilibrium begins as soon as Tallahassee speaks with Columbus. This evidently is the new
equilibrium because we can see that the movie is not only about the zombies, but also about the
relationship between the characters and their journey of survival throughout the film.
Characters
The trailer includes 4 protagonists including,
•Columbus, the main character –Played by Jesse Eisenberg
•Tallahassee, otherwise known as the ‘Bad Ass’ –Played by Woody Harrelson
•Wichita, the main female character and Columbus’s crush –Played by Emma Stone
•Little Rock, Wichita’s little sister –Played by Abigail Breslin
Antagonists,
•The zombies, aka the living dead
Camerawork and editing
Camera shots
Establishing shot - The trailer begins with a panoramic view of planet Earth. This shows the audience that the movie takes place
here, and they can relate because its where they live.
Mid shots – are used in the middle of the trailer to show the actors, and their roles in the film (ie. Columbus holding a gun).
Long shots – are used in the trailer, especially when showing zombies are running closer and closer to the camera, making it feel
like the zombie is trying to eat the audience.
Editing techniques
Slow motion – slows the action down which enables the audience to see the characters emotions (usually used when someone is
running away/getting attacked by a zombie).
Fast paced scenes –such as the very first shot where the bride (that becomes a zombie) jumps on the groom during their
wedding. This adds to the pace of the trailer.
Sound
The beginning of the trailer begins with non diegetic sounds of a soft flute (as well as the sounds of a narrator
that describes the apocalypse). This then changes to a fast paced beat with sound effects of people screaming
and zombie growls. As the camera focuses on the characters (by using mid shots) there are more non diegetic
jungle noises (like birds and monkeys), this creates a sense of wilderness, and that the surviving characters are
alone in the new dystopian world. Finally ending with a rock song which brings back the action of the trailer
and fastens its pace.
In terms of the diegetic noises. Both the characters, as well as the audience, can hear the sounds of gunshots,
metal clanking and zombie noises throughout the trailer, which make it rule up to it being hybrid of action,
comedy and horror.
Titles
Postmodernism is seen through the use of hyperreality. An example of this could include the titles that appear
in the film and how they can be seen by both the characters and the audience – such as ‘This October’ and
‘Our Land’. Making the audience feel more engaged with the characters in the trailer, as well as the
environment of where its taking place.
Mentioned above are the only titles offered in the trailer, as the majority of it was shown through high amount
of fast paced action and dialogue. The titles that were shown were represented in a bold silver serif font. The
use of the colour grey could signify the what the world has come to, as well as the colour of the weapons that
the main characters use.