Techniques Used In Existing Post-Apocalyptic Fiction Films

Furthermore, I am going to write some notes on why I think some films containing post-apocalyptic genre are successful.

I am Legend
The sound track is such an important element to a film and is so underrated as you do not understand how much of an effect it gives. I Am Legend uses some very dramatic and depressing music which I find very effective. One of my favourite and most powerful track within the film is by James Newton Howard called 'Sam's Gone', this adds even more absolute sadness to the scene that his dog Sam is dying and emphasis now he is even more alone. When creating my short film i defiantly want to use music as an addition to making the whole scenario more sad.

They also use close-up's, mainly of his face, to emphasis his deep emotion which gives sympathy of the audience and we feel more close to the actor.
Moreover, In the beginning of the film you see many establishing shots of the derelict surrounding. They are establishing and low angle shots of New York city, it shows the lifeless run down New York which is unusual as New York is normally one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world. This immediately creates an image that something is not right in the audiences minds which is a great technique and I hope to include this in my film. 

They also use grey a lot in the opening of the film, this is to symbolise death in man made objects, which is very smart and I am going to either do this or colour correct the film to make it seem more darker and serious. The shots are also very still and not much movement, this enhances the stillness of the rest of the world, nothing is happening, and it is just him in an isolated world. Mis en scene is another reason of why the film is very successful. They had a high production value containing shots of abandoned cars and scenery. I however cant do this as I do not have that big of a budget, although there are many abandoned places around me so I can use this as my advantage.

Summary of techniques used in I Am Legend:
- Sad Diegetic music
- Still shots
- Extreme close ups
- Dark colours
- Establishing shots of the abandoned areas

Zombie Land

I have also chose Zombieland to analyse as I think this is also an extremely popular film containing the same genre as mine, post-apocalyptic.  My favorite part of the film is especially the opening scene.

In the opening scenes of Zombieland, it shows many scenes in slow motion which makes the whole situation completely more dramatic, this technique I definitely want to use in my short film. Moreover, there are many scenes of carnage in the background such as cars in a jam, which gives the sense of something wrong to the audience. Due to a low budget I can not show this well however I will try and do my best with what I have. Likewise to I Am Legend, the opening scenes are very dark as they also use grey and dark colours and the lighting is also very low key, This makes the scenes dismal and washed out, and very anxious as something is not right and definitely what I need to do in my own film.

Furthermore, they use a lot of different angles and camera shots which makes it more interesting to watch as well as a sense of reality. They use many close up shots which makes it very intense to watch as you can closely see the insane terror in people's faces, from the scenario they are in.

At the very start, we see a shot that is firstly blurry and titled, the camera quickly turns upright and zooms out, showing more of the car. The audience realises that we are upside down in a crashed car and that it's a POV shot. You do not usually see this in post-apocalyptic films yet it is very effective as again it feels like you are there in the scene, creating more of a reality
and intrigues you in.


Summary of techniques used in Zombieland:
- POV shots to add realism
- Slow motion making it more dramatic
- Dark scenes
- Many camera shots
- Excellent mis en scene such as items in background

Maze Runner
Lastly, I decided to look at the techniques used in Maze Runner, as this was a completely different concept compared to my other 2 pots on techniques in films. 

I'm going to be talking about the opening scene as this is quite effective and lures you in, due to the techniques used. At the very begging they make you clench on to watch more, by using very little light but just enough to see from below. A high angle shot is used so its hard to see what's happening. Then they finally use a close up shot to introduce the character to the audience, to show his expressions. Then further in, we see a point of view shot which has been used in my other post on 'Zombieland', this is effective as it makes the audience feel like we are in there, on the elevator and feeling his emotions. Finally daylight appears, so we finally have the opportunity to see the character fully. I think this is very interesting to make people wait to see what's happening, with little information, as it engages you to know the situation, so I may have to use this in my own short film. 

Summary of technique used in Maze Runner
- POV shots to add realism
- Dark scenes to make it more unclear of situation
- Close up shots to show emotion

In conclusion
Seeking the techniques within already existent post-apocalyptic films have been very helpful. I now know what has made these films successful, so I can hopefully include the generic techniques within them for my own benefit. Firstly, one technique that is consistent throughout is the use of dark colours and scenes. This is something I think is essential to include to give the sense of this genre so the audience is aware of what genre they are watching. This can be easily done with the shot and even enhance it in editing. Moreover, the use of shots is another technique that really stood out to me. The majority of what I saw was still shots to exaggerate the stillness and deadness of the surrounding. Then for the characters they used POV and close ups. The POV shots were so we can get a more surreal experience watching and act like we are there and for the close ups we see their true emotion. These are all really smart and effective techniques that I am going to try and include in my short film. Music is also used throughout these 3 films that I watched, they use extremely sad and depressed music to add to the catastrophe. Only one technique that I can not include for sure in my own film is the incredible mis en scene in the background of broken down cars and left over mess. This is very costly and way above my budget which is a shame.