Media codes and conventions of zombie movies

1. Codes &
Conventions
Zombie Movies

2. Typical Conventions
• A tight community of protagonists
• Isolation
• Apocalyptic world (deserted, smoke, dirty, trashed etc)
• Contrast between slow and fast editing
• Kinetic cameras for chase scenes
• Abandoned locations
• Urban (but deserted) locations
• Want to survive rather than kill the zombies
• Shot in the head to kill

3. Typical Character
Conventions
• Leader
• Children
• Betrayer
• Human sacrifice
• Eye candy
• Nerd
• The dumb blonde that dies first
• The fat person that’s one of the first to die
• The pretty “fit” lead girl
• The heroic “fit” lead guy
• Annoying “moronic” character that screws everything up

4. • The person who's emotionally attached to one of the
zombies and not want to kill them or keeping them safe in
a room.
• The person that loves killing zombies but whose eventual
cockiness gets them killed.
• The person that freaks out and eventually causes some
sort of disaster.
• The peacemaker who tries to keep people together when
they go for each other's throats.
• The love interest is there to inspire hope, no point
surviving if you can't share it with someone and continue
the human race.

5. Beginnings & Endings
• Cliff-hangers
• Everyone dies
• Zombies are killed/cured
• Show previous world
• Find out about what has
happened to cause
“zombie world”
• Introduce main
characters, of whom are
survivors of the “zombie
virus”

6. Warm Bodies
• Camera follows guy as he “talks”
• Camera goes to different people as guy “speaks” about them
• Shot is as if it is through “his eyes”, and them including him as
well
• Music & effect changes as he describes flashbacks (and they’re
shown)
• Flashback becomes IRL around him (becomes lighter)
• Lighting reflects his mood (sad/lonely)
• Flashback music becomes more flowing/light, showing they’re
happier when alive
• He walks slowly/sluggishly showing he’s sad/lonely
• He “talks” slower/ more monotone as he speaks of his day, but
lighter with more flow in the flashbacks

7. Zombieland
• No talking
• Everyone is running in slow-mo
• People run/fall towards the camera
• Everyone looks scared, running away
• Music is very “pumped”/action-like
• Zombies covered in blood, still quite fast and seem more
intelligent
• Set in daytime, normal looking scene except for chaos and
zombies/blood
• Credits are involved within the scene, bumped out of the way
by the characters ect – text in blood red

8. Shaun of The Dead
• Normal looking setting
• Bouncy music
• Everything in sync with music
• First close up you see, man just woken up “zombie-like”
• Typical men, playing video games in a messy house
• Tension builds up in mirror, pacey music, quick shots of
breakfast/tea making
• Playing zombie games – things start pointing towards zombie
• “They position the audience to think that the situation is very
normal, before revealing that a zombie attack has broken out –
Use & Gratification”