Shaun of the Dead Animated Title Sequence Analysis

Shaun of the Dead

The title sequence I chose to analyse is from Shaun of the Dead. The title sequence is used to help the audience identify what genre this film is. The title sequence is animated to give it a comical and child-like feel; this gives the audience the impression that it is suitable for a younger audience, as well as an older audience, this film is most likely aimed at a male audience as it involves lots of red connoting death, as well as violent images which can be used to attract a male audience. The genre is depicted clearly in the title sequence, it clearly shows that it will contain comical scenes combined with horror, this can be seen by the colours used, dark red and black, showing death or darkness associated with the horror genre along with the cartoon-like feel to show the comic side of this film.

The music used in the title sequence is used to help the audience identify the genre. When put with the animated images, we can clearly see the filmmakers have chosen this track to give a calm feel, the music is contrapuntal to the images we see. The music is of a happy tone, whereas the images we see are full of violence and blood.

The typography used in this title sequence is relevant to the genre of the film. The title we see right at the beginning of the title sequence immediately gives the impression of a horror film, with the title in bold capitals, looking slightly worn down or as if it’s been attacked, with the ‘a’ in ‘DEAD’ used to identify the zombies theme in the film. As the title sequence continues, the worn down effect is continuously used, often splattered with what the audience could perceive as blood. The font colour is always white, black or red, the black and red are used to show the danger involved within this film, the white can show the contrast between the humans and the zombies, and the fight for survival.