Throughout this clip from Dead Set, the camera is rarely static, especially when the camera is supposedly showing the zombie’s point of view. The opening shot sets the scene within a studio where the characters appear to be panicking because the screens have turned off and they are not getting any signal. You can feel the sense of panic through the use of the diagetic sound of talking and machines beeping; everyone within the frame is talking over each other. This then cuts to a handheld shot showing zombies running down a corridor. The camera, in this shot, is moving a lot and is not static which creates a chaotic effect and also the sense of panic. Throughout the clip, whenever the zombies are in the frame, the camera is not still and is moving rapidly backwards and forwards which creates the chaotic, sickening effect. It also makes the audience feel as if they are running away from the zombies which creates the panic effect once again.
The pace of editing is very fast when the zombies attack; there are cuts to close-ups, mid-shots and long shots and the camera is always kinetic. This again creates the feeling of chaos rather than order. In this clip, they also contrast the two strongly, with jump cuts between the chaos in the studio and the normality within the Big Brother house, where none of the characters know about the outbreak. There is no non-diagetic sound during this outbreak part, only the diagetic sound of zombies groaning, people screaming and what sounds like body parts being ripped off and other gruesome sounds. This creates a feeling of panic and reality as the screams themselves represent people in pain or panicked and then accompanied with the gruesome sounds of flesh being torn it makes the audience feel scared. Also, the reality of it is reinforced due to the fact that there is no non-diagetic music over the top, which would not be believable (not that a zombie outbreak itself is believable). Just the sound of groaning, screaming and flesh being torn hits the audience with the feeling of pure chaos.
Also, within the clip, the camera angles appear to be disjointed and not pointing at anything specific, especially within the chase scene/outbreak scene. The camera tends to point at random body parts of the zombies, for example there is a handheld shot showing a group of zombie’s feet all moving, as well as the camera moving. This creates the feeling of the unknown and once again chaos. It is as if even the camera is panicked and does not know where to look. This places the audiences in a nervous position and makes them feel part of what is going on.
During the clip, there are a lot of kinetic close-ups of body parts, especially when a person is being bitten. This creates an importance towards the biting which informs the audience (if they didn’t already know) how the infection will spread. Also, the close-ups only show us bits and pieces of detail which again creates the panic as you do not get to see the whole picture and only get to see people being bitten, or close-ups of people’s faces running away from the zombies looking terrified. This reinforces the idea of chaos and panic as the audience is forced to see only small parts rather than just watching it all from a distance. This again makes the audience feel involved in the outbreak thus creating a sense of panic and hopelessness.
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